Any idea on how to avoid junk food?

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  • amuhlou
    amuhlou Posts: 693 Member
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    Either A) Don't buy it (can't eat what's not there) or B) after you buy it separate it into single serve baggies and then you can eat 1 whole baggie of snack (and then log it)!!

    This would be my advice too for the most part. Get a food scale to weigh out portions if need be. If you can start to work in healthier options though, you eventually won't have as much of a taste for the really junky stuff.

    You may be able to also do some swaps if you analyze what you like about certain 'junk' foods. For example, if you like potato chips because they're crunchy, maybe there's a lower fat, baked version that could cut calories and still satisfy your desire for crunch. If you're really adventurous, try making your own kale chips (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/)

    Salsa can be another awesome swap - in one comparison I did, 2TBSP of salsa had 75% fewer calories than French Onion chip dip (not to mention 0g fat vs 5g).

    I think having any food be totally 'off limits' is what makes people fail at diets. I enjoy food too much. I'd rather just use those not-so-good foods as a 'treat' that I plan for in advance. If I want my snackwell's cookie in the evening, I need to make sure I stick to my plan throughout the day and get my workout in. You CAN eat the foods you want occasionally, if you're willing to make the numbers work elsewhere.
  • jsjaclark
    jsjaclark Posts: 303
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    I just avoid buying any. I do most of the grocery shopping so it is easy not to buy. If my husband or kids want "junk" I usually tell them they have to go to the store. They generally don't want to do that - they didn't want the junk that badly.
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
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    It's much easier to just not buy it, true. But when you share the household with others (hubby, teenagers, etc.) it's more challenging. Try finding out what kinds of "junk" food the others like that YOU won't be tempted by. When my teenagers were still home, I would buy the chips that they liked that I didn't or snacks they liked but I didn't. I love Doritos, as do they. But they also like funions - ew, no thanks. So I would buy the funions that didn't even tempt me. They were happy, I was happy.

    This is exactly what I do, and it works for me!
  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
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    Just don't buy it.
  • feellikeamillion
    feellikeamillion Posts: 14
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    Don't buy it. I have no junk food in my house, and if someone does buy it, I throw it out. They learn very quickly.
  • TeresaC79
    TeresaC79 Posts: 316 Member
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    We just don't buy it. We've always been adamant about the way we buy food...natural, healthy, and all the ingredients are words I can pronounce and know what they are. Simple things "peanuts, salt, water" etc....

    Replace those junky foods with snack-ish alternatives. We love Nut Thins with Hummus. Carrots in hummus are one of my kids' favorites.

    My kids have never had a potato chip. Ever.

    I was hyper aware of the really bad choices my mom made for us when I was kid, so I was super sure to introduce my kids to healthy options from the onset.

    If you are serious about changing your eating habits, you'll probably need to make steps to changing your families culture as well. Stop buying the crap and no kid, teen or not, is going to starve themselves.

    I recently saw a blog post or article where a mom stopped buying crap. Her teen kids wanted a snack. She took up a big plate of fruits and veggies. They complained and she just left and said "If you change your mind." The refused to eat it at first, but when she came back up an hour later, it was all gone.

    I firmly believe that you can make a cultural change in your family when it comes to food if you really want it.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    I can't seem to find the will power to avoid junk food when its in my house! I don't want it and I know it's silly to let something have such power over me...I just want to be able to walk by it and blow it off....Any ideas? Thanks

    1. Don't buy it.

    2. If you end up having it in the house somehow, then measure out 1 serving and stick to just that. Eat it slowly and enjoy it. Budget it into your calories.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    I stopped buying it for anyone in the house. Everyone is retraining to healthy eating along with me. My daughter is enjoying going to the bulk food store and exploring new snacks in the healthier aisles. She's really skinny so I allow her more wiggle room for her growing needs. In the last week she has discovered salted broadbeans, sweet cajun trailmix, dry roasted almonds, cinnamon apple chips, flavored soy beans, dried strawberries, and loves organic carrots. If she can convert, anyone can because this girl loves her junk food from the corner store.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    You simply just don't buy it, if it must be purchased than the other person keeps it under lock and key. Or find acceptable, healthier, alternatives. Honestly we eat rice cakes and fruit. There are some things that I just can't give up in it's entirety, like chocolate. I also found that by not having items in my house for a long time (like tater tots) when they are in the house they have less of a pull on me (that bag of tater tots has been in there for better than a week, which is unheard of in my house). Detox your house, and then slowly add things back, and get some control over yourself.
  • KaySera
    KaySera Posts: 45 Member
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    I can't seem to find the will power to avoid junk food when its in my house! I don't want it and I know it's silly to let something have such power over me...I just want to be able to walk by it and blow it off....Any ideas? Thanks

    1. Don't buy it.

    2. If you end up having it in the house somehow, then measure out 1 serving and stick to just that. Eat it slowly and enjoy it. Budget it into your calories.

    ^^^^THIS^^^^ On the very rare occasion I buy "junk" food, I separate it, put a portion into a baggie and FREEZE them. By the time its defrosted, you'll probably have forgotten you wanted it in the first place. There they are......at the back of the bottom freezer drawer (beside my frozen credit cards!)

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