3 Easy Tips To Kick Your Junk Food Addiction

Americans love junk food and if you are anything like me, there are certain foods that you know your willpower has no chance against. Recently, at a Fourth of July party, I was reminded that Rice Krispies Treats are a weakness of mine. That little bit of crunch with gooey goodness will have me coming back for more. In fact, if they are available, I’ll consume all the way to “sugar headache” status.

The truth is that we all desire to be healthy, but we actually are up against a huge food industry that is trying to get us addicted to their products. I’ve been studying nutrition for 20 years now and it is possible to be healthy and eat delicious foods.

In this post I’m going to share with you why junk food isn’t serving us well and then give three tips that I personally practice, to help kick the junk food addictions.

The problem with junk food

Although delicious, the problem with junk food is that it actually is addictive. Research has shown that a winning formula for getting people addicted to junk food is a 1-2 ratio of fat to carbohydrates. Think doughnuts, ice cream, pizza, and macaroni and cheese; they all are approximately a 1-2 ratio.

Now contrast that 1-2 fat to carbohydrate ratio to a whole food; broccoli. Raw broccoli consists mostly of water, then 7% carbs, 3% protein, and almost no fat. I personally have never eaten broccoli to the point of a sugar headache, whereas Rice Krispies Treats I have multiple times. What about you?

Guess what the only whole food, found in nature, that is a 1-2 ratio of fat to carbohydrates is? Breast milk; the food consumed right after we go through the trauma of childbirth, and are then being comforted by our mothers, AND growing at a rapid rate.

Junk food = Ultra-processed

 Not surprisingly, almost all of the foods that we have a hard time saying no to are junk food, or also known as ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed foods are made from components extracted from whole foods and typically are made from many ingredients, such as fat, sugar, salt, artificial colors and preservatives.

Think of another whole food, an apple for example, and compare that to an ultra-processed food, Apple Jacks Cereal. An apple is one ingredient; Apple Jacks are made up of at least 33 ingredients (“natural flavors” is one of the listed ingredients, so we don’t know exactly what that is made up of).

The U.S. federal government data for 2017-2018 concluded that 57% of the American diet is made up of ultra-processed foods and whole food consumption was just 27% of total calories.

Did you catch that? More than half of the food that we eat is ultra-processed and only a quarter of the food we eat is real, whole food.

Why reducing ultra-processed food matters

It is estimated that 88% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy, meaning they have a high likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, various cancers, Alzheimer’s and other detrimental health conditions. The foods that we are eating play a major factor in our metabolic health.

Contrast to the average American, the diet of the people of the Blue Zones, the 5 parts of the world with the longest lived people groups, is made up primarily of whole foods and minimally processed foods. They rarely consume ultra-processed foods, if ever.

So how can we be more like the Blue Zone peoples and curb our junk food addiction?

3 easy tips to kick your junk food addiction

1. Make healthy versions of your favorite junk food.

Over the years I have found ways to make healthier options of most of my favorite junk foods. When I decided that Diet Coke was not serving me well, I swapped it for seltzer water with a little bit of pomegranate juice and a squeeze of lime juice. It gave me the bubbles and burn that I got from Diet Coke, but actually had health benefits, not detriments.

If I’m craving salty chips, I will eat a handful of salted pistachios or make popcorn on the stove top in coconut oil.

When I’m craving sweets, frozen bananas blended up with peanut butter and cocoa powder is HEAVENLY. Or, an apple sliced up with a side of peanut butter is another healthier option. Blended berries make a delicious fruity sorbet.

2. Stop bringing junk food home from the store.

I really, really understand that this is easily stated and harder to live out, but the longer you practice it, the easier it gets. If you do not buy junk food and bring it home, you aren’t going to be able to grab it when you reach your “hangry” point. This has been a journey for my family but I promise you it is worth it.

For many years I have bought “healthier” versions of junk foods for my family, such as organic potato chips and ice cream only made with ingredients that I could pronounce. While that is somewhat better than the alternative, it still is ultra-processed food and does not promote health.

Over the past year, I’ve bought less and less ultra-processed foods and instead I make healthier options for my family. I’ve also taught my kids how to make many of the healthier options for themselves.

Now, if my kids are craving a salty snack, instead of eating an entire bag of Costco chips in one sitting, they will make a bowl of popcorn on the stovetop and eat that. I always have fresh fruit on hand for their sweet cravings as well.

3. Plan to have your absolute favorite junk foods for “celebrations”.

Completely restricting junk foods and vowing to never eat it again does not seem to be sustainable. I have seen this method increase the likelihood of binging in a moment of weakness and then throwing the towel in defeat.

Rather, I’ve found it helpful to delay the ultra-processed junk foods for planned celebrations. In my family, we have pizza almost every Friday night. We make it at home, so it’s a healthier version than what I could buy at Little Caesars, and it is DELICIOUS!

Every Christmas morning we make copy-cat Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Again, by choosing quality ingredients and making these, they are a healthier version than what I could buy, and we only have them for planned celebrations.

Perhaps once a week you have “date night” and your tradition is ice cream. Plan to have ice cream on that night only and enjoy every bite!

Conclusion

We all desire to live life to the fullest and a big part of that is investing in our health. Health doesn’t happen passively. We have to choose to be intentional in how we care for our bodies and what we put into it them. Let’s not settle for being one of the 88% metabolically unhealthy Americans. Instead, let’s choose great food and abundant health!

I’d love to hear from you! What have you found to help you in kicking your junk food addictions?