cmgvd3lwHow to stop eating junk food?
Try to replace what you currently eat with something else that is snacky but healthy like carrots or grapes.
Following as I’m in the same boat as you… for me the only thing that helps is when I’m doing one of my hobbies or something else, although usually I end up forgetting to eat in that scenario 😢
Find hobbies or projects or do stuff with friends to the point that you don’t have time for movies and youtube
When you’re at the store, don’t buy junk food. If it’s in the house it’ll be extremely difficult to say no to, but while shopying it’s easier to make a more rational decision. Also, plan your meals for the week and maybe meal prep
Basically we all need to learn how to hack ourselves.
Whatever that may look like for you is fine, so long as the hacks don’t cause secondary problems then whatever works works.
Your Ritual = sit, watch, snack on crap, repeat until ??
So maybe try and replace each bit, one at a time, and see what can become a habit:
Sit -> walk on treadmill while you watch, or go outside for a walk while you listen to podcasts etc
Watch -> listening to podcasts and music or video audio frees up your eyes to be doing a crazy or hobby while you listen. This also means your hands will be occupied and not snacking.
Snack -> swap in fresh sweet crunchy veg (carrots, sweet bell pepper etc) or popcorn
Repeat until ??? -> Portion control. You don’t take the whole bag of chips out of the kitchen, you take out a small bowl fun and that’s your limit
don’t buy it. ever. and if people bring it over make them take it back. make grocery lists before going to the store with healthy snacks you like on it or meal plan filling meals. and eat before you go to the store so you shop with your head, not your stomach lolol.
grasshopper_mouseJust stop buying that kind of food if you can’t control your consumption of it. If that’s too extreme for you, buy less of it, and when you do eat some, put one serving in a bowl and eat it out of the bowl. When the serving is gone, no more, no refills, you’re done snacking on that food.
This is ultimately about your willpower.
You could try to start replacing individual things with better alternatives. Its much harder to just suddenly change your diet
This is my trick. Keep lots of fruits and healthy crackers around, especially ones that are easy to eat - grapes, berries, apples, etc.
This helped solidify my next post/series aha, thankya
I find your third point interesting. I read something a while back that suggested some cigarette smokers got started or hooked because of a compulsive need to have hands and/or mouth preoccupied, particularly in stressful situations. I think it was called something like digital-oral fixation? Anyways, I wonder if that’s one of the reasons behind constant snacking. Maybe a stress response paired with a compulsive disorder…
IgnisAvemIt’s actually incredibly common. Think about all the people who bite on the end of their pen or always have a drink (like a water bottle or coffee) to hand
I love me some salty food so I feel the pain. I’ll echo the sentiment of not buying it in the first place. Will power is an exhaustible resource.
I find that it almost doesn’t matter what I snack on I just want to snack. I will literally buy a huge bag of carrots and just eat those. Or my other favorite is toss a couple of strained cans of garbanzo beans in an air fryer, spray a bit of cooking spray, toast those suckers for 25 min, and salt/season them for a protein heavy snack that actually has fiber. Cheap, easy, and gives me similar vibes to a potato chip in an incredibly more healthy way.
Thanks for the chickpea recipe! To add to your carrot tip: when I buy them I peel them straight away and store them in a sealed container in the fridge. They stay crispy and juicy that way.
I get them whole and eat them whole. So dang cheap. Like $3 for a 5lb bag. I get made fun of endlessly by some, but I joke that if it were a bag of Doritos no one would bat an eye and that says a lot about the state of things. My wife joked that I have “car carrots” and just leave a big bag of carrots in the car if the weather permits.
I am never hungry for a snack if I eat 2lbs of raw carrots.
Car carrots! Genius.
It can be tough to break from habitual behavior in the moment (i.e. when you’re reaching for a snack). Instead try putting some effort on making it harder or more inconvenient to indulge in that habit, while also giving yourself alternatives so it doesn’t feel too torturous and make you want to give up.
For example, I’m guessing it will be a lot less emotionally “painful” to resist buying those snacks when you’re out grocery shopping than it will be to resist grabbing them when they are already in your pantry. Use that to your advantage and stop buying the worst ones and try replacing them with a few healthier alternatives so that when the urge to snack hits at least the worst options are not available to you.
I’m hardly the healthiest eater, but a good apple sliced up satisfies a lot of my urges to snack. Baby carrots with hummus also keep your mouth busy and fill you up with relatively few calories. Try a few fruit/veggie snacks to see if any scratch your itch to snack. You don’t have to change 100%, if you can break the junk food habit even 1/4 of the time, that’s a step.
Another thing that’s worked for me is portion control. Instead of bringing the whole bag of chips with you, pour a bowl and leave the rest in the kitchen. You might go back for seconds sometimes, but it still creates a barrier to eating more.
I think the most important thing is don’t try to make it all or nothing. That will just set you up for failure and frustration. Take steps that are meaningful but achievable. And when you have the motivation, try to think of ways to set yourself up for it to be easier to make good choices when you have less motivation. You got this 💪
NacktmullI stopped eating sweets by not buying them any more. It´s just takes a second to walk past a product in the store and when you don´t have them at home it´s easy to not eat them. This applies to any kind of food
Jo MiranI was able to curb my nervous/bored eating and drinking with bitters and sours. Instead of reaching for food I now reach for some tea (with just lemon), coffee (decaf black), a glass of water with lemon, or just suck on a lime wedge. The lime thing is mostly to curb alcohol cravings.
PS: My wife’s answer was Kombucha. Everybody is different.
ilovetacosSpice also works. I find eating/drinking something with an intense flavor profile ups the satiety so you eat less without feeling like you ate less.
dan1101Don’t buy it, or switch to things like nuts or popcorn that you can eat a lot of without it being too unhealthy.
funkajunkThis is just bad advice. Nuts are very calorie dense, so you can easily put yourself in a calorie surplus for the day.
I still have some of it in my house, but over the past year I’ve cut down majorly, by refusing to snack during the day, and tracking my calories each day. Just being aware of what I ate made a huge difference. Also, instead of ice cream, I buy TruFru dark chocolate raspberries and just have a few each night. I’ve lost about 50 pounds since last January through diet and exercise.
So many people still don’t realize that weight loss comes down to 90% diet and 10% exercise.
I’d say it’s more like 70/30 personally. It also gives you some wiggle room with a low cal diet. But you definitely can’t just do some running then go out for bucket of KFC all the time.
Calories burned from running isn’t that great of a return.
An estimate is that a 200 pound person burns 792 calories per hour running at 5mph (12min/mile, or 8kph) on a firm, level surface. A 140 pound person burns 555 calories in the same scenario.
Source: captaincalculator.com/…/calories-burned-running-c…
It’s much simpler to not consume excess calories, if you maintain a caloric deficit and don’t exercise at all you will lose weight.
Calories Burned Running | Calculator & Tables – Captain Calculator
The number of calories burned running will depend on your weight, the distance and speed you run, and the type and level of terrain. An estimate is that a 200 pound person burns 792 calories per hour running at 5mph (12min/mile, or 8kph) on a firm, level surface. A 140 pound person burns 555 calories in the same scenario.
So yeah, with a 1500 calorie deficit diet, that’s about a 3rd of what you eat for the day, so like 33%. That’s a pretty big chunk, and easily allows you to snack on occasion and still hit your deficit. I’d say it’s pretty helpful, but diet is still absolutely necessary for any results.
Don’t have it in the house. Don’t buy it. Don’t even go down those aisles in the store.
TedrowThis is the only way. I lack all self control to not eat junk food and sweets. I never buy them for this reason. Only eat dessert and junk food if I’m out or it is provided for me somewhere else.
After reading over the comments in this thread, it’s plain to see a common theme:
Stop putting the bad food in your mouth.
I just want you to consider one more aspect of it. I’ve seen this discussed and backed up with scientific articles but I’m too lazy to find and include them in my post. Basically, all your cravings originate from your gut and your gut is ruled by the bacteria that have made your gut their home over the years. You’ve colonized your gut with a particular set of bacteria by giving them what you eat.
Now, if you change that food pattern, these bacteria, that control the gut, will make your body release chemicals that will make you crave for food that will keep them alive. Realise this and act accordingly. Being conscious about it has helped me overcome many food related ‘addictions’ i had like that of soda, of wafers. I still fall prey when I consume sweets continuously for a few days during festivities. Everytime it is the same struggle against the cravings, but I realise I’m just fighting against the settlers in my gut, brave it for a few days and notice my cravings become dull over time. Probiotics like kimchi, saurkraut, kefir, kombucha etc. help to some extent but ultimately it is more of a mind game.
Make what you will from my advice, but it does work for me. I wish you all the best in your fight against your gut settlers.
Are you hungry or just bored and looking for extra stimulation while enjoying some entertainment? Have you considered a fidget toy or something to keep your hands occupied? A puzzle? Knitting? Chewing gum?
Call me Lenny/LeniA friend of mine stopped their addiction by developing the habit of putting junk food in the freezer. The freezer makes it taste better but forces you to wait out the craving because it has to get cold.
Everyone is saying don’t but snack foods, which is one step. But if you don’t have some form of healthy snacks on hand, you’re just going to revert back to it. I suggest dehydrating fruits and having nuts and seeds available so you can still snack but not feel bad about it.
I’ve replaced most of my sweet snacks with things like cheese or pumpkin seeds or cashews. It’s made a huge difference.
If I really want something sweet, like you mentioned, I usually have dehydrated fruit or Greek yogurt with fruit.
Definitely took time and effort to find healthier snacks but it’s been worth it.
kamihekuNuts have hella calories though, you shouldn’t go too crazy snacking on them
Dried fruit and nuts are all super calorie-rich options.
Fresh fruit will be healthier. It’s still possible to overdo it, just more difficult.
For something basically impossible to eat many calories with, vegetables kick butt. Cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumbers, and so on are the way to go.
TruFru raspberries taste like frozen treats, and they are, but they’re mostly just whole rasperries.
Most people here recommend stopping something not taking into account that it may not last long. One slip and you’re back. No addiction is cured by stopping immediately. It has to be steady and progressive so that there’s zero stress during transition.
First, start combining junk food with healthier meals. Like once a week, have something semi-healthy. Find something that tastes right for you. It may be not completely healthy, but the main thing is that you should enjoy it. Then start expanding it to more days per week. Repeat until the week days are all “semi-healthy” food. Next step, do the same but lean towards even healthier food, repeat the same process. Start marking cheat days on your calendar, when you can eat whatever you want. At this point you want to make eating healthy food a habit, and cheat days (1-3 per month) as an exception.
I used to drink lots of Lipton Ice Tea. First I switched to some other drink but with less sugar. Then I switched to Cola Zero. Then I started drinking mineral water. Now I basically drink just water and occasionally some Coke Zero. Same scenario also worked for smoking.
I think that the real answer is that different things work for different people.
Personally when I make changes in my life I always go 100% straight away. I have a really hard time with half measures. Like when i wanted to lose 5 kg I started logging everything i ate and just was super strict with ny kcal intake for a year to not gain it back, no cheat days. And when i went vegan a few years later i did that cold turkey.
Go to the grocery store when you’ve already eaten.
Allow yourself to purchase 1 kind of junk food per week only (it’s ok to have a treat, going whole hog can just make you go back to buying crap). Purchase health snacks as alternatives to the rest. Personally I go for things like cashews, carrots, and healthier chips (I can’t eat anything with gluten, so already forced to avoid some things. Because of the GF health craze that hit some years ago, a lot of GF foods are fairly healthy, so you may want to look at those to make it easier to start selection).
Schedule time to do meal and snack prep. Watch something while you make it, I like to re-watch shows so I don’t have to pay a lot of attention to them while I cook. I work from home, so it’s mostly stuff I can combine with other things - tons of rice, chicken I can add to rice to make fried rice or drop in some soup with rice noodles, etc. You’ll need to figure out what type of foods you want quick access to.
Hope this helps!
JWBananasTalk to a therapist. Work out what’s really bothering you, or at least how to be more mindful.
Lots of stop buying it comments in here. How about: Stop watching so many videos? The best way to stop eating is to occupy your mind amnd hands. Got any hobbies? Get one that involves using your hands and concentration. You must find something that you personally enjoy. You can’t eat if you’re busy concentrating on something you like doing while occupying your hands!
I suggest board games. Helped me quit video games. And if you think that takes off physical activity, well…takes 1 season and one movie to catch up with me on it but Firefly is the best board game (hell…set of board games even) I have and is a lot of work to set up and build for play.
Also, it might take time.
For completely different reasons I started to draw, like 5 minutes a day (that was tougher than most things I have done, weirdly) and keeping at it for a couple of months.
Thats the way to go from one(less good) thing to another, reliably doing it every day, and quickly (well they say 90 days) it becomes an easy and pleasant thing you like to do.
Did it with jogging too, took longer (as I wasnt in shape for it, had crap shoes, back and muscles) but eventually it became a nice thing to do too.
And it all ads up, helping. I mean life is hard.
Pro tip, one day check out keto, and the idea about stopping eating all kind of sugar (potatoes, candy, snacks, processed food…). Don’t rush it but know that it’s really good for both your physical health(who would have thought eh) but also for your mental health, it’s quite the thing. So maybe one day eh!
Last words; everyone can do it, it just takes time. If you dont have the mental, just take it slower and it’ll come around.
Don’t go shopping when hungry.
Replace it with normal food (during meals).
Are you a cheapskate or easily motivated by money? Set yourself a modest junk food budget for a month and track your spending. Set a financial reward for yourself (buy something you want) when you hit that target. Then set a lower target and a longer term reward. Forgive yourself if you go over, and don’t give up.
Junk food is so expensive now that you’ll blow through that budget in no time. Realizing how much this addiction costs you (like weed, smoking, drinking, gambling, etc) is often a great way to make the decision to kick the habit. Even if you can’t stay within the budget, keep tracking your spending. The goal is to reduce if stopping cold turkey isn’t your thing.
If this isn’t for you, what everyone else said might work too.
Make a shopping list and be strict with yourself about what you add to it. Then restrict yourself from buying anything not on the list so that you stick to it. Best way (that I know) to be deliberate about what food comes home with you.
Like others have said one of the easiest things to do is simply don’t buy the junk.
Personally I found that the real game changer is finding a healthy snacking alternative. For me this is almonds and dried apricots. They’re still quite a ‘dense’ energy snack but it scratches the sweet tooth itch and is much more filling. Plus you get the added protein, fats & micro nutrients that you would usually miss in processed items.
Try out some different alternatives (my wife loves to snack on dates and Greek yoghurt for example) and try mainly just to focus on finding something you enjoy so you can swap the habit.
Good luck!
Think about how much it costs in total for a month’s worth of junk food for you. Then figure out all the things you could do with that money instead. Helped me a lot when gas is high and I either can’t drive to work and also afford junk food
Drinking lots of water or brushing your teeth might help you resist the urge.
I read somewhere that often when we are feeling slightly hungry we are actually thirsty and our body knows there is moisture in healthier foods. But we tend to aim for salty dried out snacks that really have no benefit. So I suggest getting a large water bottle and make the effort to drink when feeling hungry. That’s what I do.
- don’t buy the junk.
- don’t snack, you’re not 6 months old to need to eat at 3 hours interval.
- during the transition period try to find alternatives like carrot sticks or whatever.
- don’t eat at TV or equivalent, eat only at the dinning table when you decide and without distractions.
Good luck
Make sure you don’t have any mental disorders that you aren’t aware of. Watch actual doctors (like Dr. K) on YouTube to figure this out. You’d be surprised how subtly a disorder can impact the rest of your life.
Do something more fulfilling. A decent chunk of the stuff you watch isn’t helpful and doesn’t satisfy you, so it’s probably better to watch some really good movies/videos/shows so that you give it your full attention. If that doesn’t work, find hobbies that do capture your attention.
Popcorn. Home made not bought.
Now if you want to go super healthy, air popped with no butter is so low calorie that you can basically not count it. Oil popped is a little higher, but still much better. Its only once you start drowning it in butter that it gets not so good for you. Also if you like it SALTY theres that…
But once you do a little digging into infusing oils and flavored salts and spice mixes, you can make some mind blowing shit. Popping the kernels in chilli infused oil and then hit them with a lemon and garlic salt… fuck yeah.
Get lazy enough not to get up and get it, then it’s easier to go longer without it and eventually (I think 1-2 weeks) you’ll probably not even feel hungry for snacks.
I said this in another comment, get a water bottle. Our bodies use hunger knowing real food has water in it. But if the water isn’t working out for you, try switching the snacks to something that might be up your alley. Instead of a chip dip or cheese, try salsa. Someone suggested carrot or celery sticks, get a jar of peanut butter just to dip them in. Carrots and peanut butter is amazing. And to make meal time better, start cooking yourself. Watch a ton of cooking videos on YouTube and try making some easy recipes.
PyrStop buying it.
It’s a lot easier to stop yourself from eating a bag of chips while watching YouTube if it’s not just sitting there in your pantry and you have to go to the store to buy it.
You just have to resist the urge to get the junk food during your grocery trips, not every hour you’re at home and bored.
Atelopus-zetekiExactly what I came here to say.