It is a noted fact that food manufacturers often make food which would ignite a cycle of ‘addiction’ in consumers. The food company manufacturers aim for the “bliss point” in their product. It is a point when the eater experiences the final pleasure, with not too much nor too little salty, sweet, and fatty flavors. This particular combination is very hard to resist, and our brain reacts in a similar way as it would to cocaine or any other drug addictions.

Acceding to cravings may seem unavoidable at the moment, but here are a few tips that might help you stop it:

Plan beforehand

The best way to handle your cravings is by planning your meals as well as your snacks beforehand. If you have a healthy meal along with some healthy snacks prepared and packed for the lunchtime as well as for that afternoon slump, you would be less likely to go for that leftover piece of pizza, or simply order fast food, or just nibble on that box of chocolate that you had hidden away.

Shop the perimeter

Your perimeter in a grocery store should typically include the produce, dairy, meat, and fish sections. Well, this is the real food right! Rather than browsing through the highly processed food products, this is where you should shop from. If a food item contains ingredients on the label that you can’t pronounce, just don’t buy it. This is the best way of transitioning your diet to healthy food.

Eat healthy fats

We all eat nutrition myths; well, one of the most common nutrition myths is that fats make you fat. Well, the fact is, your body needs fats! But again, there are many different kinds of fats and all are not of the healthy kind. The fats that you should avoid are trans fats and also limit yourself to saturated fats, but in case you are craving for fast food go for the healthy fast food. Wondering what that is? These are the heart-healthy fats like nuts and avocado, which help you feel full as well as help in reducing cravings.

Work on stress management

We all know that we should always eat low carb fast food if we crave for it. But do we? The answer is no because there’s almost always an emotional factor behind those cravings. For instance, you need a brownie because you like the flavor or maybe because your blood sugar is low and you need a quick energy boost. But when you are having a terrible day at work all you do is grab a packet of chips or cookies to deal with that stress. So, to eat healthy we also need to manage that stress first.

Some claim to be foodies, but the fact is we all are the same, as our brains are wired to eat a variety of food, but eating junk food reduces this desire of variety food, trapping you in a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating. The more junk you eat, the more you crave for it.

Follow the above guidelines to curb that junk-food-rush and become a healthy eater!