Addicted to Junk food? Here's a solution.

Your choices.

Ok guys! This is a question I have been continuously asked and I am sure at some point you guys asked yourself about it too. Why is it so hard for us to adjust to a healthy lifestyle?

We already know what we should eat and we know what does us good and what does not. So why do we keep going back to junk food? and why in the world does it not seem to matter that our lives and health are at risk by making constant bad food choices?

We have talked before about cravings and why they actually happen. To refresh your memory we crave fatty foods because they are an instant source of energy and because of the pleasure/happiness that we get off of the high amounts of sugar or fats in them.

But why can't we stop? Sometimes we have to admit that there is no other choice but to go to a fast food restaurant based on our lifestyles or because of lack of time. We have to understand that at some point we will have to eat it and every once in a while (not often preferably) it is not bad to give yourself a little treat but always remembering the amount of food we are ingesting and how it will affect us.

So moving on to how to make great food choices... start from the beginning. Our bodies create a like for the usual products that we eat or the foods that we usually encounter. This is because our palate gets used to the different flavors once we have introduced them to it continuously (though there are certain things that just dislike us... like some vegetables). When I say to start from the beginning I meant to start having good food choices since the moment you have enough conscience to be able to understand what is good for you and what is not. By doing this you will start training your palate and you will learn how to enjoy and love the food you eat.

If you happen to be an adult or a teenager who has made really bad choices for most of his/her life and is now looking for better choices or a better lifestyle I have to warn you it will not be easy. I have to agree that since one is a kid, we are bombarded with advertisements and attracted in to going to fast food restaurants because of the toys or the playgrounds. We need to understand the importance of making good food choices and for this we need our parents to guide us through our childhood with the best nutrition possible, by doing this our bodies get used to that kind of food.

Studies actually show that we crave less fatty and sugary foods when we have limited consumption to it. So by having a good choice of foods during the week for instance and having one day in which you treat yourself to dessert or to a burger is an example of limited consumption of junk food. So what is the first start to making great food choices? the first step to doing this is by limiting our sugar and fat consumption and knowing the caloric values for the foods we eat in order to have control of the amount of calories we are taking in a day.

After limiting your sugar and fat intake (which will be hard after so many bad habits) and breaking your old habits, introducing a kind of exercise that you like into your daily lives is probably the best way to go.
Then reducing carbs to a more limited amount and introducing more vegetables and less processed foods.

"If it can last up to more than 4 days its probably not that good for you"

You will see after making these changes that you can have more control over the food you eat in contrast to it having control over you. And you will feel less need for those sugary and fatty foods.