If junk food has invaded your life…
If junk food has invaded your life–and you feel out of control—it’s important to understand that you CAN beat the habit. But first, it’s important to find out exactly what calories are and what they mean for you. Calories are a measure of how much energy a food supplies to your body. But some foods supply only "empty calories." Empty calories lie in foods that contain few or no nutrients—such as candy and soda, which are loaded with refined sugars and other added sweeteners.

When you have donuts and a fruit drink (instead of a real fruit juice) for breakfast, at first you may feel like you have lots of energy, but that feeling lasts only for a little while. In about 30 minutes, you feel tired and even irritable. With no steady flow of "fuel" to run on, your body starts shutting itself down to a low rumble–puttering like a car that’s running out of gas. Now you are REALLY tired. So you crave more sugar! You eat more and…well, it’s like a bad ride on an old roller coaster. You’re back where you started.

BUT.what if you had chosen to eat a bowl of oatmeal instead? Or perhaps a scrambled egg and a piece of wheat toast? The calories in those kinds of foods have a different effect. Those calories get released slowly into your blood–not all at once. Little by little, healthy foods break down over the hours ahead, and your body calmly uses those calories–so you end up feeling great right up until the next mealtime. That’s one of the big differences between junk food and healthy food.