Enemies. We have enemies that we hate, enemies that we are sad about, enemies that we are angry upon, but what we never noticed is that we all have enemies we like. It is vital to reminisce about the little moments where we are unconsciously tempted by our own enemies, causing minor damage to linger.
Sitting on the sofa, a friend offers you a chip. The salty, spicy, and tangy aroma has caught your nose. But of course! You cannot take them, you just had a stomach full of pizza! But, your friend insists. Then, you agree to take just one. As the brim of the chip touches your tongue, a sense of satisfaction and contentment conjures your tastebuds formidably. All of a sudden, you notice, your fingers are stained red, luring you to give them a lick. However, you know that licking that will do you no good, and another few chips won’t do you any bad. Now, the bag of chips is in your grasp as you furiously try to contemplate the ingredients and calorie count, excusing yourself for it. Not gaining conscience, clandestinely, your hand reaches into the bag for a few more chips.
The incessant captivation by the bag of chips is an encounter almost everyone would have. The addiction, craving, and temptation by our most common enemy, junk food can be something we can’t leave. Throttling the accentuating temptation is like impaling a spear into yourself. Although It is widely known about determination being an answer to all goals, the resistance of temptation for junk food can take more than just determination.
For every problem, we have a solution, whether it is life or death, and it is science. Science to make the junk addictive, science to make it less addictive, and science to make a ‘healthier’ replacement. When the word experiment is brought up, we think of test tubes, rats, lab coats, and whatnot. Although this bureaucratic thought process is not wrong, there are ways more than just a lab.
Morgan Spurlock, a 33-year-old writer decided to whip up a little experiment opposing the addictive junk. ‘Nourishing’ his body in a famous fast-food chain for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a whole month, Spurlock was restless to reveal the impending conclusion. Right before he began, he recorded his body ratios: 188 cm of height and 84 kilograms of weight. Doctors and specialists also certified that Spurlock’s psycho-physical conditions were perfect. Spurlock had also adhered to the average American step count of 2500 steps per day. After the 30 day experiment, Spurlock was once again ready to check his health statistics. Alarmingly, he had a weight gain of 11 kilograms (corresponding to the 18% of his body mass), Depression, lethargy, and headaches, The discomforts mentioned would reduce right after the consumption of the fast-food meal. This is the meaning of the established dependency, Decrease of the libido, Loss of energy, Liver problems, and Tachycardia, and risk of more serious heart issues.
The experiment, aiming to spread awareness to our ambiguous world about the effects of junk food, was definitely a lesson taught.
But there isn’t anything to be despondent about. We can fix this. Is the solution to just obliterate the thought of delicious cravings? Absolutely not, but before the real solution is revealed, we must look into the science that nurtures this craving.
Dynamic contrast:
As you bite through the crispy, juicy, airy pizza shell, a blast of soft creamy tomato and cheese hits your tongue. The combination and contrast of the sensations give your brain a flow of taste-active compounds, leaving you to want more.
Rapid food meltdown and vanishing caloric density:
Oh lord! That cotton candy, so light and cloudy! It melts right on your tongue, leaving a tinge of sweetness. That melting and ‘vanishing’ density leaves you eating the food rapidly and gaining more intake within a short time.
Salivation:
Ah! Imagine a milk chocolate truffle, sitting on your tongue, oozing its way in. Your mouth starts to salivate, spreading the delicacy. Generally, emulsified foods such as butter and chocolate cause your mouth to salivate which spreads the taste to your taste buds, tempting you to gobble more.
But, we must all learn to carefully vanquish this addiction and limit it to a simpler response.
Reward yourself:
Often, we find ourselves munching on a bag of potato chips to settle down our hunger. But, what went unnoticed is that the hunger is not for food, but is in fact for the potato chips itself! The hunger for junk is commonly known as the ‘selective’ hunger can be very much manipulative. However, it is impossible to merely eliminate the craving, in fact, we must try something a little different. Rewarding yourself for an activity or an achievement can be a perfect excuse to sneak in a candy.
Probing one to work harder, achieve more, this technique works perfectly fine. Imagine you are taking trips every 5 mins to the fridge door to embrace last night’s chocolate cake, but you know you can’t eat it, there may be a guilt factor. Well, how about going for a 10-minute run before indulging in this sweet little dish? Maybe a quick stroll outside? Maybe a little bit of gardening? Such simple and physical activities can get you to feel conscious of your eating and its consequences.
Coming back from an activity like this can also trigger your inner senses of not wanting to put back all the calories you just gained with one piece of cake! Leaving you with no choice, you have just lost calories and have lost the wrong temptation.
DIY:
Most commonly known, we have to ‘do-it-yourself’ everything! How about cravings? Can we DIY that? Of course! Picture yourself about to check the freezer for a bag of fries. You know that those fries have a calorie count of over 1000 and the potatoes in them are very greasy. You also know that it is fried food and you despise all that oil content! However, the temptation cannot resist. Well, a simple solution would be to DIY this! Grab a potato, slice it neatly, take a pan and stir fry it(with very little oil), then sprinkle your spices and have a go at it! Although it won’t taste perfect, you have just learned a fantastic recipe and you have fulfilled your craving with something slightly healthier.
Making sweets and junks at home can make you aware of the ingredients added to it. This awareness can probe you to limit yourself from purchasing the foods and making them at home, customized, and improved each time.
Balance:
There is a chocolate bar in your refrigerator which has been lying there for 2-days now. You really badly wanna grab it and munch, but you know it’s way too unhealthy. A simple way to treat this is to make a balance. How about buying some bananas or strawberries? Then coat them in the melted bar of chocolate? Yum? Perfectly, you have made yourself a moderately healthy concoction!
Conclusion:
Resisting the urge for junk can be a hard pass, but we must create self-awareness and solve our issues smartly and coherently. Let us look back at our foes, Junk food, that we like to have, but later remorse. Now, it’s not too late, together we can spread awareness and limit ourselves.
After this tiring and revolutionary read, we must reward ourselves. With what? A chocolate-coated strawberry? Some cookies? How about, a sweet little slice of an apple?
Thanks,
Shayna
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