How to stop eating junk food + a weird reason why we eat it

One of the top questions I get is "How do I stop eating junk food?" In this post, I'm going to share a powerful strategy with you so you can stop.

But first, does this sound familiar...

"Do I want this?" "No, I don't want this!" "Do I want this?" "No, I don't!" "How many calories is it?" You don't want this!" "I deserve this!" "Eh, screw it, I'm just going to eat it!" "Actually, is this really worth it?" "I shouldn't eat this..." "It's been a long day!"

This internal chatter can be EXTREMELY taxing.

It's a pure battle between our long term, rational mind versus our short term, irrational mind.

It's Dr. Jekyllllllll versus Mr. Hydeeee.

It's our Body Tutor versus the devil on our shoulder.

Whatever you want to call it -----> it's freakin' taxing, and this internal debate can drive us crazy.

The weird reason why we might actually be eating junk food -----> because we're so sick of 'listening' to it! And we know that if we give in, and just eat whatever it is we're obsessing over, we won't have to listen to this internal debate anymore.

What I'm saying is that we might not even really want the junk we're eating. What we might really want is peace and quiet!

Jessica, a client, writes this to me:

"I made the decision to eat like crap today. Because I've been thinking about it for a few days and I just don't want to think about it anymore. It's like what you were saying about the candy. I just ate to shut-up my food desires."

Don't you find this fascinating?

Because what we're really after isn't necessarily the food. Food, as much as we like to think it might, will never give us what we're truly after.

So, what can we do about this?

QUESTION: if you were watching TV with a little kid and suddenly something very graphic and disturbing appeared what would you do?

I think, you'd change the channel as fast as you possibly could, right?

As soon as we find ourselves starting to negotiate with ourselves we have a chance to turn it off. We have a chance to change that channel. We can choose to focus on something else. And that's the key!

Because in this moment, we're focusing our attention ONLY on the temptation in front of us or in our mind.

What would happen if going forward, instead of only focusing on our self in that moment, we focused on other things?

Thinking about this before we're in the moment, is what makes this possible because after all, the moment is the moment. All bets are off. It's hard to control what we do in the moment. But, if there's an emergency, we all know how to call 911 - even though we may never have in the moment, right?

How to practice: Right now whatever you're thinking about, change that channel and think about this riddle: Ryan's mother has three children. The first was named April. The next was named May. What is the final one's name?

Suddenly, you're no longer thinking about what you were before reading this and are thinking about the final one's name...

Bingo. That's the idea. We just changed our focus.

Next time you feel yourself starting to negotiate with yourself, try to think about something else. The key is to immerse ourselves in something else. To focus our attention elsewhere.

-Adam