Do you eat junk? why or why not?

xmaplegunmanx

I eat whatever occasionally but on a daily basis I have slim fast snacks. They're only 100 calories and they're tasty! But once in a while I'll have a chocolate bar or cupcake. I log everything too. I have lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks so I must be doing something right!

seltzermint555

I eat a little bit of "junk" some days each week, not every day. It accounts for less than 10% of my diet, absolutely...probably less than that. I adore donuts and ice cream and the occasional greasy burger.

Cutting them out completely would not be realistic for my long-term lifestyle.

What I have cut out is "just because" things...for example I used to buy and eat a chocolate bar just because I was in line next to them at the grocery store - or eat 2 Taco Bell burritos just because friends were making a late night run. Now I wouldn't do either of those things!

ObsidianMist

since starting to use this site I've had a surprisingly easy time not eating junk. I'm pretty happy with just having fruit/berries in a smoothie as my sweet thing for the day. I was majorly overeating including hardcore nighttime snacking before starting to use this site and I imagine once my stomach shrinks back down a little and the amount of food I'm supposed to be eating a day becomes enough to fill me up, it'll be even easier to not snack or eat junk food. plus I make a concerted effort to eat food I genuinely find delicious, as a lot of healthy food actually is if you just give it a chance.

robertw486

amusedmonkey wrote: »

It's just a term people use to identify certain foods as "lower class". It's "foodism" if you will. Mostly used to describe packaged foods with high sugar/sodium/fat/refined flour content, many fast foods, many snack foods and many street foods. An apple pie from McDonad's is usually considered junk, but a homemade apple pie is less likely to be considered junk. Same for pizza from a chain restaurant vs homemade or bought from a proud mom and pop's pizzeria. A nice fatty cut of meat (or Wagyu if you want to be fancy) is less likely to be considered junk because it's more respected as a food that takes some level of attention and artistry to prepare, but grind a cheaper cut of meat into a burger, and it will acquire the label right away. A good quality wine is not junk, but a soda is. Some actually healthy foods are lumped into this category and some very micronutrient-poor foods are actually left out of this category due to this loosely defined "foodism". Gyros, Indian curries, tacos, fish cakes..etc are actually considered junk food by some.

The term is so ingrained that I stopped arguing about its validity and just take it at face value answering questions accordingly. Does not mean I agree with it. If micronutrient density is the main deciding factor then fortified cereals and vitamin water are the epitome of "unjunkiness", and any type of fat or oil is junk because it has a poor micro:calorie ratio.

Interesting perspective. I've never really thought of it that way, but then again I don't get hung up on the labels either way. As long as a person uses the labels in a context that makes sense for them, it's just that anyway.

I am actually surprised though, that people don't seem to get hung up on the "junk" label, but if the same stuff is labeled "good" or "bad" people get up in arms. It all comes down to when it's one or the other, when it fits, when it's a good choice, or when it's a bad choice.


I fit tasty good junk foods in now and then. Usually on days that I work out harder, as it makes the food choices for the day more flexible.

morg987

Personally for me I rarely eat junk as it just isn't appealing to me, sometimes I do have dark chocolate or dried fruit or raw cheesecake (yes I am one of those) and I do this because of sugar. Too much sugar can be very damaging for health, speedin up the aging process, causing the ph balance of our body to become too acidic, leading to increased urination which can also contain minerals that were not yet absorbed by the body, many other heart, liver and teeth concerns can also be caused by too much sugar. As well no amount of detoxing whether it be through food or exercise will rid the body of "junk foods" if a person were to consume them regularly, buuuut a treat for sanity once in a blue moon works for me!

senecarr

morg987 wrote: »

Personally for me I rarely eat junk as it just isn't appealing to me, sometimes I do have dark chocolate or dried fruit or raw cheesecake (yes I am one of those) and I do this because of sugar. Too much sugar can be very damaging for health, speedin up the aging process, causing the ph balance of our body to become too acidic, leading to increased urination which can also contain minerals that were not yet absorbed by the body, many other heart, liver and teeth concerns can also be caused by too much sugar. As well no amount of detoxing whether it be through food or exercise will rid the body of "junk foods" if a person were to consume them regularly, buuuut a treat for sanity once in a blue moon works for me!

Evidence for any of those health claims?
If your body PH went too acidic, no one would be here typing because we'd be dead.
You can't detox sugar because detoxes besides your liver doing its job or hospital treatment for serious conditions, detoxes don't do anything, and because your body constantly has sugar in your blood, or we'd be dead.

LloydGK

realityfades wrote: »

Out of curiosity, who here eats junk food, and who doesn't? If you do or don't eat junk, why?

1) Yup - (I demolished a whole pizza only last night)
2) Because I like the taste (and am not afraid of a little hard work )

LucyMcd1

I just recently got back on the wagon again (couple days ago), but I think I'll be eating a small amount of junk food either every couple days or do like you do, every day with a lot of exercise and veggies to balance it out. I once saw that someone said you need to live with your changes every day, even after you lose weight, and I want to still be able to enjoy junk food occasionally in the future.

akern1987

Sure, I just keep it within my calorie limit for the day. However, I have learned that eating stuff that's good for you is far more satisfying than eating junk. Not that I don't love me some bagel bites once in a while, whole foods definetly give you more bang for your buck in terms of calories and macros.

JQuinnLife

LucyMcd1 wrote: »

I just recently got back on the wagon again (couple days ago), but I think I'll be eating a small amount of junk food either every couple days or do like you do... I want to still be able to enjoy junk food occasionally in the future.

@LucyMcd1

I think I might be able to guess why you fell off the wagon in the first place... there was probably a Twinkie laying on the ground.

Listen, eating junk food feels great, it's supposed to. It's chemically designed to hit all of the built in trigger systems for deep seated survival instincts. Eating it even once will propel you back down the labyrinth of regular junk food eating.

My cheat meals usually consist of just eating more calories than I should, instead of my usual restriction of 2,000 calories, I cheat and get up to 2,500. Does it hurt me? Minimally, but do I get the same satisfaction as eating junk food? Even more satisfaction, because what I am eating lines up with my goals.

Carlos_421

I do not eat junk. Once it's in the trash it stays there. No junk. Just food.

I do eat sweets, fast food, ice cream, candy, pizza and other foods often demonized by society.

FunkyTobias

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I do not eat junk. Once it's in the trash it stays there. No junk. Just food.

BioQueen

I don't eat a lot, but I will to keep my soul happy lol. I eat three little shortbread cookies (73 cals or something like that) with tea and then I will eat veggie straws from Whole Foods (sub for chips). I LOVE my veggie straws. I also drink diet soda without artificial colors, no aspartame, etc. Sometimes I'll cut a quarter of a donut if they happen to be free and available. I buy chocolate bars and have a square or two.

It is just in moderation and I really don't eat a lot of it, but this way I don't feel like I am depriving myself. I fit it in and the calories usually are pretty low compared to the rest of my meals.

Carlos_421

FunkyTobias wrote: »

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I do not eat junk. Once it's in the trash it stays there. No junk. Just food.

That was not IN the trash.......just ON it. Difference.

RoseTheWarrior

I won't classify it as "junk" but I try not to eat calorie laden food that doesn't fill me up. Does that make sense? I only get 1310 calories a day. One donut = not filling at all. For the same calories I can eat a bowl of oats with a little brown sugar and almond milk which keeps me full for several hours. To me, that's a no-brainer.

snikkins

Just got back from our weekly Donut Monday excursion. Mm.

Lourdesong

Yeah ^^^ I polished off a croissant donut from DD a few hours ago. Logging a 400 calorie donut hurt a little, but it really was worth it. Esp with DD coffee. *hearts*

Confuzzled4ever

If by junk you mean alocohol then yes.. Lol.

Seriously I eat some junk but mostly pass on it.

Confuzzled4ever

My.family eats whatever they want.. And one has lost 50 the other 40 in 4 months. So there's that. I eat some but not a lot and I'm down 35 in the last 4. If it works for you do it

senecarr

Carlos_421 wrote: »

I do not eat junk. Once it's in the trash it stays there. No junk. Just food.

I do eat sweets, fast food, ice cream, candy, pizza and other foods often demonized by society.