If junk food is sabotaging your weight loss efforts, then these methods can still come in handy.
Junk food is tempting, even for the sake of ideal amounts of salt, sugar, fats and other contents. All with the aim of making us want her even more. But the fact is that the less unhealthy food we eat, the less we want it. Try the following tips that may help you avoid junk food.
#1 Sugar in 101 forms
Check food labels to see if it contains sugar, just under a different name. Look out for terms like fructose, brown rice syrup, cane juice, honey, agave nectar, etc.
#2 Avoid colorful plates
A 2018 study found that people ate more pasta and drank more soda when they ate it from a red or black plate instead of a white one. If you want to eat less overall, choose a white plate and look for rainbow colors in fresh fruits and vegetables.
#3 Break your routine
If you always go to the snack machine at 10:00 a.m., break that tradition and take a walk around the office instead. A 2015 study of 48 people found that a 15-minute walk temporarily reduced cravings for high-calorie, sugary snacks.
#4 Out of sight, out of mind
Move junk food further away so that if you want it, you have to get up, walk up the stairs and serve it. Research published in PLoS ONE in 2017 found that people are more likely to reach for crackers and chocolate placed within arm's reach compared to those placed 20 feet away.
#5 Keep healthy things on hand
Keep healthy food close at hand. With unhealthy snacks, it's usually pretty easy, just open the bag. But if you always had a sliced red pepper in the fridge, it could be tempting just as well. Especially when accompanied by hummus and nuts. Journal study Health Education & Behavior showed that people who kept only fruit on the kitchen counter had a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who kept sweets in a prominent place in the house.
#6 Know your trigger foods
Whether you have a sweet tooth and love chocolate or your weakness is salty snacks, it's important to recognize the foods that lead you astray. When you come to this realization, be careful what you put in your cart when shopping for groceries.
#7 Chew your food well
If you chew your food well, you will eat less. This was also proven by a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The next time you treat yourself to a snack like this, chew slowly and consciously. Wait until you finish one bite before taking the next.
#8 Gradually reduce your intake of junk food
Start reducing the amount of junk food gradually. Not overnight. If you indulge in half a bar of chocolate every day, gradually reduce it and eventually you will land on a single bar.
