Eating "junk" and losing weight?

Options
1…1415171920…25

Replies

  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    Options
    Seeing trans fat in any kind of food is getting more and more rare. Most fast food establishments have completely ditched trans fats, and it has disappeared from the vast majority of frozen foods.

    This only underscores that it's nutrients and not food "type" that matters.

    I don't think this is accurate.

    I am looking up different places and have yet to find single fast food place that has completely ditched trans fat. McDonalds seems to have claimed to have done it but I can't find a McDonald's nutritional pdf that will load.

    http://static.jackinthebox.com/pdfs/nutritional_brochure.pdf

    http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cms_out/digital_assets/files/pages/MenuNutritionInformation_November2012.pdf

    http://www.arbys.com/food/nutrition-info.pdf
  • workinprogress1533
    workinprogress1533 Posts: 25
    Options
    Yes, you can lose weight by eating junk food, as long as you stay under your calorie goals. And yes, it is better for you if you eat healthy foods and stay under your calorie goals. I say, do whatever works best for you and what makes YOU FEEL GOOD.
    I see people who eat 2 fast food meals a day and that's it. But they are under their calorie goals and they are losing weight.
    This, personally, would make me feel like crap. Healthy foods makes me feel better. And I would much rather eat a ton of fresh fruits and veggies then a hamburger from McDonald's. (I'm not saying I never eat fast food. I do. I just try to limit it.)
    My main goal right now is to be healthy. So that means eating healthy foods. The weight loss that comes along with it is just an added benefit!
    So I say, be healthy! It's the most important!
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    Options
    This only underscores that it's nutrients and not food "type" that matters.

    I also would like to say that I don't think this underscores your point. Trans fats continue to exist in food to prolong shelf life. That is the purpose. It is a process that is used to increase profits. When I say, "Processed foods," that is what I am talking about. That is what we mean when we say that.

    Obviously, cooking is a process. I'm not a raw foodist.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Options
    Seeing trans fat in any kind of food is getting more and more rare. Most fast food establishments have completely ditched trans fats, and it has disappeared from the vast majority of frozen foods.

    This only underscores that it's nutrients and not food "type" that matters.

    I don't think this is accurate.

    I am looking up different places and have yet to find single fast food place that has completely ditched trans fat. McDonalds seems to have claimed to have done it but I can't find a McDonald's nutritional pdf that will load.

    http://static.jackinthebox.com/pdfs/nutritional_brochure.pdf

    http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cms_out/digital_assets/files/pages/MenuNutritionInformation_November2012.pdf

    http://www.arbys.com/food/nutrition-info.pdf

    They can't eliminate trans fat entirely because it occurs naturally in foods. Ground beef naturally contains 1-1.5 grams of trans fat per quarter pound, which is why you see 1-1.5 grams of trans fat in those burgers from BK and JITB. That much trans fat is in a burger you'd make at home too, fresh from the organic butcher. You don't see trans fat in their other products because they don't use partially hydrogenated oils to cook with.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    Options
    They can't eliminate trans fat entirely because it occurs naturally in foods. Ground beef naturally contains 1-1.5 grams of trans fat per quarter pound, which is why you see 1-1.5 grams of trans fat in those burgers from BK and JITB. That much trans fat is in a burger you'd make at home too, fresh from the organic butcher. You don't see trans fat in their other products because they don't use partially hydrogenated oils to cook with.

    Okay. That makes sense. So we should say most restaurants have completely ditched hydrogenated oil.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Options
    They can't eliminate trans fat entirely because it occurs naturally in foods. Ground beef naturally contains 1-1.5 grams of trans fat per quarter pound, which is why you see 1-1.5 grams of trans fat in those burgers from BK and JITB. That much trans fat is in a burger you'd make at home too, fresh from the organic butcher. You don't see trans fat in their other products because they don't use partially hydrogenated oils to cook with.

    Okay. That makes sense. So we should say most restaurants have completely ditched hydrogenated oil.

    Or ditched added trans fat, or whatever. But yeah.
  • amberlynnsinspired
    amberlynnsinspired Posts: 438 Member
    Options
    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


    Exactly.
  • eclectic_ladee
    eclectic_ladee Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    Some things cannot be cut cold turkey. I am still going to eat "junk" when I feel like it. Truth be told, I like this program because I don't feel restricted. I can still eat what I want and see results. That is what's been happening and it continues to happen. I will say, however, that because of the calorie counting, I have made smarter choices when indulging in the junk food (i.e. 100 calorie snacks, smaller portions of ice cream, etc). :smile:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Options
    I see so many people going on about not getting nutrients - do they not sell multivitamins everywhere?

    That is not how it works.

    That's not how *what* works? You seem to be implying that vitamins don't contain nutrients.

    The idea is that a multivitamin can't reproduce all the beneficial nutrients contained within a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

    But that doesn't mean people shouldn't take them. I take one when I remember. I often forget though. I think most MDs would reccomend a multi-vitamin.

    This falls under "better safe than sorry" imo.

    Here is what I meant read myth #1

    http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/5-vitamin-truths-and-lies/

    1) Reader's Digest is not a very reliable source for health information
    2) That article does not reiterate your implication in any way.

    :huh:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Options
    Right. You're arguing against a nutrient. That's my entire point all thread long.

    Look at the nutrients in the food, not whether it's "healthy" or "processed" or "fast."

    Nutrients are what matter. Nutrients. Pay attention to the actual nutrients.

    Am I clear yet? Nutrients. :)

    QFT!

    If you are ingesting the nutrition you need, then it doesn't matter which food you choose.
  • anybeary
    anybeary Posts: 188 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    [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
    Options
    cancers, diabetes, etc. that are caused by GMOs

    Good lord.
  • ryanpwalsh
    ryanpwalsh Posts: 2
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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 ?

Categories