How To Stop Our Love Affair With Junk Food and Aim at Healthier Foods

Is your weight loss program being supported by the unhealthy, oily or processed food? Are you thinking about ways to outsmart junk food cravings what some tips and tricks? Here we are to tell you on how to stop eating junk food and tips to control the powerful cravings.

Junk food like candies, potato chips, cookies, soda and many more such make you feel happy only momentarily. But we all know that we must stop eating junk food as they are not so good for our health. And honestly, picking the junk food habit is way easier than it is said. With so many amazingly delicious and healthy foods around us, it is indeed difficult to control the urge to eat them all. It is rightly said that food cravings are the dieter’s worst enemies.

Even though the type of food that people save could be different, most of the processed food is high in sugar. This is the one biggest reason why people have problems dieting or losing weight and keeping it off. All of us are pretty familiar about the afternoon slump as well, which brings on the fears sugar or caffeine or salt craving.

How Food Impacts Are Energy Levels:

When you are hungry, a hormone in your body is secreted in the stomach which is called ghrelin that interact with the neurotransmitters in your brain. When these hormones interact with the neurotransmitter NYP, they signal that your body’s energy is low and you need some food. NYP lives in the hypothalamus, which is the part of your brain that controls the emotions, memory and energy levels.

Hypothalamus, in regards to food is a constant 24/7 bouncer looking for your energy keeping text on when you need your next meal. And once you feed in food, the food breaks down into glucose what is the most important fuel for your brain to maintain alertness, your brain functions in the best way when there is a consistent amount of glucose level in your blood. Although, you can get this short term glucose with the help of a bar of Snickers, but the whole point here is to maintain the optimal glucose levels to help your functioning of the brain at the peak performance with the same time making it healthy.

Ever wondered why junk food is so addictive or why is junk food unhealthy? Believe it or not, the food manufacturers (almost all of them) make and produce foods with the main intention of igniting the cycle of addiction in consumers. So, how to stop eating fast food? The consumer reaches to a point where the experience the ultimate pleasure of consuming such foods, it is particularly hard to resist your brain that reacts in the same way for an addiction of cocaine or any other such drug. While all of us succumb to such cravings and the inevitable addiction, we have got some amazing tips call you to stop eating on healthy food. The below ideas help you to stop eating junk food and get you started with a healthy lifestyle.

1. Be Clear

Before we move on to anything else, the most important bit is that you must be clear on why you want to quit eating junk food.

• To avoid the fat in them?
• Two switch to more healthy food?
• For aiming at lower cholesterol levels?

It is good to have a reason to quit. The best way is to write down your reason on a small sheet of paper and you look at it every single day. This helps you to constantly be reminded of your goal each day.

2. Cut Your Sugar And Starch Gradually:

Eating high content of sugar and carbohydrate food makes you feel like crap. Most challenging part about trying to cut this out of your schedule is to realize that pretty much everything in the store or made in restaurant has either of starch or sugar in them.

Targeting Herbs, spices, supplements, nuts, seeds etc. along with healthy fish, meat are eggs with vegetables and fruits would make your combination of the meal perfect. Cutting out the sugar or start from your food drastically shows changes in your body. When it comes to reconstructing your diet, the best way to not eat sugar or starch content in your food is to try it for 4 days a week. After two weeks move to a four-five days a week and repeat the cycle more so that you could achieve the 6 days of week of healthy eating food habit.

3. Plan ahead:

There could be no other way of handling your cravings better than planning your meal ahead of time. The healthy meal and snacks that you pack and keep ready at your lunchtime not only makes you letter to grab on any other fatty food but also, helps you to avoid the easily available food at the office like a French fry, pizza or sweets that your office colleague brings. Researchers tell that you are susceptible to being influenced by the smell of the food, the advertisements and various conversations surrounding you each day.

It is always best to start of your plan on a Sunday as it helps you in Planning and chalking out the means for the week. You could go for your grocery plan accordingly and shop what you need preparing yourself to fight the sugar and starch. It’s always great to grab some of the energy bites for yourself as well as easy snack ideas like fruits, or nuts which are available at your desk especially during the afternoon time.

4. Drink Enough Water:

Most of the times thirst is confused with the craving or hunger. When you feel a sudden urge of appetite for food, try drinking a large glass of water and wait a few minutes. You will surely be surprised to see that the craving has faded away because your body was actually not hungry but thirsty. Also, that water have enough of other health benefits what says that middle aged and especially the older people must drink water before the mails in order to reduce the appetite and help them achieve weight loss.

[Also, Read: Benefits Of Drinking Water On An Empty Stomach]

5. Stop Buying Junk Food:

One of the best ways to stop eating unhealthy food is to try avoiding it as a recipe. When you have a lot of junk food on hand you are bound to consume them at some point in time. Stop buying any of your junk foods and keep them off your house, office or car.

6. Practice the 5 Ingredient rule:

While there are more than 5 ingredients in a food label, it is a Red flag for food processing. Do not buy it or if you at least consider to not purchase it every day. Simple way to avoid any impulses to buy flavor blasted chips or pre-made cookies when food shopping.

7. Keep Enough Of Healthy Snacks On Hand:

The more the availability of ready food, the more you have a choice to choose from an easier to keep yourself out of junk food. The most common cases when you are hungry and do not find any food to eat which has been prepared, you tend to simply go out and buy a snack for yourself which undoubtedly turns out to be on healthy.

NFS wonder how to stop eating junk food, but how many of us keep such healthy snacks ready? Granola bars or fresh fruits along with low fat yoghurt in your fridge should be your best friend for healthy snacks.

8. Eat More Protein:

Protein helps in reducing your appetite and keeping you away from overeating. Not only does it reduce the cravings but also helps you get full satisfaction for a longer time. High protein breakfast is one of the best you must inform in order to stop eating unhealthy food. On the other hand, increased protein diet help in reducing the cravings by 60% and is very healthy for the body.

9. You Must Know What To Shop:

Do not go to the groceries without a list of things you know that you want. A lot many times it just happens that we look at a thing and want to buy it immediately to consume. To stop such cravings, it is important that your grocery shopping include the dairy, meat and fish section along with the real food rather than the process ones.

When you go to the shop, try to purchase items only from the sections. Is a food has more ingredients of the label, you must clearly avoid it. It is time that your body needs a fresh vegetable, fruit, fruits, and grains. You get all the important and required nutrition from this healthy food and would not have any side effects of junk food. It would obviously take a few weeks to settle in but eventually, you will feel good about it.

10. Remove Your Guilt With A Cheat Day:

It is OK to be a little considerate towards yourself. Living in this world full of food temptation and amazing restaurant vending machine everywhere, it must be ok to let go of a couple of days in a week to enjoy a bit of what you like.

Although, there are a plenty of disadvantages of junk food that you would realize once you get into your healthy routine, cheat days often help you to realize that. Enjoy your day with potatoes or ice creams which helps you to recover from your hectic diet routine.

11. Be Confident In What You Do:

If you are still wondering what if you can’t stop eating junk food, you must not believe in the hype that is going around but, rather believe in yourself. Quitting junk food could be easy but if your body doesn’t need it, you must rather prefer to go for clean food.

As long as your body is happy with what you are giving and that what it needs, you should be alright. And in case if it’s not, remember, it is in your head.

12. Eating Chewing Gum After Food:

This would never be a part of your diet plan; however, one of the smartest ways to help you overcome overeating is to immediately put a mint or chewing gum once you feel full after a meal. It helps you fight the craving along with the strong flavor of mint suppressing your appetite further naturally.

This is one of the best ways in which psychologist also suggest stopping eating junk food. No sense of smell is the biggest part of the experience of food and their by controlling your scent can somewhat control the appetite.

13. Eat Healthy Fats:

One of the most common myths of Nutrition is that fat makes you fatty! In fact, believe it or not, your body needs enough fats. But there are many different types of fats that you must know. Avoiding trans fat is the key along with limiting saturated fat, however, healthy heart fat like nuts and avocado help you to feel energetic and reduce the cravings.

It is ok to have a handful of mixed nuts as your afternoon snack. You can always make yourself a homemade salad dressing with olive oil and vinegar added to it. Adding fresh glucomol or fatty fishes like salmon to your diet is also a great way to bring and healthy feeling fats.

14. 50 Miles From Cravings:

When you are walking to your office and cross a bakery with beautiful craving smell of bread and sweet, all you need to do is shut your mind on to something else immediately. This is a great technique to change your thoughts and environment that helps you to stop the craving strongly.

15. Set Up A Right Environment For The Right Meal:

Simple changes and choices in your daily habit and lifestyle could help in reducing the disadvantages of junk food. While you’re trying to snack in an environment like while watching TV, you are bound to eat more. Your concentration is towards watching television and eventually you forget what is going inside your stomach.

16. Break Your Routine:

It only takes a few weeks to build a habit but longer to break them. But it is not impossible to move towards a healthier habit and lead a guilt-free life. If you are used to taking a trip to the vending machine every day at 3 p.m, change it by taking a quick walk around the block for 5 minutes instead. Not only with this keep aside your cravings but also help you to indulge in quick activity.

17. Enjoy Food:

One of the most important bit here is the enjoy whatever you eat. Even if you eat steamed vegetables, it is important that you enjoyed and accepted it. If you hate eating something, it is bound to not do any benefit to your body as your head has not accepted it.

You must have some quick cooking tricks to make even the simplest of the food tasty. Using spices and Herbs are the best way out here to even make the simple salad taste better. Enjoy your cooking while enjoying your aim to lead a healthy life.

18. Never Skip Your Breakfast:

To regulate the level of glucose, you must have the first meet of your day within 30 minutes of you waking up. Researchers show that skipping of the most important meal of the day breakfast, might increase in the amount of food you end up eating during the amount of food you end up eating during the lunchtime.

Prefer having high protein breakfast like eggs or oatmeal with blueberries in the morning that makes you feel fresh and keeps you a lot for hours to follow. The only way to find out what works for you is to try and experiment with what you eat and find things that makes you feel alive.

Our early ate primates, ate a lot of insects and plants millions of years ago. Today, this crispy food’s definition has drastically changed. What is important is to stop eating junk food and move towards the healthy eating habits for longer and fitter life. Let us know what you think about these few tips out here by writing to us via the comments section.

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