Ask Lemmy

Stop buying it. That's how we slowed down / stopped.

1. Stop buying it. Starve yourself of it by just not having it around.
2. Keep a tall glass or bottle of warm water with you when you’re junking on content. Keep sipping it. Slowly. Over time you’ll finish the bottle and get up to pee. That’s there number 3 comes in.
3. Recognize another harmful pattern here. Is your approach to watching content affecting your mood or causing you to spiral into junk food addiction? Maybe cut down on the YouTube videos. Or if you enjoy them a lot, combine them with some other activity you can do with your hands - drawing, writing, lifting weights, anything. Basically understand that your hands are idle while your brain is engaged and that’s causing you to reach for that packet of food.
4. Recognize that junk food is an addiction. Deal with it as you would an alcohol or nicotine addiction. You can go cold turkey or taper down. But you have to commit. You have to hold yourself accountable. But do not let yourself get bogged down by failure. Addiction is difficult to deal with. Deal with it anyway.

Everyone is saying don't but snack foods, which is one step. But if you don't have some form of healthy snacks on hand, you're just going to revert back to it. I suggest dehydrating fruits and having nuts and seeds available so you can still snack but not feel bad about it.

Don't have it in the house. Don't buy it. Don't even go down those aisles in the store.

Lots of stop buying it comments in here. How about: Stop watching so many videos? The best way to stop eating is to occupy your mind and hands. Got any hobbies? Get one that involves using your hands and concentration. You must find something that you personally enjoy. You can't eat if you're busy concentrating on something you like doing while occupying your hands! Bonus points if it's something physical that helps get you in shape.

Like others have said one of the easiest things to do is simply don't buy the junk.

Personally I found that the real game changer is finding a healthy snacking alternative. For me this is almonds and dried apricots. They're still quite a 'dense' energy snack but it scratches the sweet tooth itch and is much more filling. Plus you get the added protein, fats & micro nutrients that you would usually miss in processed items.

Try out some different alternatives (my wife loves to snack on dates and Greek yoghurt for example) and try mainly just to focus on finding something you enjoy so you can swap the habit.

Good luck!

I just want you to consider one more aspect of it. I've seen this discussed and backed up with scientific articles but I'm too lazy to find and include them in my post. Basically, all your cravings originate from your gut and your gut is ruled by the bacteria that have made your gut their home over the years. You've colonized your gut with a particular set of bacteria by giving them what you eat.

Now, if you change that food pattern, these bacteria, that control the gut, will make your body release chemicals that will make you crave for food that will keep them alive. Realise this and act accordingly. Being conscious about it has helped me overcome many food related 'addictions' i had like that of soda, of wafers. I still fall prey when I consume sweets continuously for a few days during festivities. Everytime it is the same struggle against the cravings, but I realise I'm just fighting against the settlers in my gut, brave it for a few days and notice my cravings become dull over time. Probiotics like kimchi, saurkraut, kefir, kombucha etc. help to some extent but ultimately it is more of a mind game.

Make what you will from my advice, but it does work for me. I wish you all the best in your fight against your gut settlers.

don't buy it. ever. and if people bring it over make them take it back. make grocery lists before going to the store with healthy snacks you like on it or meal plan filling meals. and eat before you go to the store so you shop with your head, not your stomach lolol.

Make a shopping list and be strict with yourself about what you add to it. Then restrict yourself from buying anything not on the list so that you stick to it. Best way (that I know) to be deliberate about what food comes home with you.

Stop buying it.

It's a lot easier to stop yourself from eating a bag of chips while watching YouTube if it's not just sitting there in your pantry and you have to go to the store to buy it.

You just have to resist the urge to get the junk food during your grocery trips, not every hour you're at home and bored.

You could try to start replacing individual things with better alternatives. Its much harder to just suddenly change your diet

Replace it with normal food (during meals).

Drinking lots of water or brushing your teeth might help you resist the urge.

Just stop buying that kind of food if you can't control your consumption of it. If that's too extreme for you, buy less of it, and when you do eat some, put one serving in a bowl and eat it out of the bowl. When the serving is gone, no more, no refills, you're done snacking on that food.

This is ultimately about your willpower.

Basically we all need to learn how to hack ourselves.

Whatever that may look like for you is fine, so long as the hacks don't cause secondary problems then whatever works works.

Your Ritual = sit, watch, snack on crap, repeat until ??

So maybe try and replace each bit, one at a time, and see what you can bear to white knuckle long enough for it to transform into an enjoyable habit:

• Sit -> walk on treadmill / exercise bike / whatever while you watch, or go outside for a walk while you listen to podcasts etc

• Watch -> listening to podcasts and music or video audio frees up your eyes to be doing a crazy or hobby while you listen. This also means your hands will be occupied and not snacking.

• Snack -> swap in fresh sweet crunchy veg (carrots, sweet bell pepper etc) or popcorn (no butter ya sneaky bugger) etc

• Repeat until ??? -> Portion control. You don't take the whole bag of chips out of the kitchen, you take out a small bowl full and that's your limit

Pick whichever one you want.

Change is hard. We kinda hate it. But it's worth it.

I was able to curb my nervous/bored eating and drinking with bitters and sours. Instead of reaching for food I now reach for some tea (with just lemon), coffee (decaf black), a glass of water with lemon, or just suck on a lime wedge. The lime thing is mostly to curb alcohol cravings.

PS: My wife's answer was Kombucha. Everybody is different.

• don't buy the junk.
• don't snack, you're not 6 months old to need to eat at 3 hours interval.
• during the transition period try to find alternatives like carrot sticks or whatever.
• don't eat at TV or equivalent, eat only at the dinning table when you decide and without distractions.

Good luck

Don't go shopping when hungry.

I love me some salty food so I feel the pain. I'll echo the sentiment of not buying it in the first place. Will power is an exhaustible resource.

I find that it almost doesn't matter what I snack on I just want to snack. I will literally buy a huge bag of carrots and just eat those. Or my other favorite is toss a couple of strained cans of garbanzo beans in an air fryer, spray a bit of cooking spray, toast those suckers for 25 min, and salt/season them for a protein heavy snack that actually has fiber. Cheap, easy, and gives me similar vibes to a potato chip in an incredibly more healthy way.

Most people here recommend stopping something not taking into account that it may not last long. One slip and you're back. No addiction is cured by stopping immediately. You cannot simply get rid of a habit in one day. It has to be steady and progressive so that there's zero stress during transition.

First, start combining junk food with healthier meals. Like once a week, have something semi-healthy. Find something that tastes right for you. It may be not completely healthy, but the main thing is that you should enjoy it. Then start expanding it to more days per week. Repeat until the week days are all "semi-healthy" food. Next step, do the same but lean towards even healthier food, repeat the same process. Start marking cheat days on your calendar, when you can eat whatever you want. At this point you want to make eating healthy food a habit, and cheat days (1-3 per month) as an exception.

I used to drink lots of Lipton Ice Tea. First I switched to some other drink but with less sugar. Then I switched to Cola Zero. Then I started drinking mineral water. Now I basically drink just water and occasionally some Coke Zero. Same scenario also worked for smoking.

TLDR: steadily find better alternatives. Never make sudden change. Make it a habit. Rinse and repeat.

Popcorn. Home made not bought.

Now if you want to go super healthy, air popped with no butter is so low calorie that you can basically not count it. Oil popped is a little higher, but still much better. Its only once you start drowning it in butter that it gets not so good for you. Also if you like it SALTY theres that...

But once you do a little digging into infusing oils and flavored salts and spice mixes, you can make some mind blowing shit. Popping the kernels in chilli infused oil and then hit them with a lemon and garlic salt... fuck yeah.

Are you hungry or just bored and looking for extra stimulation while enjoying some entertainment? Have you considered a fidget toy or something to keep your hands occupied? A puzzle? Knitting? Chewing gum?

Following as I'm in the same boat as you... for me the only thing that helps is when I'm doing one of my hobbies or something else, although usually I end up forgetting to eat in that scenario 😢

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Are you a cheapskate or easily motivated by money? Set yourself a modest junk food budget for a month and track your spending. Set a financial reward for yourself (buy something you want) when you hit that target. Then set a lower target and a longer term reward. Forgive yourself if you go over, and don't give up.

Junk food is so expensive now that you'll blow through that budget in no time. Realizing how much this addiction costs you (like weed, smoking, drinking, gambling, etc) is often a great way to make the decision to kick the habit. Even if you can't stay within the budget, keep tracking your spending. The goal is to reduce if stopping cold turkey isn't your thing.

If this isn't for you, what everyone else said might work too.

Think about how much it costs in total for a month's worth of junk food for you. Then figure out all the things you could do with that money instead. Helped me a lot when gas is high and I can't drive to work and also afford junk food

Talk to a therapist. Work out what's really bothering you, or at least how to be more mindful.

Find hobbies or projects or do stuff with friends to the point that you don't have time for movies and youtube

When you're at the store, don't buy junk food. If it's in the house it'll be extremely difficult to say no to, but while shopying it's easier to make a more rational decision. Also, plan your meals for the week and maybe meal prep

Get lazy enough not to get up and get it, then it's easier to go longer without it and eventually (I think 1-2 weeks) you'll probably not even feel hungry for snacks.

I said this in another comment, get a water bottle. Our bodies use hunger knowing real food has water in it. But if the water isn't working out for you, try switching the snacks to something that might be up your alley. Instead of a chip dip or cheese, try salsa. Someone suggested carrot or celery sticks, get a jar of peanut butter just to dip them in. Carrots and peanut butter is amazing. And to make meal time better, start cooking yourself. Watch a ton of cooking videos on YouTube and try making some easy recipes.

A friend of mine stopped their addiction by developing the habit of putting junk food in the freezer. The freezer makes it taste better but forces you to wait out the craving because it has to get cold.