How to Stop Eating Junk Food: 10 Tips to Control Your Cravings

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Why is junk food so addictive?

​It’s 3 p.m. and you’re experiencing that all-too-familiar afternoon slump. It brings on a fierce sugar (or salt or caffeine) craving. You’re not alone. Many people deal with cravings on a frequent, even daily basis. Believe it or not, food manufacturers often create foods with the goal of igniting that cycle of addiction in consumers. They aim for the “bliss point” in a product. This is the point at which the eater experiences the ultimate pleasure, with not too much and not too little salty, sweet, and fatty flavors. These combinations are particularly hard to resist, and your brain reacts in a similar way as with cocaine and other drug addictions. While succumbing to cravings may seem inevitable in the moment, there are a few simple things you can do to control them. Here are 10 ideas to get you started

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Part 1.

1. Plan ahead ​

There’s no better way to handle cravings than planning your meals and snacks ahead of time. If you have a healthy meal and snacks packed and ready for you at lunchtime and in the afternoon, you’re far less likely to grab a leftover piece of pizza, order French fries, or eat the sweets someone brought in to the office. In other words, you will reduce your “food cue reactivity.” This is what researchers call your susceptibility to being influenced by the food smells, advertisements, and conversations surrounding you every day. ​Try to plan out each week’s meals on Sunday, or the day before your workweek starts. Go grocery shopping for what you need. Then prepare large batches of easy foods like brown rice, beans, stir-fried or roasted vegetables, or cold salads. Use food storage containers, mason jars, or foil to pack up serving sizes that you can grab in the morning on your way out the door. Fruits like apples, bananas, and oranges travel well and can be kept on your desk, making them easy afternoon snacks.

To Be Continued

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