Eating is necessary for the survival of life, but eating healthy is crucial for its sustenance. Everyone knows the importance of healthy eating, but only a few of us stick to a healthy diet. There are numerous grounds upon which junk lovers build their castle. Top most of them are the appetizing aroma and taste of the junk food, followed by the tantalizing advertisement campaign. Healthy eating norms can only be developed gradually, it’s not the task, to be done instantly. Behavioral psychology and habit development can play a leading role in constructing simple strategies for thriving a healthy eating habit effortlessly.
Before contriving a fruitful diet plan, let’s discuss some of the factors which actively take part in urging temptation for junk food. Steven Witherly, a food scientist who shared his views upon the extent of addiction in relation to certain mixes of food items in his phenomenal report, Why Humans Like Junk Food.
Witherly charged the following two factors as the root cause of craving for junk food.
- “Orosensation”
- “The appetizing combination of macronutrients”
‘First’ defines the sensation of eating food, urged by the presentation, aroma, taste and texture of food i.e. how satisfying for the taste buds. It can be a better experience in the satisfying level of crunch in a potato chips and quantity of fizzle in a soda. These can create sensation in your brain, with respect to any particular food. The second one is the perfect mix of macronutrients which make the food more appetizing than the normal one. The precisely perfect blend of protein, fat, minerals and carbohydrates is enough for agitating the brain for fast food.
For the said purpose researchers and food manufacturing authorities struggle to find the most appetizing blend and spend a lot of money on it. It includes the combination of different flavors and toppings in the same food, which produce their significant sensation in the mouth. Softness, crunch and texture of food add value to this temptation.
How to overcome the temptation?
Now the question is, how to overcome the temptation? Or how to overcome junk food craving? We are all aware of the benefits of healthy eating and want to change the unhealthy diet routine, but how? This guide will help you to answer this. You will have more energy, your health will improve, and your productivity blossoms. Healthy eating also plays a huge role in maintaining a healthy weight, which can play a lead role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart problems, certain cancers, high blood pressure, and a victim of other health ailments. Following steps can be food very useful in maintaining healthy diet, without noticing;
- Use small plates: Using a little bit smaller plate as compared to previously in-use, means you will be going to take a small portion of food. Research shows that eating a small plate full of food makes you feel satisfied, but eating the same portion of food from a large plate will not make you feel full.
- Presentation of healthy food: Try to present the healthy food in an appealing form, so you cannot avoid eating them. Cutting fruits and vegetables or arranging nuts in a dressing manner will help you to divert attention towards healthy food.
- Replace Soda with Juices: Soda can be replaced with the fruit juices, and using long slender glasses can also be an option to reduce the amount of carbonated drinks.
- Add fruits/vegetables in fast food: Adding more fruits and vegetables in the food and presenting it in the way, fast foods presented. This will make you feel, eating fast food from the outer side but in real health from the inner.
- Make small changes: Small changes in your lifestyle will help you to stick to the change, otherwise big changes get burdened with the passage of time and mostly people find ways easily to get rid of them.
Conclusively, try to eat and make smaller changes, because continuity is the best strategy to adopt any kind of change in lifestyle or eating habits. Always keep in mind the benefits of healthy eating and the drawbacks of junk food, which are adversely impacting health. Switching from “I can’t” to “I don’t”, “I can’t” will put you back, while “I don’t” will remind you of your self-determination, you made to avoid the junk food.
