So if I eat junk all day long and stay within my calories?

mischa_12
mischa_12 Posts: 126 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't get this at all! How can it be possible that if I'm allowing myself to eat 4 slices of pizza for dinner tonight for example, that I can still be under my calories allocated by MFP...won't I see a rise in the scales come weigh-in day?

I've done this dieting thing for many years, being successful at times and never have I seen that you can eat junk and still lose weight. I'm worried I'll see the affects of eating this poorly.

Can someone look at my diary and see what they think?

Replies

  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    Your diary is not open. You need to go to "My Home", "Settings", "Diary Settings", and "Diary Sharing" to open it.
  • luvmybaby333
    luvmybaby333 Posts: 241
    I've lost 25 pounds in 3 months while eating pizza at LEAST once a week. (And I'm not talking about one measly slice either.) I also regularly eat: chocolate, cookies, chips, crackers, etc. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. That said, gaining weight isn't the only possible side effect of eating that "poorly". You could become nutrient deficient if you eat *nothing* aside from junk. But really, there are a lot of healthy vitamin-rich foods that are low in calories, so they are easy to squeeze in there right next to 4 slices of pizza. :wink:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    It depends what your objective is.... do you just want to see the scale go down or do you want to establish healthy eating habits to keep you feeling good and full of energy?

    Depending on the quantity of pizza you are eating, you can certainly lose weight even if that's the only food you eat all day (google the Twinkie diet if you want to know more). But, if you keep that up for the long term you probably aren't going to feel very good and aren't likely to be in the best of health.

    And remember that the scale rises and falls in response to all kinds of things - water retention, hormonal changes, bathroom habits to name just a few.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Your diary is closed.

    But yes, of course you can lose weight eating junk.
    Check out the "twinkie diet" -- here's one link.
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    Is it recommended for health? nah.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    There's a difference between losing weight and being healthy.

    If you're in a deficit, you'll lose weight. Plain and simple. Now, this doesn't mean that you're healthy if you are eating a diet of junk food.

    I personally like a nice combination of both. I eat fruits, veggies, lean meats. But, I also allow myself to indulge in cookies or cake. I've had blood work done and everything looks great. For me, being able to enjoy life AND be healthy is what is important. No one wants to live their life without some of the things they enjoy, but being healthy is important too. For me, there's more to this than losing weight.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    You may lose weight - but you may also retain water weight because of sodium. Generally, you can lose weight as long as you stay under your calorie goal, however, if you eat junk consistently you could suffer from malnutrician as you will not be getting the proper nutrients.
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    I'm worried I'll see the affects of eating this poorly.
    If you're worried about the effects of eating poorly, then why do you even want to eat poorly? Why not try balance, moderation, and an overall lifestyle change rather than looking at this as a "diet thing"?
  • mischa_12
    mischa_12 Posts: 126 Member
    I do only eat it once a week and I do want to be healthy, not just thin. If I deprive myself of these foods sometimes than I go stark crazy and binging.
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    For years I stayed skinny (fat) by eating 1200 cals of red vines popcorn and steamed rice...everyday...I worked t a mall and thats what I consumed...but eating healthfully makes me feel so much better...allow yourself occasional treats and get your good food in too!! When you are eating healthfully you will find that you get soooo much more food than eating 1200 cals of junk!!!
  • mischa_12
    mischa_12 Posts: 126 Member
    Your diary is not open. You need to go to "My Home", "Settings", "Diary Settings", and "Diary Sharing" to open it.

    ah thanks! :)
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    Lets see, this week I PIGGED out at a BBQ restaurant eating burnt ends (one of the fattiest parts of the cow), coldstone icecream and then I again pigged out yesterday eating nothing but chocolate for dinner. While I normally dont do that kinda behavior I will most likely still be losing a lb or 2 on my weigh-in day

    The reason I dont eat junk food alone is because when living on junk food, you cant get that "satisfied" feeling from food till you eat alot of junk food and you either endup going over your calories from eating too much, you get headaches and such from eating too little, you get too much sodium and other crap in your system or you get that sluggy feeling from eating bad. I eat good because I like to workout out and because I use food to give me energy rather than the other way! Eating junk food slows you down alot but eating good gives you the energy you need!
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    I do only eat it once a week and I do want to be healthy, not just thin. If I deprive myself of these foods sometimes than I go stark crazy and binging.
    Perfect! I wouldn't worry about it, then - you have it under control.

    I try to have pizza once a week, myself.
  • mollysonnotice
    mollysonnotice Posts: 140
    In a way, yes, but also no.

    Calorie loss is calorie loss, but fat gain also happens. If you eat stuff with high fat, it'll be a much slower process. A treat day is good where you can go out and eat what you want within your calorie goal, but part of it is just eating healthier so your body work better.
  • akiramezu
    akiramezu Posts: 278
    If your under your calories you will lose weight. But are you getting the right nutrition? probably not,
    in the long term, your body isn't as good as it should be.

    Take body builders for example, they eat an excess of 3000-4000 calories, and their diet is immaculate,
    and regardless of steroids or not, they look very good. If they ate pop tarts and pizzas and junk, they would not
    look the way they do.

    You are what you eat, period. =D
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I do only eat it once a week and I do want to be healthy, not just thin. If I deprive myself of these foods sometimes than I go stark crazy and binging.

    Totally fine in that case. I have my little splurges also - otherwise it is just too restrictive and not sustainable.
  • jillybean0123
    jillybean0123 Posts: 238 Member

    You are what you eat, period. =D

    Somebody find me a fit person. I can go cannibal for a day!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,954 Member
    If your under your calories you will lose weight. But are you getting the right nutrition? probably not,
    in the long term, your body isn't as good as it should be.

    Take body builders for example, they eat an excess of 3000-4000 calories, and their diet is immaculate,
    and regardless of steroids or not, they look very good. If they ate pop tarts and pizzas and junk, they would not
    look the way they do.

    You are what you eat, period. =D
    Well that's not entirely true. My physique isn't due to clean eating at all. Genetics, bodyfat % and muscle shape make a huge difference.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Pappabacon
    Pappabacon Posts: 104 Member
    You may lose weight - but you may also retain water weight because of sodium. Generally, you can lose weight as long as you stay under your calorie goal, however, if you eat junk consistently you could suffer from malnutrician as you will not be getting the proper nutrients.

    I think this is the correct answer. You can eat crap all you want, but you will likely not be giving yourself the needed vitamins and minerals to keep yourself healthy. Also, think about how much "clean" food you can eat vs "processed foods. You can eat a ton of greens and lean protein and not have a ton of calories, versus eating 7 Snickers bars and being over 2,000.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    In a way, yes, but also no.

    Calorie loss is calorie loss, but fat gain also happens. If you eat stuff with high fat, it'll be a much slower process.

    This is wrong.


    If you ONLY ate junk food you would:

    a) most likely have nutrient deficiencies
    b) lose weight
    c) most likely be starving most of the time as most junk food is not very filling


    However, you can fit junk food into you're diet, hit cal/macro goals & lose FAT (not weight).

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=133634471

    If you get the majority of foods from whole unprocessed sources & the occasional treat & it fits the goals then go for it.

    Also, you're body sees macro/micronutrients not food names.
    If you ate: some dough, tomato sauce, veggies, meat & a bit of cheese seperately it is the same as eating you're pizza :smile:
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
    You need proper micronutrients to not feel like balls however. Also, adequate protein to maintain muscle mass.
  • tjradd73
    tjradd73 Posts: 3,495 Member
    you CAN lose weight staying under your cals...no matter what your cals are made up of!! But that does not mean you will be healthy, or your body will like you, or you'll be satisfied, or you'll have any energy!!!
  • Erica_theRedhead
    Erica_theRedhead Posts: 724 Member
    Everyone touched on many of my points. In short, you may lose weight, but you will be starving yourself of nutrients that your body needs. Also, pizzas come with different size slices and ingredients, so the calorie log here may not give you the correct number. What you think is within your calorie allowance, may not be.

    Be aware that this is a mental thing too. To get healthy, lose weight, and keep it off long term, you need to change your eating habits and be comfortable with healthy living. Personally I don't feel like scheduling a binge on junk food every week is necessarily the best way to change your lifestyle. However, I don't believe in depriving yourself either. (I CANNOT live without my big old New York pizza every few weeks). I'd maybe recommend still allowing yourself pizza every once an awhile, but try to cut back on your serving size. Make yourself a nice salad or something to fill you up, then have maybe 1 or 2 slices to feed your craving. Hope this helps, and best of luck on your journey!
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    I've lost 25 pounds in 3 months while eating pizza at LEAST once a week. (And I'm not talking about one measly slice either.) I also regularly eat: chocolate, cookies, chips, crackers, etc. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. That said, gaining weight isn't the only possible side effect of eating that "poorly". You could become nutrient deficient if you eat *nothing* aside from junk. But really, there are a lot of healthy vitamin-rich foods that are low in calories, so they are easy to squeeze in there right next to 4 slices of pizza. :wink:

    This, this, this.

    This is what I try to explain to my boyfriend, my co-worker, my family and the personal trainer I had a consultation with the other day.

    Everyone feels the need to tell me what to eat. I know what I'm freakin' doing.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,954 Member
    I've lost 25 pounds in 3 months while eating pizza at LEAST once a week. (And I'm not talking about one measly slice either.) I also regularly eat: chocolate, cookies, chips, crackers, etc. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. That said, gaining weight isn't the only possible side effect of eating that "poorly". You could become nutrient deficient if you eat *nothing* aside from junk. But really, there are a lot of healthy vitamin-rich foods that are low in calories, so they are easy to squeeze in there right next to 4 slices of pizza. :wink:

    This, this, this.

    This is what I try to explain to my boyfriend, my co-worker, my family and the personal trainer I had a consultation with the other day.

    Everyone feels the need to tell me what to eat. I know what I'm freakin' doing.
    I'd believe you since I do the same.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    All I eat is garbage, and I lose weight. Just stay within your calories goals. Burn more calories than you eat. Simple as that.
  • supergirl6
    supergirl6 Posts: 224 Member
    What you eat is probably 80% mental rehabilitation. At least it was for me. Technically I had the calories to eat pizza and chinese food and whatever. Sure. But I also know that I have a problem with portion control with some of my favorite foods (like pizza.) I cut a lot of that stuff out of my diet at first because I knew I needed to get a handle on being a mindful eater. I needed to work healthy eating and portion control into my habits and I knew I couldn't do this with some of my biggest temptation foods. Not everyone has this problem, so it's not universal, but it was for me. Aside from subway, I didn't go out to eat for over 8 weeks after I started changing my eating habits and I still only go out once every week or two. I still haven't eaten pizza. It's not that I can't, but I'm just not sure I'm there mentally. To each their own, of course. If you can get away with eating those sorts of things and not develop cravings every day for it, that's cool.

    I think the other side of it is you need to learn to eat lots of nutritious food as well. Certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause your body to work slower and less efficiently so you'll have less success. Not because of calorie deficits, but just because your body isn't functioning at its peak performance.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 866 Member
    I will be honest. When I was in my 20s, I did not worry about my weight. I was thin and worked out...no problem.

    In my 30s (we had only 4 kids at that point) But, i had no time to work out. So, I managed my weight by eating 1200 calories. It worked, I stayed thin and looked fine. If we had to go someplace with the kids and we were going to eat pizza or have milkshakes, I would rearrange my calories, so I would not go over so I could eat the pizza or milkshake. It worked. For my body 1200 calories was 1200 calories.

    Now in my 40s (and 6 kids)....just doing 1200 calories does not work. I am having to eat more healthy and exercise to keep my muscle. My body has changed from age and I just have to adjust how I eat. I do cheat every Friday though and I have not noticed that it has messed me up.

    So, I think younger people can eat junk and lose weight....but probably as we age, we have to eat a little better. ;)
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    I've lost 25 pounds in 3 months while eating pizza at LEAST once a week. (And I'm not talking about one measly slice either.) I also regularly eat: chocolate, cookies, chips, crackers, etc. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. That said, gaining weight isn't the only possible side effect of eating that "poorly". You could become nutrient deficient if you eat *nothing* aside from junk. But really, there are a lot of healthy vitamin-rich foods that are low in calories, so they are easy to squeeze in there right next to 4 slices of pizza. :wink:

    This, this, this.

    This is what I try to explain to my boyfriend, my co-worker, my family and the personal trainer I had a consultation with the other day.

    Everyone feels the need to tell me what to eat. I know what I'm freakin' doing.
    I'd believe you since I do the same.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    In regards to the eating?

    It's just annoying, though. "Oh, you're never going to lose weight if you eat X, Y, Z" or "why are you eating back your exercise calories? What's the point in exercising?" or "counting calories doesn't work! Just eat better". It's like FFS. Counting calories is not some fad diet bull****. Counting calories is freakin' science. It is SCIENCE and a FACT that 3.500 cals = 1lb, and that if you create a deficit, in most cases, you will lose weight!

    I get that, nutritionally, what I eat is important, but I wish everyone would stop giving me their unsolicited advice when they don't know ANYTHING about this stuff.

    :laugh: rant over.

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