How to kick the junk food habit

Since I’ve been on the low-carb diet, junk food hasn’t been that much of an issue for me. However, up until the past year, junk food was my ultimate nemesis - it seemed that some fatty, or salted, or sugar-laden food was lurking right around the corner, waiting for me to devour it. I wish I had had this article from DietHack and DumbLittleMan, giving practical tips for curbing your desire for junk food once and for all.

Here are some of the suggestions:

• First, switch to buying all of your junk food in individual portions for easier measurement. Get potato chips in individual bags, cookies in single serving size containers, individually wrapped candy bars, etc. It might cost you a bit more, but individual portions will make it much easier to count how much junk food you’re eating. Quitting junk food is going to be hard enough, so you’ll want to do everything you can to make the process as easy as possible. If the snack you prefer doesn’t come in individual serving sizes, you can divide a bigger bag yourself into individual portions and store them in ziplock bags.
• For the first week, just eat how you normally would, but count how many portions of junk food you’re consuming. To help you count, save the wrappers of every portion you eat. At the end of the week, just count the wrappers and you’ll know how many portions you had.
• Take the number of portions you ate for the week and cut it in half. This is your new junk food budget, or how much junk food you’ll get to eat each week from now on. If possible, buy as close to that many portions as possible each week and no more. That will help you keep from going over your budget - once you’re out, you’re done until your trip to the store next week.
• Every two weeks, cut your budget by a certain amount, say 2-4 portions. Keep going until you’re eating an amount of junk food each week you feel comfortable with - ideally zero, of course!
• Try to keep substitute healthy snacks on hand to help kill those junk food cravings. Nuts, fruit, vegetables, or low-fat yogurt are all quick, healthy snacks that can fill you up without the extra junk food calories.