How Can I Stop Eating Junk Food?

Hi,
I've recently noticed that I have been eating a lot of snacks and junk food. It might just be summer boredom. But when I get bored, I find myself eating again. I can never seem to get full. I'll find myself standing over the snacks and looking for which ones I want first. It's gotten a bit worse lately. I just can't seem to stop eating so much junk.

My diet in general is kind of poor. I want to change my diet, but It's hard. I try to, but always end up eating the same old things until I get sick of them. All I eat is basically junk food.
How do I stop eating so much junk food, and change my diet to something more healthy?

Ginger R.

Hi Ginger,
That's tough. Because junk food tastes so good and makes us feel so good when we eat it. You may have to just keeping doing it until the suffering (do you really feel awful about it?) outweighs the pleasure you get from eating it. Until you are suffering in some obvious way ("my clothes don't fit!") the scales will always tip towards the pleasure of eating sweet and salty snacks.

If you want to make a change, you're going to have to come up with some motivation. Here's the task: Write down the top 5 reasons you want to stop eating junk food and improve the healthfulness of your diet. Usually these will be non-descript one-word answers like "health". Well, that doesn't sound very motivating. Take each of these words another step and ask "Why is health important to me?" Keep asking that question of each answer until you come up with a darn good reason to stop eating junk food! For some people it's, 'My parents both have diabetes and I know that's what's in store for me if I don't get down to a reasonable weight' and for others it's more like, 'I feel terrible about myself and look horrible in my clothes--most of which don't even fit anymore--so I never go out with my friends anymore and I miss them'.

Then establish a reward system. Give yourself credit (in the form of a star sticker on a calendar or a dollar in a jar) every time you make the right move, and choose a glass of water instead of a handful of cookies, or a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar. Have an established reward, like a pedicure after 20 stars, or a new pair of shoes when the jar has enough $$ in it. This way you'll be working towards something you want in addition to feeling better about making the right choice. Chances are, you'll feel much better physically as well. And, in time, the junk food won't have the same hold on you, and avoiding it will become easier.