Eating "junk" and losing weight?

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  • anybeary
    anybeary Posts: 188 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
  • Penny1328
    Penny1328 Posts: 16 Member
    Everything in moderation!!! I loooove my ice cream, but can I just eat a little? Noooo. So I try to stay away from it. But I do get my chocolate fix in by eating sugar free fudgicles! My problem is not being able to stop eating these yummy treats. So i try to buy things that have individual portions such as pudding. I suppose I could get skippy cups for my ice cream but unfortunately they don't come in a huge variety of flavors....like Perry's Panda Paws......lol!! Ok, my mouth is watering now.....enough said!
  • perfectionisntme
    perfectionisntme Posts: 205 Member
    The people eating that, if the quit exercising or doing what they are doing will eventually put it all back on. What other's don't think about is long term health such as cancers, diabetes, etc. that are caused by GMOs in the food they are eating.

    Don't worry about what they are eating, just focus on you and prolonging your longevity. It's about being healthy not about how fast you lose the weight.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    [quote
    Because the reason I don't eat junk food is that it hasn't been demonstrated to be safe. Not to my satisfaction. When we are talking about foods that are full of chemicals who exists only to prolong shelf life or alter "mouthfeel", my stance is, "Unsafe until proven safe." It isn't, "Safe until proven unsafe."

    I actually feel this way about a lot of things. I would have to be dying and/or completely desperate to take a drug that hasn't been on the market for years.
    [/quote]
    [/quote]


    You are right. Most people don't realize how the approval process goes for food additives. Every additive proposed for food in the U.S. must pass muster with the FDA, who poles scientists on special committees who then pass on it or reject it, based on the data supplied by the tests that food manufacturers are required to conduct. If it passes, the designation GRAS ("generally recognized as safe") is given and the food processors are then free to use it. But that does not mean that an additive will not be considered unsafe later on, after further research. That has happened over and over. Bear in mind that when the "food additives amendment" was established in 1958, seven hundred food additives, that were already being used, were exempt from the testing apparatus. Now, there are thousands of food additives spread among 19 different categories. Some probably are harmless, such as acetic acid, the main component in vinegar. But others, such as nitrite has been condemned as being a cancer causer, when a study showed that children who consume more than 12 hotdogs in a month have nine times the risk of developing leukemia. :frown: Chemical roulette, anyone?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    cancers, diabetes, etc. that are caused by GMOs

    Good lord.
  • Sugar Sugar Sugar.....Do some research on sugar, liver fats, and overall metabolism. Your livers processing of sugar is directly related to the efficiency of your metabolism. if you consume tons of artificial sugars per day your body (ie diet soda drinks), you might find yourself under on food calories and still not losing weight. Your stomach is more efficient at processing food than your liver is processing sugars.

    You body does not care what kind of sugars you are using and your liver sees them all as the same thing. Sugar = sweeteners = alcohol=high fructose corn syrup, all the same. On a metabolic level people who consume lots of sugars are the same as alcoholics, just without the buzz. The reason fruits are ok is because of the fiber. The fiber helps the liver digest the sugar and without it you get liver fats.

    That's my understanding anyways. So my opinion is if you are going to eat junk, try to avoid the sugar.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I'm probably one of these people you're talking about. I never cut out anything when I was losing weight, and I'm not about to cut it out now that I'm maintaining. So yes, you see cupcakes and slurpees and pizza and burgers in my diary on a regular basis. However, I do try and focus on eating mostly healthy food, hitting my macros and overall calorie goal. I refuse to assign food labels such as "good" or "bad" or "junk". If at the end of the day I have the carbs and calories left over to enjoy a slurpee, I'm going to have the slurpee, and enjoy every sip of it.

    As for how quickly I lost, I lost my weight at an average pace of just over a pound a week, exactly as fast as I wanted to lose it.

    Exactly why I have been struggling with opening my diary. Judgement! At the end of the day, do what works for you. If you see on someone's ticker that they have still managed to lose a significant amount of weight then what diference does it make to you? If you don't see them as someone that can assist you with your weightloss journey unfriend them. I'm also in maintenance like the the person above and if I have the cals to go for something I want...I will! You never know where someone is in their weightloss journey. Everyone's goals are different.

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    IIFYM is not "focusing on calories alone."

    It's focusing on nutrients. Nutrients such as fat, carbs, sugar, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
  • alednnz
    alednnz Posts: 26
    I'm not willing to cut out anything that I won't cut out for the rest of my life. It's not sustainable. I eat my fair share of fruit & veg and other healthy foods, but I eat junk too.

    I agree with you, it will b unrealistic and i will b setting myself up for failure, so junk food every now and then plus exercise and still losing weight ... why not ?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Does anyone have any actual scientific evidence that eating "junk" food, in the context of an active lifestyle with healthy body composition, is actually worse in any measurable way than eating "healthy" food?

    The answer to this question will never come...


    Seriously? Yes, there are hundreds upon thousands of studies on this.

    ou will have to narrow the field rather than say "junk food" let's take one of the biggest offenders "Partially Hydrogenated Oils" (trans fat) named because they add hydrogen back into the oil which is a pretty way of saying it turns unsaturated fatty acids into saturated ones. Basically it makes foods last for ever on shelves, because that is what food is supposed to do right? Be loaded with chemicals to last forever?

    Don't take my word for it National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine said that trans fats shouldn't be consumed at all. The Food and Drug Administration says that intake should be as low as possible. (source http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/02/08/what-exactly-does-it-mean-when-foods-are-hydrogenated-and-what-risks-can-it-pose.htm) Need more reason not to consume very much? Trans fats raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. It’s also associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

    There is one "junk food" which other would you like to know about?

    Trans fat is trans fat no matter what food it's in.

    Trans fat is a macronutrient.

    Macronutrient control is the issue.

    uhhhh nooo Fat is a macro, and no one said fat was bad for you.

    ..... Yes. Trans fat is a macronutrient.

    While trans fat "technically" has fat in it.. Most are man made and not a beneficial fat, nor is it a good way to get fat in your diet. So no, no one in their right mind will say be sure to get your TRANS FAT macro nutrient.

    A molecule that contains calories is, by definition, a macronutrient. Trans fat is a type of fat. Glucose is a type of carbohydrate. Glucose and trans fats are macronutrients.

    Fat is a category of macronutrient hat includes saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, trans fat, etc. Look at this nice big list of macronutrients which includes all of the ones mentioned above:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_macronutrients

    Yeah I don't need to read Wikipedia I already said it falls under the FAT umbrella, that is not really the point.. Point is there far superior fat macros to choose from, you do NOT need trans fat in your diet.. I am honestly quite shocked that people are saying you NEED it .. Especially someone who post there whole resume in their signature should know better.

    I can drink a cup of high fructose corn syrup and say I got my carbs for the day, but it is ignorance to say that is the best option to meet that macro need in your diet, But hell do whatever you want.

    ^^^THIS^^^
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    That is not what IIFYM is at all. If it fits your macros" NOT if it fits your calories.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    You may be blessed with the constitution of a horse. Many other people have much more fragile bio-systems that break down under the assault of the chemical stew that processed food represents. Children seem especially affected by food additives.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    That is not what IIFYM is at all. If it fits your macros" NOT if it fits your calories.

    Many people here seem to think that they are interchangeable.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    That is not what IIFYM is at all. If it fits your macros" NOT if it fits your calories.

    Many people here seem to think that they are interchangeable.

    Yeah? Who? I imagine you'll have trouble coming up with names.

    Calories are all that matter for weight loss.

    Nutrients and exercise, along with weight loss, are what matter for health and body composition.

    Organic/processed/fast/whatever makes no inherent difference in either
  • I heard on NPR once that a professor did a "Twinkies" diet- and lost weight. He kept his calories low and exercised and ate Twinkies- sure he felt lethargic and unhealthy but it does work. I am trying to not modify how I eat because I know that if I am on some weird diet- as soon as I reach my goal and get off said diet I will gain it back. I rather eat how I eat and learn portions, calories, and exercise ratios. Slowly but surely!
  • ceciliam23
    ceciliam23 Posts: 8 Member
    Eating processed and sugary stuff throws off my system so badly that I start gaining weight almost immediately. I think everyone is different, and some people are lucky enough to be able to just do calorie control and still lose weight. If you're not one of those people, it's okay. We all have to figure out what works for us personally. I find that keeping my blood sugar under control with low glycemic index foods is key to not gaining weight. I stick to eating foods that help regulate my appetite, and sugar seems to make me more hungry in the long run. So it's not that 80 calories of apple and 80 calories of sugar is different from the perspective of energy units, the difference is in both the immediate and long term effects that these food choices have on endocrine system (insulin, leptin, etc.). That's my understanding of it at this point.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    That is not what IIFYM is at all. If it fits your macros" NOT if it fits your calories.

    Many people here seem to think that they are interchangeable.

    No YOU seem to keep thinking that is what they are saying. NOBODY is saying that you should eat nothing but sugar for carbs and oil for fats. Only the source of these nutrients is less important than getting the nutrients. Getting protein and fat from a cheeseburger still gets you protein and fat. You could get them from nuts but it is still protein and fat.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member

    I really couldn't care less what any individual chooses to put in his/her body. What I strongly disagree with is the opinion that it does not matter what you eat "as long as it fits your macros". It most certainly DOES matter. The posters who say that they normally eat mostly good food and indulge once in a while, are probably going to be okay. But those who ignore nutrition and just focus on calories alone, are doing their bodies a disservice. And it is not a good thing to propose.

    That is not what IIFYM is at all. If it fits your macros" NOT if it fits your calories.

    Many people here seem to think that they are interchangeable.

    Yeah? Who? I imagine you'll have trouble coming up with names.

    Calories are all that matter for weight loss.

    Nutrients and exercise, along with weight loss, are what matter for health and body composition.

    Organic/processed/fast/whatever makes no inherent difference in either

    I don't choose to come up with names because that would be considered to be an attack on individuals. I don't have any quarrel with what you have written here (except that I would likely disagree with your last statement depending on what exactly you meant by it). There are posts from a number of people which ignore the health aspect (usually from younger people who have not yet learned the dangers of abusing their bodies).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    You may be blessed with the constitution of a horse. Many other people have much more fragile bio-systems that break down under the assault of the chemical stew that processed food represents. Children seem especially affected by food additives.
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.

    Yep.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    You may be blessed with the constitution of a horse. Many other people have much more fragile bio-systems that break down under the assault of the chemical stew that processed food represents. Children seem especially affected by food additives.
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Nonsense. China, because the Chinese government has declined to have ANY environmental standards, is rapidly becoming an industrial wasteland, and the people are paying dearly for their government's neglect. The government has admitted lately (as they have bowed to the demands of their people for more safeguards on the environment) that there are whole cities that are called "cancer cities". Adiposity may indeed be currently a predictor of long-term health risk but just reducing the body fat without paying attention to what we put in our mouths is being foolhardy. Throughout mankind's history, severe illness and excessive thinness rode together. Terminal cancer patients are generally quite thin.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    You may be blessed with the constitution of a horse. Many other people have much more fragile bio-systems that break down under the assault of the chemical stew that processed food represents. Children seem especially affected by food additives.
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Nonsense. China, because the Chinese government has declined to have ANY environmental standards, is rapidly becoming an industrial wasteland, and the people are paying dearly for their government's neglect. The government has admitted lately (as they have bowed to the demands of their people for more safeguards on the environment) that there are whole cities that are called "cancer cities". Adiposity may indeed be currently a predictor of long-term health risk but just reducing the body fat without paying attention to what we put in our mouths is being foolhardy. Throughout mankind's history, severe illness and excessive thinness rode together. Terminal cancer patients are generally quite thin.
    We're not speaking of ENVIRONMENT here. Environment does affect health greatly, but that doesn't have anything to do with what is being put in their mouths. The address was to "junk food" eating. Are you going to tell us that Asians ONLY eat whole foods? You would be quite wrong in that assumption.
    And the excess thinness you speak of is DUE TO THE ILLNESS, and not always the other way around. Third world thin people aren't dying of cancer..................they're dying of starvation.
    You have a tendency to lead off on strawman arguments.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.

    Yep.
    So just clean foods? Weight, exercise, rest, stress, sleep, environment, risk behavior and genetics don't have anything to do with health?:laugh:

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.
    Subjective. I haven't been sick in over 3 years. Get a cold maybe once a year. Immune system, arteries, blood lipid profiles, cholesterol, all excellent. And I eat "junk food" DAILY. Not a lot, but something is there once a day. Oh and the feared diet soda too.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    You may be blessed with the constitution of a horse. Many other people have much more fragile bio-systems that break down under the assault of the chemical stew that processed food represents. Children seem especially affected by food additives.
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Nonsense. China, because the Chinese government has declined to have ANY environmental standards, is rapidly becoming an industrial wasteland, and the people are paying dearly for their government's neglect. The government has admitted lately (as they have bowed to the demands of their people for more safeguards on the environment) that there are whole cities that are called "cancer cities". Adiposity may indeed be currently a predictor of long-term health risk but just reducing the body fat without paying attention to what we put in our mouths is being foolhardy. Throughout mankind's history, severe illness and excessive thinness rode together. Terminal cancer patients are generally quite thin.
    We're not speaking of ENVIRONMENT here. Environment does affect health greatly, but that doesn't have anything to do with what is being put in their mouths. The address was to "junk food" eating. Are you going to tell us that Asians ONLY eat whole foods? You would be quite wrong in that assumption.
    And the excess thinness you speak of is DUE TO THE ILLNESS, and not always the other way around. Third world thin people aren't dying of cancer..................they're dying of starvation.
    You have a tendency to lead off on strawman arguments.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    But the environment has a profound effect on the foods we eat and processed food is tainted with many chemicals---some deliberately, some inadvertently. How is it that melamine-laced dairy from China (remember the melamine tainted infant formula of a few years ago?) ended up in chocolate candy here? By the way, there is a major scandal brewing on Chinese food imports. Because they irrigate their crops with heavily polluted groundwater, Chinese foodstuffs are also heavily polluted with industrial waste.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    Obesity is rising in China alongside fast food market growth.

    There does seem to be some relationship between processed foods and weight.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    Obesity is rising in China alongside fast food market growth.

    There does seem to be some relationship between processed foods and weight.

    The correlation is convenience and price, not the content of the food.

    The "processed food" is a confounding factor. The real cause is the increase of caloric intake.

    It's the same way coffee is correlated with lung cancer. It turns out that coffee is correlated with smoking, which is the causative factor.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Disagree. Processed foods have long been available in Asia. Their population seems to do just fine. What they are lacking is a population of 60% overweight and obese people.
    No medical organization will dispute that WEIGHT is the number one predictor of health risk.

    Obesity is rising in China alongside fast food market growth.

    There does seem to be some relationship between processed foods and weight.

    Easily accessible calorie dense food. "Processed food" (whatever that means) is not the what is causing obesity. Obesity is causing the health risks.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Here's the thing: losing weight is about calories in/calories out and balanced macros, but BEING HEALTHY is different. It's about clean foods, not eating processed garbage, etc. Your immune system, your arteries, etc. will thank you. I can guarantee that since I started eating more whole foods/fewer processed things that I get sick WAY less. I'm averaging one cold a year now, and getting over it much faster, whereas before, I'd get colds/flu at least three times a year and maybe more. You can't work out when you're sick. Not only that, I don't think it's good to develop a "junk food palate"...your mind/body will start to crave garbagey foods, and on days when you can't work out for whatever reason you're going to feel cruddy because you've been eating crud. The old adage that "you are what you eat" applies here.

    Yep.
    So just clean foods? Weight, exercise, rest, stress, sleep, environment, risk behavior and genetics don't have anything to do with health?:laugh:

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    No--all of those factors are very important, but is the weight the problem, or are the effects of the other elements causing the excessive adiposity? Why has obesity only been a significant problem in the West since the latter part of the last century? Could one of the answers be the quality of what we put in our mouths?