Almost everyone who wants to lose weight has tried diets at least once. Most people are on diets as long as possible, but then something happens, and they start overeating again. Why do people return to junk food and overeat? The answer is simple: most diets don't work. Every time we create restrictions and reduce calories, our body backfires. Our metabolism slows down because our collection is shocked by the new diet. It starts starving and signals to our brain that we need more food. As a result, the menu fails, and we overeat again. Some people have gone through this cycle many times. We want to eat more; we want to eat junk food. That could be what the problem is. You may need to train your brain to like healthy food instead of fat and sugar.
Imagine yourself eating a few bowls of broccoli. Sounds weird. Now, let's replace broccoli with ice cream — this looks much more realistic. The thing is that sugar and processed fat are tasty. They stimulate specific chemical centers in the brain and make us feel rewarded. The same happens to people who do cocaine or other drugs — they get used to getting an instant reward anytime they want, so they cannot just quit doing it, and this habit becomes an addiction. However, anyone can eliminate cravings, and food addiction is no different. All you need to do is train your brain.
Why Is It Important to Kick the Junk Food Habit?
The first and the main reason to switch to healthy food is that junk food causes cravings. The main reason for overeating is that we eat the wrong types of food. Processed food is designed so that we become addicted to it and feel cravings. For example, a combination of soft and crispy layers is used in candy bars and fast food like pizza, which has a crisp crust with soft cheese. This combination entertains our brain, giving different sensations so our mind wants more.
There is also food that feels like it melts in your mouth. It's a pleasurable sensation, and it's also a message to our brain. The brain realizes that we eat not as much as we want to, so it signals to our body that we need more. Lots of butter makes food easily slide through our mouth, making the brain think it's okay.
Food companies spend billions of dollars to design food that will be addictive. Thus, if you want to stop overeating, you have to eat healthy food. Lisa Fetters, a nutritionist and freelancer at Masterra, notes: "You should develop a new habit. Start replacing burgers, cakes, potato chips, and pizza with healthy products, and you'll see that you want those unhealthy products less and less. It will be much easier if you gradually switch to a new diet instead of denying yourself all the junk food. That can only result in negative self-talk, stress, and cravings."
How to Train Your Brain to Eat Healthily
1. Determine when you feel more hungry
Of course, any living species eats to survive. However, there are other reasons we eat. As mentioned above, food also brings pleasure and is an instant reward. Thus, our emotional state has a direct impact on our hunger. If you feel sad, it may be why you also feel hungry. Therefore, it's essential to eliminate stress and know when you want to eat and when you just need to calm down.
2. Get more sleep
You may have heard that a short nap is terrible for your health. However, it's essential to understand that it affects all the systems in your body, including your brain and digestive system. Your body needs 7-8 hours of sleep every night. If you sleep less, your nervous system cannot calm down and prepare for a new day. You feel more exhausted and need more energy — apparently, you eat more. There are many ways to sleep better without any pills. Try them, and you'll certainly feel better.
3. Eat without distractions
Make a healthy meal and find some time to just eat. Don't watch TV, don't read, and don't scroll your social media feed. Just focus on eating, and you'll notice much more about the taste of your meal. Concentrating on what you eat will make it easy to realize that even healthy food is tasty. You'll also eat less because distractions don't make you feel full.
4. Eat different food
Our brain loves junk food because it combines different tastes and creates mixed feelings. Simply put, junk food looks attractive to our minds. Thus, you must entertain your receptors with something else to forget about junk food. For example, eat carrots with hummus, and you will create that combination of crunchy and creamy that makes you think about pizza. Don't be afraid of various spices: Try them, blend them, and you'll see how they work wonders.
5. Eat healthy snacks throughout the day
When you skip your breakfast and work all day without taking a lunch break, it won't make you lose weight. Quite the opposite, you'll feel stressed and starving, so when you get home, you'll eat everything in the fridge. To avoid overeating, snack often.
Conclusion
If you feel hungry and think about eating junk food, it doesn't mean your body is starving. Big companies invest a lot of money in making addictive food, so you would want to return and eat it again. The good news is that you can overcome this addiction by training your brain. Avoid stress, get enough sleep, and you will not think about food so often. And remember that healthy food can also be tasty! Give it a chance.
