How to Stop Eating Junk Food And Start Eating Healthy
- What Is Junk Food And Why Do People Love It?
- Why Should You Stop Eating Junk Food?
- How to Stop Eating Junk Food And Start Eating Healthy
- How Will Your Eating Habits Change Your Life?
- Final Thoughts
What Is Junk Food And Why Do People Love It?
Let’s start with the fact that junk food is delicious. It undoubtedly tastes good, looks good, and we can buy it from almost anywhere.
However, the exact definition of ‘junk food’ is not that pretty. This type of food is extremely high in calories, has low nutritional value, and is packed with sugars and unhealthy fats. What’s even worse is that even foods such as cereals and ‘fruit’ juices have artificial flavors and sweeteners.
Even though most people know these things, they help fast-food restaurants to make tons of money every year. Let’s take McDonald’s, for example. The most notable fast-food company makes more than $2.5 million annually. Crazy, right?
The reason why the majority of the population loves junk food is that it’s super tasty, and somehow it’s hard to stop eating. There are many speculations about addicting additives found in fast food that stimulate your brain to crave it even more.
Unfortunately, this often results in overeating, weight gain, and health-related issues.
Why Should You Stop Eating Junk Food?
All that being said, I believe it’s pretty clear why regularly eating junk food is extremely bad for your physical and mental health.
It’s bad for your physical health because, as already mentioned, the consumption of such foods may cause some serious and ongoing health-related issues.
Eating unhealthy food also affects your mood and stress levels. The reason being is that junk food is not nutritious at all, and the lack of proper nutrition may result in mood swings. Also, eating highly processed foods is likely to lead to the development of depression.
If you eat junk food on a daily basis, you’ll deprive your body of vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. Also, you’ll be hungry almost all the time because such foods will satiate your hunger only for an hour or so. After that, the hunger will be back.
Along with all this, junk food is ridiculously high in calories. It may come as a surprise, but a meal at McDonald’s, consisting of a BigMac (550kcal), small fries (220kcal), and coke (150kcal), has more than 900 calories, which is the average calorie intake for a person.
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How to Stop Eating Junk Food And Start Eating Healthy
I know that some of you may think it’s impossible to stop eating junk food. And it’s absolutely fine to have a burger or a bag of chips every once in a while. What you shouldn’t do is eat such foods too often.
For example, you can try to follow a healthy and nutritious diet six days a week, and on the seventh day, you can eat any junk food you like. Many people do this, and they find it works great for their cravings. However, I’m not a big fan of this because I end up eating way too much unhealthy food on my cheat day.
What I prefer to do is to first think about whether or not I really want to eat a particular food. If I’m 100% sure that I really want a piece of chocolate cake, I’d cut a small piece and would eat it slowly, enjoying every second and every bite of it.
It is proven that when you eat slowly, you actually satisfy your hunger with less food. The reason for this is that you give your body enough time to know that you’re full.
In the following lines, I will list a few more extra tips and tricks that work wonders for me when it comes to eliminating junk food.
1. Prepare Your Own Food
People often find themselves too busy to cook. In such moments, they just pick up the phone and order a pizza or some other kind of takeaway food. After 30-40 minutes, you have your meal delivered to your doorstep.
The greatest benefit is that you don’t have to move from the couch and prepare anything. Another advantage is that the food you’ll have for dinner is super delicious.
However, you have no idea what your food consists of, but you can be sure that it’s packed with calories and not that packed with healthy nutrients.
So, instead of ordering food and waiting for more than half an hour, it’s easier and so much better for your health to make something on your own. Whether it is a salad or scrambled eggs, you will give your body essential nutrients and vitamins. There are so many quick and easy recipes you can prepare for no more than 10 minutes.
2. Read Food Labels
You must love, appreciate, and take good care of yourself. That’s why you need to be aware of what you put in your body. If you constantly eat low-nutritious foods, you won’t give your body what’s necessary for it to be healthy.
One way to change this is to read the labels of the foods you buy. If you find that a particular product has artificial sweeteners, colorings, and a bunch of ingredients you haven’t heard of, it’s better to put that back on the counter.
Once you acquire this habit, you will be much more careful with your food choices. You will be surprised how many foods have the additives enumerated above.
3. Always Have A Healthy Snack Around
We often want to have a snack. And we frequently end up buying a bag of chips, a pizza, or some chocolate dessert.
In order to avoid this, I’d advise you to always have something healthy to snack on. Whether it’s an apple, a banana, or a protein bar, make sure you have it in your bag when you leave the house.
Grocery stores, bakeries, and fast-food restaurants are basically everywhere. And we can be easily tempted.
However, if you follow my advice, there’s no need to worry. You’ll know what you have in your bag is much better than the processed food offered in these places.
4. Cook Healthy Alternatives to Your Favorite Junk Foods
To be honest, this works great for me. If I tell you that I don’t love pizza and fries, I’ll lie. However, I’m aware of the bad consequences that may follow from eating too much unhealthy food. That’s why I try to find healthy alternatives to my favorite junk foods.
There is a myriad of recipes on the Internet, and most of them are super-simple and budget-friendly. You can find healthy alternatives to all of your favorite junk foods.
For example, when I’m craving pancakes, this is my recipe to go. It is easy, healthy, protein-rich, and most importantly, delicious.
Just like any person on this planet, sometimes I want to eat something sweet. However, I know how many calories there are in the processed desserts found in stores. That’s why I’ve come up with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that are not only tasty but are also sugar- and flour-free.
If you’re a pizza lover like me, I suggest you give lavash flatbread pizza a try. Ever since I have found this alternative, I haven’t ordered from Dominos!
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How Will Your Eating Habits Change Your Life?
I have done all of the things listed above to help me in my attempt to stop eating junk food. And I’m so happy I have managed to control this addiction of mine. Believe me, I’m one of the biggest food lovers you’ll ever meet, and I appreciate delicious food.
However, it is also crucially important for me to take great care of myself. And eating junk food is not one way to do so. The changes I’ve noticed with my body and mindset, after drastically reducing the consumption of processed food, are significant.
The best part about changing my eating habits is that I started feeling much more energetic and happy. I used to eat pizza, burgers, fries, chips, and chocolate on a daily basis, and this made me feel horrible. I was tired, peevish, and my health was not at its finest. However, after changing my lifestyle completely, all these things are in the past now.
Another benefit of not buying fast food is that you will most likely save money. Eating such foods regularly isn’t good for your wallet.
Also, it is quite possible for you to lose a few kilos if you ditch the junk food. Adding foods rich in vitamins, protein, and healthy fats in your diet is definitely a good way to improve your health.
Last but not least, you will be so proud of yourself. Once you stop eating junk food, you’ll know how much willpower you possess. You can do anything you want. All you need to do is put some effort and, most importantly, believe in yourself.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, regularly eating junk food will surely result in some serious health issues. And believe me, risking your health like this just because the food is delicious is definitely not worth it.
There are hundreds of healthy alternatives to your favorite junk foods you can prepare anytime you crave something unhealthy.
Also, there are so many things you can do to control your fast food cravings. Once you try the tips given above, you’ll see for yourself how easy it actually is to let go of eating foods that are bad for your body.
There’s nothing wrong with having a piece of brownie or a donut once or twice a week. What you need to remember is to always eat in moderation.
Author: Alexandra
Founder of The Alexandra Blog where she writes about mental health, wellness, beauty, and nutrition. Sometimes she also shares some of her easy, delicious, and healthy recipes.
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How often do you eat junk food? Have you got any tips for those trying to quit it? Share them in the comments below!
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Having a healthy snack around is such a good tip. It’s so important to make conscious snack choices in between meals 🙂
Exactly! I try to always have a fruit or yogurt or something similar around, because I’m always in need of a snack, especially when I’m working..😅