Learn how to stop your cravings for junk food for good.
Do you want to learn how to stop craving junk food? or understand your cravings are out of control?
If you're here, it's likely that you're all too familiar with the struggle of resisting the allure of junk food. Perhaps you're concerned about a loved one's daily indulgence and want to find out how to stop craving junk food once and for all.
Craving junk food and fast food can be incredibly addictive for various reasons, such as taste and convenience. It's no secret that junk food is delicious to some people.
We all experience food cravings occasionally, But why is junk food so enticing and addictive? And why do some people struggle with junk food cravings and others not at all?
What sets it apart, and why is it so difficult to resist those junk food cravings, especially when trying to maintain a healthy diet? I will explore these reasons as to why you might be finding it difficult to stop the junk food cravings and provide effective ways to help you curb your junk food intake!
Food companies are spending millions of dollars to design foods with addictive sensations.
Junk food is precisely what it implies, food made from junk. It's not real food. It’s a slew of chemicals made to taste like food. Eating these junk foods stimulates the feel-good centres in your brain, triggering you to eat even more, making the craving for junk food overwhelmingly hard to stop. The fact is junk food stimulates the reward system in the brain in the same way as addictive drugs, such as cocaine. The more you eat, the more your body craves it.
Our taste buds can be tricked when salt, fat, and sugar are carefully combined with just right in expertly measured amounts. Market researcher and psychoanalyst, Howard Moskowitz, coined this as the 'bliss point' Manufacturers spend millions creating the perfect crunch, the perfect balance of textures and flavours, and it overrides the brain's natural 'stop' signals.
At this point, we keep returning for more, even when our bodies tell us to stop because we are experiencing pleasure.Craving junk food is designed to make you crave more; it's a downward spiral.
Steven Witherly is a food scientist who has spent the last 20 years studying what makes certain foods more addictive (and tasty) than others. Much of the science follows from his excellent report, Why Humans Like Junk Food, which is an equally disturbing and fascinating read.
How Science Creates Cravings
Scientists and food manufacturers use a variety of factors to make food more addictive, which makes food cravings incredibly difficult to overcome. But its all by design!
Dynamic Contrast
Dynamic contrast refers to a combination of different sensations in the same food. In the words of Witherly, foods with dynamic contrast have "an edible shell that goes crunch’ followed by something soft or creamy and full of taste-active compounds.
Think of the caramelised top of a creme brulee, a slice of pizza, or an Oreo cookie—the brain finds crunching through something like this novel and thrilling.
How about food that vanishes on the tongue, like Cheetos or, as we say in the UK, wotsits. They are one of the most marvellously constructed foods on the planet. The puff's uncanny ability to melt in the mouth. "It's called vanishing caloric density,’’ Witherly said. "If something melts down quickly, your brain thinks there are no calories in it. You can keep eating it forever."
Sensory Specific Response
Your brain likes variety. When it comes to food, if you experience the same taste repeatedly, you start to get less pleasure from it. Junk foods, however, are designed to avoid this sensory-specific response.
They provide enough taste to be interesting (your brain doesn't get tired of eating them). This is why you can swallow an entire bag of potato chips and still be ready to eat another. To your brain, the crunch and sensation of eating Pringles or the like are novel and exciting every time.
Calorie Density
Junk foods are designed to convince your brain that it is getting nutrition but not filling you up. Receptors in your mouth and stomach tell your brain about the mixture of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, particularly food, and how filling that food is for your body.
Junk food provides just enough calories that your brain says, "Yes, this will give you some energy", but not so many calories that you think ", That's enough; I’m full." The result is that you crave the food, to begin with, but it takes quite some time to feel full.
Food manufacturers have turned the masses into addicted and sick zombies. Many are mindlessly binging on foods and never being saited. Most are walking around undernourished and overfed. In my earlier article what’s so bad about gluten, I highlight why wheat has addictive tendencies because of how it’s now farmed.
Wheat is an appetite stimulant. It makes you want more and more. It yields particular drug-like neurological effects giving the person eating it a temporary high. If most of your diet is carbs, what are the chances that you are more likely to binge on carbs? Most report that they enter a carb coma after eating. Isn't that similar to a drug high once an addict has shot up??
Read Wheat Belly by DR William Davis. In the book, Dr William Davis criticizes modern wheat and blames it for many health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more. The book claims wheat is addictive and causes inflammation and blood sugar spikes.
You are what you eat, so don’t be cheap, fast, easy or fake!
What are some other reasons we are addicted to junk food?
Habit & Convenience
Breaking the cycle of junk food can be challenging if you're accustomed to not cooking or planning meals. Convenience options like frozen dinners, microwavable meals, and fast food can also make it easy to give in to unhealthy choices.
Embrace meal planning:
Planning ahead empowers you to make good decisions. If you choose unhealthy food, balance it out by eating healthier before or after. Prepare by packing healthy snacks and planning dinners ahead of time. Eating three proper meals daily can reduce snacking and the urge for junk food.
Clever marketing
The advertising and marketing teams play on our emotions and feelings. Junk food is packaged enticingly. It creates associations between certain foods and specific activities, like popcorn, at the cinema—energy drinks for when your are tired, and protein food products for people who workout.
Cartoon characters on children's junk food or cool names and slogans for sweets and crisps like once you pop, you can't stop, (pringles) or this is grrrrrrrreat! ( frosties, a children’s cereal mainly comprising of sugar and processed wheat.) Some of these patterns become so hardwired when you see these specific foods, they evoke certain feelings of nostalgia.
Your brain begins to trigger the memories and emotional response that came with it, encouraging you to do it again. This is the psychology of junk food.
Stress & lack of sleep
Emotional eating is a real issue. Some people find food helps distract them from negative thoughts and feelings. Others learned as children to use food to cope.
Hormones are also responsible. Like lack of sleep, ongoing stress causes the body to increase cortisol levels and other hormones connected to hunger. Studies show this hormone tsunami increases appetite — along with your desire for sugary and fatty foods. Try meditation, yoga or reading to settle yourself down in stressful moments.
Studies suggest that sleep deprivation is associated with increased hunger (especially snack and sweet cravings). And you can blame it on your hormones. Lack of sleep causes hormone shifts:
Ghrelin, the hunger-control hormone, increases, causing you to eat more.
Leptin, the appetite-suppressing hormone, decreases.
Cortisol, the stress hormone, may increase, stimulating your appetite.
Research shows that sleep deprivation causes an increase in overall hunger, leading to cravings for sugar, fat or both.
Ways to stop craving junk food
Empower yourself with mindfulness: Opt for a mindful approach to eating and drinking, free from distractions and with ample time. Rushing through meals while working, watching TV, or scrolling on our phones can lead to a loss of focus. Similarly, avoid eating in the car. By practicing mindfulness, you take control of your eating habits, making healthier choices and reducing cravings for junk food.
Really focus on enjoying and tasting your food. A few bites can satisfy your craving and save a lot of calories.
Chew your food adequately, so your brain recognises that you have eaten, as when we inhale our food, our body isn't saited, and our brains think we haven't eaten.
Value yourself with non-food-related rewards: If your idea of a treat always involves unhealthy foods, it's time to reassess. You deserve to be rewarded in ways that promote your health and well-being. Treat yourself to a new outfit, some pampering, or engage in an activity that brings you joy. By valuing yourself, you're reinforcing the importance of your health and making healthier choices.
Drink lots of water: It's easy to confuse thirst cues with hunger cravings. To stay hydrated all day, keep a water bottle within reach.
If you think about food right after meals, that's a sign you are NOT feeling content. You need to clean up your diet. And If your cravings are out of control, get back to basics, start eating three meals a day and include healthy fats and protein in each meal.
Boost your motivation by introducing one healthy food into your daily diet: As you start to incorporate more nutritious foods, you'll notice a decrease in cravings for sugary, processed fast foods. This is because you're nourishing your body on a cellular level, leading to a healthier, more balanced diet.
Benefits of regularly eating protein and fat each day:
Keeping you saited for longer means you don't have to eat junk food because you're starving!
Your mood and energy levels will improve
You'll feel less tired, stressed, or anxious. And less hangry
You'll lose fat faster if that is your goal for weight loss
A diet higher in protein reduces hunger throughout the day.
Protein slows down how our stomach empties after a meal. This makes us crave less sugary food between breakfast, lunch, and dinner times.
You will crave whatever you feed your body.
The good news is that the research shows that the less junk food you eat, the less you crave it.
Decoding junk food cravings using Eating psychology
Sit with your craving. What is it trying to tell you? How does it make you feel if you don't have what your craving? What emotions come up? Our compulsions serve two functions:
The first is to keep unacceptable feelings buried deep within so we can be numb enough to survive.
The second is to comfort us.
Ask yourself these questions when a craving arises.
What do I need to do or be that is for my highest good? ( reaching for McDonald’s is not the answer.)
What am I really hungry for?
What is the kind of choice here?
What is my deeper knowing?
You may have finished work and had a bad day, so reach out for something sugary to cheer you up. However, if this becomes problematic and you often depend on this fix, it's important to really connect with yourself and find other ways to cheer yourself up.
Try watching a funny comedy, talking to a friend or another non-food way to lift yourself up.
There are often unmet emotional needs, so please take the time to discover what these are for you. Please find support with a therapist if you need to.
If you crave salty foods – you may be dehydrated. The body is incredibly smart. Its also associated with frustration, stress or the need to express anger.
You may not be experiencing enough joy or pleasure if you crave sweet foods. Are you missing the sweetness in your life? Do a pleasure inventory list other ways to get a dopamine hit that doesn’t include food.
Read my article. The reason behind your cravings and how to eliminate them for good. For a more in-depth look into other food cravings.
Final Thoughts
We should prioritize natural and organic foods, exercise regularly, meditate, and breathe deeply, rather than relying on artificial stimulation. Eating synthetic food-like substances created in the laboratory is not the way forward for health and longevity.
There are so many simple ways to curb your junk food habit. I hope this article has given you some information about your junk cravings and how to curb them.
Please take a look at the additional resources and references.
References & further resources
https://lifehacker.com/find-the-underlying-desire-for-junk-food-to-beat-bad-ea-1032241638
Five ways junk food changes your brain - RMIT University
https://www.secondnature.io/guides/nutrition/cant-stop-eating-junk-food
Take a look at my article on how to create healthy food habits that stick based on some of the principles in the book by:
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