can you lose weight with unhealthy food

PrayerofAmity

Sure you can lose weight eating unhealthy foods if you stay in the calorie range, but the fact is that your body won't be able to live on those empty calories forever. Eventually you would find yourself with severe nutrient deficiencies (like I did) and that can cause a horrifying host of very bad side effects which could also include the body storing fat and weight gain. I also agree with others on here. Why would you want to? The host of wonderful, amazing foods I am eating now taste so much better than the junk I used to eat to the point that even thinking of them turns my stomach. Don't deny your cravings, that leads to trouble too, but everything in moderation is always the best way to go.

lwagnitz

I see a lot of people take an all or nothing stance on weight loss. I've tried this - more than once and every single time, I gave up and gained all the weight back and more.

This time.. well, this time I vowed it would be different. Instead of making foods off limits, I simply learned to eat them in moderation. Instead of an entire package of cookies, I only eat the serving size of them.

I've lost nearly 60lbs and I've kept it off since Sept 2010. I eat M&M's in my Greek yogurt everyday. I eat cookies every single day. I've had all kinds of blood work and tests done (I have a lot of nasty illnesses that plague my family and I wanted to make sure I wasn't heading down the same road). Everything I've had done? "Excellent" or "textbook perfect".

So, the answer to your question is yes. You can lose weight, keep it off AND be healthy even while enjoying unhealthy foods. It's all about balance.

Too many people put so much focus on losing weight that they forget this is the only life you have to live - don't live it feeling resentful over FOOD. For heaven's sake, if you want birthday cake - have it. If you want a hot dog - have it. If you want chips - have it. Simply do it in moderation.


I will say that since I've changed my eating habits a lot of things I used to love (donuts, Mt Dew and even the occasional fast food item) are no longer appealing. They aren't "off limits", I just don't want them anymore.

^^ This

victoria4321

Of course you can. Just make sure its not mostly unhealthy because you might not feel as good.

wish21

Nutrition is key! Take it from me cos I am learning the hard way. As you can see my ticker below is in my 40's its been in my 40s sine I started only losing maybe 5lbs but not a steady 5 bcuz i wud lose and gain. Now I am going to start this thing all over again after vacation and do it right.

My advice to you: if you are going to lose weight at all atleast do it right so you wont have to retrace and do it all over again.

KayeeDaisyBee

Ugh, so sick of food snobbery on here. Why would you? Simple - 'cause this is a lifestyle change and LIFE happens sometimes. Birthday parties happen, Christmas happens, nights out happen, bad days happen, social occasions and celebration happens and i'm tired of people preaching that it's not okay to spend those calories a little less wisely from time-to-time. The goal is weight-loss and overall health FOREVER and forever is a long time not to enjoy your food if you are typically someone who does. It is OKAY to treat yourself now and then. Weight-loss and health is still possible even if you occasionally eat junk food. It's all about how you approach that type of food mentally. Appreciate it for what it is, keep it to a minimum and eat healthily the majority of your time.

therottenrook

Yes, you can.

Calories in - calories out = weight loss / gain

LilRedRooster

I can say from experience, back in high school when I was running cross-country, training for my black belt, and doing marching band, I ate things like donuts, Junior Mints, and various other crap, and I still lost 15lbs that semester, simply because I was running it all off. It's really a matter of energy in and energy out. If you find the balance, you can still lose weight.

Granted, you won't feel as good as if you were eating whole foods, but the human body is pretty adaptable. It'll do what you want, so long as there's some energy going it.

gertudejekyl

yes, it all depends on the amount of calories consumed.:flowerforyou:

Tat2dDom624

From my experience, if i am strict 6 out of 7 days, and the one day i decide to cheat, my body gets "shocked" from those unhealthy calories, and i see the pounds come off.

OTchic

How do you Balance the two unhelathy and healthy foods?

i eat healthy 80/20 so i will have a good breakfast, lunch and dinner and for dessert a 130cals serving of rocky road ice cream.

i will go camping and eat healthy too and when it comes to eating smores ill have one a big graham cracker with yummy marshmellows and hersheys chocolate YUM! but of course i WORKOUT!!

i will go ahead and go to a BBQ and have potato salad OR a slice of cake but i will go home and burn OFF the calories. its summer time and LOTS of family BBQ while i dont eat everything i want like i used to for example three hotdogs (no bun) couple pieces of carne asada and maybe 2 tortillas and macaroni salad, beans and rice. i will cut it down to one hotdog one piece of carneasada no tortilla or maybe one and skip the rice eat whole beans and munch on a lot of fruit salad maybe 2 cups worth. I am not depriving myself because I will NEVER live a 100% healthy diet never and why would I im 22 years old? lol

but you have to remember to workout and eat healthy most of the time.

AllTehBeers

sure. but why WOULD you?

Because some people want to enjoy the occasional piece of birthday cake or a hot dog when they go to a baseball game, but they're trained to think the tiniest amount of fat or sugar is going to pack the pounds back on. More people need to learn moderation over deprivation.

Word.

When I say "I've lost weight eating ice cream, cookies and fast food" what I really mean is, "over the last 6 months I've lost weight incorporating these things into an otherwise healthy and nutritious diet."

Why don't people understand that?

Starqueg

I eat a small portion of chocolate basically everyday if I have calories left at the end of the day. I mean a small portion. One snack size bar, or a couple of mini pb cups, or one lindor truffle ball. It's all about portion control.

MFPBrandy

Yes. As much as I enjoy eating healthy, occasionally I have some crap food, and I'm okay with that. But too much and all you're learning to do is restrict calories, not eat/live healthier...so not a great recipe for long-term success.

nataliexxxx

I dont mean eating only unhealthy food I meant just having an unhealthy treat not a whole meal

sukaera

Man, I'm not sure 'bout everyone else, but when I'm eating rather healthfully for a good week and a half and I have a scoop of Baskin Robbins mint chip with rainbow sprinkles, my brain is like OH GOD YES, but my body and tummy is all WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, HERE HAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE FROM ALL THAT EXTRA SUGAR YOU JERK!

Haha, might just be a tad exaggerating but hey, gotta listen to ya body. And for me personally, I can only have my treats eeeeeeevery once in a while! If you want your treats, fit 'em in! It's not like you're training in the 100m Olympic hurdles! xD

BVannillie

I see a lot of people take an all or nothing stance on weight loss. I've tried this - more than once and every single time, I gave up and gained all the weight back and more.

This time.. well, this time I vowed it would be different. Instead of making foods off limits, I simply learned to eat them in moderation. Instead of an entire package of cookies, I only eat the serving size of them.

I've lost nearly 60lbs and I've kept it off since Sept 2010. I eat M&M's in my Greek yogurt everyday. I eat cookies every single day. I've had all kinds of blood work and tests done (I have a lot of nasty illnesses that plague my family and I wanted to make sure I wasn't heading down the same road). Everything I've had done? "Excellent" or "textbook perfect".

So, the answer to your question is yes. You can lose weight, keep it off AND be healthy even while enjoying unhealthy foods. It's all about balance.

Too many people put so much focus on losing weight that they forget this is the only life you have to live - don't live it feeling resentful over FOOD. For heaven's sake, if you want birthday cake - have it. If you want a hot dog - have it. If you want chips - have it. Simply do it in moderation.


I will say that since I've changed my eating habits a lot of things I used to love (donuts, Mt Dew and even the occasional fast food item) are no longer appealing. They aren't "off limits", I just don't want them anymore.

Whole-heartedly agree. I'm sure it works for some, but not everyone.

Don't feel bad about eating things you like once in a while. In fact, I'm sure if you wanted you could have a little treat every day (as long as it isn't, y'know, a tub of lard or something) and still get away with it.

Moderation works better then deprivation. Forcing yourself to give ups foods you enjoy will only depress you.

onyxgirl17

The answer is yes... but it's not the right way.

BVannillie

Ugh, so sick of food snobbery on here. Why would you? Simple - 'cause this is a lifestyle change and LIFE happens sometimes. Birthday parties happen, Christmas happens, nights out happen, bad days happen, social occasions and celebration happens and i'm tired of people preaching that it's not okay to spend those calories a little less wisely from time-to-time. The goal is weight-loss and overall health FOREVER and forever is a long time not to enjoy your food if you are typically someone who does. It is OKAY to treat yourself now and then. Weight-loss and health is still possible even if you occasionally eat junk food. It's all about how you approach that type of food mentally. Appreciate it for what it is, keep it to a minimum and eat healthily the majority of your time.

THIS! I'm really alarmed at how many people are saying it's 'wrong' to have a treat now and again.

JuneBPrice

Absolutely. My dad used to lose weight by going to McDonald's everyday. It's not going to be good for you, but yeah, you can still lose weight.

Acg67

What makes a food "unhealthy" vs "healthy"?

tsh0ck

Can you eat unhealthy food as well as healthy food and still lose weight if you are still under you're calorie intake?

the only unhealthy food is one eaten in excess.

TaylorsGranddad

Can you eat unhealthy food as well as healthy food and still lose weight if you are still under you're calorie intake?

Read my blog, might help you a bit. I eat what I want when I want.

DianneBoo

Absolutely! I have not "removed" anything from my normal foods. I have just learned to proportion them better to fit within my calories. Plus, I find I don't "need" them as much as I used to. I do look for better options without consciencely doing it! find what works for you! U need to "play" with your food to find out what will and will not benefit you! I still bake all the time. I am just more aware of what is in what I have made, so I know what I can allow myself to have!

TaylorsGranddad

Can you eat unhealthy food as well as healthy food and still lose weight if you are still under you're calorie intake?

the only unhealthy food is one eaten in excess.

EXACTLY !!!!

sa11yjane

You can indeed, but personally I wouldn't use all my calories every day on unhealthy food as it would probably mean that you were not taking in vital nutrients which will have an effect on your body such as poor skin, thinning hair etc

KayeeDaisyBee

I see a lot of people take an all or nothing stance on weight loss. I've tried this - more than once and every single time, I gave up and gained all the weight back and more.

This time.. well, this time I vowed it would be different. Instead of making foods off limits, I simply learned to eat them in moderation. Instead of an entire package of cookies, I only eat the serving size of them.

I've lost nearly 60lbs and I've kept it off since Sept 2010. I eat M&M's in my Greek yogurt everyday. I eat cookies every single day. I've had all kinds of blood work and tests done (I have a lot of nasty illnesses that plague my family and I wanted to make sure I wasn't heading down the same road). Everything I've had done? "Excellent" or "textbook perfect".

So, the answer to your question is yes. You can lose weight, keep it off AND be healthy even while enjoying unhealthy foods. It's all about balance.

Too many people put so much focus on losing weight that they forget this is the only life you have to live - don't live it feeling resentful over FOOD. For heaven's sake, if you want birthday cake - have it. If you want a hot dog - have it. If you want chips - have it. Simply do it in moderation.


I will say that since I've changed my eating habits a lot of things I used to love (donuts, Mt Dew and even the occasional fast food item) are no longer appealing. They aren't "off limits", I just don't want them anymore.

Whole-heartedly agree. I'm sure it works for some, but not everyone.

Don't feel bad about eating things you like once in a while. In fact, I'm sure if you wanted you could have a little treat every day (as long as it isn't, y'know, a tub of lard or something) and still get away with it.

Moderation works better then deprivation. Forcing yourself to give ups foods you enjoy will only depress you.

A tub of lard? You mean i can't eat that if i want to? Ohhh, DAMN, that's going to be tough to give up, lol.
You got a funny idea of what a treat is don't'cha? ;-) J/K, lol.

photojunkie28

Um, cos it's delicious?

I understand where your at right now, but I can say that at first it might be difficult to change what you eat..but your taste buds just like everything else change and as a positive side effect so does what you think is delicious!

Jump on board and get healthy, live longer and happier

tsh0ck

my taste buds will never not love ice cream. that's just crazy talk.

tsh0ck

(what's more? they CAN like ice cream. why? because it's good. it's enjoyable. and it isn't going to kill me. hell, it isn't even going to hurt me. I promise. some of the most fit people on here eat ice cream more often than I do.)

on tap tonight?

hothodgie

my taste buds will never not love ice cream. that's just crazy talk.

^This!! LOL. I still eat slightly unhealthy once a week. Not crazy bad, but yeah, I don't make 100 percent healthy choices all week. I do though the majority of the time. I eat a big salad every day, lots of veggies and fruits. But I also eat greek fries once in a great while, or a bowl of ice cream occasionally, or a donut on rare occasions. But I make sure I work out hard 6 days a week.