"Junk" Food - Abstinence or Moderation?

13

Replies

  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    I think it's different for everyone. If someone tries to tell me I can never have chocolate again (my junk food of choice) my immediate go-to response is somewhere along the lines of "F- - - You." I find that moderation works for me. It keeps me from feeling deprived and makes it so I feel like I can stick with it. Plus, every thin person I know eats junk food on occasion. So, it didn't make sense to me that I would have to completely abstain from something if I wanted to lose weight.

    However… My sister is a different story. Sugary junk food is her addiction. She can't just have a piece of chocolate and be done. She has to eat the whole box. Same with cookies, cakes, pies, etc. She does fine with chips. She can eat a handful and be good… , but not with the sugary stuff (however she does okay with fruit). So, for her the key to being able to stick with it was to completely abstain.

    Figure out what it is like for you. I don't know what your relationship with food is and if you have any disordered thinking going on there. But for me… moderation is key. But that doesn't mean it is for everyone.
  • freshstart180213
    freshstart180213 Posts: 170 Member
    Moderation as I love my junk food I try usually to eat something naughty but within my kcals however something like a costa creamy cooler does usually put me over yes sometimes I feel a little guilty but if u intend to make this a lifestyle choice something for life then u have to get used to moderation as I refuse to never have some of the junkfood faves that I enjoy life is too short
  • xRedRockerx
    xRedRockerx Posts: 54 Member
    Moderation all the way, purely cause I couldn't live without ice cream!
    I do cut back completely though if I have some sort of event where I want to feel comfortable - I have a wedding to attend next month so a week or two before I'll cut out all junk food, just in an attempt to reduce bloating. It works for me and because it's only short-term I can last that long and I'm not too tempted to binge afterwards, although I get why it doesn't work for everyone.
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
    I think that if you are training for competition a strict diet may be necessary but even competitors loosen their belts every now and then i believe in moderation Sinc I embraced this the fail/start agin cycle has ended

    #Ilovepizza
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    I enjoy junk food in moderation....because it's yummy and completely irrelevant while I'm otherwise rocking my nutrition. I've never understood the mentality that somehow having a handful of potato chips or something with my sandwich once in awhile is going to wipe out all of the other nutrition I'm getting in. People generally just can't see the bigger picture I suppose.
  • brandiesel27
    brandiesel27 Posts: 12 Member
    Best method that works for me and have seen worked with others is abstinence for the first month and then go to moderation(that is if you feel like it)
  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
    Moderation. When I first started, I abstained from everything that triggered me. But with time, I learned how to control myself better and can actually just be satisfied with a serving of "junk" food. I don't eat it often (less than once every week I'd say), but it's a nice little treat.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Moderation. I have ice cream or chocolate nearly every night. I've always had to be in a mood for salty snacks, so they're rarely eaten.
  • Birder155
    Birder155 Posts: 223 Member
    I cut out "junk food" for a little while knowing that I would incorporate it back into my diet in the future. I did it for about 2 months and now I have incorporated it back into my diet. The two rules I have for myself is that it does have to fit within my calorie budget and it doesn't come into the house. This helps to ensure that I only have one serving at a time and don't eat a whole big bag of chips or a tub of ice cream.

    I like your take on this.
  • hoffmanchristina
    hoffmanchristina Posts: 22 Member
    For me, it's a combination of both.
    Pop - Moderation I mow the lawn and after burning 1,100 calories 1 can a week is ok. And I get a Vernors slurpee on martial art days. (It's a limited time flavor and will give it up when it goes away).
    juice - Abstinence
    Little Debbie or similar - Abstinence
    Chips - Abstinence
    Candy - Moderation I love candy and could eat several candy bars a day. Now, 1 fun size every 3 days.
    Brownies, Cake, Donuts - Abstinence
    Ice Cream - Moderation but stick to the 1/2 cup serving size once every 2 weeks.
    Fresh Muffins from Costco - Moderation each muffin is almost 700 calories. I quarter a muffin and eat 1 section a day.
    Anything Potatoes - Abstinence
    fast food - Abstinence
    bread sticks, biscuits - Abstinence
    Salad dressing, Mayo, MW, Sour cream- Abstinence
    Ketchup - Moderation I got rid of the bottle and use the packets from work. 10 calories per packet.
    Hot Salsa - Moderation I live in a Hispanic area and the salsa is made fresh and pure vegetables plus the "hot" boosts your Metabolism

    It's about you and what your willing to give up for your health. When I crave sugar, I eat an apple or peach or cherries. I find it very hard to eat veggies without Ranch dip. Why are you trying to lose weight? That is a big motivate for loosing weight. I found that it is better for me or to look better wasn't enough to motivate me. I wanted a job and I passed all the tests except the physical fitness. I have 1 year to meet those requirements and will do just about anything to get there.

    As for out of site, out of mind, it depends on the person. If you live by yourself and only shop for yourself, then you have this option but how often are you tempted to buy something bad or stop for food that is bad? I don't live by myself. It will be a cold day in hell before I tell my grandma what she can't eat just because I'm on a diet. And I work in a cafe /convenience store and am surrounded my unhealthy food all day long. I never let myself get to the "starving" stage and find that I'm ok with say no to junk food when I want a snack. I also find that logging in every crumb I consume also makes it easier to give up junk food.
  • ShadowFallRising
    ShadowFallRising Posts: 15 Member
    Moderation is a good way to go. I am a junk food junkie with a very naggy sweet tooth. About a week back, I made a small portion of eggless cookie dough, and would take a tablespoon every day to appease that darned sweet tooth xD I'd imagine that as long as you stay under your sugar limit in your diary, it should be fine. I hear dark chocolate is supposed to be good for you. I had a bag of fun size wrapped candy bars at one point, too, and each individual candy was 50 calories each.
  • sbarella
    sbarella Posts: 713 Member
    Abstinence didn't work for me because it made me think about food all the time and binge, something I had NEVER done before. I ended up gaining weight instead of losing it.
    I reintroduced junk food and I'm losing weight. I bought single servings until my relationship with food changed. Now I can keep three tubs of ice cream in my freezer and it won't bother me at all. I know I can have it, it's not forbidden and tempting, and if I can't have it today I will have it tomorrow, no big deal.
    If I go out with friends I don't want to eat all the foods because I'm not feeling deprived, I'll just have a single serving of something that I enjoy. Well, sometimes I still eat all the foods anyway, but then I move on... Life happens. :laugh:

    Another thing that helped me a lot: no diet food. I used to pick low-fat, low-calorie, low-anything because I wanted to eat as much as possible. It wasn't helping me with portion control. I was used to eating huge plates of low-cal stuff, so I couldn't settle for one slice of pizza or a single serving of pasta. (not to mention fats are important!)
    I understand this is kind of controversial, it's just my experience. High volume diets might work for someone else. It's all about trial and error, in the end.
  • gillianjanem
    gillianjanem Posts: 7 Member
    Taking smal steps is wht worked for me... ive been using myfitnesspal for over a year now and have been yoyo-ing a lot!!! so far ive lost 6 kilos in a 6 weeks. This is what worked for me! long way to go for me! :D

    http://www.confessionsoftiredmoms.com/fitness/easy-10k-changing-weight
  • LanaC1210
    LanaC1210 Posts: 37
    Moderation...but make it a reward! If you workout 5 days out of the 7 day week then reward yourself with 1 sweet treat!
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    I cut out "junk food" for a little while knowing that I would incorporate it back into my diet in the future. I did it for about 2 months and now I have incorporated it back into my diet. The two rules I have for myself is that it does have to fit within my calorie budget and it doesn't come into the house. This helps to ensure that I only have one serving at a time and don't eat a whole big bag of chips or a tub of ice cream.

    Lol, like vampires! They can only come into the house if you invite them.
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    Right now I'm doing moderation. Seems to work fine, but it's hard to dump the years of constant bad information and all the demonizing this food or that food that society is bombarded with.
  • MamaSchulze
    MamaSchulze Posts: 6 Member
    I prefer to cut most of it out but allow a treat every few days or so. I also educate myself on why I don't want to eat that type of food. I haven't drank soda for a few years and now it makes me rather ill, and I've heard the same thing about greasy and sugary foods. Get sick enough from it and you won't want it any more period. I also alter what a treat would be. A pina colada made with fresh bananas and pineapples with a bit a unsweetened almond coconut milk is a sweet treat that doesn't break me.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Both.

    Abstinence: Low carbing strictly in the past killed my cravings for the majority of the foods I overate growing up. Abstaining permanently killed any regular cravings for bread, pizza, pasta, chips, burgers, crackers, fries, soda, slurpees, and other such commonly overeating foods. I still enjoy those things, and don't go out of my way to avoid them, but I seldom ever crave them. I've literally gone years at a time without eating or drinking any of those, and not even noticing. And when I do have them I'm perfectly able to enjoy them and then move on without cravings. A miracle considering the kind of diet I grew up on.

    Moderation: Cakes, some cookies, ice cream. Abstinence did kill these cravings...while I abstained. But it wasn't long before I was overeating them again once I did let them back in. I never wanted to fully eliminate them in the long run anyway. I moderate them now. But not at all in the popular MFP way. My definition of moderation is to limit the days I have them, but then eat as much of them as I want when I do have them. I'm not a half-a-cup of ice cream/two Oreo cookies a day guy at all. And I have no interest in trying to be one. I don't like being restricted on the amount of any food I do eat, when I eat it, but I am perfectly fine with restricting the number of days or weeks that I will eat any given food.
  • cookiekrunch
    cookiekrunch Posts: 65 Member
    Definitely moderation. I tried absolute restriction which lead to me constantly thinking about what I couldn't eat. I incorporate some sweets into my meal plan when I have some "extra" calories. This prevents the binge effect.
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    on a low calorie diet its important to get the highest quality nutrition possible. Since you're eating less, every calorie should have the most amount of vitamins minerals and nutrients possible. calorie to vitamin ratio.

    and then there is real life and if youre like me eat mostly pizza and diet pepsi. kept withen calorie goal.
    eating celery and kale would make me feel punished and board and i would fail.

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