Are you a junk food junkie with a weakness for junk food that you can’t control? What is junk food? Junk food contributes little or no nutritional value to your diet. Instead, it contributes calories, fat, and makes you cranky. Making dietary changes in your life can be hard but you can do it. All it takes is a commitment by you to a healthier life. With that in mind, here are 6 tips to help you steer clear of junk food.
- If you find yourself eating too much fast food, save all your receipts for one week. Everyday, put your fast food receipts in safe place. At the end of the week, add up how much you spent on fast food. You may just be shocked at what you are spending on fast food. A couple of dollars here and there can easily add up to $50 or $100 per week. You can wean yourself off fast food by only spending half the amount the next week. Do the exercise again each week, cutting the amount spent each week in half until you get to zero. By then you should start feeling better and realize how much money you were throwing away on fatty food that made you cranky.
- Make a list of junk food you eat all the time. In an adjacent column, write down a healthy replacement snack for each item in your junk list. For example, if you wrote down Twinkies in the bad column, you may want to replace it with strawberries and plain yogurt. Each week, pick one junk food and eat its replacement instead. Continue doing this until you are no longer eating the junk food but only the healthy replacements.
- Use visualization. Focus on how your life will change when you are no longer sugared up on junk foods. Focus on the changes: more energy, less cranky, more stamina, looking better, nicer skin, and so on.
- Do not buy it! Keep it out of your house. If you must have something sweet, walk to the nearest restaurant, sit down and order a single slice of cake or something else sweet. Take your time eating it, pay for it, and leave. Then go home.
- Eat breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day! Eating a good breakfast will help you curb your hunger during the day. Eat complex carbohydrates. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
- Join an online community where you find workout tools, community support, and customizable meal plans to help you make better choices. Click here to find out about joining the Team Beachbody community.
What are your favorite tips for avoiding junk foods?