It's Easy to Overeat Junk Food, Here is how to stop
Do you find yourself finding it hard to resist junk food? It's normal to feel out of control. Processed foods are designed to make us overeat. So you crave chips and cookies and ice cream. It makes it easier to overeat junk food, but I know how to help you stop.
I will go over what companies are doing to get you to purchase junk food in the first place. Then we will go over 7 ways to stop overeating. Remember eating better is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time to reach the goals that you want to achieve. I have already gone over 7 ways on how to make time for exercise and nutrition but you can always go check it out for more ideas.
Marketing tricks so food seems "Good for you"
Bright colors, cartoon characters, and celebrities form positive associations with certain foods. Marketers take advantage of our need for self-care by utilizing phrases such as "You're worth it" or "Take a break". And media has made certain buzzwords like 'organic', 'vegan', and 'gluten-free' to create an illusion of health. In reality, there is often very little nutritional difference between organic snacks compared to the regular ones.
Especially in America, fast food restraunts often promote higher volume foods for less money. These foods are highly processed and contain more calories than other more nutritional meals that cost more.
At one point in time, humans required calorie-dense foods to help them survive. Now food companies use calorie density to create highly appetizing foods. And with technology and the way the world works, these foods are more easily accessible.
For example, sugar, fat, and salt aren't all that tasty on their own, but when combined like salted caramel cookies they are enjoyable. Manufacturers create processed foods that are calorie-dense, strongly flavored, melt in your mouth, tasty on the first bite, and easy to eat.
7 Ways to Stop Overeating Junk Food
1. Notice your Chewing
As mentioned earlier, manufacturers make food easy to eat. That is because it is easier to overeat when food is easier to chew. It has been found that eating slowly helps to lower the risk of obesity and overeating. Try seeing how many chews it takes to eat a bite of junk food compared to something like a salad. Be mindful of how long it actually takes to eat your food and if you feel full after eating it or if you want to eat more.
2. Evaluate your Pantry
The best way to prevent overeating of junk food is to change the way you grocery shop. In order to do this, you need to understand the kinds of foods you are already purchasing and why you buy them. Of the foods you already typically buy, how many are junk foods that are marketed as "health foods"? How many celebrity or tv endorsed items do you see? Any of the self-care items I mentioned earlier? Exactly how many snack foods do you have in your kitchen?
3. Look for habits and patterns
We often eat particularly certain foods out of habit or we get stuck in a certain pattern. And most of these have nothing to do with hunger and can contribute to overeating. This isn't always as easy as it seems and requires you to become more self aware. You have to be able to identify your own triggers such as a feeling, a specific time of day, a place or social setting, or even a thought pattern. Not all of these have to be negative. You could use food as a reward. Just be mindful.
4. Change the habits to ones that support your goals
After you have found triggers and habits that you tend to eat junk food for, we then need to make positive changes. Sometimes that is as simple as changing the foods you would use in certain situations. Other times the best idea is to replace food with something else that supports your goals. If stress is a common trigger for you, then you could substitute food for exercise, reading, listening to music or getting a massage just to name a few. These naturally boost neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, and oxytocin, which calm down the stress response.
5. Quality over Quantity
Processed foods typically use inexpensive ingredients which makes it selling large quantities at lower prices easier. But cheaper foods in the long run can actually cause higher medical bills. Processed foods have been linked to metabolic problems, weight gain and poor health. While whole foods can be more expensive they are better for your overall health. The favorite saying "Quality over Quantity" comes into play here.
A common suggestion is to use the "Stop Light" system to create a list of foods you eat. Green for whole foods that you can eat whenever you want. These foods make your mind and body feel good. Yellow foods would be foods that aren't the best choices but they aren't the worst choices. You can eat these but they shouldn't be the focus of your meals. The Red foods are ones that you shouldn't be eating because they don't make you feel good or don't help you reach your goals.
6. Take your Time
Like I mentioned in How to make time for exercise and nutrition, sometimes these changes can be daunting. So take your time and introduce these changes slowly. Sometimes making simpler changes would be easier such as sitting at a table and using real dishes to eat your meals, eating in a calm area with no disruptions, putting your utensils on the table between bites, and eating until your only 80% full.
7. Be nice to yourself
Being self-aware is different than being critical of yourself. Be mindful that crash diets may work in the short term, but they are harder to sustain in the long term. When dealing with overeating always be honest with yourself, but be nice to yourself. It's better to work with yourself than against yourself. Don't be afraid to explore and try new habits. With these different approaches your are more likely to succeed.
Overview
By implementing these tactics it will help you stop overeating junk food. It will not be an easy journey. Most of the junk food we overeat contain a lot of sugar which has very addictive qualities. Think of this more as a journey to a healthier lifestyle!
If you need help with your nutrition please check out my Fitness & Nutrition Programs! I would love to help you with your nutrition needs!