Are there certain snack foods you can’t resist? When I was a kid, I enjoyed either buttery or cheesy crackers. And I dispensed with the mound of salt that accumulated at the bottom of the bags, but crisp potato chips made me happy.

Let me know what your favorite snack foods are in the Comment box below. Just remember to abstain from eating them at least 95% of the time.

Digital Diets

There is no doubt that technology has provided numerous advantages for modern women like you. In fact, it has revolutionized the way you conduct business, take care of your personal affairs, communicate with each other, complete financial transactions, purchase items, and learn.

Those are just a few examples. However, there’s a downside to the expectation that once you push a button, voila, you have what you want.

Take, for instance, processed foods. Virtually any grocery store will supply well-stocked shelves of potato chips, crackers, cookies, tortilla chips, biscotti, and similar items. These products often feature mouth-watering spices and flavors.

The Downsides

The problem is that they also deliver an overload of salt, sugar, fat, and flavor-enhancing chemicals.

The efficiency of computerized food processing equipment allows for this diversity, and greed drives the price of these items. Yet, you purchase them despite the reality that companies dole out diminishing product amounts year after year.

While they are certainly enjoyable to eat, and they serve the purpose of supplying you with stomach-fillers that require no preparation other than to open a bag or a box, you eventually pay a cost associated with these products that far exceeds the price tag.

Those same foods bear primary responsibility for a significant increase in obesity among men and women– particularly within the United States.

How Did We Get Here?

The physical proximity of the processed foods, combined with a sedentary, television and device-driven lifestyle, provides a lethal mixture that spurs not only excess weight but a plethora of disease processes. These include but are not limited to heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and blood clots.

When I worked in the traditional corporate world, it was common to have a series of vending machines filled with junk food of all kinds at the employees’ disposal. Although most people said they preferred to eat healthier foods, the availability of those goodies within their grasp drove their eating decisions, mainly when they worked overtime or had almost no time in between meetings to grab a decent meal elsewhere.

Bad Habits Die Hard

They didn’t exactly need encouragement to abuse their bodies this way, but time crunches and deadlines provided the excuse they needed.

Then, in the evenings, during the holidays, and on weekends, they would go home, prop themselves in front of the mind-numbing TV programs—exhausted from the day’s stress and work—and further appease the need to be nurtured through the consumption of those “comfort” foods.

The Hidden Winners, Exposed

The only people gaining comfort from these snacks are the food conglomerates selling them and collecting multiple billions a year in the process. On the other hand, you must pay the consequences of maintaining an energy-depleting, high-calorie, and low-nutrition diet.

Solutions and Suggestions

So how should you fight these pushbutton temptations? You can’t entirely avoid vending machines, padlock your cabinets, or super-glue your refrigerator doors shut.

Relax. There are reasonable options, like selecting a food accountability partner. This person is typically a friend or family member you can count on to encourage you to eat healthy food and check with you to stay on track.

It’s also a great idea to have low-calorie snacks on hand, like baby carrot sticks or dried apples with cinnamon and no added sugar. They’re tastier than you might think.

Sometimes a coach or personal trainer can assist in this regard. Yes, occasionally, they will drive you crazy, bugging you about what you are or are not eating. However, it serves you to remember they care about your health; the tough love they deliver is well worth it when you receive another good checkup at your annual physical.

Your Body Responds to the Changes

An interesting phenomenon happens once you deny yourself these fast-food snacks for extended periods. For instance, if you have a bite of them several months down the road, you will discover they do not taste nearly as good as you remember.

Your taste buds become acclimated to the foods you put in your mouth. So if you refrain from eating salty food for long periods and then eat something slightly salty, you will be amazed how briny it tastes. Yuck!

A friend of mine used to sprinkle enough salt on his salad–salad, mind you—that it looked dusty, and then he would gobble it down. Even he had to admit his salt habit was out of control. I often wondered if he had any idea how it felt to taste real food.

Labels Are Revealing

Once you learn how to read labels and calculate percentages, you will be amazed at how much sugar companies add to food. Plus, there’s added salt in sugary foods and added sugar in salty foods.

Remember, the industry’s goal is to promote repeat sales. They are masters of their craft: inducing food addiction.

Pat Yourself on the Back

That’s why I recommend you exercise discipline and remember to celebrate when you see yourself developing healthier eating habits, feeling better, looking better, and getting better medical reports from your doctor.

Trust me that the journey is worth it. I will discuss this and many other holistic wellness tips and topics in my Ebony Jazzed course.