What to eat instead of junk food

Limuray

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Hi, everyone!
Any suggestions for a hard time, when the only comfort for me is junk food, but I am rapidly gaining weight and must avoid that?
 
I think the two rules that are in every diet book is
1. Don't grocery shop when you are hungry.
2. Don't buy any junk food at the grocery store.

Meal planning really can help. If you eat everything you are supposed to you either will be too full to snack or just won't have any snacks to eat.
 
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I think the two rules that are in every diet book is
1. Don't grocery shop when you are hungry.
2. Don't buy any junk food at the grocery store.

Meal planning really can help. If you eat everything you are supposed to you either will be too full to snack or just won't have any snacks to eat.
Yes. But unfortunately this is not working for me. I plan meals for every day. I make it, I eat it all. And it is a lot of food. Around 2500 kcal of filling vegan food. For example my lunch was huge bowl of barley with mushrooms and courgette. But I want more, I am hungry...and I just made a sandwich with a lot of mayo, vegan cheese and soy sausage. What else can a person snack on? What else can give comfort in a hard time?
 
Yeah, what Lou said! Just don't buy it in the first place.
I have rules for myself with sweets, for instance, I only eat one cookie per day. Try to focus on savoring, as opposed to scarfing. I have this with a cup of tea and eat it slowly- its kind of a nice little ritual for me.
Another thing I would recommend is buying healthier alternatives to the actual. If you need ideas for specifics, just google or ask me and I will be more than happy to have a think about it!
Do you know why you're craving junk in the first place? I know I do more when I don't get enough sleep... also could it be your meals aren't satiating enough?
As for the weight gain, make sure you are properly exercising. It really doesn't take much to feel and look great.
EDIT: I just saw your response to Lou... eating, especially junk, is not a good coping mechanism. Not sure what you are dealing with, but taking walks outside always seems to get me out of funks. Best of luck x
 
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The cookie thing sounds very nice.
Regarding my meals - I know they are very filling as my partner eats the same and is always full. So it must be some kind of my own thing of not feeling full. Whenever I am stressed or sad, huge amount of food is a must. Don't know how to control it and don't want to stop it. Just need some low calorie ideas for snacking to keep my mood up.
 
Okay, I am saying this with your best interests at heart... your statement "don't know how to control it and don't want to stop it" is very concerning... As someone who had an ED for many years, this behavior/thought is on par with that. I would really recommend you see a therapist if you aren't already, or at the very least discuss this with someone close to you. What makes you think, and engage in this? Does it really actually make you feel better? What could you do that's productive and good for you instead of dwelling so much on food? (I personally find making a list of things I want to get done, and doing those makes me feel really productive/ is really productive... I always make sure to include some fun things too!)
Yes, you could eat massive amounts of celery, but is that really healthy? I don't think so. We need to savor our food. Food is precious. Try to be conscious of that. Don't just accept bad habits.
 
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Okay, I am saying this with your best interests at heart... your statement "don't know how to control it and don't want to stop it" is very concerning... As someone who had an ED for many years, this behavior/thought is on par with that. I would really recommend you see a therapist if you aren't already, or at the very least discuss this with someone close to you. What makes you think, and engage in this? Does it really actually make you feel better? What could you do that's productive and good for you instead of dwelling so much on food? (I personally find making a list of things I want to get done, and doing those makes me feel really productive/ is really productive... I always make sure to include some fun things too!)
Yes, you could eat massive amounts of celery, but is that really healthy? I don't think so. We need to savor our food. Food is precious. Try to be conscious of that. Don't just accept bad habits.
I always looked at it as just a bad habit. But if this sounds similar to some kind of eating disorder pattern, then that is concerning. Eating does make me feel better. I have this warm, fuzzy feeling inside that nothing else gives me. Also my past self deserves food. I grew up in poverty, somehow I don't want to let my past self down - if I can afford food, it must be bought.
 
The way you describe eating for comfort sounds a lot like myself. I've never considered myself to have an eating disorder in a clinical sense, but I was dealing with my anxiety by over eating unhealthy food.

What do you need comfort from? Think more about the causes and possible solutions of that.

I think food plays a big role in depression and anxiety and can form a kind of feedback loop. It's good to work on better nutrition, and that will probably help a little with coping during hard times, but on it's own probably isn't enough. For me it took leaving a stressful, toxic workplace to break that bad cycle. So I would say keep working on your nutrition but don't let it become a source of stress...save your big effort for dealing with whatever you think is the underlying cause of your bad eating habits.

I still stuff my face fairly regularly, and still take comfort in it. Huge salads with lots of different veggies are great (oil free dressing helps keep calories down). Hummus and carrots are a great snack. When I have a sweet tooth sliced apple with peanut butter, dates, or fiber cereal with soymilk are favorites.
 
You are not craving junkfood, your body is craving nutrients which it isn't getting from junkfood, thus the hunger.
Eat more raw fruit and vegetables and the cravings will fade. Dried fruit like dates, figs, raisins are very sweet and combined with nuts will still your hunger fast and they are packed with minerals and vitamins and fiber. You are gaining weight also because your food is digesting slower so there's more of it that stays in your intestines along with water that has trouble reaching your large intestine. Gaining weight is not always just fat.
 
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You are not craving junkfood, your body is craving nutrients which it isn't getting from junkfood, thus the hunger.
Eat more raw fruit and vegetables and the cravings will fade. Dried fruit like dates, figs, raisins are very sweet and combined with nuts will still your hunger fast and they are packed with minerals and vitamins and fiber. You are gaining weight also because your food is digesting slower so there's more of it that stays in your intestines. Gaining weight is not always just fat. Lots of salt will have your body holding on to water as well.

Eating in order to feel better is a sign you are lacking love. It doesn't need to come from outside of you, it can't, it's a state of being, when you meditate you will have this confirmed, start with just a few minutes every day. You will have more self control. There's an big list of proven benefits.
 
You are not craving junkfood, your body is craving nutrients which it isn't getting from junkfood, thus the hunger.
Eat more raw fruit and vegetables and the cravings will fade. Dried fruit like dates, figs, raisins are very sweet and combined with nuts will still your hunger fast and they are packed with minerals and vitamins and fiber. You are gaining weight also because your food is digesting slower so there's more of it that stays in your intestines. Gaining weight is not always just fat. Lots of salt will have your body holding on to water as well.

Eating in order to feel better is a sign you are lacking love. It doesn't need to come from outside of you, it can't, it's a state of being, when you meditate you will have this confirmed, start with just a few minutes every day. You will have more self control. There's an big list of proven benefits.
I do eat a lot of fruits and veggies. My three daily meals are full of nutrients, completely thought thru. I think my issue is not physical. I don't even trust myself if the hunger is real. It is just comfort. Escape from stress, escape from people.
 
The way you describe eating for comfort sounds a lot like myself. I've never considered myself to have an eating disorder in a clinical sense, but I was dealing with my anxiety by over eating unhealthy food.

What do you need comfort from? Think more about the causes and possible solutions of that.

I think food plays a big role in depression and anxiety and can form a kind of feedback loop. It's good to work on better nutrition, and that will probably help a little with coping during hard times, but on it's own probably isn't enough. For me it took leaving a stressful, toxic workplace to break that bad cycle. So I would say keep working on your nutrition but don't let it become a source of stress...save your big effort for dealing with whatever you think is the underlying cause of your bad eating habits.

I still stuff my face fairly regularly, and still take comfort in it. Huge salads with lots of different veggies are great (oil free dressing helps keep calories down). Hummus and carrots are a great snack. When I have a sweet tooth sliced apple with peanut butter, dates, or fiber cereal with soymilk are favorites.
Regarding the comfort - I am escaping the past. Childhood wasn't easy at all. And I had depression for about 10 years. I know this is something to be treated, but if food makes me happy, then I cannot seem to find issue with it at all..well, until now.

This thread turned a bit more darker than I inteneted. I thought I will be seeing recipes :)