1. Pizza
At the top of the list is pizza. I think most people can relate here. We’ve all sat down with a way-too-big pizza and made it magically disappear at some point.
Pizza has all the qualities of an addictive food because it is highly stimulatory in terms of our taste buds. Sugary sauce, salty meats and processed cheese. Plus the carb high you get from the refined grains in the dough. It’s the perfect storm for taste-sensations, and it goes well with beer and TV.
If you NEED pizza in your life go for artisanal pizza with an ultra thin base and fewer topping. Ask for only half or a quarter of the cheese to be added. Make it an occasion you look forward to – a reward, not a daily occurrence.
2. Chocolate
‘You can have chocolate, just eat one block’. That’s what any diet consultant might say if you tell them you love eating a choccie every day.
What YOU don’t say in reply is that EATING ONE BLOCK IS IMPOSSIBLE! You HAVE TO eat the whole thing, so until they make mini mini slabs, you’re not going to be able to comply.
Chocolate is a tough enemy, the ultimate sweet. [Tweet this]Comfort and pleasure all rolled into one. If you struggle with this one, my advice is to wean yourself onto 70% dark, and only allow yourself a choccie once per week.
3. Potato chips
These are similar to pizza in the salty department, but they also come with lots of artificial flavourants and hydrogenated oils.
Plus your brain can literally be switched off while you eat them – insert hand into packet, extract chips, shove into mouth, and repeat until empty. They also have a texture stimulus experience – we love crunchy foods.
There are a few better alternatives to regular chips [Tweet this]. Nacho chips made with corn are healthier, as are rice crackers, and plain popcorn. Remember, chips are a treat. A once-per-week food at the most. You don’t need them every day.
4. Soda
Soda is addictive in a somewhat sneaky way. You get thirsty and order an ice-cold, sugar-filled soda.
Soda is addictive in a somewhat sneaky way.
You THINK it hits the spot and quenches your thirst, but what it really does is gives you a little sugar kick that makes you feel better. You think ‘wow, soda is SO much better than water when I’m thirsty’ and begin making a habit of drinking soda. I know people who drink up to 2 litres per day, and they don’t feel OK if they don’t.
This is one you have to stop cold-turkey and switch to water or unsweetened tea or coffee. There is NO healthy soda – not even the ‘diet’ ones. Those just have chemicals where the sugar used to be.
5. Gummy candy
Sugar and texture! Plus they are colourful and tasty, and they come in all sorts of cute shapes. The ultimate fun food.
Gummy candy (and all other sweets) are a totally unnecessary food. Yes, they are nice, but you NEVER need to eat them. If you do it should be rarely and as a treat, not as a snack or part of a meal.
The alternative? There isn’t really an alternative to eating sweets. [Tweet this] But what I recommend is when you think you need to eat some sweets try eating four apples. If you still want the sweets after that (it’s difficult) then you can have them. You probably won’t though.
6. Steak
Yes, steak is an addictive food. Remember that addiction is a problem no matter what the substance.
An overreliance or emotional reliance on any particular food is less than ideal. So although eating steak may be less unhealthy than some of the other foods on this list, being addicted to eating meat is a problem.
The idea that it’s not so bad for you also makes it easier to become addicted to, because hey, it’s STEAK, not CAKE, right?
Society eats WAY TOO MUCH meat.
If you feel compelled to eat meat at every meal time, or regularly plough through a 500g steak at a restaurant or braai, you need to get some balance in your diet.
Regular farmed meat is full of hormones, antibiotics and supplements fed to the animals you are eating, and is definitely not among the healthiest things you can eat.
