can i lose weight but still eat rubbish?

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  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
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    In a way yes, but you still need to watch how much fat and sodium you are getting, and carbohydrates to some extent. To hit at least a net of 1200 calories I doubt you could it just on junk without going over in another area.

    It's much better to try and lifestyle, eat healthy, exercise but allow yourself the odd bit of junk.
  • Ding724
    Ding724 Posts: 791 Member
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    I still eat "poorly" from time to time, but now I know how to eat smaller portion sizes. I think that being allowd to eat ANYTHING has helped me stay on track with my weightloss because I don't feel deprived of unhealthy foods that I love (fried chicken, ice cream, crackers) but I know that when I DO eat these things from time to tmie I won't overdue it and I know that I need to workout even harder to make-up for it...

    Good luck finding the balance that works for you! :flowerforyou:
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    A journalist did a programme about this a year or so ago in the UK. He had a full medical before he started, only ate junk food but stayed within his limits, then had a medical at the end of the period (I think it was one month)

    Apart from all the negative effects this had on his moods and emotion etc he lost weight but the medicals showed that he was in considerably worse health at the end of the experiment compared to the start.

    This... You can lose weight but you probably will still be hungry and probably less healthy but that may be your goal..who knows!

    Again:

    Wrong: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.
    Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.

    Mission Impossible: Portion Control on Junk Food. Haub noted he was overweight and having problems managing his weight. “I was eating healthier, but I wasn’t healthy,” he noted. “I was eating too much.” Haub, like so many Americans, has issues with portion control. Yet, mysteriously, he was able to eat his fill of junk and was able to “push away the wrapper” to keep within his calorie budget on junk food. Why couldn’t he do this with healthy fare? Science has clearly shown that when you eat a tsunami of refined sugar, insulin levels skyrocket and plummet, resulting in a raging appetite for more sugar. And don’t forget the stress and abuse you’re putting your pancreas and liver through. No one can control their appetite on a 60% junk food intake.
    http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/11/the-twinkie-diet-caution-toxic.html

    love this!
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    It's about balance and feeling good. Often times we'll have a craving, but when we fulfill it (ordering that cheeseburger), we not only have to deal with the caloric load ("Man, I only have 200 calories left and I haven't had dinner yet...") but the food isn't as good as we thought it would be and it makes us feel tired, bloated or hungry again soon after. That's what most processed foods do... the healthier I eat, the less I actually want the greasy stuff.

    Domino's pizza is one of my crutches, but last few times I ordered it, I wondered why I bothered because it wasn't nearly as good as my mind worked it up to be. :/ Could've made a much yummier dinner myself with a little more effort and probably half the calories....

    See what I mean? It's also a mindset. Choose the healthy foods you like to eat, and then slowly incorporate more of them. Start out on the calorie counting part of the journey, and gradually add better-for-you foods (less processed) and eliminate bad ones (calorically-dense, uber-processed, high in sodium/sugar/carbs with little protein and fiber) until you find a balance that is giving you enough protein, fiber, and a balance of fats and carbs - a balance that will keep you full, energized, and satisfied, where you're meeting your calorie goals and macros, and hopefully leaves a little left over for one of your favorite snacks, i.e. oreos and milk.

    Technically you can lose weight by just counting calories... but you're going to feel a lot better and be able to sustain your weight loss/healthy lifestyle if you choose more nutrient-dense foods. It is a gradual thing, though. Do what you can now and make subtle changes, and you will be surprised how far you can come.

    God bless :)

    **Side-note: Edited because food shouldn't just fall into "good" or "bad" categories... there are better foods, and there are convenience foods. I'm sorry Pizza, I didn't mean to call you bad. <3
  • jenalderman
    jenalderman Posts: 411 Member
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    Most importantly..... KNOW YOURSELF! It is so easy for us to dole out advice based on our results. Bottom line is you need to know your body, your weight, your goals, your cravings, and ultimitely your mindset. If you are like me, denying your cravings and feeling deprived will cause you to slip back into old habits. I knew this and prepaired for it. I comprimise with myself a LOT. I will tell myself that it can taste sweet as long as it contain XX amount of protien or XX amount of fiber or XX amount of whatever it is you feel like you need. I occassionally give into pizza or a burger but I sacrifice somewhere else to make it work. This has been a pretty effective training tool for me. I will say that the longer I go on restricting my junk food and sodium is the less those cravings have become. I can actually taste the wonderful flavor of fresh meats, fruits and vegetables now! Good luck on your journey.
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    A journalist did a programme about this a year or so ago in the UK. He had a full medical before he started, only ate junk food but stayed within his limits, then had a medical at the end of the period (I think it was one month)

    Apart from all the negative effects this had on his moods and emotion etc he lost weight but the medicals showed that he was in considerably worse health at the end of the experiment compared to the start.

    This... You can lose weight but you probably will still be hungry and probably less healthy but that may be your goal..who knows!

    Again:

    Wrong: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.
    Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.

    Mission Impossible: Portion Control on Junk Food. Haub noted he was overweight and having problems managing his weight. “I was eating healthier, but I wasn’t healthy,” he noted. “I was eating too much.” Haub, like so many Americans, has issues with portion control. Yet, mysteriously, he was able to eat his fill of junk and was able to “push away the wrapper” to keep within his calorie budget on junk food. Why couldn’t he do this with healthy fare? Science has clearly shown that when you eat a tsunami of refined sugar, insulin levels skyrocket and plummet, resulting in a raging appetite for more sugar. And don’t forget the stress and abuse you’re putting your pancreas and liver through. No one can control their appetite on a 60% junk food intake.
    http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/11/the-twinkie-diet-caution-toxic.html

    Never said it was ideal. Just pointing out that even with eating a junk food diet, he lost weight and his health improved. You haven't said anything that discounts that.

    I haven't forgotten that you are a card-carrying member of the MFP Food Police and have an agenda and are strangely preoccupied with how others choose to eat.

    obviously you are as well as you are commenting on a thread about what some one is going to eat. you eat crap all the time= you are going to look like crap. its simple really.
  • outdoorslife
    outdoorslife Posts: 28 Member
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    You can put anything you like in your mouth - cookies, ice cream, fish and chips, crisps etc… You do need to log it. When I started, I was amazed on where my calorie count was going.
    That cup of ice cream, and I mean measured cup, was 300 calories! Thats 1/4 of the day allowance, and you think its filling? nope.

    The key is to see what is going where and adjust. I found that by 10:30/11am I was hungry… why? because I was shorting myself on calories for breakfast. Couldn't make it on 200 calories (1 egg, veg, omelet microwaved) so I added in meat, and now I get hungry right before lunch. So I added in a small snack at 11am. It varies, but I try to keep it at 100 calories or less… So it could be 1/3 cup of ice cream, or it can be a lot of sugar snap peas.

    You will need to see how you are eating and adjust based on logging EVERYTHING. And throw out the word diet. Diets don't work, as the premise is changing what you are eating for a while to lose weight. You need to change how you are eating for life.

    Add in the exercise, it makes a big difference. I can do two 45 minute power walks during the day, (lunch time and before dinner) and find I don't / can't eat all my calories.

    Wean yourself away from the rubbish, it will just make you bounce up and down in weight and in cravings. Once in a while you might get a craving for "X", have 100 calories of that, it generally will remove the craving, then follow up with 100 calories of something healthy, like a banana. Train your body and mind to substitute the perceived cravings.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Never said it was ideal. Just pointing out that even with eating a junk food diet, he lost weight and his health improved. You haven't said anything that discounts that.

    I haven't forgotten that you are a card-carrying member of the MFP Food Police and have an agenda and are strangely preoccupied with how others choose to eat.

    obviously you are as well as you are commenting on a thread about what some one is going to eat. you eat crap all the time= you are going to look like crap. its simple really.

    Actually, I answered her question without a lecture and an alarmist mentality then sent her a PM with healthier alternatives that will allow her to satisfy her sweet tooth.

    What have you added to this thread?
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    Never said it was ideal. Just pointing out that even with eating a junk food diet, he lost weight and his health improved. You haven't said anything that discounts that.

    I haven't forgotten that you are a card-carrying member of the MFP Food Police and have an agenda and are strangely preoccupied with how others choose to eat.

    obviously you are as well as you are commenting on a thread about what some one is going to eat. you eat crap all the time= you are going to look like crap. its simple really.

    Actually, I answered her question without a lecture and an alarmist mentality then sent her a PM with healthier alternatives that will allow her to satisfy her sweet tooth.

    What have you added to this thread?

    as always, you bore me. :laugh:
  • jared767
    jared767 Posts: 76
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    When you are trying to lose weight, it's important that you eat nutritious foods and not junks. Otherwise, it could pose some serious damage to your health.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    sounds strange yes but what i mean is as long as i eat only my 1200 calories can i eat sweets and high fat food or does it mean i have to eat 1200 calories of healthy food. see im a snacker and crave suger so im trying to figure out what i can and cannot have
    please help

    why are you only eating 1200 cals?
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
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    Never said it was ideal. Just pointing out that even with eating a junk food diet, he lost weight and his health improved. You haven't said anything that discounts that.

    I haven't forgotten that you are a card-carrying member of the MFP Food Police and have an agenda and are strangely preoccupied with how others choose to eat.


    Glad I made an impression on you.
  • NBabi91
    NBabi91 Posts: 270 Member
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    I am confused why you would want to?
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 450 Member
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    Is this a joke? Seriously, who asks if they can eat junk food and be healthy.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Subjects fed 43% of their daily cals in sucrose (table sugar) what do you think happened?

    Metabolic and behavioral effects of a high-sucrose diet during weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Apr;65(4):908-15.

    www.ajcn.org/content/65/4/908.full.pdf
  • jennygettinfit
    jennygettinfit Posts: 11
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    :heart: Technically you can....but i really think after you start recording everything you eat on here...and how quick those junk food sucks up your calories and fats for the day...that you'll eventually steer away from it. I'm a junk food craver too - but found the difference in the way you feel when you eat the good calories as opposed to the fluffy ones is pretty amazing. you should just try one day without and see what you think. Good luck to you either way, and enjoy this site its pretty cool!!!
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    Short answer, yes, you can lose weight, but in the long run you can't be healthy. It's okay to put a couple of garbage calories in your 1200, like two 80-100 cal snacks, especially if you exercise alot, but remember that those 1000 cals left after your snack now need to be pretty nutritious to fuel your body.
  • lsapphire
    lsapphire Posts: 297 Member
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    you can lose weight, but there is more to being healthy than just your weight. It is a matter of balance. A sweet or high fat food once in a while is okay. I find it helps me stay with the program and the longer i am on it the less often I want them. The whole point is to make healthy changes you can stick to.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    Never said it was ideal. Just pointing out that even with eating a junk food diet, he lost weight and his health improved. You haven't said anything that discounts that.

    I haven't forgotten that you are a card-carrying member of the MFP Food Police and have an agenda and are strangely preoccupied with how others choose to eat.

    obviously you are as well as you are commenting on a thread about what some one is going to eat. you eat crap all the time= you are going to look like crap. its simple really.

    Actually, I answered her question without a lecture and an alarmist mentality then sent her a PM with healthier alternatives that will allow her to satisfy her sweet tooth.

    What have you added to this thread?

    Please could you send me your list of alternatives too? I have a fair few of my own, but I'm always looking for new ideas on this front, and it would be much-appreciated! Re. eating 'bad' foods and looking "haggard" and ageing badly - has anyone seen the Gillian 'You are what you eat" McKeith/Nigella 'Domestic Goddess' Lawson comparison picture that was doing the rounds? I don't know how to post pictures in threads, but here is the link to the least-unfair (in my opinion) of the options!

    http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.buzzhunt.co.uk/wp-content/2011/11/Nigella-Lawson-vs-Gillian-McKeith1.jpg&amp;imgrefurl=http://www.buzzhunt.co.uk/2011/11/01/nigella-lawson-vs-gillian-mckeith/&amp;h=480&amp;w=600&amp;sz=77&amp;tbnid=zMA_azhNDHbGkM:&amp;tbnh=103&amp;tbnw=129&amp;prev=/search?q=nigella+gillian+mckeith+v&tbm=isch&tbo=u&amp;zoom=1&amp;q=nigella+gillian+mckeith+v&amp;docid=S8u1z30EMsSwxM&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=aUp8T-rNF9PD8QPB-MzRDQ&amp;ved=0CDcQ9QEwBA&amp;dur=617
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    If you're referring to the food you want to eat as "rubbish" then I don't really think you're fooling yourself, but you're an adult and you can make your own decisions whether they are "good" "great" or "poor". Would I personally recommend it? No. Can you lose weight and eat rubbish? Yes.

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