Junk food
niamhdean97
Posts: 108 Member
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
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
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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.4 -
I’m on a chicken and broccoli diet two times a day. It usually keeps me full. The calories that I have left I use it for junk food. That way I eat less of it.6
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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.2 -
What’s your definition of junk food? Many people here, myself included, don’t specifically restrict any foods, we eat them in moderation as part of an overall balanced, calorie appropriate and nutrient dense diet. I lost the weight I set out to lose and am currently in maintenance. I eat things like pizza, Oreos, and occasionally fast food. I don’t eat it every day but I had pizza last night along with salad. Today I had some chips and queso with lunch, but after Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast and with a long walk in between.
What I do think is important is logging everything you eat as accurately as possible, even when you indulge in “junk” food.8 -
I eat mostly nutritionally dense food, but I fit treats into my calories. I find if I deprive myself of certain foods my adherence decreases and I will crave them and go all out and that doesn't work for me. I am an excellent moderator though, I can have one cookie or one scoop of ice cream and stop. Some people can't do that.gearfreegains wrote: »You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. In order to get great results in slimming down you’re faced with an ultimatum - either give up the junk food, or stay with the physique you are at.
At the very least you will have to greatly reduce your junk food intake. I know some people probably still eat small portions of junk as long as it fits into their caloric allowance for the day. But the problem with junk food is that it’s “empty” calories; what I mean is that a couple doughnuts might be very high in calories but shorty after eating them you’ll still be hungry. The calories from junk food don’t sustain a person. To keep from feeling like you’re starving you’ll want to eat some more food shortly after the doughnuts, so it’s very easy to go overboard on daily caloric intake when you’re consuming “empty” calories.
One great way to avoid grabbing whatever food might be laying around which is unhealthy is just don’t keep any at home. If that’s not possible, try to control your appetite each day by eating healthy meals that fit into your daily caloric budget throughout the day. Do meal prep if you have to. Have those healthy meals prepped a little bit ahead of time.
I have not found this to be true at all, I never reduced my junk food intake either (if anything, I increased it!). I have a huge calorie intake and I don't eat that much in the first place though. I wouldn't even call junk food empty calories... my pre-workout candy is VERY important for my workout performance. And I never feel starving after having a donut, if anything I feel very full. To each their own.8 -
gearfreegains wrote: »You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. In order to get great results in slimming down you’re faced with an ultimatum - either give up the junk food, or stay with the physique you are at.
At the very least you will have to greatly reduce your junk food intake. I know some people probably still eat small portions of junk as long as it fits into their caloric allowance for the day. But the problem with junk food is that it’s “empty” calories; what I mean is that a couple doughnuts might be very high in calories but shorty after eating them you’ll still be hungry. The calories from junk food don’t sustain a person. To keep from feeling like you’re starving you’ll want to eat some more food shortly after the doughnuts, so it’s very easy to go overboard on daily caloric intake when you’re consuming “empty” calories.
One great way to avoid grabbing whatever food might be laying around which is unhealthy is just don’t keep any at home. If that’s not possible, try to control your appetite each day by eating healthy meals that fit into your daily caloric budget throughout the day. Do meal prep if you have to. Have those healthy meals prepped a little bit ahead of time.
If I have a couple donuts for breakfast (which is usually once every 3-4 months) I'm not hungry again until lunchtime. Everyone's different.
OP, I save room for something sweet nearly every night. Tonight will be a slice of cake I brought home from my niece's birthday party. Tomorrow will be a serving of gelato, weighed out.5 -
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??0
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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.2 -
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 lol1
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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??
Some options, not exhaustive:
1. Eat the takeaway, log it, and eat something more nutrient-dense and calorie-efficient the rest of the time, when you're not "always" in the most "OMG I'm Doomed To Fail" scenario you can think of.
2. Eat half the usual takeaway and save the rest for tomorrow.
3. See if the takeaway menu offers a choice that won't invoke Ultimate Doom. Many do.
4. Keep some long-keeping quick-fix sensible food at home, and eat that when you get home (sensible frozen or shelf-stable microwave dinner; meal replacement shake; protein bar; canned/packet tuna, chicken or beans; etc).
If you want to lose weight, you can. If you want to think of reasons why you can't, you won't (lose weight).
Just try to eat semi-sensibly, log what you eat here, gradually work toward hitting macro nutrient targets (protein, fat, fiber especially), eat some veggies & fruits, and don't worry too much about whether the food you're eating to hit those nutritional targets is "junk" or not. (Eating at least some more basic foods will probably help you feel more full than eating all chips and chocolate and such, but you'll figure that out.)
Best wishes!5 -
The ultimate junk food is something that you cannot stop eating.
In my case, those things are not in my house.2 -
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/p18 -
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
edit: Especially those huge buff gym guys i swear they seem to always be eating something. Protein bar...Shake...burgers....3 -
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.
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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.2
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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 adventure1
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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.1
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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!1
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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.1
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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.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??1 -
What I found helpful when I want something higher in calories and lower on the satiety meter, I make sure my other meals are nutritious and high on the satiety meter so I get to eat fewer calories without feeling hungry and end up with enough calories for whatever I'm craving. For the record, a big mac and a salad fills me up just as well as a regular home cooked meal for the same calories so I need no special planning for that, although I don't find myself craving it often. I only need to do something special to my calories if I decide to also have fries and ice cream with that burger. When the meal I want is very high in calories (like a buffet or something I know I like having in large quantities), and I occasionally have those, I just skip a meal if I feel like it's worth it and/or take an extra walk.
It's all about balance. With time, you will find you are less likely to have these foods unless you really want to because you can't be bothered to plan around them, or at least that's the case for me because I'm lazy, but then again I never was a daily junk eater. Keep one rule in mind: your calories need to be on point most of the time to lose weight consistently unless you are fine with inconsistent losses. That one rule will help you decide when it's worth to jigsaw your foods to fit in something extra and when it isn't worth it. For example, every few months I go out with my sister for movies and dinner. These days are totally worth it. Those cheap soapy chocolates that are sometimes in a waiting room aren't worth the trouble, and I'm not going to put effort into re-arranging my food calories in order to fit in donuts (I'm okay with donuts, I just don't like them enough to be worth the trouble for the calories).4 -
Provided you meet your daily calorie goals, ensure you consume adequate protein and micronutrients, are hydrated and you are performing regular exercise then fitting some 'junk' into your daily intake to reduce those cravings will not be a problem and it will make no difference on your weight loss as opposed to eating a calorie-matched completely 'clean' food diet.4
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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.....
I've been on here 5 yrs and plenty of men eat "junk food" if it'll fit their goals. The forums are full of such talk. There's a reason for it. Newbies that come on board with "clean eating" and not eating any more "junk" have a harder time sticking to their calorie goals. Many of them feel deprived, especially when out with friends and family that are eating all the goodies. Since the people that have been successful and around for awhile understand that, they try to encourage cutting down on goodies. It's more important to stay within your daily calorie goal. The nutrition usually takes care of itself over time.2 -
Thank you so much for all the replies! It's much appreciated. I keep going over my cholesterol every day when I log my food which is driving me mad!1
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Maybe you don't have to track cholesterol?0
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I love junk food. It's still a regular part of my diet, just in smaller and planned amounts. Some things I have to stay away from altogether because I can't moderate it, but I almost always have super awesome sweet or savory treats as part of my week.
I try to balance it out with a lot of other high volume foods that are low calorie, and sometimes I just splurge and decide it's a special event and go over.
We gotta live our lives, ya know, and I firmly believe junk food should be a part of that.2
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