5 Ways to Stop Eating Junk and Start Eating Healthy
Years ago, Lays Potato Chips had a commercial that would state that “you can’t eat just one.” They were putting into our minds that we would eat the whole bag. And guess what? Most people tended to that, especially today.
Junk food is everywhere. Fast food advertisers have pounded into our minds the fun factor of eating their meals. Kids get the brunt of most of these ads. McDonald’s have for years promoted their “Happy Meals” as part of that fun factor. So much so that kids will “blackmail” their parents into taking them there. Many of those kids have grown into young adults and may even have an addiction to fast food.
On top of that, junk food appears on the surface to be lower cost than healthier alternatives. Yes, if you were to look at the cost per calories, junk food would certainly be cheaper to buy. The problem is that we, as a nation, are consuming so many calories that the average person today would have been a side show attraction back in the 19th Century. The craving for junk food is enormous today.
While we may falsely believe that healthier alternatives are more expensive, you eat healthy and well within your budget. No, you won’t be able to eat the amount of calories you’ve been used to either. So, don’t make excuses that healthy food is too and start focusing on changing your perception on eating.
Let’s get started with these five ways to stop eating junk and start eating healthy…
- Reframe how you perceive food. In this way, it’s time to stop simply eating food just to fill your stomach and start looking at it to fuel your body and feed your cells. Your body can only fully function on healthy nutrition and that includes your brain as well.
- Create healthy alternatives to the junk food you crave. It can be done. Kale chips and sweet potato chips are both excellent and can be done at home. Bean chips are a good alternative as well.
- Grow your own fruits and veggies. I would suggest that you find organic seeds for your vegetables. When you grow your own food, you will enjoy it much more than what you buy from the stores. They also be healthier, fresher and have more nutrients. If you live in the city, you might want to create a neighborhood farm in which you would get all your neighbors involved and share what you all reap.
- Locate a local farmer’s market. Many have other activities that makes finding food fun. And since it’s mostly outdoors, you’ll also reap the benefits of Vitamin D. Make it a family day out and bypass the fast food joints.
- Take a class on healthy foods as well as a healthy lifestyle. One of those classes can be on finding wild foods as well foods that grow in your yard. Getting out into the wild and hiking, you will run across plants that you once thought were junk and turn them into a plethora of healthy foods. I’ve gone out and brought back California Buckwheat and used a pestle and mortar to make Buckwheat flour. It will take some work and it’s well worth it. There are instructions online to help guide you. And side effect of grinding out your own flour this way is that you’ll get a workout.
Those are but 5 of what I’ve used. Other people, such as Dr. Lori Shemek, can give you additional information or tips. This article only covered fruits and veggies. Let me add that protein via plants and animals should also be organic. Free range foods where animals eat their natural foods is important for healthy animals. And healthy animals mean healthier foods for you. You can grow your own chickens for the eggs. Make sure your city or town allows them within the city limits, okay?
I wish you the best as you pursue a healthy lifestyle so that you might function optimally.
Cheers,
Bob Choat
“Transformational Master Black Belt” America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness
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