No Such Thing as Bad Foods aka "Junk Foods"

BodyFreak

Hey I've been looking at forums where I see allot of people attack foods such as pastries and other "Junk Foods". The truth is even if your trying to lose weight you can still eat the sweet things in life, They just have to be put in moderation towards your diet. Your body doesn't recognize Pop tarts from chicken it recognizes the breakdown in macro's (Carbs,Protein,fat). As long as you can hit your daily macro's while eating the things you wanna eat then there's no problem having your favorite cookie,cake,pastry etc.. I can go out and have a McDonalds meal and still lose weight as long as i hit my macros in a 24 hour period without going over or being under. Hope this helps!

pnieuw

Body recognizes the preservatives and chemicals in the Pop Tarts that are not in the chicken.

Stuff with a lot of Trans Fat is junk food. Not healthy in any amount.

A food full of sodium is junk food. Again, not healthy in large quantities.

I could go on....

Good luck having a McD's meal without blowing your totals on sat fat, sodium and others...

Nerdy_Rose

I acknowledge that is possible to lose weight on a diet of 100% Twinkies. That doesn't make it good for you.

obwize

I agree with both of you. There are definitely foods that can't be eaten on a daily basis for every meal and still expect to lose weight, but I certainly do eat things that are considered junk and still lose consistently. One thing I do, however, is try to make my own junk food, as in cookies and things. That way there aren't the preservatives that would be there if I bought them in store.

mcdonl

Bodyfreak, for guys like me it has to be nothing... because when it comes to carbs and junk food I am all in or all out. And, at 250 and 43 I need to be all out... You are right, anything in moderation can be tolerated but some of us like to only organic foods. I *TRY to stick by the following motto...

If it walked, grew or swam on the earth then I will eat it. If it started life in a lab, no thanks...

This is not always possible but it is a good goal.

AlwaysSarah87

Yeah there is a thin line. I would be cautious of McDonald's. That needs to be in A LOT of moderation. With all junk food it shouldn't be every day. But I do agree every once in awhile or the proper serving of ice cream is ok every now and then and to not be scared of it. But with some people they can't have a little so they have to cut it out 100%

RangerSteve

It's partly going to depend on what chemicals are added to the food as well. Things like trans fat are going to raise your LDL and aren't good for your health.

That being said, eating some toaster pastries is fine if you can fit it into your diet. The zealot approach to dieting isn't the best way to approach it so I agree with the OP for the most part. When I see numerous threads a day about people binge eating and getting huge cravings for things because they refuse to eat them, it just makes me wonder how long they'll be able to stick to their diet. What matters most is being able to stick to a healthy lifestyle for the next 50+ years, not eliminating everything but water, lettuce and grilled chicken.

BodyFreak

Which is comprised of your macro's and for the saturated fat i said WITHOUT going over or being under depending on how low you go on your calories and im saying you can eat "Twinkies" or whatever you like as long as its in "moderation" to your diet. If you eat something with high carb/fat value that isn't in your diet, You have to minus something out. You give something to get something!

RangerSteve

Also, depending on your exercise level, you can pretty much eat massive amounts of junk food. Look into ultra-marathon runners for a prime example of this. They go through calories at such a high rate that sometimes the only way to fuel themselves is to slam down that 1,000 calorie milkshake and cheeseburger while they're running. Good luck eating chicken and veggies while running 50-100 miles.

Soccer_chick916

I think there isn't anything wrong with junk food if you do it in moderation. I'm not talking about 1 candy bar a day moderation. I am talking about 1 time every few weeks or so. Fact of the matter is its out there. And if you like it, you will probably end up eating it at some point. As humans we give into temptation. The point of MFP is not just to loose the weight. It's to open your eyes about what you put in your body, and hold you accountable for what you eat. It has changed the way I look at food and consider nutrition. I make smarter, healthier choices now. I am not saying I wont have a pizza, candy or cookies ever.. Of course NOT! They taste amazing. But I am committed to being healthy so that when I do decide to have something not so good for my body, I know I still have the control and still can stay healthy.

dez_yaoichan

Body recognizes the preservatives and chemicals in the Pop Tarts that are not in the chicken.

Stuff with a lot of Trans Fat is junk food. Not healthy in any amount.

A food full of sodium is junk food. Again, not healthy in large quantities.

I could go on....

Good luck having a McD's meal without blowing your totals on sat fat, sodium and others...

yea... i work at mcdonalds... you can get a grilled chicken meal, with no mayo, side salad instead of fries, and a bottled water... and your day is NOT blown.

its all about knowing what you put into your body, and how it affects you. eating a normal snack may not be the "healthiest" but that doesnt mean its going to blow your day. if you watch how much you eat, youll have an easier time of including things you love and still be within your goals.

chevy88grl

I eat what I want, when I want it. I read labels, follow serving sizes and all that. I am an "everything in moderation" kind of person.

I admit that I eat sugary "bad" food just about everyday. I have a sweet tooth - I admit that. I love sweets. But, I've learned to consume them in moderation and after a meal vs as the meal.

You don't have to give up everything you love in life in order to lose weight and be healthy. Learning to manage what you're consuming is the key. I know in my experience when I tell myself that I can't have this or that, it makes me crave it more. And for a lot of people, trying to ignore a craving turns into binge eating. Why not just eat the serving size of whatever it is you want, log it in your food diary, account for it in your daily calories and move on? I know that for me, not eating it is going to lead to me eating 2000 calories in everything else trying to avoid eating 200 calories on something I really want. I'd rather give up 200 and have what I want, thanks.

BodyFreak

Body Builders to hit themselves with between 5000-9000calories/day, In the end it all really comes down to tracking what you've eatin and making sure those numbers add up at the end of the day.

pnieuw

Body recognizes the preservatives and chemicals in the Pop Tarts that are not in the chicken.

Stuff with a lot of Trans Fat is junk food. Not healthy in any amount.

A food full of sodium is junk food. Again, not healthy in large quantities.

I could go on....

Good luck having a McD's meal without blowing your totals on sat fat, sodium and others...

yea... i work at mcdonalds... you can get a grilled chicken meal, with no mayo, side salad instead of fries, and a bottled water... and your day is NOT blown.

its all about knowing what you put into your body, and how it affects you. eating a normal snack may not be the "healthiest" but that doesnt mean its going to blow your day. if you watch how much you eat, youll have an easier time of including things you love and still be within your goals.

Yea, that happens a lot I bet. More typical McD's meal when someone says they are eating there is the Big Mac, fries and Coke. I've read Fast Food Nation. Ended my eating at McD's for life.

RangerSteve

Body Builders to hit themselves with between 5000-9000calories/day, In the end it all really comes down to tracking what you've eatin and making sure those numbers add up at the end of the day.

Wait what?

Who hits 9k calories a day as a body builder? Even guys who are taking the good stuff that they get from the shady guy behind the pharmacy don't eat that much without getting fat.

jchester71

It is OK to eat a little junk food, if you eat a lot of it in a sitting (say an entire meal from McDonalds) your playing Russian roulette with your diet. Even though you just ate a lot of calories, you are going to be hungry again very soon because you took in almost no nutrients beyond the macros in the meal.

JNick77

Hey I've been looking at forums where I see allot of people attack foods such as pastries and other "Junk Foods". The truth is even if your trying to lose weight you can still eat the sweet things in life, They just have to be put in moderation towards your diet. Your body doesn't recognize Pop tarts from chicken it recognizes the breakdown in macro's (Carbs,Protein,fat). As long as you can hit your daily macro's while eating the things you wanna eat then there's no problem having your favorite cookie,cake,pastry etc.. I can go out and have a McDonalds meal and still lose weight as long as i hit my macros in a 24 hour period without going over or being under. Hope this helps!

Wrong wrong wrong... Your food recognizes the macro nutrients and creates hormonal reactions based on what you are consuming as well which will affect fat / weight loss. It's not just calories in/out.

Not saying it's not okay to cheat a little here and there, but you can't have the above mindset.

JNick77

I acknowledge that is possible to lose weight on a diet of 100% Twinkies. That doesn't make it good for you.

I bet you wouldn't lose that much. The elevated insulin level resulting from this would minimize fat loss.

dez_yaoichan

everyone wants to pick on mcdonalds for some reason. there are so many healthy choices you can get from there now that saying "oh i had mcdonlads for lunch" is not longer a sin! just bc you dont want to eat complete junk, doesnt mean you have to cut out fast food. sure, dont get a bigmac. but you can get a grilled chicken salad. a side salad, parfait, oatmeal... you just have to be smart about what/how much you eat.

JNick77

Body Builders to hit themselves with between 5000-9000calories/day, In the end it all really comes down to tracking what you've eatin and making sure those numbers add up at the end of the day.

Wait what?

Who hits 9k calories a day as a body builder? Even guys who are taking the good stuff that they get from the shady guy behind the pharmacy don't eat that much without getting fat.

I'm sure there are very very few bodybuilders that exceed 5K calories. Even those on PED's are probably around 5K'ish. You'd probably have to be over 300lbs and extremely lean to exceed 5K and I don't think Jay Cutler or Roney Coleman hit that range and they're HUGE.

pnieuw

everyone wants to pick on mcdonalds for some reason. there are so many healthy choices you can get from there now that saying "oh i had mcdonlads for lunch" is not longer a sin! just bc you dont want to eat complete junk, doesnt mean you have to cut out fast food. sure, dont get a bigmac. but you can get a grilled chicken salad. a side salad, parfait, oatmeal... you just have to be smart about what/how much you eat.

Yep, and I could eat one Pop Tart at a time, but we both know that isn't happening.