Junk food

niamhdean97
niamhdean97 Posts: 108 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I would love to lose some weight. I'm 20 and 5'8. Myfitnesspal tells me to eat 1530 calories a day.

My question is what do you do about junk food? Do you eat it? And how often? I have such bad craving but really want to lose some weight as I have never been happy about my body and finally want to feel comfortable with how I look. Please help :)
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Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I eat a variety of simple/home cooked meals. I have become a decent cook, and I like so many things now, that I have to plan extensively in order to have as many of my favorites as possible. This leaves very little room or desire for junk food. But I will eat whatever on occasion.

    Make sure you have set your calorie target correctly. If you want to lose weight, you shouldn't pick a weekly weightloss goal of more than 1% of your bodyweight. The more aggressive carlorie deficit, the harder to stick to.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    The cravings & compulsive/impulsive eating were a problem for me so I don't eat junk food for the most part. I eat junk food maybe once a year or more like once every two years. Sweets and desserts I eat a few times a year on holidays.

    I eat other delicious foods I like instead (steak, nuts, cheese, fruit... the list is endless) and am much happier and healthier for it.
  • niamhdean97
    niamhdean97 Posts: 108 Member
    Thank you for the comments. When I say junk i mean chocolate, crisps and take aways. I'm always stick when I go out for the day with family and on the way back they are getting a take away for dinner as we will be back too late to make something. What do I do??
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    I eat plenty of food I'm sure some people would call junk food. I always try to eat plenty of whole food, but I eat convenience foods, chocolate, kids cereal, and fast food too. Everyone is different, you kind of have to figure out which calorie dense foods are worth the calories to you.

    To lose weight, you need to eat the right calories. To be healthy, you need to eat enough nutritionally dense foods. Most people will have room for more than just nutritionally dense foods. As you go, if you are logging accurately and consistently, you'll find where that balance is for you.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    I always set myself 1 solid meal 1 small but nutrient dense meal and around 300-400 calories of fruit in my day. Rest is my junk food calories. That way im encouraged to go hard at my workou to get more delicious goodies lol
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    The ultimate junk food is something that you cannot stop eating.
    In my case, those things are not in my house.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited February 2018
    kimny72 wrote: »
    gearfreegains wrote: »
    I knew my comment would get me drilled! I was waiting for those people to come out of the woodwork. You don’t have to completely remove junk food from your life if you can’t seem to do that. Just make sure it fits into your CALORIC budget for the day, like I said.

    I’ve noticed so far it’s mostly women coming out saying they get away with eating plenty of junk. Something odd I’ve noticed in a lot of women I’ve come across in MY life is they don’t seem to be too strict with nutrition, don’t even work out, and seem to be in great shape. As a guy I can have one ice cream shake and it seems like I put on 5 lbs. I don’t know how you women do it.....


    I suppose THIS comment will have they gentlemen come running and preaching how they consume plenty junk and still stay fit. Go ahead, grill me.....

    Two posters replied specifically to your post and disagreed, not exactly getting "drilled" lol.

    You must travel in very different circles than I do. The fit guys I know eat and drink whatever they want in moderation and hit the gym hard. The women I know fret over every gram of sugar and refuse to keep junk food in the house. I have literally never heard of anyone who thinks men gain weight easier than women.

    And then there's this guy http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10348650/cico-still-skeptical-come-inside-for-a-meticulous-log-that-proves-it/p1

    ya no i agree ..women get to eat less to begin with. We tend to be shorter and smaller and i believe even just by gender we get less. I think you may just have a skewed view since your a man @gearfreegains ...Sometimes we all think we have it worst :p

    edit: Especially those huge buff gym guys i swear they seem to always be eating something. Protein bar...Shake...burgers....
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I eat plenty of food I'm sure some people would call junk food. I always try to eat plenty of whole food, but I eat convenience foods, chocolate, kids cereal, and fast food too. Everyone is different, you kind of have to figure out which calorie dense foods are worth the calories to you.

    To lose weight, you need to eat the right calories. To be healthy, you need to eat enough nutritionally dense foods. Most people will have room for more than just nutritionally dense foods. As you go, if you are logging accurately and consistently, you'll find where that balance is for you.

    This^

    You need to find your own balance. I save room for a treat every day, and eat out once a week.
  • zugmeister
    zugmeister Posts: 23 Member
    Think of calories like money. You start each day with about 15k calories to spend. You can choose to spend them on breakfast (3 large eggs, 1.5 potato (hashbrowns), sausage or milk) or you can eat a Snickers. If you stick religiously to your calorie limit your body will quickly tell you what you can get away with and what you can't.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,299 Member
    I was wondering what you meant by junk food too, but I see you said chocolates & take aways. I never ate a lot of "junk food" but I do like a good burger & fries, so I make ground beef & ground turkey patties ( weigh them before I freeze them) freeze them & eat them on one piece of bread with lite mayo. I always have them in my freezer for a quick meal when I don't cook. I also keep ore ida fries & bake them when I'm in the mood for them. If you had foods ready to cook in freezer, weighed, then you could wait till you get home if you don't want to eat the take aways. I do have milk chocolate occationally but a good substitute for me is to mix non fat plain greek yogurt with couple Tbl of cool whip & add a packet of lite hot coco powder, it's very chocolatey & very filling, tastes like a chocolate mousse. There's also a very yummy chocolate cheesecake bite recipe on Skinnytaste. You can learn to substitute alot of foods you like for half the calories, it's an adventure
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
    I am great at hitting my protein and eating a ton of nutrient rich veggies in under 900 calories. That leaves me a considerable amount of calories to spend on fruit, chips and candy. It's worked pretty well so far. My health markers are excellent and I've made good body composition changes.
  • jessicagreen1828
    jessicagreen1828 Posts: 133 Member
    For me, fiber and protein are what keeps me full. I aim to hit my nutrition goals (micros and macros) and whatever calories I have left usually goes to “junk food”/treats in the evening... popcorn, chocolate, gummy bears etc. If I spend too many calories on junk food, which tends to be low in fiber and protein, I will overeat. A lot of people call this following the 80/20 rule: 80% “nutritious” food and 20% “junk food”. I don’t go exactly by the percentage, but it seems to be a good starting place for most people. You could even make up your own percentages to follow if that seems too rigid or lax. Of course, this is my experience, which will not work for everyone. Some people go off of calories alone, which may work for you! If you reach your calorie limit and can just stop, then more power to you! If I hit my calorie limit and and all I ate that day was chips and doughnuts and ice cream then my brain tells me I’m not full yet, so I keep going! You’ll figure it out with practice!
  • MrsLMKing
    MrsLMKing Posts: 50 Member
    I'm obese and have just started on my weight loss journey a couple of weeks ago, but I've found that I can still eat junk food and fast food while staying under 1300 calories a day. It's a matter of what you eat, how much and how often. For example, I'll have a FiberOne bar for breakfast (90 cals) and not eat again until lunch. Then, I might have a 900 calorie fast food lunch. Then, for dinner, I'll have another FiberOne bar or a salad. I know it's not "healthy," but I lost 5 pounds in a week and a half.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    niamhdean97 wrote: »
    Thank you for the comments. When I say junk i mean chocolate, crisps and take aways. I'm always stick when I go out for the day with family and on the way back they are getting a take away for dinner as we will be back too late to make something. What do I do??
    That depends on what you want to do and what your goals are. If you want a take away, get that. If you want a home cooked dinner, you can prepare it in advance (crockpot, slow cooker), or make a simple meal, maybe use some of the time to get the take away to make dinner instead. You don't have to buy chocolate and crisps just because you're eating take away. Eat it because you want it.

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