how often do you eat junk food?

13

Replies

  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    Junk food?

    Eat whatever you like. Just hit your calorie/macro goals.

    Excuse me can you all tell me how you stay under your macros and eat whatever you like? My plan is 1389 cal x day and I made few trials so tomorrow if the only food I eat is 1 cupcake I already go over my macros. I then tried with chicken nuggets and same . ???? Maybe I got this all wrong but I would love to eat a pizza tomorrow. Maybe i'll get a very light salad at lunch and a good pizza at dinner.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    Junk food?

    Eat whatever you like. Just hit your calorie/macro goals.

    Excuse me can you all tell me how you stay under your macros and eat whatever you like? My plan is 1389 cal x day and I made few trials so tomorrow if the only food I eat is 1 cupcake I already go over my macros. I then tried with chicken nuggets and same . ???? Maybe I got this all wrong but I would love to eat a pizza tomorrow. Maybe i'll get a very light salad at lunch and a good pizza at dinner.

    Well first you're supposed to eat back exercise calories.

    Second, yeah, if you have protein-rich meals, a cupcake can fit in macros just fine. And pizza has pretty much perfect macros too... as long as you stop at one or two slices.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    i do not eat processed foods, greek yogurt is a treat!

    @EttaMaeMartin Greek yogurt is processed
  • ybmagpye
    ybmagpye Posts: 11 Member
    edited March 2016
    I have read a fair bit on what 'junk food' is composed of. Pink slime in some fast food burgers, the shilac in M&Ms candies, the bits & bobs of slaughtered chickens found in McNuggets - read enough of what is IN junk food and you'll crave it less, if at all. That said, I eat 'treats' - those of quality ingredients, and known calorie count - 3 or 4 days a week, in amounts and of the sorts I can control for myself. Today, I had a 100 cal bag of popcorn, that I added a touch more salt to than came in the bag. Tomorrow, I may have the Chobani yougurt 'flip' (peach & pistashios) I bought today. Nothing wrong with snacking, if you time them right, control yourself, know the calorie count AND it is NOT junky with crap ingredients. Word up, yo.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    When it fits, it fits. At the moment, it rarely does.
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    Junk food?

    Eat whatever you like. Just hit your calorie/macro goals.

    Excuse me can you all tell me how you stay under your macros and eat whatever you like? My plan is 1389 cal x day and I made few trials so tomorrow if the only food I eat is 1 cupcake I already go over my macros. I then tried with chicken nuggets and same . ???? Maybe I got this all wrong but I would love to eat a pizza tomorrow. Maybe i'll get a very light salad at lunch and a good pizza at dinner.

    I'm on 1200/day. Plus I eat back 50-75% of exercise calories. Most days I have around 1400 of food so right where you are. I eat "junk food" almost every day. Usually sweets. Everybody develops their own strategy - maybe the really light salad will work for you. I usually don't skimp a lot on earlier meals unless I'm genuinely not hungry. I just reduce the portion of whatever tasty food I want to eat until it's small enough to fit in my calories. Like two pieces of pizza or a quarter of a cupcake or one (weighed) serving of chips.
  • Anabug81
    Anabug81 Posts: 161 Member
    I crave cakes and cookies and chips but I don't eat them.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    I am a massive fan of chocolate and sweet treats. I'm still learning how to moderate them in maintenance. At the moment I am having a small treat every 2-3 days. Ultimately I'd like to eat these foods less frequently and choose more nutrient dense snacks, but my treat portions are typically fairly small.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    Junk food?

    Eat whatever you like. Just hit your calorie/macro goals.

    Excuse me can you all tell me how you stay under your macros and eat whatever you like? My plan is 1389 cal x day and I made few trials so tomorrow if the only food I eat is 1 cupcake I already go over my macros. I then tried with chicken nuggets and same . ???? Maybe I got this all wrong but I would love to eat a pizza tomorrow. Maybe i'll get a very light salad at lunch and a good pizza at dinner.

    Are you talking about macros, the split between carbs, protein and fat? Or are you talking about staying under total calories?

    For macros, it depends how you have them set up and if there is one you are focusing on specifically, but most people tend to look at things like protein first, and as a minimum, not a maximum. I aim for 80 or more grams of protein a day but ideally closer to 100. I usually get plenty of fat and carbs just sort of shake out in the end. Unless a person is doing a low carb diet in which case they do try to stay under a certain number of grams of carbs each day.

    But the main thing for weight loss is to be in a calorie deficit. Your macro breakdown can help make sure you are eating a balanced diet, and then looking more closely at micro nutrients (the vitamins and minerals) help to round out the goals for optimal health.
  • mmmpork
    mmmpork Posts: 133 Member
    First off, I set my targets by calculating BMR and TDEE for my target weight to get an idea of what my maintenance should be. I use that as my calorie goal knowing that I may not lose weight as quickly as if I was doing a super low amount, but if I'm eating what I need to maintain my target then it's not a diet. My target is 1500 for low activity days, 1700 for cardio days, 1900 for strength training/lap swimming days.

    I eat whatever I want, and that typically includes at least one serving of "junk food". Macros only matter if you're doing recomp or have specific health issues. You can eat nothing but "processed" food and be perfectly healthy.

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/

    "Processed" vs all natural means nothing. The advantage of "processed" things like aspartame vs "natural" (but still processed) things like stevia is aspartame is tested and regulated. No, it does not cause cancer and there's a lot of research supporting that. What can you tell me about the long term effects of stevia? Do you really know what's in your stevia? Think agave syrup is anything special? It's just overpriced HFCS (which is just sugar and is not the root cause of all the diabeetus).

    I'll just leave this little gem:

    http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/11/412973926/how-diet-gurus-hook-us-with-religion-veiled-in-science
  • Panda_brat
    Panda_brat Posts: 291 Member
    Saturday is when I have chips, candy, cake or cookies, plus some booze. But I try not to over do things.
  • AmandaOmega
    AmandaOmega Posts: 70 Member
    A couple of times a week, I have about 95g of chocolate frozen yogurt (which equates to about 140-150 calories). The other day, I had two sheets of graham crackers, because I wanted them SO BAD. I still have "junk" food, but in small portions that fit in with my daily calorie goals.

    Eating bad food like pizza or chinese take out or something like that happens very rarely, maybe 1-2 x a month. But when I do have it, it's like a little slice of heaven. I try to save bad food for when I have a really horrible day. Because then I can pig out, I feel better emotionally, and I know that since I don't let myself have it any other time, I can afford the weight gain and I know that I can lose it over the next week or so.

    Overall, don't try to limit yourself to the extreme on "junk" food. That's what can cause people to crash out because it is very hard and people get burnt out on denying themselves things they love. Instead, limit your portions, weigh it out, and make sure it fits into your daily calorie goals.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    A couple of times a week, I have about 95g of chocolate frozen yogurt (which equates to about 140-150 calories). The other day, I had two sheets of graham crackers, because I wanted them SO BAD. I still have "junk" food, but in small portions that fit in with my daily calorie goals.

    Eating bad food like pizza or chinese take out or something like that happens very rarely, maybe 1-2 x a month. But when I do have it, it's like a little slice of heaven. I try to save bad food for when I have a really horrible day. Because then I can pig out, I feel better emotionally, and I know that since I don't let myself have it any other time, I can afford the weight gain and I know that I can lose it over the next week or so.

    Overall, don't try to limit yourself to the extreme on "junk" food. That's what can cause people to crash out because it is very hard and people get burnt out on denying themselves things they love. Instead, limit your portions, weigh it out, and make sure it fits into your daily calorie goals.

    I don't find it helpful to refer to any food as "bad" as I think that can create tremendous feelings of guilt in some people when they eat it. It's just food, some is more nutrient dense than others.

    I agree with everything in your last paragraph!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    mmmpork wrote: »
    (stuff snipped)

    I eat whatever I want, and that typically includes at least one serving of "junk food". Macros only matter if you're
    doing recomp or have specific health issues.
    You can eat nothing but "processed" food and be perfectly healthy.

    (more stuff snipped)

    Macros matter for more than that, in the sense that everyone needs adequate amounts of protein and healthy fat, at least. The definition of "adequate" certainly depends on one's lifestyle/goals (re-comp, yes, but also activity level and whether one's running a calorie deficit, among other factors). But no one who wants to be generally healthy should be thinking "macros don't matter".

    The rest of your post seems pretty sensible, so I'm thinking this may've just been a casual statement rather than intended to be as dismissive of macro-watching as it may've appeared. But I thought it worth mentioning, since some readers here are likely new to a planned way of eating for health and weight loss.
  • nathalier71
    nathalier71 Posts: 570 Member
    Everyday - I have my portion of chips at 8pm. I also have a small dessert after dinner. I just make sure it's burned before I eat it =)
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    I say make the "bad food" for yourself if you can. I love burgers and pizza, so I make it on my own once a week or so. Low fat cheese, sirloin instead of high fat beef, limit the mozzarella on the pizza, thin crusts...Point is that some foods, you can have all the time when you control the ingredients and portion size. Obviously something like candy/cake junk food is tougher.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    E'rry day

    ^^

    e'rry day indeed.
  • dustedwithsugar
    dustedwithsugar Posts: 179 Member
    I started making healthier versions of junk food at home and it's pretty often, 4 times a week maybe? Whenever I want. I make pizza, burgers, fries, curry with naan bread, pasta... I can control how many calories they have when I cook them at home.
  • liftzilla16
    liftzilla16 Posts: 59 Member
    I'd say I have junk food every 4 or 5 days. Not a lot of it, but enough to satisfy the cravings. Sometimes I get a crazy sugar tooth and have bad stuff for a few days straight, but the majority of the time I'm pretty good about eating healthy.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    It's pretty ridiculous that some humans consider any food to be "junk".

    All food nourishes in one way or another.

    I eat what I love within my calorie limit.
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    I try to limit my processed food intake, but I'll splurge on things like chips and queso or cookies from coworkers maybe once a week. I do also enjoy craft beer (usually a stout) 2-3 times a week, and have zero guilt about it.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited March 2016
    I'll have pizza once a week and some beers. Ice cream, cake maybe 3 times a year, chips once a month, very little candy.

    I go for 1g protein per pound of bodyweight, restricting the junk/non nutrient dense foods lets me hit that easily and stay good with calories. I do 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat.
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
    in moderation
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited March 2016
    I eat what I want, in moderation. I weigh and measure everything I eat. I will allow myself snacks like popcorn, nuts (I eat those daily), crackers (the kind with flavors). I like chips too and always weigh them and never eat more than 1 ounce in one sitting. And one ounce of chips is a lot. I always try to eat fruits but at times allow myself the other snacks. I don't really crave chocolate like I used to and don't care for ice cream anymore. Thank goodness. I think I get to the point of not wanting that stuff after I've been eating better for so long. I just crave healthier things.
  • Ifitfits
    Ifitfits Posts: 46 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Yea, but you can't hit macro goals without eating a pretty balanced diet. That being said, I consider fiber as a "macro" for myself as well.

    So do i but its most definitely not counted towards calories where other macros are , its technically a micro nutrient but yeah , the most important thing after my carbs , proteins and fats is fiber .

  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    I don't label food 'good' 'bad' 'junk' etc. I eat all the foods I like, with a focus on portion control and balance. I've maintained a 50lb loss for almost 3 years now doing this (correcting some weight creep right now, due to not tracking/watching portion sizes). Today my meal plan includes lots of veggies, and also potato chips :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I already had 18 caramel Hershey's kisses and 1.5 servings of sweetened dried coconut pieces (basically just candy) today so I would say that I have junk food about every day :) However I do make room in my caloric allowance for it. Plus I walk between 3-6 miles every day so that nets me another couple hundred calories.

    I really don't eat a lot of "junk food" though. Breakfast was plain oatmeal and a hard-boiled egg, lunch is usually a turkey sandwich and a piece of fruit, etc. I'm without a kitchen for the next month so I have been subsisting on things that I don't have to cook or can just cook in the microwave - its difficult but I'm making it work. I don't care too much for fast food like burgers, fries, etc. Last two times I went out to eat were Jimmy Johns (<450 calorie sandwich) and Taco Bell (three crunchy tacos are 510 calories and 24g protein - not the worst fast food lunch one can get!)

    See, I put bread in the 'lots of calories and not filling at all' category as well, personally, and try very hard to avoid sandwiches for that reason, lol.

    But yeah, that's what 'junk' is to me... not filling foods. And I do eat some, I just try to limit it to 200-300 calories a day so I don't get too hungry (the last two days my poison was a donut. The day before, cookies).
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
    Almost every day I indulge in something....and I still lose weight. It's a fraction of my daily calories and for me worth working these tiny treats in!! So ice cream it is!!!
  • momof4girls48
    momof4girls48 Posts: 41 Member
    A small treat a couple times a week.
  • jessicagosz
    jessicagosz Posts: 9 Member
    edited March 2016
    I'm maintaining and my calories are 1490 without exercise.(weekly) I eat treats Daily ( i have a soft spot for Hershey & recess individual serving pies and dairy queen) However I do not allow myself to touch them until i exercise I earn up to 1800-2000 calories with exercise, if i don't exercise I don't get my treats Keeps me pretty motivated to get off my butt and get my workouts done. Also I do not keep any of above listed things in my house to avoid temptation and splurges therefor i have to work out then hop my butt into the car and drive to the store to get it. :D On the weekends that is a whole different level, I allow myself to eat whatever I want for two days (within reason and as long as it is appropriate portions and there is no binging out on everything) it has worked for me I have been maintaining at 111 pounds for 5 months now.