Eating "junk" and losing weight?

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ashleylmp
ashleylmp Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I see SO many people on here who have their diaries open and eat more than half of their calories from what's considered "junk" food. What's the deal with this?! I realize I'm the one with 150 pounds left to lose, but wouldn't these people be losing more if they would eat fruits and vegetables at every meal? I'm striving for 75% fresh food. Is that maybe unrealistic? And there are people losing .5 pounds per week but eating candy, chips, etc. Would it not make a difference if they'd eat real food instead? Maybe I'm just confused!
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Replies

  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    No. It doesn't make any difference at all. I get sufficient vitamins and minerals, make sure my macros are met, and my calories are within my allotment. That is all and it works.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    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.
  • xXmimiXx
    xXmimiXx Posts: 564 Member
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    I see SO many people on here who have their diaries open and eat more than half of their calories from what's considered "junk" food. What's the deal with this?! I realize I'm the one with 150 pounds left to lose, but wouldn't these people be losing more if they would eat fruits and vegetables at every meal? I'm striving for 75% fresh food. Is that maybe unrealistic? And there are people losing .5 pounds per week but eating candy, chips, etc. Would it not make a difference if they'd eat real food instead? Maybe I'm just confused!

    Some people just want to lose weight and think less about the nutrition part. Each to their own, I just do what I want and congratulate anyone who meets their own goals - whether they match mine or not.
  • Daniloveshockey94
    Daniloveshockey94 Posts: 348 Member
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    They might use IIFIYM
  • Stormchasegrl
    Stormchasegrl Posts: 61 Member
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    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.

    Same here! I don't share because I don't need the judgements from random people. I have enough drama in my life lol! But if I want this to be sustainable, I will eat health-IER while still enjoying everything I love. I'm not going to cut everything I love out of my life only to relapse later because I want things I enjoy. It's all about learning to moderate them and work for them. :-)
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
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    If they're losing weight, why does it matter to you what they're eating?
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    Depends. Most humans, if they never eat anything they actually like for months on end, will eventually snap and throw themselves head first into a vat of ice cream, followed by hotdogs with deep fried onions and then carry on like that until they realise they've just put on 150% of their starting weight. Hence the phrase yoyo dieting.

    Mere mortals realise that it's ok to enjoy food and take steps to improve their health at the same time. It's more sustainable.



    ETA: I've done 30lb? Wow. And all with the help of beer and stuff.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
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    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.
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
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    For me, I want to be healthy and energetic. Not just thinner.
  • JoshRodenberg
    JoshRodenberg Posts: 30
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    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.

    ^^This
  • ashleylmp
    ashleylmp Posts: 40 Member
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    I totally understand eating things you love! I love potato chips, so I've been allowing myself one serving of pop chips every night. I'm talking about logging only 5 items, three of which were made at a restaurant. I want to be healthy once I lose the weight. Can I accomplish that by eating fast food as long as I stay under my calories? That's just the vibe I get from so many people. I'm not trying to judge of call anyone out, just seeing how everyone else is losing the weight :wink:
  • Bizzeemamanj
    Bizzeemamanj Posts: 26
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    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.

    This is exactly my thoughts. I'm really not willing to go my entire life without consuming foods I enjoy - including junk. The MFP experience has been so eye opening for me because as long as I hit my net calorie goal each day, I'm losing weight and getting fit (and fitter). In the past, when I've tried other methods I always felt like I was on a diet, trying to constantly avoid certain foods that were prohibitive under a set formula. In the case of MFP, a calorie is a calorie.

    I primarily eat very healthy these days, but I still can fit in my red wine and pizza night. That's sustainable for me!
  • DaBigChief
    DaBigChief Posts: 146
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    There is weightloss and there is fit and healthy. You can eat 'junk' food and lose weight. But you can't follow that path if your goal is to get fit and improve your health. Your journey is yours...decide what your goals are and go for it.
  • JoshRodenberg
    JoshRodenberg Posts: 30
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    I totally understand eating things you love! I love potato chips, so I've been allowing myself one serving of pop chips every night. I'm talking about logging only 5 items, three of which were made at a restaurant. I want to be healthy once I lose the weight. Can I accomplish that by eating fast food as long as I stay under my calories? That's just the vibe I get from so many people. I'm not trying to judge of call anyone out, just seeing how everyone else is losing the weight :wink:

    Of course you can.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Reality is that there is no such thing as junk food.

    There are macronutrients and there are micronutrients. Get the right amount of each. The source of those nutrients is pretty much 100% irrelevant in terms of weight and body composition. They only matter insofar as the way you enjoy them and how they satisfy you.
  • raincityrunnerboy
    raincityrunnerboy Posts: 1
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    In the real world 75% healthy foods is unrealistic. I belive that if you are exercising and burning the calories you eat you can still be fit and healthy.
  • RegalSeagull
    RegalSeagull Posts: 37
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    Some people don't care about getting their diet as being healhy as possible, they just want weight loss. On the other hand, others are trying slowly change their diets over time, so they might be eating some naughty foods every day still. IMO if a person just woke up one day and decided to eating nothing but "Fresh stuff' I would expect them to fail eventually in weight loss the same as the person who just eats junk food.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    There is weightloss and there is fit and healthy. You can eat 'junk' food and lose weight. But you can't follow that path if your goal is to get fit and improve your health. Your journey is yours...decide what your goals are and go for it.

    Oh really? I think if you looked you find quite a few of us that fit every definition of healthy and still eat what many of the "clean" eating types would call junk food.
  • skywa
    skywa Posts: 901 Member
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    if it fits your macros you can eat it and still lose weight.

    losing weight, and getting fit, are different things imo though.

    depends what your goals are.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    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.

    this

    IMO it's far more important to focus on long term compliance and sustainability, than it is to worry about whether you'd lose an extra 0.5lb a month if you were better at self deprivation. The closer you get to goal, the slower you have to go to avoid losing lean body mass. it's not about how quickly you can lose weight, it's about keeping it off for life. And that's about learning how to enjoy the foods you love in quantities that are going to enable you to remain at a healthy body fat percentage.

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