I used to be obsessed with junk food I loved it it was all I ate I basically lived off of takeout and sweets it became such a big part of me that it was something that I was known for when people wanted to do something nice for me they'd bring me sweets I received books on how to bake cookies for my birthday one year my mom even gifted me cupcake ornaments for Christmas now none of that is inherently bad but the point is is that I was that girl the junk food sweet treat obsessed girl
I knew it and everybody knew it but that's not who I am anymore now I genuinely love nourishing healthy food I don't crave takeout or sweets or junk food the way I used to and my life is completely different it's been about 8 years since I made this change and I can confidently say that I have not once wanted to go back to my old junk food habits no yo-yo dieting no out ofc control Cravings just happy healthy food Freedom so let me tell you exactly how I did it so you can break free too
hey friend welcome back if you're new here my name is jills and I help women step into their power tap into their divine feminine and become their best self so if that's something you want to do you should subscribe and stick around and in case you want more from me besides just my YouTube videos you can check out my deep dive feminine energy course or any of my other digital products they are linked down below so my life completely changed once I finally actually consistently started eating a healthy diet and that's probably not surprising but
my health and my energy completely transformed you guys know if you've been here for a while that I suffered from some health issues in the past and changing my diet was a crucial part of that healing process but the thing is is that I tried to eat healthy for a really long time time for many years I tried and I tried and I would always miserably fail I so badly wanted to be that girl who just like naturally ate healthy and just naturally craved healthy foods and it just felt so good and you know it
was just easy but I always failed I could never seemed to stick with it until I finally figured it out and became that person and once I did I've never gone back so in this video I want to share the things that actually helped me break free from constant junk food and the shifts that changed everything for me so we'll start off talking about the more practical food related tips but then of course we also have to talk about some deeper stuff too later on in this video and keep in mind I'm sharing what worked
for me and what I believe so as always take what resonates and leave the rest now before we dive in I just want to add a quick disclaimer I have never struggled with true disordered eating yes I loved junk food but I've never personally dealt with anything like binge eating or any true clinical Eating Disorders so if that's something you're going through please keep in mind that I'm not coming at it from that perspective I'm simply sharing what helped me build a healthy relationship with food and break free from that chronic junk food lifestyle all
right let's get into it so before we even talk about Cravings or willpower or eating habits we have to talk about this junk food is literally designed to be addictive it's not just you you're not weak you're not lacking willpower the system is rigged against you ultr processed foods think like chips or fast food or candy or even some of the so-called healthy packaged foods are engineered in a lab to override your brain's natural hunger and satisfaction signals they're made to hit your dopamine receptors hard so that you keep wanting more and they do this
on purpose food company's hire scientists whose entire job is to create the perfect combination of fat and sugar and salt to make a food that is hyper palatable which means they're designed to make you crave it and make you want to over eat if you feel like you can't stop eating certain processed foods it's because they were designed to be that way they were created to make you hooked and so when you eat them all the time your brain actually adapts to the cycle junk food becomes your normal your taste buds get D whole real
food starts to seem super boring and Bland and so then you crave more of that junk and the cycle just continues So when you say to yourself oh I'm done I'm done eating unhealthy food like I'm going to have a healthy diet now and when you stop eating those Foods it can feel really uncomfortable and boring at first and that is normal that that is something that I want you to understand that is normal it's like if you watch Tik Tok for 8 hours a day every single day and then someone takes away your phone
you're going to be so bored and unsatisfied and this is just helpful to know there's nothing wrong with you it's just a part of the process and especially those first two weeks are the hardest that's kind of when like your brain and your body is recalibrating your dopamine levels are adjusting your blood sugar is stabilizing and your taste buds are starting to wake up again and once you get through that phase then everything starts to shift so if you're going from ultr processed food all the time to healthy nourishing whole food meals there might be
an awkward uncomfortable transition period and that is okay don't mistake that discomfort for failure or a sign that you're not meant to do this those Cravings that felt impossible to resist they fade those boring healthy foods they actually start to taste pretty good your body just has to adjust first okay but you know how everyone says just listen to your body your body will tell you what you need just listen to your body your Cravings are a sign and yes I do believe that's true our bodies are incredibly smart and they're always communicating with us
but and this is a big butt if all you've been eating is ultr processed food I believe that your body can't really tell you what you need yet here's what I mean if your body is used to running on junk and processed food and let's say for example that your body needs a little bit of sugar it's not going to tell you oh I'd love a handful of fresh blueberries no it's going to say give me cookies give me candy give me ice cream now because that's all it knows that's what it's been living off
of for years because right now your Cravings might not be real genuine signals from your body they might even be addiction signals and in the beginning of this whole diet reset your body is an asking for nourishment it's still chasing dopamine spikes and blood sugar crashes and the cycle that it's been used to so listening to your body is important but not at the beginning at first you have to be the one making the decisions you have to teach your body what balance and what nourishment feels like for the first few months you have to
be intentional about what you eat you have to give your body time to reset because once it does then it will start guiding you in a proper way in a much healthier way and then you can start following it and I really believe that you will feel that shift in your body when you can start tapping in and tuning into those Cravings suddenly when you need something sweet your body actually craves fruit instead of candy or when you need a snack you'll crave something more simple or something with prot protein instead of just like a
bag of chips so yes listening to your body is key But first you have to teach it what real nourishment feels like now even after months or even years of eating a healthy diet you still have to be mindful of this one thing extreme hunger will always make you crave the most calorie dense High reward Foods possible because here's the deal when you're really hungry your body isn't thinking what's the most balanced and nourishing meal I can have no it's thinking ah OMG we need energy we need quick calories fast and this is a biological
protective mechanism that we all have this is a good thing it's not a willpower issue this is just how our body is wired the moment your brain senses that you are starving and running on empty it flips into survival mode and pushes you towards the quickest highest calorie foods available AKA usually junk food so if you let yourself get to the point of being ravenous because you ignored your hunger cues for 2 hours then you're more likely to want food from a place of survival not nourishment your instincts are going to demand the fastest most
filling thing you can get it doesn't care if that food is going to break you out in acne or give you a belly ache all it's focusing on it survival and getting out of that like famine state so be smart be aware note your hunger cues if you feel hunger creeping in don't ignore it don't wait until you're shaky and irritable and your stomach is like turning over in there and growling so loud that the person next to you can hear I actually just had this happen to me last week I noticed that I was
getting a little bit hungry but I was deep in like a really good workflow and I didn't want to stop and I just had a lot of ideas so I just kind of ignored my Hunger for a while and I just kept working and after about like 1 and a half or 2 hours of this all of a sudden I was like oh my gosh I am hungry I got to the point where I felt like I was starving and then what did I want all of a sudden when I felt like I was starving
pizza now don't get me wrong I absolutely eat pizza sometimes because fun foods are part of a healthy life too but I already had a fully prepped healthy nourishing dinner in the fridge waiting for me and even though I was craving pizza I knew it was because I was starving so I heated up my dinner that was in the fridge I ate it and by the time I was finished pizza sounded totally me I genuinely did not want it I was just starving and my brain was screaming for quick calories and quick energy and this
is why staying on top of your hunger and those signals are key because you want to make sure that you make choices from a place of balance not desperation and that's why it's important to make sure you always have good snacks on hand snacks like Chomps who is kindly spons sponsoring today's video If you haven't tried Chomps yet they are 100% grass-fed grass finished meat sticks that are 10 plus g of protein per full size stick and zero sugar they're Whole 30 approved certified paleo certified gluten-free and free from soy Dairy artificial preservatives colors nitrates
nitrites just real simple ingredients it's perfect for on the- go because you can easily bring it with you whether you're running errands or traveling or doing whatever it's not going to crumble all over your car or spill in your purse you get some protein in and it doesn't make a mess and it's also just a great thing to have on hand in your pantry for a little snack when you need it and this can be for anyone one of my friends has a 5-year-old who was literally obsessed with these things she literally asked for them
every single day it really is the perfect easy snack I like the original flavor the best if you've tried these let me know what your favorite flavor is so if you're looking for a better healthier snack option check out Chomps they're a family-owned business that wants to provide accessible real clean food and you can click the link in my description to learn more or to find them at a store near you so a special thank you to Chomps and let's get back into one of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to eat
healthy is this they don't eat meals that actually satiate them and fill them up and they start living from a place of restriction I've seen people who will choose a salad for lunch because they think that that is you know the automatically healthy and clean option but then it'll literally just be like all lettuce that's it or they'll eat plain dry chicken breast with plain raw broccoli and then they'll wonder why they're hating life and starving an hour later and then they'll convince themselves that they can never eat healthy because it's so hard and if
you do it that way it is hard no one wants to eat like that because those are not nourishing filling meals and I did this too I remember I was trying to eat healthy and so what I had for lunch was like just some plain protein and plain raw broccoli and I was like how could anyone do this and that's because in my opinion plain raw broccoli sucks even after eating healthy for so many years you still cannot get me to eat that so yeah of course if you're eating sad boring meals that taste so
Bland and don't fill you up you're going to Crave junk food like a whole plate of spinach is not a meal if you want to stop craving junk food you have to make sure that your healthy meals are actually satisfying so you can't just eat a big bowl of lettuce and call it a meal you have to make it something worth eating add some grilled chicken add some roasted sweet potatoes add some pumpkin seeds some avocado and like a really yummy dressing now it is much better a much more complete meal so a good tip
is to try to make sure that you are getting these three things at every meal Protein healthy fats and good natural carbs if you do this you're going to feel a lot more satiated and be kept Fuller longer and you know add some herbs to your meal add some seasoning add some flavor spice it up and this is another important tidbit or at least I think so now obviously I'm not a doctor or like a nutrition professional but in my opinion if you eat a meal and you are hungry within like 3 hours I believe
that that means it is not a good meal for you now maybe it's not like entirely wrong but something needs to shake shift about it maybe you need to add some more protein maybe you need to add some healthy fats or maybe you just need more like maybe the portion size was not enough but good healthy meals should actually hold you over and keep you full for a good amount of time if it's not holding you over then there is something that's wrong about it for you for example I don't normally eat salads as like
full meals that often and the reason why is because I just really struggle to feel good for several hours after eating them I get hungry pretty quickly even when I add in all the fixings it definitely helps but I still get hungry pretty quickly and so what normally feels better to me is to have like a side salad but then have another plate that is a little bit more complete and a little bit better for me that has you know a good amount of protein maybe some Japanese sweet potato maybe some Avocado now this is
something that I do think is important to listen to your body even right away because in order to eat well you need to actually be satiated and when you stop eating like a little rabbit and eating meals that actually satisfy you it's all just going to feel so much easier and lastly healthy eating does not mean eating less I see so many women who are trying to diet and eat healthy and they'll try to stick to like 1,200 calories a day you are not a 4-year-old child you are a grown woman and your body needs
fuel most people need more than that and all that's going to do is just mess up your hormones and keep you hungry and keep you sad and I promise if you start eating real food with good real ingredients no ultr processed stuff just simple whole meals then you will not have to think about calories so many people equate healthy eating with restriction but that is a limiting belief and if you choose to believe that then that is the reality you will perpetuate for yourself all right now that we've talked about this from a practical food-based
perspective let's go a little bit deeper so what if it's not just about food what if there's something else that's causing you to struggle what if you crave sweets because there's no sweetness in your life what if you crave Comfort Foods because you're so uncomfortable in your life what if you crave addictive processed foods because it's the only time you ever get that happy dopamine Spike if your life doesn't feel good if your days feel dull and stressful and unfulfilling and you're not doing anything to change that your brain is going to search for something
else to close that Gap and make you feel good and junk food is one of the easiest fastest ways to artificially create those feelings so here's something I want you to really sit with you will crave what your life is missing if you're constantly reaching for sweets maybe just maybe it's a sign that you need more fun and joy and excitement in your life if you're always craving Comfort Foods maybe you're stressed and exhausted and anxious and instead of just masking it with food it's time to start changing what's making you feel that way in
the first place junk food becomes an easy shortcut a temporary fix but it never actually solves the real issue now of course food should be enjoyable but when you rely on it to replace the joy the Comfort the the sweetness the satisfaction that's missing from your actual life that's when an unhealthy cycle starts so if this resonates with you instead of just focusing on what you're eating start asking where in my life do I need more sweetness how can I create more pleasure more relaxation more fun more Comfort without food how can I get filled
up by life instead of just the things I eat because if your life is unfulfilling if you feel numb and stuck and stressed every single day then of course you're going to chase quick dopamine hits junk food is an easy way to escape but the truth is is that no amount of ice cream or chips or takeout will ever fix a life that you don't actually enjoy living I stopped craving so much sweets and junk food not just because I changed my eating habits but because I changed my life I let go of what was
making me miserable I didn't need as many sweets to make me happy I didn't need as much pizza to feel calm and grounded when I started feeling genuinely fulfilled calm happy and at peace I no longer crave junk food in the same way because I wasn't constantly trying to fix how I felt so maybe the food isn't really the problem maybe it's a symptom of the problem maybe it's the way you're living maybe it's the stress the lack of fulfillment the boredom the emotional weight that you're carrying and until you start addressing that you are
always going to be searching to fill that void and lastly here's one final truth I want to share with you if you've been eating unhealthy for a long time like I had been you can't just quit junk food you have to quit the version of yourself that eats that way and let me explain for years I struggled to break break free from my bad eating habits no matter how much I tried to eat healthy no matter how important and crucial I knew it was I'd keep slipping back into my old ways I'd make progress and
then I'd fall off again you know over and over and over again now looking back the reason is pretty obvious I failed because my identity never matched to the habits I was trying to create I was trying to change my habits without changing who I believed I was even when I was trying to eat well I still saw myself as that junk food kind of girl like I just loved all that kind of stuff and that's who I was I didn't see myself as someone who eats healthy I saw myself as someone who didn't eat
healthy but was trying really hard to eat healthy and there's a really big difference there it's almost impossible to start living in a new way when you're identity is still tied to the old way so basically I was forcing behavior that didn't match my identity so of course it never stuck and it always felt uncomfortable because when these two things don't match it causes a lot of internal discomfort so here's is a secret your identity naturally dictates your behavior and if you shift your identity first then new Behavior new habits start to become a lot
more effortless most people think that they just need more discipline and more willpower and sure that might help but real lasting happy change doesn't come from forcing yourself it comes from becoming a different version of yourself the version of yourself that already does those things naturally think about it your brain is wired to act in in alignment with who you believe you are this is called identity-based behavior and it's backed in Neuroscience psychological research shows that our brain creates these subconscious self scripts essentially the roles we play in life and we act in ways to
confirm our identity and reinforce it and we are always always looking to confirm and reinforce our identity whether we like that Identity or not so the point is is that if you still see yourself as the junk food Queen your brain will pull you back to that behavior even even if you want to eat healthier but if you shift your identity and just decide I'm someone who loves nourishing food I'm someone who craves fresh healthy meals with real ingredients I'm someone who fuels my body with what makes me feel my best I'm someone who genuinely
loves real food it just feels better that's just who I am when you start to tell yourself this your brain will start aligning your behavior with this new belief or identity and it'll all start to happen a little bit more naturally and a little bit more effortlessly so I didn't just have to let go of packaged meals and sweets I had to let go of the version of me that likeed to live that way I had to let go of that identity before I could fully step into healthy gills and for healthy eating to feel
good and to feel easy because here's the reality no matter how hard you try to change your habits you can only change as much as you allow your identity to change and therefore if your identity stays the same so will your reality if you've always eaten a junk food heavy diet if you were like me then that identity is probably subconsciously ingrained into you and until you shift that identity changing your habits will feel like a battle so maybe you don't need more discipline maybe you just need to start seeing yourself differently now in case
you want to learn a bit more about this concept you can check out this video here it tells you exactly how to shift your identity and your self-concept and it's one of my absolute favorites because it's been one of the most helpful and important practices in my life so I'll see you over there or I'll just see you next time in my next video so thank you so much for watching and I hope you got value from this but yeah I'll see you next time or there bye
