Let me define junkfood — yes we all know that we should eat cookies, chips, fried foods.  What I also want to throw in the mix is processed foods.  Some many times I read a food journal and they are “lite foods” “non-fat” foods. Many of these foods are “processed” to make them healthier. Honestly these are no better than junk food. You “feel” better about them because the front of the package may say “healthy” “natural” “whole grain” I encourage you all to read your food labels. 

Have you ever tried one of those diets that claimed to help you burn fat and lose weight at a miraculous rate’ You tried it, and it actually worked. The problem was, it did not allow your body to ingest the minerals, nutrients and vitamins it needs to be healthy, so you eventually regained all the weight you lost and even more. I know that has happened to me in the past, when  I denied myself of EVERYTHING and BOOM the willpower damn power and I was head first in to a pint of ice cream.  That is the same danger that exists when you attempt to quit junk food overnight.

Your body is the most amazing machine ever created. In conjunction with your brain, it learns to adapt your physical growth to whatever fuel you give it. That is why people can live their entire life eating food which is not that healthy for them. The brain and body will keep working hard to let you live as long as possible, in spite of your bad eating habits.

When you feed yourself junk food on a regular basis, your brain tells your body to get used to it. Plus, our brains get lit up by the combination of sugar, salt and fat. If you cut junk food off dramatically, your brain won’t like it. You may trigger cravings. If you are currently experiencing cravings these cravings may intensify.

Since you are tackling in many cases emotional and mental dependency, the most successful route to defeat junk food addiction is to take it slow.

• Begin by keeping a food journal, and write down EVERYTHING you ingest
• Eating 10 junk food items every week, perhaps cut back to 7 or 8 junk food rewards the first week
• Review your list of stuff and think what could be the easiest thing to give up.

Slowly taper down weekly, and forget about a cold turkey approach. There is a reason why your addiction to junk food is so strong. And that means that even if cold turkey quitting works in the short term, your success is often short-lived, and you go rushing back to junk food eventually.

Want an action guide to help you get though your junk food detox’

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1. You Crave Junk Food Because You Are Eating Too Much Processed Foods  — Junk food has so little nutritional value that the more you eat, your body is not getting what it need to sustain you.  When you are lacking in healthy minerals and nutrition your body sends out signals that you are always hungry because it’s looking for you to eat those nutrients. Instead of reaching for the missing nutrient, you reach for something to solve the hunger problem, and you may find that’s junk food in your hand again. One of the biggest culprits of processed foods hiding as healthy foods is the “low-fat” “reduced fat” or the foods made my large diet company’s having you think that it’s healthier to eat than the tradition fat foods. Ladies, you want to do your homework — read the ingredients, if you need a college degree put it back on the shelf.
2. You Crave Junk Food Because Devil on Your Shoulder Tells You To — Believe it or not most junk food is engineered to make us eat as much as we can!! Yup, scientist know that when they combine fat an sweet or fat and salt our brains just LIGHT UP!!  Your brain tells you to get more of that thing which just made it feel so happy. Then our stomaches are like Mother of Pearl so stuffing your face, I can’t handle any more food. If you find this fascinating there a great book, called Sugar, Fat And Salt that details the science that food companies use to encourage us to eat and eat and eat. In fact some studies have link junk food ingredients to have the same effect on our brains as cocaine and other narcotics.
3. You Crave Junk Food Because You Need A Boost  — My energy use to plummet around 4:30pm I had about 1 hour left to work and I was like give me anything to get me through the next hour until I could get home to raid the fridge. Anyone else feel that way –LOL.  We love junk food because it’s packed with sugar and other sweeteners.  Just want you need to get you through that last hour or two of work. Unhealthy, sugar-filled snacks will definitely give you a quick boost. But this artificial energy leads to an inevitable crash. And it is accompanied by other unhealthy chemicals and processed ingredients that do your body and your mind more damage than good. One way to overcome this is to look at your sleep. Are you sleeping enough the average American gets less than 6 hours, telling themselves they can get by on less and they will make it up on the weekend. This fact alone will keep you stuck in the late afternoon craving cycle. Start by giving yourself a bed time by counting back 8 hours from when you need to get up. I know that may sound like crazy talk, but if you are at least in bed at the 8 hour mark you can gradually start to unwind and then at least get 7 hours of sleep. Give this a try and report back on your late afternoon cravings.
4. You Crave Junk Food Because You Just Finished Eating a Meal — This may sound a little crazy, but when you leave food particles in your mouth after eating, you can actually stimulate junk food cravings. If it is not possible for you to brush her teeth after you eat a meal, rinse your mouth out with water or chew xylitol dental gum (helps clean your mouth). Not every meal deserves desert after. You NEED that sweet treat after a meal go for a piece of fruit. There are also plenty of teas available, my favorite is mint tea love it!!!
5. You Crave Junk Food Because Your Emotions (Happy or Sad) Tell You Go For It —  Up to 75% of overeating happens as an emotional response. And this can often times mean reaching for unhealthy junk food and comfort food. One of the best tips I’ve ever read is to place a not on the jar or bottle of whatever you tend to reach for the most. The note simply says WHY ARE YOU EATING’ That is your pause. In this pause you check in with you body to determine am I  Bored’ Angry’ Tired’ Lonely’ or truly hungry” If you are someone who emotionally eats, I have another amazing book that I recommend, 50 Ways To Soothe Yourself Without Food. Great book filled with practical advice that you can actually do. I’ve also done a podcast about it.

I hope these tips were helpful for you. I’ll be spending the next month discussing emotional eating because I know it effects so many of us. I’m in the process of creating a 5 day emotional email ecourse, if you want to be notified when it’s available, click here to sign up to get on the list.

The post 5 Reasons You Crave Junk Food appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

1. You Crave Junk Food Simply Because You Eat Junk Food — Junk food has so little nutritional value that the more you eat, the more lacking in healthy minerals and nutrition your body becomes. You do not receive enough healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but the food tastes great and gives you a boost. Your brain tells you that you are still hungry, since it needs the essential nutritional components it is missing. You reach for something more to eat to solve the hunger problem, and you find junk food in your hand again.
2. You Crave Junk Food Because Your Brain Tells You To — Many unhealthy foods are intentionally engineered to set off a pleasure response in your brain. Foods filled with sugar, salt and fat automatically send a signal to your brain that makes it feel good. In response, your brain tells you to get more of that thing which just made it feel so happy. That is why eating junk food just once can turn into nearly irresistible junk food cravings in some people.
3. You Crave Junk Food Because You Are Tired and Worn Out — Junk food is often jam-packed with sugar and other sweeteners. You are lagging in the middle of the morning or afternoon, and you need a quick pick-me-up. Unhealthy, sugar-filled snacks will definitely give you a quick boost. But this artificial energy leads to an inevitable crash. And it is accompanied by other unhealthy chemicals and processed ingredients that do your body and your mind more damage than good
4. .You Crave Junk Food Because You Just Finished Eating a Meal — This may sound a little weird, but when you leave food particles in your mouth after eating, you can actually stimulate junk food cravings. If it is not possible for you to brush her teeth after you eat a meal, rinse your mouth out with water or chew gum (helps clean your mouth).
5. You Crave Junk Food Because You Are Very Happy… Or Very Sad — It is widely known in the medical and health communities that up to 75% of overeating happens as an emotional response. And this can often times mean reaching for unhealthy junk food and comfort food.

If you find that you are an emotional eater, listen to my podcast reviewing the book 50 Ways to Soothe Without Food.

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