Questions About Junk Food...

BrookeLee2

Say if you were insanely poor and could not afford fruits or veggies or healthy food, and had to buy junky food, would it really be all that bad?

I try to balance my healthy/junk intake, and normally stay within my calorie goal. I've heard varying arguments about what food works best. 'As long as you stay within calories, anything goes' or 'healthy food only is the way to go'.

So all in all, as long as you're in your calorie/nutrient goals does it really matter what you eat?

BrianSharpe

From strictly a weight loss point of view - it doesn't matter (Google The Twinkies Diet)

However nutritious homemade food is always cheaper than junk food. You'd be amazed at how well you could eat buying staples like rice, beans, chicken eggs etc. and how cheap it can be.

cebreisch

Actually the quality of food is important. Fresh fruit and veggies are actually cheaper than junk food, and anything you fix yourself is cheaper and better for you than any pre-made stuff.

I've personally found that the better quality food I eat, the more of it I can have, and can even go over my limits some and still end up losing weight.

I know that that's always better in theory than in practice...sometimes you can't always make your meals or be in a situation to make that the case. BUT you can always "choose wisely." Grilled chicken is always better than fried. Baked potatoes (plain) are always going to be better than fries, etc.

I actually quit having fries with take-out food because by the time I'd get home, they'd be cold. I'd rather have something like pretzels or crackers that have a bit more texture to them anyway. That doesn't mean I don't have fries anymore - it just means that if I go someplace and really want fries, I won't have the bun on my sandwich. (Yes, that means I'll eat a cheeseburger without the bun and with a knife/fork.) Thereby, choosing one doom (fries) for another (bun).

It's all about the choices you make.

jonnythan

Food "quality" is meaningless.

However, cost is no excuse not to eat veggies and get proper macros. Big bags of frozen veggies are like a dollar. Fresh fruit is expensive and spoils quickly, so I don't bother most of the time. I do get bananas, which are stupid cheap. I also eat some canned fruit.

Hit your macros and eat several servings of veggies a day.

ingraha

This looks like a severe case of rationalizing to me. Its cheaper to eat healthy. Junk food is expensive.

Ready2Rock206

Excuses, excuses. A bag of frozen veggies is often cheaper than a bag of chips. A bag of brown rice is cheaper than a frozen pizza. A carton of oatmeal is cheaper than a gallon of ice cream. Point is - your healthy food can be cheaper and will last for a lot more meals than the junk. This is also a great time of year to hit up the local farmer's market for fruits and veggies - for CHEAP!

43932452

I think if you have a freezer it is best to spend $ on
produce that's in sale. Get it home, clean cut it,
divide it up and flash freeze it. Your body will do
much better on nutrient rich foods than junk or
frozen/can meals. You'll get better value this way.

corgicake

No such animal, unless you habitually fail to read your sale sheets or don't have the motivation to learn how to cook non-prepackaged things.

Speaking of animals, ditching them to some extent will shrink the crap out of your food budget. Oatmeal by the tub, beans and rice by the bag, bags of bulk nuts, bags of flour... I've given up a good chunk of my old meat intake and watched the money spent on protein plummet because of it. Frozen veggies minimize waste and go on sale more often and depending on distance traveled hold their nutrition better than fresh ones.