how often do you eat junk food?

WinoGelato · March 2016

I also don't like labeling foods "junk" "clean" "good" "bad". I eat all foods in moderation. That includes wine and something sweet pretty much every day. Fast food or pizza maybe once a week. Nicer restaurant meals or bakery treats every couple of weeks.

I lost the weight I set out to lose and am currently maintaining.

Bluepegasus · March 2016

I eat whatever I want as long as it fits within my daily calorie allowance.

ValerieMartini2Olives · March 2016

In for "junk".
In for "I don't eat processed food."

WinoGelato · March 2016

EttaMaeMartin wrote: »

i do not eat processed foods, greek yogurt is a treat!

What's your definition of Processed, since nearly everything we eat is processed in some way. There are a lot of nutrient dense processed and ultra processed foods, including the Greek yogurt you mentioned, cottage cheese, steel cut oats, etc.

I don't find arbitrarily restricting foods because of a vague term like "processed" to be helpful to me. But if it works for you, great!

kristen6350 · March 2016

In my world, nothing is junk food. It's all food. Nothing off limits. I want it, I eat a bit. Been maintaining for a long time so I guess it's working.

TrickyDisco · March 2016

Depends what you mean by junk food - every day I'll eat something like dark chocolate, sweets, biscuits or home-made cakes, and occasionally some alcohol - usually a glass of red wine or beer. I hardly ever eat shop-bought savoury snacks any more and never eat takeaways either or eat in places like McD, KFC or Starbucks. Where I live there's loads of cafes and small restaurants that serve tasty healthy food so tend to visit those when eating out.

LivingtheLeanDream · March 2016

it depends what you call junk food? if its chocolate/ crisps, then yes, every day I enjoy a little as long as it keeps me within my calories.

briscogun · March 2016

I guess it depends on your definition of "junk".

I had pizza and a beer last night. Does that count?

Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I don't stress over eating stuff like that every now and again (or even once or twice a week). I don't eat a whole pizza, just a few pieces. Track it, keep in my goal if I can, call it a day.

nxd10 · March 2016

I agree there's no such thing as 'junk food'. Some food is calorie dense with limited nutritional value. But it can taste great! I have some most days. I often have a 1/4 cup of ice cream around 9. I really like coconut covered cashews and have 1/3 of an ounce when I get home from work. I'll drink a glass of wine or have cheese and crackers. I'll split a McDonalds hot fudge sundae with my husband. One of those thing happens most days.

I always indulge in a treat - cake or cookie or milk shake or pie - when I'm with a group who is eating or when I'm out and celebrating and just feel like it. But I can't eat much of it any more. So half a piece of pie is plenty - and I'm even having trouble drinking half of a small shake now. It tastes great, but it's really rich and I only eat around 1/4 of it.

Now that i think about it, it seems as if with any big weekly indulgence like that what I really want is around 200-300 really tasty calories. After that my stomach (not my head) tells me it's too much. So I try to listen.

My little indulgences go around 75 calories.

rnelson88 · March 2016

Once every 2 weeks or so I have a piece of cake or slice of pizza. But I make sure it is on a day that I exercise so that the 600 calories of junk doesn't affect my waistline. If that is too long for you to wait between "cheating" then you can try some high protein, low-carb healthy treats. I have plenty of recipes that have gotten me thru some tempting moments. Message me if you want some recipes.

eldamiano · March 2016

All the time. Today I have had a big piece of chocolate, a mousse and later I am going to have pizza and donuts.

Tomorrow, something similar will be on the menu.

Yesterday, I made myself a burger, although it was a huge one...

Sweet13_Princess · March 2016

I know myself pretty well. If I don't eat "junk" food regularly, then one day I'm going to binge and eat the whole bag of chips or a bunch of sweets. I try to eat healthy throughout the day, but save some calories for when I'm sacking out on the couch in front of the TV (usually at 8-9pm) where I can eat "junk." So far so good, I've been on track since January.

Shannon

areallycoolstory · March 2016

i fit things like burgers and pizza into my calorie goals every couple of months. but i make room for smaller treats almost everyday. i make sure it is something i can stay on portion with. i cut things into portions. keep them in the freezer. every couple of weeks, i buy those little squares of cake from the supermarket and cut them into four, so i can have them all week. i have three slices in the freezer right now

i make little rules about some treats to keep myself from over doing. for example, one of my fitness pals mentioned nutella brownies. i had never had nutella before, but the stuff sounded delicious. it fit into my calories, so i gave it a try. i immediately wanted to binge on the stuff. so i made some rules for it. i keep it in the back of the fridge. i can only eat it when it is soft. i can never eat it straight from the jar. and i only have one spoon. the back of the fridge and freezer are a good place for my daily treat items. since it is a bit of work to get to them, i don't consume them mindlessly. that is what i think is the problem with what you call "junk food". not consumption, but mindless consumption that can turn into binging. when i plan it i can usually make any food i want fit into my goals.

kimny72 · March 2016

I have pizza once a week. I get Chinese takeout once a week. I have fast food once or twice a week. I eat either ice cream or cookies several times a week. I have chips or pretzels a couple of times a week. I have a soda or a beer every day. I have a square or two of dark chocolate almost every day.

I also eat 4-6 servings of fruit and veg daily, I get plenty of fiber and protein, and I am at goal but have decided to try to lose a few more lbs once the weather warms up.

It doesn't have to be one or the other. You can eat a well-balanced, nutrient-dense, calorie appropriate diet that includes "junk" food.

kimny72 · March 2016

areallycoolstory wrote: »

that is what i think is the problem with what you call "junk food". not consumption, but mindless consumption that can turn into binging. when i plan it i can usually make any food i want fit into my goals.

This is a great point too.

tahxirez · March 2016

EttaMaeMartin wrote: »

i do not eat processed foods, greek yogurt is a treat!

Greek yogurt is absolutely processed. Blended, pasteurized, cultured, fruit or flavoring added (optional), all processes.

Ohwhynot · March 2016

Daily. Chocolate, chips, McDonald's, whatever. I just budget for it.

BettyBaliol · March 2016

Having dieted at various times in my life I realise that cutting out snacks and treats just doesn't work for me. I stick it for a while then buckle! This time around I am having about 4 small (abt 100 cal) snacks during the course of the day as and when I feel the urge. I factor them all in to my diary in the morning then I don't even have to think about it. This has been the most successful and painless change in my diet I've ever made so far and really that's all been down to allowing myself wee snacks. I tend to have a multipack bag of crisps or something like that or a rocky bar. I also make up a big batch of home made Squares like the Kelloggs ones, which work out at about 70 calories and deal with my sweet craving! I suppose that really it comes down to the sort of diet/kick that you are on. I've done low sugar ones, low fat, low carb and so on but really just monitoring how much I'm eating seems to work best for me.

Cortneyrenee04 · March 2016

Once a month I go pretty crazy. I have a little "something" almost every day. Usually a handful of chocolate chips

I had ice cream last night and woke up to a 1.6 pound loss. I'll take it!

K_deng · March 2016

Well really you should not eat junk food at all but i mean who actually does that? lol! Just eat but control it. Count calories a little bit. Like for instance, cheetos have like 160 or 140 calories in 21 chips. So just eat 21. Ya know just watch out and try to balance and eat healthy food!!

DearestWinter · March 2016

I don't use the term "junk food". In the last few weeks I've been eating things like Girl Scout cookies, ice cream, chocolate, etc. every day. I just check it fits my calories. I'm eating at a deficit too. (Just realized this is in the Maintaining Weight forum.)

Next up are Cadbury creme eggs. (Which are some of the most divisive candies ever! People love 'em or hate 'em.) I have every intention of eating at least one a day through the end of April. Delicious.

lisawinning4losing · March 2016

Greek yogurt is da bomb.

Serah87 · March 2016

sijomial wrote: »

I don't attach negative labels to food, food is food and just has different nutritional profiles.

If I called my wife's homemade cakes or pies junk I would end up wearing them.......

LOL and agree.

Daily.

raindawg · March 2016

If we're talking burgers/fries, pizza type stuff once every two to three weeks.

Holly_Wood_888 · March 2016

I have been off refined sugar for over 60 days now... just dropped 19 pounds and 15 inches.
I plan on consuming a cheat meal once a week

5stringjeff · March 2016

Depends on how you define junk food... but for me, that's stuff like Oreos, which I try not to keep in the house and only have once every couple of months.

Frozen pizza, OTOH, I have probably once a week. Lots of people would consider that junk.

Gamliela · March 2016

I eat things like candy bars, pizza, frozen pre prepared dinners, etc, when I am invited to, as in, someone's house, or I am given things, like a cake, pie or a package of something as a gift, or invited out to a restaurant where diffrent things are served along with what other people ar eating at the occassion. Otherwise I really don't appreciate the flavour and so I prepare and eat fresh fruit, veg, cooked meats and fish, rice and pasta and bake my own breads. I do purchase cheeses, yogurt when I have to, but in some seasons we make our own cheeses and yogurt.