For Some of Us there ARE Bad Foods
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So you are offended that people make blanket statements like, "there is no such thing as a bad food" without knowing individual circumstances, but because you find Cheetohs to be unsatiating, you want everyone to now change how we present information and advice on these boards?
It is impossible to address every possible individual variable with regards to allergies, medical conditions, eating disorders, trigger foods, and general preferences with the advice that is offered here. The advice that I almost always offer is, "yes you can eat anything you want and still lose weight, however most people find the best success with a balance of a primarily nutrient dense diet along with treats thrown in for pleasure and long term adherence." However, even if someone stops after, "yes you can eat anything you want and still lose weight", that should not be interpreted as "everyone must eat Cheetohs".
In my opinion, trying to spoon feed advice that addresses every possible scenario for an individual is impossible, and quite frankly shouldn't be necessary given that everyone here is an adult capable of assessing their own situation and making decisions for themselves based on their own medical conditions, individual goals, habits, and personal preferences.
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Okay but that is not a bad food, it just means you have no self-control when you eat Cheetos and it won't fill you up. That doesn't make it "bad."
I can relate because I can't control myself with Nutella. I can't even keep it in the house. It's not "bad" it just triggers me to want to over eat it.0 -
I'm lactose intolerant but I don't roll around the boards telling everyone they should stop consuming dairy. Because I can't digest it doesn't mean it's bad for everyone else.I've lost weight & re-gained, so this time it's lifestyle changes only. If I never eat these so-called "bad" foods while I'm losing weight, then I really don't have a clue portion control wise, when I get to goal.
Agree with this whole heartedly. Not giving up anything I don't plan to give up for the rest of my life. This isn't a diet.0 -
blues4miles wrote: »I'm lactose intolerant but I don't roll around the boards telling everyone they should stop consuming dairy. Because I can't digest it doesn't mean it's bad for everyone else.I've lost weight & re-gained, so this time it's lifestyle changes only. If I never eat these so-called "bad" foods while I'm losing weight, then I really don't have a clue portion control wise, when I get to goal.
Agree with this whole heartedly. Not giving up anything I don't plan to give up for the rest of my life. This isn't a diet.
True words.
Realize that over 80% of the people that lose the weight, gain all of it (some gain even more than they lost) back. A small percent are able to keep it off for over 5 years. If you don't learn moderation and portion size while losing, will you be able to do this in maintenance?
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I think, in general, those of us who have been around here a long time say "there are no bad foods" because we know if you create a negative experience (dieting) you are bound to have an unhealthy relationship with foods that will either lead to an eating disorder or a total binge at some point following completely eliminating certain foods. I always say, if you're not willing to give something up forever, don't give it up now because deprivation almost always leads to a binge eventually.
For me, my body does not process carbs well.... so I try to seriously limit bread, rice, pasta, potatoes etc. That isn't to say I don't eat them... but I try to eat them more strategically like before a workout.
For instance, I have almost completely eliminated fast food from my diet... but when a situation arises where that is the only choice, I would eat all of my Bojangles fries... and the rest of my husband's. Then, I would feel SUPER guilty and make myself go work out to work it off. This weekend, we went to bojangles... and I ate my order of fries... and my hubby threw his extra fries away. No overeating, no guilt.... because I allow myself to have it now and then.... in moderation... guilt free.
Like someone else said... by saying "there are no bad foods" we aren't saying you can eat a bag of cheetos everyday. We are saying you can have cheetos... occasionally... in moderation.0 -
My choices:
A. Eat 1/4 cup of nuts B. 160 calories of raw veggies with hummus or C. 160 calories of Cheetos
If I were to select A or B, I would end up more full the whole evening, and I would experiences no strong urges to eat the entire pantry. If I were to select C., I would be REALLY hungry 15 minutes later and would have to fight back INTENSE cravings to eat more.
And for ME, choice A would put me over the edge. I LOVE nuts - and the only way I can limit myself to a single serving is to buy individual packets. But Cheetos? Meh. I like the occasional handful, but they don't set me off the way a bag of pistachios would. Does that mean I should go around telling everyone nuts are "bad"?
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Mabe we could just say there is no 'evil' food.
There is bad food out there, I've eaten it!0 -
My daughter got herself these chips. She's concerned about organic, dairy free, wheat free, no-GMO foods that won't set off her sensitive digestive system (she's trying the FODMAP diet to get some relief.)
http://www.planetorganic.com/terra-chips-original-110g-110g/3487/
The calorie load will be the same as for regular chips though; 150 calories an ounce.0 -
Tree =/= forest0
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I too would say that there are no bad foods. There are, however, foods that an individual may have difficulties moderating.
The "there are no bad foods" ususally comes in response to posts along the lines of "will X make me fat", or "I can't eat X anymore because I'm eating clean, and I'm so sad", not to "I can't control myself around X". To the latter, avoiding temptation would be a sensible approach. Sometimes someone will try to tell others how they feel or should feel and what they should be able to manage; I don't really like that, but the food isn't bad in and of itself.0 -
I would easily overeat things like cheese, nuts, meatballs, saltine crackers, ham, hummus or guacamole way past the point of fullness. I have to watch my consumption of all food because fullness isn't a stop sign at all for me. Maybe that is the case for a lot of us. It doesn't mean I can't eat them or that they are bad foods. I just have to log and measure out portions of everything.
Some foods do fill me up more than others and I pay attention to that because I don't want to be hungry all the time. Eating a doughnut for breakfast doesn't hold me very well until lunch but it would be perfectly fine for a snack around 3 pm.
A lot of people asking questions here are wondering if they can ever eat things like pizza, fruit, bread, potatoes or rice though because someone on the internet promoted a very restrictive diet that said these foods a bad and you can't lose weight eating these foods which is false. People need to know that they really can still eat the foods they like and lose weight in a sustainable way.
If I tell someone they can eat whatever they like for weight loss as long as it fits their calorie goal it is because they can. I don't know how they will feel eating certain foods. I just know it can be done. I encourage people to make sure they are getting enough protein, fats and eating several servings of fruits or vegetables a day. If they really want to eat 1200 calories of cheetos every day that is their ridiculous business. One serving of cheetos would fit in most people's daily goal along with other more filling food though so they are not bad food.
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I have been using MFP for some time, but have only recently started visiting this board. I find myself surprised at the number of people who say such things as "there are no bad foods" or "you can eat whatever you want" when they no nothing of the individual circumstances of the poster.
It seems to me you just mean something different by "bad food" than I do. When I say I don't consider (many) foods bad, I don't mean that I think it makes no different what I choose at a particular time. I mean that I don't consider a food "bad" merely because it's a food that isn't especially high in nutrients or may be difficult for me to avoid overeating. I would only consider it "bad" if I thought it was actively bad for people in general (i.e., had a poisonous ingredient). I generally do avoid trans fats, so maybe I'd consider them bad, but it doesn't come up for me enough to worry about.
There are things I am allergic to, but those aren't IMO bad, even if bad for me. (No foods I know of, but penicillin).
That aside, and focusing on your example, I can include 160 calories of something lower nutrient in my day without being hungry, quite easily, and I suspect most not on super low calories could, if they otherwise ate a good, sensible diet.0 -
I am one who says you can eat what ever you want as long as it fits. For me, I notice that what I want has changed some. I probably wouldn't eat Cheetos as my evening snack because they wouldn't leave me as full as nuts or something else. But if I want to eat Cheetos then I will eat them with a meal, not by themselves and then I don't have to worry about the Cheetos keeping me full if the sandwich that I ate them with does the trick. I do agree that some foods are harder for some people than others. I have a hard time with ice cream. If I have it in my freezer I will eat it until it is gone so for now if I want ice cream I will have to go out for a single serving of ice cream.0
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I think the people who have been around here a long time are pretty good about adding all the caveats like "for medical reasons". It's really up to the person seeking help to mention any special circumstances.
Also, personally, if I ate the 160 calories worth of veggies and hummus, I'd still end up sneaking a cheeto or two if that's what I wanted in the first place.
Agree with this- If I want ice cream, and I substitute Arctic Zero, I am still going to want some ice cream.0 -
One of the best points I've gotten from reading the MFP messageboards, is to stop blaming food choices on external factors like a party host having chips and guac out, or a kind room-mate buying fried chicken to share.
Eating or not eating that food that doesn't fit into your calorie plan has nothing to do with people other than you. It has to do with you and only your own willpower, and your own ability to stop yourself when you're feeling tempted.
This extends to everything. Of course there are some foods that are more tempting for you, that also wouldn't be satisfying enough for the calories to be "worth" it. (For me it's halvah.) But since the temptation for them is coming from you, and must be controlled by you, it's silly to label them as "bad" in general. "Caloric and not very filling for me" is more like it.
And as for satiety being subjective, I totally agree. Potato chips and their ilk have never been filling for me, but some people swear the delicious oiliness of them fills them up. *shrug*0 -
I have been yoyo dieting for over a decade because I could never stick to any diet because of all the restrictions. I have been using MFP for over a year and kept the weight off because I can still eat pizza and French fries and drink alcohol.
90% of the time I eat the veggies and hummus but it's good to know I can still enjoy the cheetos if I want to.0 -
I typically save calories so that if I get hungry in the evening, there is room for a snack. So lets assume I am going to "spend" 160 calories.
My choices:
A. Eat 1/4 cup of nuts B. 160 calories of raw veggies with hummus or C. 160 calories of Cheetos
If I were to select A or B, I would end up more full the whole evening, and I would experiences no strong urges to eat the entire pantry. If I were to select C., I would be REALLY hungry 15 minutes later and would have to fight back INTENSE cravings to eat more.
I believe that we can eat anything we want in moderation (you can even lose weight eating nothing but Twinkies as long as you're consuming fewer calories than you expend)
The scenario you've described has a very simple explanation. The nuts have both fat and protein, the veggies an hummus have fat, protein and fibre and are far more likely to leave you feeling satiated. The Cheetos, other than being delicious and leaving your fingers orange, have no redeeming qualities but the contain a lot of salt which evolution has taught us to crave.
Whether or not you give in to the cravings to eat more of them is a matter of self-control
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I have no medical reason not to eat any food, I still maintain that there are bad and good foods. I have never seen anything on this site or elsewhere to make me think otherwise.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I have no medical reason not to eat any food, I still maintain that there are bad and good foods. I have never seen anything on this site or elsewhere to make me think otherwise.
Examples and rationale?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I have no medical reason not to eat any food, I still maintain that there are bad and good foods. I have never seen anything on this site or elsewhere to make me think otherwise.
You are absolutely right. I agree whole-heartedly.
My grandmother used to cook for us a lot. One day, after her sense of smell had deteriorated quite a bit, she invited us over for dinner. Steak and gravy with homemade biscuits - one of my favorite meals that my grandmother prepared. When we sat down to eat, the biscuits smelled......off. My mom told us kids not to eat them just yet. My mom went snooping in my grandmother's kitchen and discovered that the lard my grandmother had used to make the biscuits had gone rancid.
That rancid lard and the resulting biscuits were bad foods for sure.
I don't know why the people on these forums don't understand that.0
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