Why do people seem to bash "healthy"eating?

No one is bashing healthy eating. What's mainly being said is moderation, stay away from extremes. Processed foods are not what made us obese, over consumption is. But it's when people are going to the extreme and saying don't eat anything that has more than 5 ingredients or comes in a box.... that sets people up for failure.

I love to cook and bake, but there's also times I want McDonalds or something else, I just make it fit into my day. I try to follow an 80/20 rule... 80% good choices the other 20% I don't worry about, it's what has made this sustainable and much more enjoyable.

Plus everyone's at different levels and has different goals, when I started the only thing that mattered to me was losing the weight, so all I cared about was the amount of calories I was consuming, now that I've changed my goals to more fitness related I've changed what I track to reach those goals.

And now I need more coffee because there's way too much blood in my caffeine stream to think clearly

No one is bashing healthy eating. What's mainly being said is moderation, stay away from extremes. Processed foods are not what made us obese, over consumption is. But it's when people are going to the extreme and saying don't eat anything that has more than 5 ingredients or comes in a box.... that sets people up for failure.

This.

I think it's a game of rebellion. "How to get most enjoyment out of your diet and still lose weight." If you get what I mean. I myself wouldn't eat "what I used to eat, only less". I used to be so hungry, and that's why I ate too much. I eat "healthy" most of the time now, plus some "treats". It used to be the other way around, no wonder I got so fat and tired :embarassed:

That's a great way to phrase it and good advice for any who haven't made similar changes.

If I say this to someone, it's usually because they are stressing themselves out with 'healthy' eating, getting really down and guilty about eating a 'dirty' food etc. When people deprive themselves of all the things they love, they're more likely to give up and just go back to putting on weight.

I do eat what I'm craving but within reason. There are plenty of foods I have cut out of my diet because they make me feel crap/I don't have control around them. Often it's not worth it to me to spend 300 calories on one small chocolate bar- I could have loads of fruit and cheese for that. But if I really want that chocolate bar I'm going to have it! This frame of mind is the main reason I'm actually succeeding at weight loss this time.

For one thing, I don't think you have to tie "healthy" eating directly to weight loss. Yes, people can i,prove their health by improving their diets, and they can improve their health by losing weight, but the two don't necessarily go together. I don't think it's helpful to tall people they have to (or should) change their diets radically in order to lose weight. That's like saying there's no point losing weight unless you give up smoking too, or there's no point losing weight unless you're also careful about sun exposure, or you make sure you get enough sleep etc. A lot of people try to tackle too many things at once, end up giving up, feel like a failure and stop trying.

If someone can eat the foods they love, including from big business fast food companies, and lose weight and keep the weight off, then isn't that better than someone cutting out all processed foods, "junk" or whatever, eating lean meat and leafy greens for three weeks and then realising they can't live like that, giving up, gaining the weight back and deciding that losing weight and/or getting healthy is too hard?

Not everyone can get into exercise when they start losing weight. Some people struggle with mobility or making enough time. Some people are just not interested in exercising and never will be. Exercise and generally being active is amazing for physical and mental health; of course it is. But does that mean that if someone isn't going to start exercising regularly they shouldn't bother losing weight? Sometimes people do what they can and make what changes they can at the time.

And, apart from all that, everyone has a different opinion on what "healthy eating" is anyway. I personally don't think that just because something has been made in a factory it is inherently unhealthy. Or because it's sold by a multinational company who probably only cares about profits, that it's inherently unhealthy. I don't think there's anything wrong with white potatoes (per your other post elsewhere) or pizza. I personally think that a lot of people (not everyone, but a lot) would be far more successful at losing weight and getting healthier by learning to eat the foods they enjoy in moderation, as part of a nutritionally balanced diet, than if they stop eating those things altogether, and overnight.

I too find it quite scary the lengths companies go to, and the things that are possible now in food processing. I think, though, that it's better to be mindful and to learn how these things work, and learn how you respond to certain foods, and make that work for you... rather than to fear all processed foods and stay "safe" by not eating any of them at all. For people who are susceptible to emotional eating, learning to eat in moderation is about taking your power back.

A lot of people who struggle with their weight already have pretty messed up relationships with food, and I've seen so many people stuck in the dieting cycle - "being good" or "fallen off the wagon". Labelling individual foods as good/bad/unhealthy/healthy/clean/dirty etc etc is just part of that imo. Judge the overall diet, not the individual items of food.

No one is bashing healthy eating. What's mainly being said is moderation, stay away from extremes. Processed foods are not what made us obese, over consumption is. But it's when people are going to the extreme and saying don't eat anything that has more than 5 ingredients or comes in a box.... that sets people up for failure.

I love to cook and bake, but there's also times I want McDonalds or something else, I just make it fit into my day. I try to follow an 80/20 rule... 80% good choices the other 20% I don't worry about, it's what has made this sustainable and much more enjoyable.

Plus everyone's at different levels and has different goals, when I started the only thing that mattered to me was losing the weight, so all I cared about was the amount of calories I was consuming, now that I've changed my goals to more fitness related I've changed what I track to reach those goals.

And now I need more coffee because there's way too much blood in my caffeine stream to think clearly

This. The obesity problem has nothing to do with processed foods. We've been eating processed foods in the US in large quantities since around WWII. The biggest cause of the obesity problem is the fact that everyone works in an office now. People aren't active anymore. As human beings, we've been engineering and designing foods to be palatable for thousands of years, modern day food companies aren't doing anything different.

But I don't see how eating fast foods and processed foods in the quantities offered out there can possibly be healthy.

And why not, if you're getting appropriate micronutrients in your diet and meeting your macro nutrient goals?

Having a look at my day yesterday, absolutely everything was 'processed'.
I ate an entire 900ml tub of "millionaire" ice cream. Pack of cocktail sausages. A load of ham (salty, probably). Cheap swiss roll with custard, 'chicken dippers'.
Yet I'm the healthiest I've ever been with the best body composition I've ever had.
Not too long ago I did a 32 mile trail ultramarathon. (According to Jefit) I'm not far off doing a squat with double my body weight on my back - so like I had two blokes my size both sitting on my shoulders while doing a squat. All 'health markers' I've had checked are excellent.

I personally dislike the way people describe one set of foods as 'healthy' and another as "junk".
I think it's wrong to universally label any food as 'unhealthy' - infact, I'd say this attitude it's self is "unhealthy".

Before I did the aforementioned ultramarathon, I had a >800g "carb loading" day.
Eating clean (sic) foods, fruit and those high in fibre would have been very unhealthy for my objectives on the next day.
Eating a lot of processed carbs with high calorie density WAS the 'healthy' choice.

Also, meant to add;
From what I've seen in studies and so on is that various aspects of "healthy eating" improve the health of people with otherwise less healthy lifestyles.

The more active you are, the more the body can cope well without being restricting certain food groups and so on.

It would seem it's more mitigating that you're otherwise unhealthy - a 'sticking plaster', if you will.

I don't believe I ever used the word "junk". Nor did I ever say that people should not ever, never eat processed foods. And I'm glad you feel healthy eating what you are eating. But if someone else does not wish to eat that way, for whatever reason, and is requesting help to meet that wish, why talk them out of it? Why say, go ahead and eat your (chocolate, donut, Big Mac, whatever) because it is fine, there are no bad foods, everything in moderation. Why doesn't anyone support them in their efforts rather than tear their efforts down? I can't recall (not saying it hasn't happened, just that I can't remember it happening) someone replying, "good for you to do what you think is what you need. Good luck". It is always, "you're a fool, you can eat whatever you want as long as you don't over-do".

My opinion, and I have a right to my opinion, is that there ARE foods that are not as healthy for you (or downright unhealthy) as others. I've never said for others not to eat them, that is their decision. But I'll try to promote and encourage others to eat as best they can. And if they want to try to stop the addictive processed foods, I will try to encourage that rather than telling them that they are wrong. That's all I'm saying.

Your forgetting context and dosage and that is what makes all food, even the ones that are less nutrient dense, equal.