'bad food' within your calorie allowance ?

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Ok so I know you are supposed to eat clean and everything which I understand but I was wondering if you can eat bad food such as chocolate and chips as long as you are still under your calorie allowance ? If the answer is no, why?

Whilst I also have you, I don't like vegetable (except sweetcorn, cucumbers and carrots) can I replace my veg intake with fruits ?

Thanks in advance guys
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Replies

  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    You can but you will not get the same benefits from them as opposed to eating healthier calories from other food.
  • kenniston85
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    Of course you can! You can technically eat anything you want. However keep in mind that "bad" food is that way because it contains empty calories. Basically things high in fats and sugar will take calories off of your recommended calorie allowance, but will not give you any nutrients and probably wont let you feel satisfied with your meal.

    I keep these things in and just limit them because for me the diet plan is about a lifestyle change rather than being "Captain Healthnut" Not being able to enjoy any "bad" food would cause me to fail at keeping within my calorie limit because I am changing too much too fast.
  • lemur_lady
    lemur_lady Posts: 350 Member
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    Of course you can include 'bad foods'. You probably wont want to eat too much of them though, not just because they are empty calories but because foods high in fat/sugar etc wont give you as big a serving size as something healthy and so sometimes it can become a trade off between more food or a small amount of 'bad food'.

    I have something naughty every day, I wouldnt stick to my calorie goals otherwise as restricting myself completely would make me binge.
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
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    Do you spank your bad food because it was naughty? Might make you feel better for eating it...

    There is an idea around called 80/20 or 90/10. You basically eat what you know you should for 80% of your calories and eat what you think you shouldn't for 20% (or ..90/10)

    I'd suggest finding vegetables you like, or maybe preparations that make the ones you think you don't like tastier.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
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    By "bad food" I'm assuming you mean junk food like chips, cookies, doughnuts, etc. Eating them once in a while (unless you have health issues like diabetes or gluten sensitivity, etc) probably won't hurt you, eating them every day can lead to things like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. Especially if you have a genetic predisposition.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Eat "good" or "clean" or "healthy" (whatever those words mean to you) 80% of the time. Fit yummy, portion-controlled treats into your calorie allowance.

    Deprivation can lead to bingeing.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I found healthy chocolate!!

    Ingredients:
    "Grinning Coconut" (1oz each) chocolates.. this is my favorite by they have a lot of different ones.
    no idea calories:

    Organic raw cacao, organic raw coconut oil, organic raw honey, organic raw shredded coconut, organic raw almond, organic vanilla extract.

    Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, No sugar added, Non-gmo, raw, organic, vegetarian, No additives CHOCOLATE! and it tastes so awesome!!

    If you live in or near Colorado springs, this is at radiantly raw chocolates downtown.

    They are freaking AMAZING!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    There is not "good" or "bad" food...food is food...ultimately, it is fuel...you have more or less nutrient dense options. I try to get all of my nutrition with my food but guess what? I don't get extra credit for more broccoli when my nutritional needs have been met...so I have some ice cream for desert or whatever. I eat pizza once per week and I plan that day accordingly in order to hit all of my nutritional requirements...and on and on and on.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    By "bad food" I'm assuming you mean food that has gone off, gone rancid, sour, stale, mouldy etc. In which case, no, I don't allow myself to eat bad food.

    Otherwise, I eat what I like. I hit my calorie target, hit my macronutrient targets and enjoy my food.
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
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    Yip, except bad food has a lot more calories for what it is.

    A lot of people like myself eat cleaner mostly because you can eat more low cal and fill yourself up whereas a chocolate bar has 300 calories but personally I'd be hungry an hour later..
  • jessthep1rate
    jessthep1rate Posts: 47 Member
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    Well, technically, you CAN eat anything you want, period, end of story, whether you are under or over your calories--that's your decision to make! But I assume you are either asking if you can do so and still lose weight, or if doing so is a good idea.

    Eating at or under your calorie limit will result in weight loss, no matter what foods you eat. But when you eat so-called 'bad' foods--foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients, it's not the best for your body. It's really important, especially when you are restricting your calories, to make sure that you're eating to get all of the vitamins, minerals, good fats, protein, etc, that your body needs. So if you spend a lot of your calories eating food that isn't very nutritious, you're harming your health.

    That being said, absolutely still eat all the delicious, terrible stuff!--But only on occasion, and pay attention to the size of the serving you're eating, and you should do fine.
  • unjella
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    moderation is key. "bad foods" will not give you the nutrition and desired fullness you would get from eating healthy foods.
    Stay away from GM foods. genetically modified food from corn, like cereals, no margarine, juices from concentrate, soy products (that is because of the way it is processed) these food types will store fat cells in your waistline.
  • dorisopen9
    dorisopen9 Posts: 94 Member
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    Ingredients ... organic raw honey...

    ... No sugar added ... CHOCOLATE

    What do you think makes honey so sweet? Aspartame? Saccharine? Or maybe sugar?
    Stay away from GM foods. genetically modified food from corn, like cereals, no margarine, juices from concentrate, soy products (that is because of the way it is processed) these food types will store fat cells in your waistline.
    Is that where they put all the fat cells sucked out during liposuction? Into the orange juice from concentrate?

    No food as such - raw, "clean" or processed - as such "will store fat cells in your waistline". The amount and combination does it.
    There is currently no scientific evidence that GMO foods are bad for human consumption or pose any health risks to a human eating them. Which does not mean I approve of them because I don't think we have even the slightest idea what long term damage GMO crops can do to the environment. The main problem with juices from concentrate is the loss of vitamins and phytochemicals when they are cooked down, as well as the slightly "burned" taste; neither of this poses any health risk to humans as far as is known at present.
    Margarine used to be problematic as it used to contain trans fats but the industry is clever and wants to sell, so most margarines nowadays are free of trans fats or have minimal amounts as you will generate yourself when cooking at home.
    Soy products such as tofu and soy sauce have been used in Japan for hundreds of years; ill effects are not known as long as they are used as intended. I wouldn't drink a litre of soy sauce, too much sodium, but a splash for seasoning is fine from a nutritional point of view.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Yip, except bad food has a lot more calories for what it is.

    A lot of people like myself eat cleaner mostly because you can eat more low cal and fill yourself up whereas a chocolate bar has 300 calories but personally I'd be hungry an hour later..
    Well, a chocolate bar isn't a meal. I wouldn't expect to feel full from a chocolate bar.
  • Heditw
    Heditw Posts: 21
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    I sometimes eat clean but sometimes I dont. I have stayed months without sugar and I was a vegetarian. For various reasons that are not important for the topic I eat meat now and eat sugar now and then yet keep losing. I think is all about what is comfortable for you.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Food is neither good nor bad. It's true neutral.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    There are no 'Bad' foods. There's just food
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
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    I eat bad foods on occasion and stay within my allowance and am losing weight. But I try not to make a habit of it. Bad foods usually take a lot of my precious calories and don't fill me up.

    I wouldn't recommend eating too many fruits in place of veggies only because they tend to be higher in calories and sugar. Can you try cooking veggies in such a way that you would enjoy them? Look for some recipes online.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    There's healthy food????????????and less healthy food.????????????????????
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    I expect that about 20% of my food intake is going to be low nutrient food, but I like to make a game out of finding low nutrient foods which sneak in some nutrition.

    E.g. when I have chocolate cravings, I go for chocolate Quest bars, which have some sugar, but still high in protein and high in fiber. Or, I might have frozen yogurt, but with some walnuts and blueberries as toppings instead of the sugary stuff.

    Check out oracvalues.com which gives the antioxidant score of foods. I try to eat foods which have the higher ORAC values.