If only junk food didn’t taste so good, then it would be easier to resist. The reason for its craveable flavor is a specialized balance of sugar, fat, and salt.
But while it tastes phenomenal…it’s detrimental to your fat loss results.
You are wondering what exactly classifies as junk food? You’re not alone, especially now that many junk foods are being cleverly marketed and packaged as healthy choices.
Here’s what classifies junk food:
- Junk food has little to zero nutritional value
- Junk food is processed and packaged.
- Junk food is high in sugar, fat, and salt
- Junk food is high in calories.
- You are eating junk food when not even hungry.
- Soda pop, convenience foods, packaged snacks, frozen treats are all junk food.
4 Easy Steps to Quit Junk Food
Imagine being 100% free of junk food for the next 30 days. How would your weight improve? How would you feel? How many empty calories would you save daily? Now let’s take some action!
Step #1: Get Rid of It
Step one is simple: get rid of all the junk food that currently resides in your home, office, and car. Go through with a big garbage bag and toss anything that remotely resembles junk food. Remember, junk food is stuff that is high in empty calories.
Step #2: Stock Up on the Healthy Stuff
Don’t worry; you aren’t going to starve now that your junk food has been cleared out. Step two is where you go to the store and stock up on delicious, nutritious food that will take the place of the junk food. Nuts, seeds, fruit, veggies, hard-boiled eggs, meatballs, and hearty salads or burrito bowls (like the recipe below) are exceptional items to have on hand. You’ll eat less of these healthy snacks since these aren’t empty calories, but rather nutrient-filled calories that will satiate.
Step #3: HALT!
When the next craving strikes you, tell yourself to HALT! This word is a handy acronym. Ask yourself, “Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired?”
- Hungry, then reach for one of the healthy snacks from step two.
- Angry, then explore the issue and seek resolution.
- Lonely, then reach out to a friend, instead of reaching for junk food.
- Tired, then make the time to grab a nap or get to bed early to catch up on sleep.
Step #4: Stick With It
The first day that you go without junk food will be the hardest day. The second day will be a smidge more comfortable. The third day will be even more relaxed than the second and so on.
The fact is that your taste buds adjust to the foods that you exist on. When you fill your diet is with junk foods, then that is what your taste buds will crave, but as you shift to a diet filled with fresh, nutritious food, then your taste buds will forget all about that old junk food. Stick with it, one day at a time, and you will break free from the grip of junk food addiction.
Junk food tastes annoyingly good. There’s a reason for this – the food companies actually formulate each bite for maximum craveability with a specialized balance of sugar, fat and salt.