How to stop eating junk food?

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!

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.

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.

Just 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.

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 you can bear to white knuckle long enough for it to transform into an enjoyable habit:

• Sit -> walk on treadmill / exercise bike / whatever 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 (no butter ya sneaky bugger) etc
• Repeat until ??? -> Portion control. You don't take the whole bag of chips out of the kitchen, you take out a small bowl full and that's your limit

Pick whichever one you want.

Change is hard. We kinda hate it. But it's worth it.

Replace it with normal food (during meals).

• 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

Don't go shopping when hungry.

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.

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 😢

@PostWatchBot@lemy.lol

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?

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 can't drive to work and also afford junk food

Talk to a therapist. Work out what's really bothering you, or at least how to be more mindful.

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.

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.

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

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.

A 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.

You have what is called an “addiction”. An addiction is a self-destructive behavior you can’t control. Or rather, that you can control but not with the normal ease at which you normally control your own actions.

There’s two ways out of an addiction. One is far more effective than the other.

The method that’s more effective short term, but less effective long term, is willpower. Just force yourself to hold off on those treats. Wait five minutes, then dig in. Next time, try waiting six minutes. Just brute force your way out of the behavior.

The method that is less immediately effective, but far more effective long term, is to heal your psychological trauma so that moment-to-moment consciousness is not painful. This will remove the base motivation for pleasure-seeking, making that junk food mildly attractive, but nothing more.

In my own experience with addiction, brute forcing an addiction merely leads to another addiction forming. The only lasting addiction relief I’ve gotten in my life is from deep psychotherapeutic work, with men’s groups, with zen training, with individual therapy, and with native american healing ceremonies.

If your addiction were to alcohol or crack or something else that debilitated you, I’d recommend starting with the brute force method just to get breathing room. But a junk food addiction is more subtle, and doesn’t immediately debilitate you, so my recommendation is to go for the trauma healing strategy.

However, if your job is at all in danger, then I recommend the brute force method to begin with, because the inflammation caused by junk food will affect your job performance and if there’s any danger of losing your job then you need to take immediate action to protect it.

1. 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.
2. 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.

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 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

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 💪

Try to replace what you currently eat with something else that is snacky but healthy like carrots, nuts or grapes.