For many people, fast food makes up a major part of their diets. For such people, Chinese food, Pizza, Subs, Cheeseburgers, and any other fast and unhealthy food that is quick to eat is what makes up a large portion of their daily diet.
Well, while fast foods may be known for some bad reasons such as weight gain, addiction, and other health complications, some seemingly good reasons why they may be your favorite meal is due to their ready availability, low cost as well as irresistible and appealing taste.
Be that as it may, the bitter truth is that when you try your hardest to avoid the temptation of feasting on fast foods but choosing the healthier ones, you are saving yourself from the perils of fast food addiction, weight gain, and even health complications linked to fast foods.
While this may not be an easy task for you, especially if you have already gone far with fast foods, these few tips can help you say a firm and decisive NO! to fast foods as well as its attendant temptations.
Tips on how to bid fast foods a firm goodbye
Write down your reasons for stopping fast food
Just as the common saying goes “a problem shared is half solved” I would rather like to put it this way, “a problem identified is half solved.”
Identifying the reason why you want to stop eating fast food is the first and best way to win the fight against fast food. Some of such reasons could be to lose weight, enhance your overall wellbeing, save some extra bucks for yourself, and other reasons.
So, a constant reminder to yourself about the reason why you want to forever say NO! to fast food will help you subdue cravings for fast food whenever they come knocking.
To help you do this effectively, write your reasons for stopping fast food on a sticky note and place it in a place that will be readily visible to you. This can be your car, kitchen, bedroom, or even office.
Use vegetables, nuts, and fruits as replacement snacks for fast food
If the ease of access as well as an appealing taste is one of the reasons why you are so glued to fast food, replacing them with other healthy and less expensive alternatives such as nuts, vegetables and fruits can be a better way out.
Interestingly, nuts are very rich in proteins, which will help you stay full and energized for a long time. Similarly, vegetables and fruits are packed with so many nutrients, which are needed by your body for the day’s activities.
Sure, you will agree that fruits such as apples, bananas, carrots, dates, and others are also sweet-tasting and can be enough to satisfy your cravings for sweets and fast food deserts.
Create a stress management plan
Stress? Yes! Stress is one of the major reasons why many people subscribe to a quick and wrong fast food choice. When you are stressed, all your body will be telling you is that you need some soda or cookies to boost your blood sugar and energy level.
Once this type of feeling hits, you can adopt some stress management techniques such as taking a quick nap instead of grabbing the burger.
On the other hand, you can adopt some other stress management tools such as yoga, taking a few deep breaths, meditation for some moments, and speaking with a loved one or friend.
However, these are not a rule of thumb for managing stress. You can experiment on them and find out which one works best for you. better still, speaking to your doctor or counselor can be a way of having better stress management techniques, which are not food-related.
Taste the rainbow
Variety, they say is the spice of life. The same applies to your eating habit. Adding different healthy food into your eating plan is a good way to stave off the temptation of trying out a few junk and fast foods simply because you are bored eating the same type of food every day.
For instance, you can choose a different type of vegetable for your salad or a new type of fish instead of the usual tuna or salmon. More so, eating different types of healthy food is a great way to boost your immunity to disease as well as boost your overall health.
Keep a refillable water bottle to replace soda
Replacing soda with water is one of the best ways to manage and curb your cravings for fast food. Drinking a sufficient amount of water daily is a good way of staying hydrated as well as preventing any misplaced feelings that you are hungry.
Surprisingly, substituting water for soda can also help you to cut down on your sugar intake, and so reduce your cravings for sweet fast foods like burgers and desserts. You can achieve this by having a refillable water bottle anywhere you may be going.
Diet soda is sugar-free, you may cut in. But studies have shown that diet soda – although free of harmful sugar, can reinforce your affinity for other fast food and sweet drinks. For this reason, it is best to stay away from them.
Stock up on healthy food and cook in advance
A well-stocked up kitchen or home is a good way to say a firm No! to fast food. With a well-planned cooking schedule that helps you cook well in advance, you are less likely to crave fast foods simply because you are not sure of what to eat once you hit the kitchen.
Cooking in advance can also help you to resist the temptation of eating out or spending some extra cash buying some fast food to satisfy your immediate cravings and feeling of hunger.
If you can’t give up completely, choose healthier fast food options
Although a majority of fast foods have been marked as being bad for health due to their unhealthy and unfriendly ingredients, interestingly, there are a few exceptions.
So, if you find it almost impossible to give up your cravings for cheeseburgers and fries-fare, you can opt for the healthy ones such as apple pecan chicken salad, baked potatoes topped with chili, and other grilled food to reduce the negative effect of fast food on your overall health.
Nevertheless, be very careful when opting for salad as you may be tempted into adding so much cheese or other dressing that may quickly add up some hidden sugar and calories into your seemingly healthy meal.
Conclusion – How To Forever Say “No” To Fast Food
Grabbing some fast food when you are hungry seems to be the best out of a hunger strike. However, the inherent unhealthy ingredients in this food make them unsafe for your health.
To stay healthy as well as achieve your health goals, you can adopt some strategies as stated in this article to curb the temptation of grabbing fast food whenever you feel hungry.