Break your junk food habits
Here’s some advice on adjusting the pattern…
By Rhian Allen
June 15 2016
If junk food has crept into your life it can be a tough habit to break. But if you’re willing to do some hard work, it’s definitely possible.
While junk food is okay every so often, if it’s becoming a regular part of your diet then it can hinder your weight loss efforts, make you feel tired and irritable, cause issues with digestion, such as bloating and zap you of energy.
Compared to natural foods, junk food doesn’t offer much in the way of nutritional benefit. There are preservatives, colours, fat, sugar, salt - and some of the ingredients sound like something from a science experiment. Junk food also doesn’t satisfy you in the way that natural food can. Have you ever tried to eat a giant bag of cashews? It’s nearly impossible. But the same size bag of Maltesers? No problem!
So how do we step off the junk food rollercoaster and move toward a more natural approach? Try finding your triggers for eating the junk food, and then you can choose ways to overcome them.
If you feel like a chocolate biscuit with your morning and afternoon cuppa, make a new habit such as chopping up some fresh fruit to have with it instead.
If you and your family indulge in take-away every Friday night, try making your own healthy versions. Think pizza using Lebanese bread as the base, or a healthy Pad Thai packed with loads of vegetables.
If you always get drive-through on a long road trip, why not try packing yourself a healthy picnic and then just stopping to buy coffee instead?
If you can’t resist the chocolate bar at the supermarket checkout, pop an alternate treat in the trolley from the deli instead such as some marinated olives, vine leaves, or stuffed baby capsicums. You can eat them in the car!
If you fancy some ice-cream after dinner (every night!) then it might be time to prepare some healthier sweet treats to stash in the freezer. Try smearing some natural peanut butter onto some frozen banana chunks – it’s delicious!
If you simply can’t say no to the birthday cake at work (and it’s always someone’s birthday in an office environment) try eating a healthy snack right before the singing starts (think natural yoghurt with berries or a handful of cashews). It will be much easier to ask for a tiny slice instead.
