How to Plan to Avoid Junk Food

Kicking the junk-food habit can be tough. Junk food is convenient, aggressively marketed, cheap to buy and hard to resist. Most people are programmed to consume far too much and to choose foods that are saturated with fat and salt.

Tips:-

1. Eliminate temptation at home. Clear out all the junk from your cupboards, and get the whole family on board for the effort.

2. Lay a healthful foundation by stocking up on ingredients for nutritious meals, desserts and snacks. If you eat healthy food at home, you won't feel so bad when you splurge on an infrequent fast-food meal or candy bar.

3. Set realistic expectations for yourself by remembering to practice progression towards more healthy options. Total deprivation will only make your cravings more intense, so allow yourself a weekly treat for cutting back.

4. Identify those times of the day when you're most vulnerable to a junk-food attack. Is it that relentless 3 p.m. cookie craving?

5. Prepare ahead of time by having healthy, flavourful alternatives on hand

6. Focus on eating healthy foods. Be sure the snack foods you keep in plain sight and hidden away are all good choices. Keep a fruit basket on your kitchen counter, table or desk. If you stock the refrigerator with exclusively healthy foods, you'll eventually overcome the urge for fat and sugar-laden treats.

7. Avoid situations that may encourage a junk attack, like sitting in front of the television all evening. Resist those evil vending machines at work by bringing your own healthful snacks and leaving your pocket change at home.

8. Cook large quantities and put extra meals in the freezer. That way you won't be tempted to make a junk-food run on your way home from work.

9. Listen to your appetite - eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full.

10. Give alternative, healthy food a try. Try a new fruit or veg – there’s a whole world of taste out there – and plant foods have the largest variety.

11.Get in the habit of reading food labels: If the first two ingredients are fat and sugar, it's junk food.

12. Don't take labels at face value. This is just marketing hype and is done to sell products . Many "low-carb," "low-fat" or "no-fat" products are poor in nutrition and loaded with additives and sugar.