Kicking the Junk Food Habit

Last week I talked about keeping focused on your health during the holidays. But why make this just a holiday focus? We are faced with poor food choices all day long. We’re grabbing trans-fat laden pastries for breakfast, dashing through drive-up windows for lunch, and are lulled into the eating out of boxes for dinner by their ease and convenience.

The thing is these empty, processed foods have a cumulative and addictive effect that gets harder to kick the longer we allow them to persist in our diet. Fats and sugars are primary culprits. There have been studies that show that sugar triggers the production of the brain’s natural opioids which we respond to in the same way as other addictive narcotics—with a craving that just increases each time we have some. Significant fat intake, on the other hand, has the affect of increasing our resistance to leptin, the chemical that signals us to stop eating. Now put the two together … it’s no wonder we crave everything super sized!

The end result is we gain weight, the empty calories actually drain us of vital nutrients, we lose energy and the unhealthy feeling we end up with saps our motivation to push forward with our goals and dreams.  It’s no way to live.

So if you haven’t already, kick the addiction and start paying attention to what you are putting into your body. Just take a moment to assess your healthiest option when you are out to eat and plan to keep fresh, lean, and whole foods available at home and at work so you don’t feel forced to succumb to that easily accessible junk food. You will feel so much better and get so much more done.

Next week I’ll talk about some specific healthy habits that have not only helped to kept me healthy but have increase my zest for life. And while planning your gift giving this season, keep my book, “How To Ignite Your Passion for Living” in mind. There is nothing better than giving a gift that will help improve the lives of your friends and family.