Recently I went to the dollar store when I was hungry. That was the first thing I did wrong. Then as I walked down the cookie aisle, I grabbed a bag of chocolate covered marshmellow cookies. After all, they were only a dollar! Another misstep. Later in the day, during naptime for my kids, I took out the contraband cookies and tore the bag open. I won’t tell you how many I ate in one sitting but it wasn’t pretty. What went wrong? When the munchies hit, do you find yourself reaching for junk food too? It’s easy to grab something convenient that tastes good, but then you have to pay the piper. From headaches to mood swings, weight gain to fatigue, unhealthy snacks never satisfy your body’s craving for good food. So here are five things you can do to avoid junk food today: 1. Put a price tag on your junk food. I bought those cookies because they were so cheap (and most junk food is). If the cookies had been very expensive, I would have skipped the purchase. So when you cheat and eat cookies, chips, cake or whatever, why not put a price tag on it? For instance, you can put $2.00 in a jar for charity. Use money as a deterrent. Make a bet with your husband and owe him $2.00 every time you eat junk food. 2. Get accountable. Have someone ask you about what you are eating. Keep a daily food journal. Record what you eat so you know exactly what your strengths and weaknesses are. 3. Go cold turkey for a week. It can be overwhelming to kick the junk food habit cold turkey. So just make a decision to skip junk food for one week. How do you go without chips for a whole week? One day at a time. Focus on winning the day and before you know it, you’ll win the week. 4. Have healthy alternatives on hand. Don’t stock your pantry with potato chips and cheetos. Make sure your freezer doesn’t have any ice cream in it. Instead, load up on strawberries, apples, grapes, celery, soy beans, shredded wheat, cottage cheese and plain yogurt. 5. Exercise vigorously. If you work and sweat on a treadmill to burn 350 calories, you will think twice before popping a candy bar in your mouth. It will mean more to you to eat empty calories when you’re working so hard to burn them off. Today’s Action Step: What snacks do you need to ban for the next week?
