No Such Thing as Bad Foods aka "Junk Foods"

Hey I've been looking at forums where I see allot of people attack foods such as pastries and other "Junk Foods". The truth is even if your trying to lose weight you can still eat the sweet things in life, They just have to be put in moderation towards your diet. Your body doesn't recognize Pop tarts from chicken it recognizes the breakdown in macro's (Carbs,Protein,fat). As long as you can hit your daily macro's while eating the things you wanna eat then there's no problem having your favorite cookie,cake,pastry etc.. I can go out and have a McDonalds meal and still lose weight as long as i hit my macros in a 24 hour period without going over or being under. Hope this helps!

ahh another barely out of diapers know it all to enlighten us poor ignorant folk

Wow, name calling and age-ism, that was sure called for when all the guy did was express an opinion.

Hey I've been looking at forums where I see allot of people attack foods such as pastries and other "Junk Foods". The truth is even if your trying to lose weight you can still eat the sweet things in life, They just have to be put in moderation towards your diet. Your body doesn't recognize Pop tarts from chicken it recognizes the breakdown in macro's (Carbs,Protein,fat). As long as you can hit your daily macro's while eating the things you wanna eat then there's no problem having your favorite cookie,cake,pastry etc.. I can go out and have a McDonalds meal and still lose weight as long as i hit my macros in a 24 hour period without going over or being under. Hope this helps!

ahh another barely out of diapers know it all to enlighten us poor ignorant folk

Wow, name calling and age-ism, that was sure called for when all the guy did was express an opinion.

Yeah - who peed in your fat free greek yogurt?

I understand what you are saying, and theoretically you may be correct. But for a lot of us, eating healthfully is more than just counting calories. It's adopting a different lifestyle, one that is more in tune with organic, sustainable agriculture and less subservient to the corporate messages we get through advertising every day. Also, at least for me, the more I stay away from fast food and instead go to the farmers market and prepare my own meals at home, the more I enjoy this style of eating. My downfall would not be McDonald's, but I admit it's hard to give up things like butter, Ste. Andre triple cream cheese or croissants from a good French bakery.

I agree.

I have to admit, for the past two years before I began my weight loss, I ate some sort of fast food at least twice a day. Once I graduated from college and was out on my own, it was easier to grab fast food meals to fit in my schedule and I gained 55 pounds in a year and a half. (125 pds-- 180 pds) It was an unhealthy obsession, it seemed that no other food I ate could match up to a delicious cheesburger, slice of pizza or a dozen wings. I had tried and failed miserably to go on dozens of different diets, I just couldn't seem to stick to one because I was perfectly happy eating the way that I was and I never really noticed the amount of weight I put on...I am pretty tall and can carry my weight well.

This all changed two months ago when my doctor whom I hadn't been to in a year weighed me and was floored by how much weight I had gained (so much so that she gave me the full work up to see if there was something wrong with me). I had to embarrassingly explain that I just like to eat bad things. To make a long story short, that was the turning point for me. For a lover of fast food, I knew that eventually my health would deteriorate if I continued down this path. I made a decision to make healthier choices in my meals and have lost 14 pounds so far (in six weeks!)

The whole point to this post is that I still do venture to those fast food places at times (old habits die hard), but instead of getting the meal with fries and a soda, I get chicken with a salad or apple slices and a bottle of water. I commend fast food places for offering the healthier choices and firmly believe that if nutritional facts were posted visibly where people can ACTUALLY see them, they would be inclined to make the healthier choices. I mean, a big mac is delicious and everything, but 550 calories glaring at you from a menu is bound to make you think twice about what it is you are eating.

Everything in moderation people! Don't cut yourself off completely, that is the sure fire way to fall off the wagon!

Something some people here need to realise...

Food you claim to have no value at all...has a value. What price do you put on having "crap" food, but having it makes you keep the rest of your intake healthy? Just because some foods may be, from a nutritional viewpoint, empty calories, they provide a purpose to that person. They make the healthier living more bearable.

If i went to all green veg etc etc etc...there's no way id keep it up more than a few weeks. Doing what i do now, having everything i fancy, but in moderation, i feel far happier and content, and far more likely to keep it going indefinitely.

I understand what you are saying, and theoretically you may be correct. But for a lot of us, eating healthfully is more than just counting calories. It's adopting a different lifestyle, one that is more in tune with organic, sustainable agriculture and less subservient to the corporate messages we get through advertising every day. Also, at least for me, the more I stay away from fast food and instead go to the farmers market and prepare my own meals at home, the more I enjoy this style of eating. My downfall would not be McDonald's, but I admit it's hard to give up things like butter, Ste. Andre triple cream cheese or croissants from a good French bakery.

First to the OP: you put junk food in quotes - quite frankly, it simply is junk that is eaten as food and most of it provides little nutritional value, so no need to put it in quotes.

Second, I agree with this quote. Many of us adopt a healthier lifestyle all around, for many of the reasons she listed. And like she said, the more whole foods I eat, the less I even desire junk foods, tastebuds adapt so that the flavor of the food is actually being tasted. While moderation certainly works for many, many people, and if you want to eat junk food and keep it withing your calorie allowance that is certainly a good way to maintain an otherwise healthy lifestyle, but there are many of us for whom not eating that stuff is not a sacrifice - it is simply not a want and requires no deprivation.

Hey I've been looking at forums where I see allot of people attack foods such as pastries and other "Junk Foods". The truth is even if your trying to lose weight you can still eat the sweet things in life, They just have to be put in moderation towards your diet. Your body doesn't recognize Pop tarts from chicken it recognizes the breakdown in macro's (Carbs,Protein,fat). As long as you can hit your daily macro's while eating the things you wanna eat then there's no problem having your favorite cookie,cake,pastry etc.. I can go out and have a McDonalds meal and still lose weight as long as i hit my macros in a 24 hour period without going over or being under. Hope this helps!

Wrong wrong wrong... Your food recognizes the macro nutrients and creates hormonal reactions based on what you are consuming as well which will affect fat / weight loss. It's not just calories in/out.

Not saying it's not okay to cheat a little here and there, but you can't have the above mindset.

Who says you can't have an "everything in moderation" mindset and not lose weight, be healthy and such? Pretty sure that is EXACTLY what I've done.

Had all kinds of bloodwork done - everything is "perfect". Did an EKG and guess what? "Textbook perfect". Told 'em I do a ton of cardio was told "Keep doing it then! Your heart loves you for it".

I eat sweets and I boy do I enjoy every last bite of them. I consume huge quantities of carbs in a day. I don't track my sodium and I don't pay much attention to my sugar either. I make sure I stay within my "range" for my calories.

Looks to me like an everything in moderation mindset can and does work out quite well.

Been at (or below) my original goal weight for almost a year now. Happily maintaining 143-145lbs.

for some , but not or everyone

Pretty sure when I wrote this I made it clear that I was talking about ME and MY journey. No one else. Just me, myself and I.

Everyone needs to see the POINT OF VIEW of the OP. He's currently "bulking" to add muscle. When bulking, lifters will eat in tremendous excess in order to feed their muscles. The things that feed muscles are the macros of fat, protein, and carbs. I completely disagree w/ his approach myself, but don't really care either way if someone wants to eat crap. The other side of that is when they are "cutting"... and they'll go in a calorie deficit while trying to maintain the muscle... and the cycle continues...

You'll also find a large amount of bodybuilders who will eat 5-6k calories a day during a bulking phase, but it will be VERY clean... which seems like the logical approach. If you really want to be ticked off and scream "that is so wrong!" head over to bodybuilding.com and you'll find that there are many who agree w/ him.

Last, to the OP, this is a weight loss site. 99% of the people here are more interested in losing weight and not as concerned about muscle mass growth (even though I believe it helps weight/fat loss). Yes, moderation is key and yes, you can have 'bad food' on occasion, but eating poorly while only worrying about macros is hardly something I'd be preaching.

Fair minded rant over...

So.....WHAT DID YOU LEARN.