HOW TO CONTROL JUNK FOOD CRAVINGS

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WHY DO WE HAVE CRAVINGS FOR JUNK FOOD?

Food cravings can be difficult to overcome and it is so often the biggest problem in attempting to lose weight.

Junk food is so convenient, quick, and easy to buy, and generally cheap… you don’t have to cook.

Junk food is also often attractive and tasty.

But junk food can be highly addictive and breaking junk food cravings can be fraught with difficulties.

A junk food habit can develop over a short period of time but lead to an uncontrollable desire for added sugar foods. Such cravings often lead to consuming late-night snacks. These are not healthy foods to eat, especially before going to sleep.

The late-night snacking and craving salt foods and the cookie cravings, while enjoying a cup of coffee, can be quite addictive and eventually develop into a junk food habit.

When regularly overindulging on unhealthy junk food and drinking lots of added sugar found in soda drinks, eventually these addictive food cravings will take their toll on the body.

Fast food cravings as well as stress eating can lead to serious long term health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, overweight problems and could eventually impair a person’s physical health.

These addictive fast-food cravings can play havoc on the mind and body and cause a great deal of stress… but there are solutions. You need to take back control of exactly how you view food, its benefits, and different ways to stay healthy.

10 TIPS TO CONTROL JUNK FOOD CRAVINGS.

1 HEALTHY FATS

Healthy fats are essential to maintain a healthy diet. Fats can be both healthy and unhealthy foods. You need to include healthy fat foods in a balanced diet, such as monounsaturated fats.

Heart-healthy foods are the best healthy options when it comes to a well-balanced diet.

2 HEART-HEALTHY FATS

Because heart disease is one of the highest causes of death in this country, it is important that a healthy diet includes heart-healthy foods. A junk food habit generally includes saturated fats.

So why is saturated fat bad?

Instead of saturated fats that clog arteries and represent unhealthy fats, you need to switch to monounsaturated fat foods which can be found in healthy options such as avocados, unsalted nuts such as almonds, cashews, peanuts, and walnuts.  Extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil and seeds are also good healthy food options for a heart-healthy diet.

3 NUTRITIOUS FOODS

In general, nutritious foods are not addictive in the way that junk food can be.

Healthy foods to eat everyday should include the healthiest vegetables and the healthiest fruits. Good nutritious vegetables can contribute to low calorie meals and healthy fats ensure you have a healthy diet.

Having breakfast smoothies is one of the best ways to eat well and have healthy food in your diet. Another way is to have good snacks available to ensure that you eat a balanced diet.

4 HEALTHY SMOOTHIES

Food cravings often result from the added sugar in many processed foods so that these foods can in fact become addictive foods.

How can we avoid the addictive food and establish a healthy diet?

We need to provide healthy food to eat every day. One of the best ways to do this is to make breakfast smoothies.

Smoothies are one of the best ways to provide healthy meals for weight loss, so to overcome the desire for junk food, why not mix up healthy drinks in the form of healthy smoothies?

Breakfast smoothies can be made with all the freshest, healthiest fruits and vegetables.  It is also a low-calorie breakfast that ensures that you eat well every day.

5 HEALTHY WEIGHT

As an incentive to controlling junk food cravings, always remember that a balanced diet containing healthy foods and good carbs will lead to a healthy weight.

So, what is a healthy weight?

A healthy weight is generally regarded as the weight that is normal for your height.  This is often determined by knowing your BMI (Body Mass Index) and keeping it within the recommended normal range.  [Your BMI can be calculated by simply dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters].

You must provide healthy meals for weight loss, as well as healthy snacks. These meals will contain nutritious food that are low calorie filling foods. The best includes lean protein, high protein low-calorie foods that will allow you to eat well.

6 THE HEALTHIEST VEGETABLES

To eat well, you need to have a balanced diet which includes the healthiest vegetables. These vegetables can be included in good snacks, especially snacks for diabetics.

The healthiest vegetables contain the essential nutrients the body needs for a more balanced diet. They constitute a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and the antioxidants the body needs for a healthy diet.

To control junk food cravings, simply buy lots of the healthiest vegetables you can find in your grocery store, such as carrots or cucumbers. These healthy foods become healthy snacks to have on hand to combat the desire for addictive food.

7 THE HEALTHIEST FRUITS

Food cravings can be offset by eating healthy food in a balanced diet.  To eat well you must eliminate excess stress and your cookie cravings will reduce when you discover apple health benefits. You know the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.  Remember this when you feel emotional eating desires.

Some of the healthiest fruits are oranges, apples, berries, lemons, grapefruit, mango, and pineapples… all nutritious food as they contain vitamins and antioxidants and have powerful effects on the immune system.

When you feel under stress or have an attack of junk food cravings, reach for an apple, especially for late night snacks.

8 STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress, more particularly work stress, can lead to emotional eating and this can wreak havoc to a balanced diet.  So, it is necessary to find ways to release stress.

The first step when deciding to destress is to recognize stress symptoms.

Stress symptoms include emotional and physical symptoms such as digestion and sleeping difficulty.  Eliminating the causes of the symptoms is known as effective stress management. This will ensure that you do not succumb to bad eating habits such as reaching for late night snacks.

9 HEALTHY SNACKS

The best way to replace unhealthy addictive food is to find more healthy options. This means not only low-calorie meals but deciding on a low-calorie snack. This will include eating the healthiest fruits and the healthiest vegetables.

The best way to start is to prepare healthy snacks in advance… such as a having a handful of mixed healthy nuts mid-afternoon when the sugar urge inevitably hits.

This helps to control your junk food cravings.

10 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Healthy living includes not only nutritious food, but good lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise and reduction in work stress.

Developing healthy eating habits starts with a well-balanced diet… eating lots of healthy meals packed with nutritious food to maintain a healthy weight.  Include lots of healthy fats, especially heart-healthy fats.

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