Ask Martha: How Can I Control My Urges for Junk Food?

Question from R.C: Help me City Girl! I can not control any of my urges. I am a junk food eating machine. I have a very negative self image…

Answer from Martha: For those of you who have not been following my posts, R.C. is one of the contestants from the New Hampshire Biggest Loser Competition . His eating habits are being closely monitored by his co-workers. It appears R.C. likes donuts and junk foods.

So R.C, here are the problems as I see it:

1. You enjoy the taste of junk food. I’m sure everyone has cravings for certain foods that aren’t the healthiest (I personally love milk chocolate …. and not the dark healthy kind)

2. You are trying to cut back on what you are eating for the competition. It is possible that you cut back too much during the day. This can lead to overeating at night.

3. It is very difficult to change your eating habits. We are used to eating a certain way and our bodies fight us when we try to make changes – especially when we try to make many changes at once.

My suggestions to control your urges for junk food:

1. Get whatever you can out of your house. I realize that you have kids, but try to keep mainly healthy snacks in the house. This will benefit your kids as well. Or try to buy snack foods that your kids like but that you don’t love (if such a food exists). The more junk food you have around the house, the more tempted you will be to eat it.

2. Avoid having jumbo sized bags of junk in the house. If you have to have some snack foods in the house, buy mini bags such as 100 calorie packs of popcorn, cookies, etc. Buy individual sized ice cream treats versus 1/2 gallons. Check out my post on snack tips.

3. Start your dinner with a big salad or bowl of vegetable soup. Studies have shown that this will make you consume fewer calories at your meal. I will more about soups soon!

4. Eat slow. It takes at least 20 minutes for your stomach to trigger your brain that you are getting full.

5. Stay hydrated. Make sure you are drinking plenty of non-caloric liquid during the day. Being dehydrated can make you think you are hungry, when you are really thirsty.

6. Keep a food record of what you eat. This is very important and can help to deter you from eating junk. You will need to make the commitment to be thorough and honest with these records. You can email them to me if you like!

7. Make sure you are not eating too few calories during the day. It sounds like you are trying to be really “good” during the day, but then end up overeating at night. Make sure your breakfast and lunch are substantial. Include adequate protein at lunch (at least 4-5 ounces of turkey, chicken, lean meat, etc) . Plan a healthy afternoon snack. This will help to keep your blood sugar up so you won’t be so hungry for dinner. Again, make sure you are eating adequate protein and fiber at dinner.

Here are my comments on what you eat on a typical day (based on the food records you previously sent me):

Breakfast: Small bowl of cereal, yogurt, or banana for breakfast.
My comment: cereal, nonfat milk and fruit or yogurt and fruit are good ideas for breakfast. Just a piece of fruit is not enough.

Lunch: small sandwich or salad with a bunch extras like hard-boiled eggs, tuna, carrots, ect…
My comment: Not a bad lunch. Just make sure there is a significant amount of protein in the salad or sandwich. Add raw veggies for fiber.  Use low cal salad dressings.

Afternoon Snack:
My comment: you didn’t mention an afternoon snack. You should be having something for about 100 calories such as a yogurt, string cheese, piece of fruit, etc. Check out my suggestions for crunchy snacks.

Dinner: You mentioned that “the wheels come off the cart” at dinner and later you start to snack on chips and sweets.

My comments: Start dinner with a salad and/or broth based soup. Fill up on cooked veggies, about a small fist sized portion of starch and ~ 7 oz of lean protein. Try to avoid kid food like mac and cheese, chicken nuggets. (not to make your wife a short order cook…but these foods are obviously not the best for “dieting”). Continue to drink a lot of water while you eat and eat slow!

Snacks after dinner: As I said previously, get the bad stuff out of the house and stock up on healthier snacks such as fruit, sorbet or fruit pops, Skinny Cow bars, diet jello, 100 calorie packs of popcorn. Limit your snacks after dinner to 150 calories.

Lastly, since you love junk food, think about allowing yourself 1-2 “treats” a week. A “treat” would be something not-so-healthy for approximately 300 calories. So technically, you could work 2 donuts into your diet a week and still lose weight!