Will cutting junk alone benefit me?
Replies
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »In terms of "hyperpalatable" processed foods being tastier than homemade, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the degree of palate development matters. Most of my "trouble foods" were very simple sugar, salt and fat combinations with low or zero bitterness, sour or umami flavours. I've always disliked complex "adult" foods like mushrooms or dark leafy greens, and even meat, so for me, Kraft and Sara Lee just remove all the things I don't like, and crank the rest up to 1000. This is all purely conjecture, mind you, but it would be interesting to know correlation between picky underdeveloped palates and strong preference for processed food.
First, sorry if the prior response came off as bitchy. I was tired when I wrote it and the whole idea that hyperpalatable foods (i.e., packaged highly processed things) are more delicious and impossible to say no to compared with homemade is a pet peeve. So much so that I may see it when it's not there or overreact to it. I don't know, I guess I see it as an insult to grandma's apple pie or mom's lasagna or my homemade Easter feast with rack of lamb and potatoes and asparagus or something! ;-)
Second, this is an interesting idea and might be possible. I'm the opposite with a love for new foods and bitter flavors and spicy and sour and adore trying new dishes and flavor combinations. I'm not picky at all except for some weird things (largely childhood type staples).
One thing I've wondered about is whether there may be a genetic link to whether what you eat makes you unable to appreciate other foods. I totally believe that what you eat forms your palate (you need to try new foods many times sometimes, and can develop a taste, people develop tastes for various alcoholic drinks and coffee, the saltier your food the saltier you want it, eating lots of sugar does affect preference for more highly sweetened things). However, lots of people here will say that changing their diet changed their palate in an extreme way, and that eating junk food (or soda) made them unable to appreciate even the sweetness in fruit, and that not eating that stuff allowed them to like fruit and vegetables. That's always puzzled me, in that I've never found that eating some sweet things made me want everything sweet (or not taste fruit or many veg as such). To use a silly example, during the one time in my life when I drank lots of (diet) soda--and I drank a ridiculous amount--I also strongly preferred black coffee (I've always hated sugar in coffee) and didn't like non dry wines. The fact I liked some quite sweet beverages didn't seem to mean I only liked sweet beverages or preferred sweetened beverages at all. And while it was diet and I'd have said I disliked non diet soda, during that period I also enjoyed plenty of sweet junk food (for example, ice cream, freshly baked cookies).1 -
sammiebeatty wrote: »I will be following it, and logging food, it's just very hard to feel full and satisfied due to the lack of variety, which makes it hard to stick to
I will tell you that when I lost weight (many years ago) I ended up learning to love a whole crap TON of things that I had never liked. Broccoli, salad, cooked carrots and black beans were things that NEVER touched my lips. I swear I could make a meal off a bowl of cooked carrots. :-) It doesn't happen overnight, but if you have the discipline to lose, you WILL replace most of the crap with good new foods. Good luck!!1 -
sammiebeatty wrote: »Hello,
I'm new to all of this so making simple changes to start the process.
I mainly live off chocolate, sandwiches and fast food. By cutting these out completely, should It, along with regular exercise be enough to lose most of the weight, without going on a strict diet?
Thanks in advance!
Most likely cutting out "junk" and "cleaning" up your diet and eating more whole foods along with some regular exercise will result in you losing weight, but it's not a guarantee. You can eat very healthfully and exercise regularly and still overeat...I've certainly done it...ultimately it comes down to your calories overall.
Also, I eat sandwiches pretty regularly...don't really consider them to be "junk"...just sayin'1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »MakePeasNotWar wrote: »In terms of "hyperpalatable" processed foods being tastier than homemade, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the degree of palate development matters. Most of my "trouble foods" were very simple sugar, salt and fat combinations with low or zero bitterness, sour or umami flavours. I've always disliked complex "adult" foods like mushrooms or dark leafy greens, and even meat, so for me, Kraft and Sara Lee just remove all the things I don't like, and crank the rest up to 1000. This is all purely conjecture, mind you, but it would be interesting to know correlation between picky underdeveloped palates and strong preference for processed food.
First, sorry if the prior response came off as bitchy. I was tired when I wrote it and the whole idea that hyperpalatable foods (i.e., packaged highly processed things) are more delicious and impossible to say no to compared with homemade is a pet peeve. So much so that I may see it when it's not there or overreact to it. I don't know, I guess I see it as an insult to grandma's apple pie or mom's lasagna or my homemade Easter feast with rack of lamb and potatoes and asparagus or something! ;-)
Second, this is an interesting idea and might be possible. I'm the opposite with a love for new foods and bitter flavors and spicy and sour and adore trying new dishes and flavor combinations. I'm not picky at all except for some weird things (largely childhood type staples).
One thing I've wondered about is whether there may be a genetic link to whether what you eat makes you unable to appreciate other foods. I totally believe that what you eat forms your palate (you need to try new foods many times sometimes, and can develop a taste, people develop tastes for various alcoholic drinks and coffee, the saltier your food the saltier you want it, eating lots of sugar does affect preference for more highly sweetened things). However, lots of people here will say that changing their diet changed their palate in an extreme way, and that eating junk food (or soda) made them unable to appreciate even the sweetness in fruit, and that not eating that stuff allowed them to like fruit and vegetables. That's always puzzled me, in that I've never found that eating some sweet things made me want everything sweet (or not taste fruit or many veg as such). To use a silly example, during the one time in my life when I drank lots of (diet) soda--and I drank a ridiculous amount--I also strongly preferred black coffee (I've always hated sugar in coffee) and didn't like non dry wines. The fact I liked some quite sweet beverages didn't seem to mean I only liked sweet beverages or preferred sweetened beverages at all. And while it was diet and I'd have said I disliked non diet soda, during that period I also enjoyed plenty of sweet junk food (for example, ice cream, freshly baked cookies).
You didn't sound bitchy at all; I just figured you were probably from a family of good cooks
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sammiebeatty wrote: »Hello,
I'm new to all of this so making simple changes to start the process.
I mainly live off chocolate, sandwiches and fast food. By cutting these out completely, should It, along with regular exercise be enough to lose most of the weight, without going on a strict diet?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you will lose weight if you do this.
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goldthistime wrote: »Maybe, maybe not. Appetite is a much blunter tool than calorie counting. How do you know you won't eat more "healthy food" after a day or two to compensate?
You can eat a lot more nutritious food for the same calories. So appetite issue solved. Yes cutting junk food will definitely help. There is such a thing as empty calories, and candy and junk is just that. Cut the crap and eat the same calories in healthier foods. Hope that helps. You may find your sugar and insulin will stabilize and will be less spikey.1 -
Im going to break the mould here and say it's not ALL about calorie deficit (although it is undoubtedly very important) I bet that if you replaced those junk calories with the exact same number of healthy, macro balanced calories you would see a benefit.
Your body is very complex and your endocrine system is affected by what you eat. Insulin spikes are going to play havoc with the way your body burns or stores calories and having a steady amount of low glycemic index calories is going to be a lot better than 1500 calories of burger king and soda
at 8pm.
So I would say yes, if you change nothing else but cut the junk you will see a change. But if you control the quality AND quantity of your food that is when you will really see a difference.
Disclaimer: this post contains large quantities of bro science.
This!!1 -
goldthistime wrote: »Maybe, maybe not. Appetite is a much blunter tool than calorie counting. How do you know you won't eat more "healthy food" after a day or two to compensate?
You can eat a lot more nutritious food for the same calories. So appetite issue solved. Yes cutting junk food will definitely help. There is such a thing as empty calories, and candy and junk is just that. Cut the crap and eat the same calories in healthier foods. Hope that helps. You may find your sugar and insulin will stabilize and will be less spikey.
Nutritious is not synonymous with low calorie or filling. It can be but there is no guarantee. And if you still eat the same calories, your weight loss will not change to before.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I think diet overhauls are great, but one has to be open to them. Claiming one is a picky eater and can't eat veg makes me think one is not interested in a diverse, nutrition-dense, balanced diet (which is fine, whatever, one can still lose weight). I may be biased because even though I changed my taste somewhat at one point I always liked fruits and veg and never found that so-called "hyperpalatable" foods made me unable to appreciate well prepared healthful foods (or were actually more palatable than homemade, an idea that offends me as stupid). And as for "ultra processed" foods, no matter how much I ate I never loved overly sweetened foods, found an inability to enjoy less sweet foods, or (again) thought they were better than homemade (including delicious savory homemade). The last food I really craved was lamb after I gave up meat during Lent.
I pretty much overhauled my diet and gave up most junk food in favor of nutritionally dense foods. I found though, its a lot easier to stay within my calorie limits (even at 2500) when I was eliminating added sugars and ultra processed foods. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy them from time to time, but not as frequently. And when I do them, I modify my eating pattern to accommodate (instead of 3 meals, I eat two and the first is lower in calories but high in volume).
As a result of my overhaul, I did notice a sweeping change in my taste. I no longer enough fried foods (as they upset my stomach) and I rarely drink calories (I drink coke with my stomach is upset... it's the only thing that will settle it).
Unfortunately, to overhaul my diet, I had to look to various combinations of foods and recipes that would help me achieve my goal. As a result of cooking myself, I found a lot of foods I enjoyed that I never thought I would (squash for example). It just so happened, that I liked it prepared a certain way.
OP, I would recommend start looking for various recipes and trying things.1 -
Yeah, I think my palate had already changed by the time I started watching calories. It did as a teen when I started liking more spicy or adventurous foods than I had as a kid (when I liked blander stuff), and that's actually when I started preferring other sorts of restaurants to fast food. (Still loved my favorite pizza places, and wish I could try the old Italian place that made this amazing pizza I loved then, but it closed long ago and probably wouldn't taste the same as I remember.)
Then in my 20s I had a job that allowed for/often required lots of nice restaurant meals, and I got to try lots of new things and preparations. And around age 30 I got really into cooking and experimenting with all sorts of different vegetables (fell in love with the green market and signed up for the CSA box and all that). That's when I really started loving vegetables, although I always liked them fine, just thought they were the more boring part of the meal before that. Unfortunately, I also decided that I should learn how to bake properly, so started experimenting with that too (I wanted to conquer the pie crust, especially).
So that's the kind of food I got fat on. Even without the restaurants or excessive baking, it's perfectly possible. It is harder, though -- IMO less because the food isn't caloric (some of it is), but because when you cook yourself it's easier to be conscious of what you are eating.
I did gain weight largely cooking nutrient dense foods for myself, though. I like my own cooking too much sometimes. ;-) It wasn't that hard to change the things I was doing, though, and didn't require a palate change at all. The high cal foods I crave aren't really the ultraprocessed ones, which is why I don't understand the idea that they are magically harder to stop eating as people sometimes claim.1 -
sammiebeatty wrote: »Hello,
I'm new to all of this so making simple changes to start the process.
I mainly live off chocolate, sandwiches and fast food. By cutting these out completely, should It, along with regular exercise be enough to lose most of the weight, without going on a strict diet?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you will lose weight if you do this.
Only if in a caloric deficit while doing it.1 -
sammiebeatty wrote: »Hello,
I'm new to all of this so making simple changes to start the process.
I mainly live off chocolate, sandwiches and fast food. By cutting these out completely, should It, along with regular exercise be enough to lose most of the weight, without going on a strict diet?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you will lose weight if you do this.
Only if it results in a calorie deficit.1 -
As others said a calorie deficit is the only was to lose weight. However (as in my case), cutting out fast food that tends to be high caloric and low nutrients and replacing it with more nutritious and less calorie dense (healthy fats, lean proteins, high fiber, lower glycemic carbs) will help you create your calorie deficit and get more energy and nutrients out of the food while tends to be more satiating than fast food. Best of luck.1
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Etherealglow wrote: »And honestly, you don't want to cut the things you enjoy. Life is too short. If it triggers you to binge or something of that nature, then that is different. But if you like sandwiches, start making smarter choices, swapping for something that perhaps is just as tasty, but more nutritious and/or less calories.
But if you love certain things, by cutting them completely, you are more likely to go right back to eating them after a short while and with a ferocious appetite for them, leading to gaining any you lose and then some.
I gave up all those things, things that I LIVED ON and loved, and never looked back. I think it depends on the person, actually.
^^ totally agree. If it works for you (meaning, not eating things at all) more power to the person. OP just simply didn't sound like they really wanted to give up junk food except to lose weight. From people I've known, just giving things up simply to lose weight, didn't work out so well, but hey, for some? I'm sure it does 0 -
Unfortunately, once convicted of sex related crimes, the infamous Jared of Subway fame lost all credibility. BUT, until the public learned of his predilections, he was the poster boy for eating sandwiches and losing weight. So, it is still possible to lose weight by eating sandwiches and more importantly, by being in a calorie deficit while doing so.0
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18 days later, no junk, and 9 pounds down. A lot more will power than I ever imagined I had, so yeah, safe to say it's possible!3
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YMMV, but I find it easier to simply eat what I like as long as I stay below my calorie goal most of the time.
I've tried using a very restrictive diet - no sweets, no "junk", and so forth. I lasted about two weeks before I caved and ordered a pizza. This has happened to me several times. I sincerely hope this doesn't happen to you - but many of us have found that telling ourselves "no" on a food group or type often intensifies the craving for it.
Using CICO and counting calories is the only thing that has worked for me. Allowing myself to eat what I like, and count them, has been the only thing I've been able to stick with; right now, I'm nearing the 7-month mark. By counting calories, I will almost instinctively choose the lower-calorie, healthier option... not for necessarily health-conscious reasons so much as I like to eat (a lot), and healthier fare often allows me to eat more with a smaller dent in my calorie bank. Sometimes I like to save those calories and devour a pint of ice cream. Most of the time, I save my calories so I can eat a reasonably large dinner.0 -
Im going to break the mould here and say it's not ALL about calorie deficit (although it is undoubtedly very important) I bet that if you replaced those junk calories with the exact same number of healthy, macro balanced calories you would see a benefit.
Your body is very complex and your endocrine system is affected by what you eat. Insulin spikes are going to play havoc with the way your body burns or stores calories and having a steady amount of low glycemic index calories is going to be a lot better than 1500 calories of burger king and soda
at 8pm.
So I would say yes, if you change nothing else but cut the junk you will see a change. But if you control the quality AND quantity of your food that is when you will really see a difference.
Disclaimer: this post contains large quantities of bro science.
assuming you are already getting sufficient nutrients, you do not get any additional benefit from going over the RDA on said nutrients.
you don't get extra credit for extra micros - I forget who said that but that is not my own saying...
why is it always a false choice between 1500 calories of burger king and nutrients...why can;t one do both?
If I have BK for breakfast, whole wheat bread, turkey, and fruit for lunch, and fish and vegetables for dinner, and hit my micros, macros, and calories goals, why would that in anyway be bad for me?0 -
I'm beginning to think that for some people changing one's diet to a healthier one requires drastic change so that they are basically forced to eat foods they otherwise wouldn't, because they get rid of everything they used to eat and have to learn to like the new foods. I don't really understand it (I don't see why it's hard to eat a basically healthful and calorie appropriate diet without cutting stuff out, even if you rarely eat some of those things or they don't often fit), but it seems to be a thing. Maybe there are two different mindsets, those of us who like to focus on what we do eat and those who prefer to focus on not eating things.
Also, if you change your diet really drastically and get rid of the foods you used to prefer, a lot of people find they have a hard time figuring out what to eat (so reduce calories drastically) and aren't as attracted to the foods they are eating (so again aren't tempted to eat much).
IMO this is more often than not a short term change, as you either find a way to overeat on the new foods or find it unsustainable because you have cut out things you really love, but I am sure there are people for whom it works even over time.0
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