1. Try to eat fast food no more than once a week. And choose a chain that you know offers some healthier options.
2. Pack a junk-free lunch. Remind yourself that the food you eat at lunchtime is fueling your afternoon and early evening activities. Junk food isn't fuel.
3. Resist having junk food for your afternoon snack. Stock your house or workplace with the ingredients for enjoyable non-junk snacks such as reduced-fat wheat crackers with cheese, yogurt with fruit and a sprinkle of nuts or crunchy whole-grain cereal.
4. De-junk your pantry. Fill your pantry with healthier foods and products that you enjoy eating.
5. De-junk your refrigerator and freezer. Fill your refrigerator with healthier items that you like. Consider light frozen entrees that contain lean meat, vegetables, and perhaps a grain.
6. If you do buy junk food, limit the variety. This will reduce its tempting power. Don't have several bags of chips or boxes of cookies to choose from; choose just one.
7. Bring your own healthier snacks to work, to the gym, or to keep in your car, so you'll be less vulnerable to vending machine and snack bars.
8. Portion-control your junk food. Don't sit down to an entire bag of chips, a pint of ice cream, or a box of cookies. Decide how big of a portion you will have, and stick with it.
9. Eat healthy meals most of the time. If you eat balanced, higher-fiber meals, you'll be more likely to pass up the junk between meals.
10. Identify the junk foods that give you the most pleasure and eat them in moderation. Don't spend your junk food allotment on foods you don't thoroughly enjoy.
If bad food is your downfall, these tips will really help you. Replace the sugar with more nutritious items and you'll feel better than ever.
