can you eat 1200 calories in junk food a day?

Watch Super Size me movie.. he ate only junk food (fast food) and you can see what type of problems he ran into with his health from not eating properly.

that was from eating too much.

Watch Fat Head for a calorie controlled version. (and skip the low carb dogma at the end)

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

In the documentary Fat Head, the guy eats 2000 calories a day at McDonald's and other fast food places. Not only does he lose 12 pounds, but all his blood lipid indicators improve.

So, depends on how you characterize junk, but ostensibly, yes, you can.

I highly recommend the movie. It's a life changer.

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Not true.. You can not gain fat from excess sugar, fat or carbs unless your calories exceed your TDEE.


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I never knew that

We all make our choices and are the only ones that have to live with them. I prefer to eat healthy food in order to feel good within my body, to have good skin, nails and hair, and not have to take supplements in order to get what I am missing out of my diet. I proudly eat all the nutrition I need.

Thanks to those who mentioned the Fat Head movie. I just watched it (on youtube in case anyone else is interested), some interesting ideas although as someone who is a vegetarian for ethical reasons I'm not in a hurry to emulate his diet.

The simple answer is yes, calories in vs. calories out. You would be starving the entire day as those 1200 calories would add up quickly and you certainly wouldn't be getting any healthier.

^^^^ this

and your macros would me messed up, i.e. you'd be over on fat and carbs and under on protein. Being under on protein while losing weight is a very bad idea as it increases the likelihood of muscle loss along with fat loss. Even if you choose high protein junk food, like burgers and chicken nuggets, you'll be taking in a LOT of fat with them, so it would still be hard to get enough protein before you've gone over on fat and/or carbs. Additionally, you'd struggle to get enough micronutrients, and in the long term you'd be at risk of nutritional deficiencies, and it certainly would not lead to optimal health.

But weight loss is calories in versus calories out, it doesn't matter (in terms of how much you weigh) what foods those calories come from. But healthy food = better body composition and good health. (you also need to do the right kinds of exercise to really change your body composition, but without sufficient protein, exercise won't do much for you)

That said, you can eat junk food in moderation and still be healthy. My advice would be to make healthy food your staples, so your regular meals are all healthy, then fit whatever other food you want into your macros on top or as (for example) one or two meals a week. in order to fit junk in your macros, you will end up eating them in smaller quantities, otherwise you can't fit them in.

My attitude is one that's much more "feed your body properly, then eat junk if you really want to" than "don't eat xyz foods because they're bad" - in order to feed my body properly, I choose healthy foods that I enjoy, and try to hit my macros (set at 40% carb, 30% protein 30% fat) and also try to get plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy fat in the process. Then whatever "junk" food I can fit in on top of that, I eat and I enjoy it. In other words, I focus far more on what I *should* eat to meet my body's needs, than on foods that some say I shouldn't be eating. By the time I've eaten all of what I *should* eat, i don't have that many calories left for the "some people say i shouldn't" foods... but I do eat them. Especially chocolate.... 80% dark chocolate.... mmmmmmmmmmm... and I eat fast food sometimes. Even with fast food, being conscious of macros and what my body needs, I'm more likely to choose high protein fast foods and ditch empty carbs like french fries and pepsi. Incidentally I enjoy high protein fast food more and find it more filling than standard fast food meals.

No! Stay away from junk food. The fat and carbs will add up and then you'll die in the hospital with diabetes.

You could but you'd suffer from severe malnutrition, spots, bad skin, lethargy, and gawd knows what else !!

Aye, lass, me sees scurvy in yer future, me does.