survey:"junk" what foods do u consider to be junk food?

Anything that has more fat than protein.

I guess no bacon, butter, oils...

I was thinking general guidelines without having to point out the obvious cookies, chips, etc. I don't eat bacon or use oil and use margarine very sparingly. It is junk to me in that it is a waste of calories. If I am going to eat something terrible for me, I am going to have some ice cream.

Stuff that doesn't taste good and is full of sugar and/or unhealthy fats i.e., store bought frosted cookies, grocery store doughnuts, grocery store cake with chemical tasting frosting, canned frosting, Doritos, fat-free Pringles, sugar-laden "juice" cocktails, etc

Mostly food products that are manufactured and advertised. If a company is spending more money trying to convince you to eat the product, than the cost of the product...its junk.

So just to clarify; you don't believe chips and candy bars have any vitamins or minerals in?

Or have you set a specific level over which it's 'ok', that you believe these two products fall under?

Also, what is the difference with 'synthetic' ones when compared to 'naturally occurring' ones?

Things with very little nutritional value that aren't really even all that tasty. Cheesy poofs or Twinkies.

However, potato chips and Raspberry Zingers are not junk food. Because they're delicious.

hahaha WORD. If it tastes good it literally cannot be junk.

While I don't want to demonize food, I do have a personal definition of junk food. That's food which smells divine but somehow doesn't follow up on the taste. So most fast food burgers fall under the the definition, cheap cakes, pies and pastries. And Krispy Kreme donuts. Urgh. And I used to eat them, even though they didn't taste so good, because they looked and smelled so nice.

This is personal, btw, so if someone were to love the taste of, say, a Big Mac, then it wouldn't be junk.

I'm still learning to say no, but I'm getting better!

Foods that have significant calories, but little to no nutritional value.

Crisps, cookies, candy bars, sweets. The regular.
I don't avoid junk food, I just limit it.
But I don't eat crisps ever EVER because it makes me look like my face is about to explode :explode:

Kale. it's gross, otherwise nothing.

And pineapple.

I'm trying to move away from defining any food as "junk" or any other term meaning inherently bad

some foods are more nutritious than others, i.e. they contain more nutrients

some foods are more difficult to fit into a healthy diet than others, because they contain high amounts of things like fat and carbs that are easy to overeat on

but there aren't any foods that are inherently bad in isolation. Someone's diet can be healthy or unhealthy, because the body needs specific nutrients, in the right ratio, and too little of any essential nutrient is bad for health, and too much of certain specific nutrients is bad for health. Taking in more energy than you burn off on a regular basis for years is bad for health. But the foods themselves are not healthy or unhealthy, if you plan your diet and ensure that you are getting a healthy balance of all the nutrients you need and are not gaining body fat from eating more than you burn off all the time.

Also, I think that food puritanism, i.e. the attitude that enjoying food is bad and wrong, and that food is only for nutrition and you should only eat foods that are considered by food puritans to be "healthy" or "clean" or whatever, can lead to someone having a really unhealthy relationship with food, which is not healthy from a psychological point of view, and an unhealthy relationship with food can lead to behaviours around food that damage both physical and mental health, such as cycling between excessive restriction and binge eating, accompanied with beating yourself up over the binges and punishing yourself with more excessive restriction..... not healthy at all.

So given all that, I tend to think terms such as "junk food" and anything else that labels individual foods as good or bad, should be scrapped and people should learn to focus on the overall diet, i.e. whether it's giving you all the nutrients you need in the right balance or not. and from that mindset you do quickly learn that some foods are a lot harder to fit into a balanced diet than others, and also how to fit them in and still be getting a healthy, balanced diet.

When I hear the word "junk food" I think of "fast food" (even though I try not to call it junk food any more, it's what the term calls to mind) - I eat fast food periodically when bulking or for a refeed when cutting. It's high protein, high fat, high carb food, perfect for boosting your calorie and protein levels (I leave out the fries and drink, and order two high protein things, e.g a burger and chicken nuggets, and drink water with it... or tea if they do tea). The downside is that it's high in sodium and low in vitamins and minerals, but there are ways to balance that out through what you eat and drink the rest of the time. i.e. it's about focusing on the diet as a whole, not demonising individual foods.