Does healthy eating mean completely avoiding junk food?
mshannond
Posts: 60
I confess, I have been a previous healthy eater.
I would rarely ever cheat & feel awful if I did- as if the junk food would poison my body (if I ate too much it sort of did & I'd feel very sick) however after a few months I wasn't content.
My homemade healthy brownies, muffins, 'Nutella' & the expensive healthy ice cream by booja booja no longer made me happy. I craved real junk food.
I now incorporate a small piece of junk food every 2 days- a kit kat, a packet of crisps, even a granola bar that most people would see as healthy. I find it's stopped my occasional binging and I eat LESS junk overall.
Can I consider myself a healthy eater if I eat occasional bits of junk food? It's rarely over 250 calories a time, unless I'm at a special occasion.
I would rarely ever cheat & feel awful if I did- as if the junk food would poison my body (if I ate too much it sort of did & I'd feel very sick) however after a few months I wasn't content.
My homemade healthy brownies, muffins, 'Nutella' & the expensive healthy ice cream by booja booja no longer made me happy. I craved real junk food.
I now incorporate a small piece of junk food every 2 days- a kit kat, a packet of crisps, even a granola bar that most people would see as healthy. I find it's stopped my occasional binging and I eat LESS junk overall.
Can I consider myself a healthy eater if I eat occasional bits of junk food? It's rarely over 250 calories a time, unless I'm at a special occasion.
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Replies
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There are those who want to eat "clean" that wouldn't eat that kind of stuff, but for me, moderation is key. Completely depriving yourself of treats will just make you binge later, or make you give up on your diet completely.0
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During my lunch most days I include a little fun size piece of chocolate usually maltesers or a freddo bar, but not always. As said moderation is the key and you've got to have a little of what you fancy or the diet isn't going to work long term x0
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If you make something forbidden, you give it power.
Have whatever foods you want, just don't go overboard.
Yes, it's better to have more whole, natural foods and less processed food, but don't get hung up on it, don't make it an absolute.0 -
IMO its the big picture that counts. I have candy, sweets as I see fit. No particular rules other than fitting into my daily goals. Meaning I still need protein, veggies, etc.0
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I think the problem a lot of people have (including myself when I say this) is we try to take everything to extremes. Although I do think junk food is terrible for us and a waste of calories that could be more nutritious...it is a source of comfort food sometimes and just a convenience at others.
Why not shoot for 80% healthy calories and 20% junk food calorie combination if that's manageable for you? or 90-10? Whatever percentage works for you inside your goals and is something you can maintain for life is best. I don't think anyone's ideal would be 100% no junk food ever... just not sustainable. Do something that is as healthy as you can stand, but not so healthy you'll give up in 1 month, 6 months or a year from now.0 -
Can I consider myself a healthy eater if I eat occasional bits of junk food? It's rarely over 250 calories a time, unless I'm at a special occasion.
Most likely yes.
It depends on what else you eat. Balance is the key to long term heatlh. It's possible to eat only "healthy foods" and still have an unhealthy diet if you are not balancing your nutritents.0 -
For my snacks for the last week I've had dessert each night (330 calorie pumpkin spice cupcakes, package of mini powdered donuts, brownie), along with chips with my lunches and full fat cheese on my taco dinner. It's not about not eating junkfood, it's calories in vs. calories out. Consume less then you burn and you'll lose, no matter what you put in your face. Should you try to make healthier choices overall, yes. Eat what you want, only make sure it fits in to your net calories for the day
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Just gonna throw it out there: Nutella is one of the least healthy foods you can eat.0
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I luv candy, I luv it I tells ya. I gotta have it.0
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http://whole30.com/2013/08/moderation
I can't do moderation, it just doesn't work for me. I envy those people who can!
ETA: I don't think it's "wrong" to eat "unhealthy" foods, I just have a tendency to binge if I eat them.0 -
I try to eat clean 95% of the time. My trainer who has provided me with meal plans has suggested to me to incorporate one cheat meal (not day) meal into my week. So every Friday or Saturday night treat myself. It has kept me sane.
Now that being said, this past week I have been in the "I want to eat nothing but junk food" and a bad purchase from Costco had resulted in a small bowl of chips every evening and then last evening I threw them out. I was eating just because they were there. Not because I was hungry.0 -
Don't get so caught up on the label of being a "healthy eater." Do what works for you, and is sustainable long term. For some people never eating processed food is sustainable, but for most of it its not. If you are still meeting your goals, and it prevents you from having a binge then go for it.0
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I would that a religious aversion to an arbitrary list of foods is unhealthy0
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I personally think total avoidance is pretty unrealistic. You also have to look at the bigger picture here...if you're getting in all of your nutrition and meeting your goals, how exactly would having a bowl of ice cream of something for desert undo all of that? When you look at the big picture, having some "junk" here and there is pretty much irrelevant.
Also, look at it this way...if someone eats primarily junk...but every once in awhile has a day that is full of nutrition and well balanced and maybe goes for a run...is that someone all of a sudden a healthy and fit individual?
I personally eat some "junk" pretty much every day...I also take in roughly 6-8 servings of fruits and veg (mostly veg) and get anywhere between 120 - 145 grams of protein (most of which is lean sourced) daily. To boot, the majority of my fats come from things like nuts, avocados; avocado, olive, and coconut oil, etc...my handful of gummy bears after dinner are pretty irrelevant to the whole.0 -
Just gonna throw it out there: Nutella is one of the least healthy foods you can eat.
I don't know that I'd go that far. It's a nice treat if you don't mind paying big bucks for your chocolate, but it's not what most would consider a "healthy food".0 -
I always enjoyed listening to Susan Powter, not because I agreed with everything she said (I so do NOT agree with all of it!!), but she often said things that gave me something to think about.
She referred to the occasional soda or artificially flavored treat as "poison." As in sarcastically saying something to the effect, "of course a little poison won't hurt you! Go ahead!"
This would be one place where I don't agree, unless there is a control issue where someone has difficulty only having one reasonable portion and can't have those foods in the house without giving into a binge, or unless there is a medical issue involved.
If I never ever got to have a serving of something I enjoyed, despite my fairly strict intake otherwise, I think it would be disappointing somehow. It wouldn't ruin my life to never eat another Grippo's BBQ Chip again, or another Skittle, but having a treat now and then makes me happy. In moderation.
You're still a healthy eater if you're making good choices and watching proportions most of the time, in my opinion! 0 -
Yes, as to the bold part!I confess, I have been a previous healthy eater.
I would rarely ever cheat & feel awful if I did- as if the junk food would poison my body (if I ate too much it sort of did & I'd feel very sick) however after a few months I wasn't content.
My homemade healthy brownies, muffins, 'Nutella' & the expensive healthy ice cream by booja booja no longer made me happy. I craved real junk food.
I now incorporate a small piece of junk food every 2 days- a kit kat, a packet of crisps, even a granola bar that most people would see as healthy. I find it's stopped my occasional binging and I eat LESS junk overall.
Can I consider myself a healthy eater if I eat occasional bits of junk food? It's rarely over 250 calories a time, unless I'm at a special occasion.
You can consider yourself a healthy eater under any circumstances because it's all in the perception.
For me, I work hard to come as close to my macros as I can, and this includes food that others would consider unhealthy.0 -
Really? Why?Just gonna throw it out there: Nutella is one of the least healthy foods you can eat.0 -
While I disagree with low fat and that some foods are poison, and that fat made people fat and not food, I loved that she was telling people to eat.I always enjoyed listening to Susan Powter, not because I agreed with everything she said (I so do NOT agree with all of it!!), but she often said things that gave me something to think about.
She referred to the occasional soda or artificially flavored treat as "poison." As in sarcastically saying something to the effect, "of course a little poison won't hurt you! Go ahead!"
This would be one place where I don't agree, unless there is a control issue where someone has difficulty only having one reasonable portion and can't have those foods in the house without giving into a binge, or unless there is a medical issue involved.
If I never ever got to have a serving of something I enjoyed, despite my fairly strict intake otherwise, I think it would be disappointing somehow. It wouldn't ruin my life to never eat another Grippo's BBQ Chip again, or another Skittle, but having a treat now and then makes me happy. In moderation.
You're still a healthy eater if you're making good choices and watching proportions most of the time, in my opinion!0 -
Nutella is the sweet, sweet nectar of the gods.0
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not for this girl. There are times I have (choose) to restrict myself (prepping for a competition or photo shoot, so the rest of the time, I live by moderation on occasion. Life is too short to be unhappy.0
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I could never give up sweets/junk food. Since this journey is about a lifestyle change, I am just finding ways to work them into my lifestyle. I usually use my exercise calories for my "indulgences", so there's more motivation to exercise!0
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As cliché as it sounds, this is what differentiates a diet (short-term by design, destined to fail long-term) from a lifestyle change (something intended to be permanent). Eating things you enjoy, in moderation, is key. I still eat pizza on weekends, go out for a beer with my friends, etc., and I have no problems with the progress I'm making.0
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I think attitude and a little thought is extremely important. I do not like the words:diet, cheat meals, and rules. I am working changes in my eating habits that will last the rest of my life. It is important to know why you are doing what you do. It is important to make decisions on what we eat and why. I don't deny myself fast food. I choose to consume another food that fits my goals. Do I miss french fries... sometimes. Do I choose to eat french fries... occasionally.
Life is all about decisions. Some decisions have immediate consequences and some decisions take awhile to manifest. I am an EMT, I spend my nights helping people survive the consequences of their decisions.
Some decisions are good and some are not so good. So... make a decision of what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you eat. Know why you made the decision and live with it, enjoy it, and embrace it.0 -
I can't waste my calories on junk food and I cant live with the guilt of eating it either.( But dont worry about the guilt, I'm used to it I'm catholic)0
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Just gonna throw it out there: Nutella is one of the least healthy foods you can eat.
Eh no. Hazelnut butter, sure. Nutella is packed full of sugar. It doesn't mean it's not delicious... just that it doesn't exactly go in the 'healthy' category.
OP, as long as you eat nutritious food for most of your calories, eating 200-300 calories worth of junk is totally fine. I do it too, just a bit less lately as I'm too hungry if I spend too many calories on it - or I go for more filling 'junk' like ice cream.0 -
I would say that 90 to 95% avoidance of junk food is sufficient to call yourself a healthy eater. No need for absolutes in life. 0
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Do you judge your career by one negative decision?
Do you judge how good you were in HS based off of one bad test score?
Do you judge your wardrobe by the one ugly shirt in the drawer that is so comfortable that you won't throw it out, but you won't let anyone see you wear it either?
Your diet is the same thing.0 -
It was just said, "unless there is a control issue". That is me. I have serious control issues. For me, I just want to get to that point where healthy food choices are the norm. I'm a work in progress, but I think it can be done. I don't want to just learn how to cheat better. My mind knows crap is crap no matter how small you whittle down the portion size. Now if I can get my heart to agree...hmmm. So for now, if it's a desperate need- a cookie, candy, whatever- it has to be done away from the house. I will not keep it in my home.0
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Try trading in nasty Kit Kats for a piece of high quality dark chocolate, and you can definitely count it as health food!
http://authoritynutrition.com/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate/
Personally, I leave room every day for some chocolate. No sense in being miserable, and 'treating' myself in this way helps keep me on track.0
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