Junk Food and losing weight?

I eat chocolate, cheesecake, pizza, the occasional burger, fries (although mostly sweet potato fries as I prefer them), cookies, cake, and so on - and I'm nearly at goal weight. If it fits in my calories, it's fair game. The one thing I try to avoid is chips, particularly corn chips, as I find it very difficult to stop eating them once I start - a whole packet of Doritos is no problem. Other than that, yep I still eat junk food.

Yup....I still eat the stereotype junk food: chips, cookies, ice cream, pizza, McDonald's, Red Robins, Doritos, Dominoes, etc.... It is all about learning to control yourself and fit them in when you can. Granted I don't eat them every single day, but I have Dominoes several times a month and McDonald's at least once a month. Besides....what would life be like without chocolate! I refuse to give up chocolate.

I ate a fair bit of junk food when losing weight. The trick is to burn off the extra calories when necessary via exercise.

I do love my chocolate, biscuits and naughty sugary cereals at the moment, but I do try to burn it all off at the gym too : )

I think one of the most important things is to set up sub targets. When reaching them - reward yourself!

Junk food could be great a reward. And after following a strict and clean diet for a while, it can enhance your metabolism. Your metabolism will slow down, when eating clean and loosing weight. As long as you don't reward yourself too often.

But I can't agree that as long as you are staying within your daily calories, it's ok to eat junk food.

You are what you eat. This is the truth.


Junk food is mostly a mix of sugar and fat, and that's a bad combo. It's also mostly bad fats. Eating junk food often, even if you are staying in a calorie deficit, can result in that you are keeping fat in stead.


To burn fat and save muscles, it's much about nutrition timing. For example; if you are eating your carbs around your workouts, you will use them for muscle glycogen and to compensate for energy loss, which is better than eating them on other occasions. So that's an opportunity to eat junk that's based on carbs and sugars (make sure it's not fat in it).


But as I wrote before. You are what you eat. You can't cheat mother nature on that.

I think one of the most important things is to set up sub targets. When reaching them - reward yourself!

Junk food could be great a reward. And after following a strict and clean diet for a while, it can enhance your metabolism. Your metabolism will slow down, when eating clean and loosing weight. As long as you don't reward yourself too often.

But I can't agree that as long as you are staying within your daily calories, it's ok to eat junk food.

You are what you eat. This is the truth.


Junk food is mostly a mix of sugar and fat, and that's a bad combo. It's also mostly bad fats. Eating junk food often, even if you are staying in a calorie deficit, can result in that you are keeping fat in stead.


To burn fat and save muscles, it's much about nutrition timing. For example; if you are eating your carbs around your workouts, you will use them for muscle glycogen and to compensate for energy loss, which is better than eating them on other occasions. So that's an opportunity to eat junk that's based on carbs and sugars (make sure it's not fat in it).


But as I wrote before. You are what you eat. You can't cheat mother nature on that.

Yah none of this.
No need to eat "clean"
Timing has nothing to do with it...
To maintain muscle while dieting eat enough protien and lift heavy.

I can say this tho If I am what I eat...atm I am a sweet chocolate Hershey Kiss....:drinker:

Seriously OP don't label food...it's all food. If you want to lose weight it is calories in vs calories out. Stay in a deficet and you will lose weight.

If you are also trying to get fit with exercise such as lifting...eat a good amount of Protien, ensure you have enough fat in your diet...lift heavy and you will help maintain LBM as much as possible.

I think one of the most important things is to set up sub targets. When reaching them - reward yourself!

Junk food could be great a reward. And after following a strict and clean diet for a while, it can enhance your metabolism. Your metabolism will slow down, when eating clean and loosing weight. As long as you don't reward yourself too often.

But I can't agree that as long as you are staying within your daily calories, it's ok to eat junk food.

You are what you eat. This is the truth.


Junk food is mostly a mix of sugar and fat, and that's a bad combo. It's also mostly bad fats. Eating junk food often, even if you are staying in a calorie deficit, can result in that you are keeping fat in stead.


To burn fat and save muscles, it's much about nutrition timing. For example; if you are eating your carbs around your workouts, you will use them for muscle glycogen and to compensate for energy loss, which is better than eating them on other occasions. So that's an opportunity to eat junk that's based on carbs and sugars (make sure it's not fat in it).


But as I wrote before. You are what you eat. You can't cheat mother nature on that.

I wish I am what I eat because people would actually like me.

I eat junk food - what most people call junk food - because I know when I don't, I tend to get snippy, b!tchy, and stabby. Chocolate covered graham crackers for dessert or a late-night snack isn't derailing my weight loss or fitness.

I wish I am what I eat because people would actually like me.

I eat junk food - what most people call junk food - because I know when I don't, I tend to get snippy, b!tchy, and stabby. Chocolate covered graham crackers for dessert or a late-night snack isn't derailing my weight loss or fitness.

Try to get your blood sugar stable with low GI carbs, or with eating less carbs and more proteins and healthy fats, and I can promise you that your snippy and *****y mood will even out.

It's good to hear that your late night snack doesn't affect your weight loss. But still, I guess you want to loose fat and not just weight, so do an experiment for a period, just to see what could happen to your body if you stay away from it.

It's always good to challenge yourself!

Ppfffttt

I personally prioritize getting my nutrients in with nutrient-dense foods. I nearly always have plenty of room left for whatever else I feel like eating.

Adding resistance (weights / body weight, etc.) along with cardio helps much also.

So, yeah, I agree with almost everyone on here. (See Stef's post above)

I eat candy everyday lol.... I'm not saying you should but I workout hard for my treats. It's only 8 am and I already had some Hershey's cookies n cream yummy

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lost almost 60lbs and am now maintaining that loss, while eating fast food 3-4 times a week, lots of 'processed' foods and snacks like chips and cookies etc etc. Weight loss/maintenance is about calories, calories, calories!

^this
it's ALL about the calories, although unlike the person i'm quoting i'm not lucky enough to have lost enough to be maintaining, yet, but 84lbs down eating basically whatever fits my calories for the day

I eat what I want, when I want, have plenty of energy, am progressing nicely in my fitness routine, and I'm losing weight. I do not limit or eliminate any foods from my diet, nor do I eat "junk" food all day long. You can create a healthy balance in your diet without restricting yourself and still see results, and the bonus is that it is sustainable in the long term.

If the focus is on weight loss no it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you are in a reasonable deficet.

I eat what is considered by some "junk" food and I look great, feel great, I am progressing in my lifts really well as do all of us here who feel food is food and it is niether good nor bad and I have drop 8% bf in 7 months...along with 43lbs.

what you eat has no influence on where the fat goes that is genetics.

As to the car analogy if you are driving a car it doesn't matter if you put regular gas or premium on if that car gets you to point A and back...gas is gas. If however you are driving in a race you want to do more than just put gas in the car you want the oil changed, alignment checked etc...it's the same with the body if you want to lose fat and maintain muscle you get enough protien and fat watch your marcros...

but...this was about losing weight...that's it.

Great that you've lost all that weight.

But still, it's common sence; good food is better for your body than junk food. Period.

If you compare two persons with identically body types, both are eating with the same calorie deficit - one with quality food and one with junk food - and are doing exactly the same exercise; you will see a different in body composition.

Yes - both will loose weight.

No - they won't loose the same amount of weight. Probably will the person that is eating the quality food not loose as many pounds as the one with junk food. How come? Because the one with quality food will get more and better nutritents for the muscles, which will be in a more anabolic state, so that person will save more muscles, or in the best of worlds, add some. And muscles eat fat.

NO - the person loosing weight on a diet based on junk food will NOT have the same lean body composition as the one with quality food.

No - the person loosing weight on a diet based on junk food will probably not loose as much body fat as the person with the quality food diet.


Loosing weight are not the same as loosing fat. That's important to understand. That's why waist measure and Body Fat percentage are way better measurement than looking at the scale.


I've seen a lot of examples of people who has lost weight on a poor diet with junk food. They have been skinny with fat, and lost a lot of muscles.


However, adding junk food as cheat meals now and then, to reward yourself, is good.

Basing a diet on junk food to loose weight, is not that good, even if you loose weight.

That's a hughe difference.


Regarding the Porsche. If you have Porsche with a gasoline engine, you won't fuel it with diesel. You would like to fuel the expensive car with the best gasoline. You would treat your car like your precious. Exactly as you should treat your body.

If the focus is on weight loss no it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you are in a reasonable deficet.

I eat what is considered by some "junk" food and I look great, feel great, I am progressing in my lifts really well as do all of us here who feel food is food and it is niether good nor bad and I have drop 8% bf in 7 months...along with 43lbs.

what you eat has no influence on where the fat goes that is genetics.

As to the car analogy if you are driving a car it doesn't matter if you put regular gas or premium on if that car gets you to point A and back...gas is gas. If however you are driving in a race you want to do more than just put gas in the car you want the oil changed, alignment checked etc...it's the same with the body if you want to lose fat and maintain muscle you get enough protien and fat watch your marcros...

but...this was about losing weight...that's it.

Great that you've lost all that weight.

But still, it's common sence; good food is better for your body than junk food. Period.

If you compare two persons with identically body types, both are eating with the same calorie deficit - one with quality food and one with junk food - and are doing exactly the same exercise; you will see a different in body composition.

Yes - both will loose weight.

No - they won't loose the same amount of weight. Probably will the person that is eating the quality food not loose as many pounds as the one with junk food. How come? Because the one with quality food will get more and better nutritents for the muscles, which will be in a more anabolic state, so that person will save more muscles, or in the best of worlds, add some. And muscles eat fat.

NO - the person loosing weight on a diet based on junk food will NOT have the same lean body composition as the one with quality food.

No - the person loosing weight on a diet based on junk food will probably not loose as much body fat as the person with the quality food diet.


Loosing weight are not the same as loosing fat. That's important to understand. That's why waist measure and Body Fat percentage are way better measurement than looking at the scale.


I've seen a lot of examples of people who has lost weight on a poor diet with junk food. They have been skinny with fat, and lost a lot of muscles.


However, adding junk food as cheat meals now and then, to reward yourself, is good.

Basing a diet on junk food to loose weight, is not that good, even if you loose weight.

That's a hughe difference.


Regarding the Porsche. If you have Porsche with a gasoline engine, you won't fuel it with diesel. You would like to fuel the expensive car with the best gasoline. You would treat your car like your precious. Exactly as you should treat your body.

Nobody here is advocating eating only "junk" food...but not labeling food as bad. I eat chocolate everyday...I eat out once or twice a week...my body comp is great.

8% BF gone 43lbs gone in 7months and I can DL 200lbs...I am at 162lbs and in a size 6..and not skinny fat thank you very much.

but that question was can I eat junk and still lose weight the answer to that question is yes. Weight loss is about a calorie deficet period.

but if you look at our diaries..the ones who are saying sure eat what you want you will see we are hitting our macros and eating good food but still eat our favs everyday, eat out more than once a year or one a month even, we still eat fried foods, French fries, ice cream, chips etc...

and how about comparing 3 people...

1 who eats only "clean food"
1 who eats only "junk food"
1 who eats food, keeps macros in check and treats themself to something they want everyday if it fits in their calories...

clean food eater will lose weight and binge and still lose fat and muscle and probably gain the weight back
junk food eater will lose weight including muscle mass and fat and wont like what they see when they are done.
Macro checker will lose weight, maintain LBM and probably maintain the weight loss longer or even permantely.