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 😢

@PostWatchBot@lemy.lol

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

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.

Don’t buy it, or switch to things like nuts or popcorn that you can eat a lot of without it being too unhealthy.

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.

You have what is called an “addiction”. An addiction is a self-destructive behavior you can’t control. Or rather, that you can control but not with the normal ease at which you normally control your own actions.

There’s two ways out of an addiction. One is far more effective than the other.

The method that’s more effective short term, but less effective long term, is willpower. Just force yourself to hold off on those treats. Wait five minutes, then dig in. Next time, try waiting six minutes. Just brute force your way out of the behavior.

The method that is less immediately effective, but far more effective long term, is to heal your psychological trauma so that moment-to-moment consciousness is not painful. This will remove the base motivation for pleasure-seeking, making that junk food mildly attractive, but nothing more.

In my own experience with addiction, brute forcing an addiction merely leads to another addiction forming. The only lasting addiction relief I’ve gotten in my life is from deep psychotherapeutic work, with men’s groups, with zen training, with individual therapy, and with native american healing ceremonies.

If your addiction were to alcohol or crack or something else that debilitated you, I’d recommend starting with the brute force method just to get breathing room. But a junk food addiction is more subtle, and doesn’t immediately debilitate you, so my recommendation is to go for the trauma healing strategy.

However, if your job is at all in danger, then I recommend the brute force method to begin with, because the inflammation caused by junk food will affect your job performance and if there’s any danger of losing your job then you need to take immediate action to protect it.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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?