Is it okay to have 'bad food' everyday?

Yah there are a lot of factors ... a) someone said goals, that's a good one b) type of diet some diets allow for more of this than others. c) Current conditioning, can you afford the food you are taking in.

There are other factors, the bottom line is the cleaner you eat the better you will do and the healthier you will be, that being said you have to give yourself some breaks or you won't be able to stick to your plan or it will be very difficult. Can you lose weight eating cheat meals on a regular basis, yah it's possible. Just remember they if you take up your calories uisng high caloric foods then that means you have to give up some healthy foods to attain your caloric target.

I know I am a bit more extreme than mos when it comes to dieiing but moderation with cheat meals is a good idea for anybody..

I also agree. Everything in moderation to an extent - we still deserve to eat the things we love - but a chicken nugget has nothing good about it, so even though you're still under your calorie goal for the day, it's wasted calories and I can only imagine how much sodium! I had a good sized piece of ice cream birthday cake yesterday, but it was after a 60-minute bootcamp workout and a kale-chick pea salad for lunch with lots of fruit throughout the day... it has to balance out.

I used to eat ‘bad’ foods on the weekends and eat great throughout the week. I didn’t lose anything doing that, I just maintained so this time around I just eat lots of veggies, fruits, lean meats/proteins, nuts… etc. It’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be and ive been losing weight doing this and restricting myself from ‘bad’ food. If I do have a sweet tooth for something I will make something using different ingredients, like this weekend I had a chocolate craving and a sweet craving so I made flourless chocolate muffins and they turned out fantastic so not only did I satisfy my craving, I also took in much needed nutrients.

In the end everyone is different. Some people can eat something ‘bad’ everyday and still lose weight as long as they are within their calories where as others can’t.

If I want something "BAD" I have it.. I don't have as much as I would have eaten in the past, but I still have what I want.. Yesterday I had a craving for some chips while at work and My office building has a Jimmy Johns down stairs so I stopped and grabbed a bag of their skinny chips for an afternoon snack.. It fulfilled my craving and I didn't go over my intake so YES I believe that it is a good idea for you to have a little something bad whenever you want because if you deprive yourself of it all together, then you will just binge eat when you give into your cravings!

I still eat the same things that i have always ate. I just make sure that i keep it within my calorie goal and exercise. I dont think i could do any other way. I think if i didnt have those "bad foods" i would fall right back to old habits of way over eating and stuff right away.I have being losing weight and dropping inchies the entire time.

I think for most people, not having bad/junk food on a daily basis would feel like major deprivation. Feeling deprived is a great way to fail your diet and feel like it's not a doable lifestyle for you. I eat bad stuff every day..more than once, but I'm always under my calorie goal, and try to make sure I'm eating healthy foods as well.

OP,

Please clarify what you mean by "bad food".

Regards,

Me

See this article:

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


the dude ate bad food and lost 27 pounds. BECAUSE HE STAYED WITHIN A CERTAIN CALORIE RANGE FOR WEIGHTLOSS.

- his body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent ON A TWINKIE DIET

It's not healthy, but just goes to show that calorie deficits will STILL lead to weight loss.

Actually he ate vegetables and consumed a protein supp everyday.

So? Accdg to the article 2/3 of his diet was junk. Which is the point of the discussion. Bad foods CAN still allow you to lose weight.

Anytime we create a deficit these same improvements show up regardless of what we eat, so it's not about the twinkies it's about overall health improvements when someone loses weight. Eating the veg and protein was for nurishment. Eating that same twinkie diet in excess of calories will show some pretty detrimental health effects that I'm sure would be worse than the SAD diet that at least has some real food..

It's fine. You'll lose weight because you are limiting your caloric intake... It's harder though because those "bad foods" are usually higher in calories, small, and don't keep you feeling full for long... well, unless it's bacon... Bacon is excellent for dieting...

I have an entire section in my diary labeled 'Desserts, Junk and Other Snacks'. I usually have MULTIPLE daily entries in that category. For example, yesterday I had a piece of coconut covered in dark chocolate, some coffee ice cream, a Kashi almond mocha granola bar, some Tostitos with salsa and a mini Butterfinger bar.

In the 400+ days I've been on MFP, I've never gone over calories. And... I also hit my goal weight back in February.

You'll hear lots of different advice from different people, but moderation worked GREAT for me. I won't give up any food that I enjoy. In my mind... there are no bad or forbidden foods - just bad or forbidden portion sizes. :-)

See this article:

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


the dude ate bad food and lost 27 pounds. BECAUSE HE STAYED WITHIN A CERTAIN CALORIE RANGE FOR WEIGHTLOSS.

- his body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent ON A TWINKIE DIET

It's not healthy, but just goes to show that calorie deficits will STILL lead to weight loss.

Actually he ate vegetables and consumed a protein supp everyday.

So? Accdg to the article 2/3 of his diet was junk. Which is the point of the discussion. Bad foods CAN still allow you to lose weight.

Anytime we create a deficit these same improvements show up regardless of what we eat, so it's not about the twinkies it's about overall health improvements when someone loses weight. Eating the veg and protein was for nurishment. Eating that same twinkie diet in excess of calories will show some pretty detrimental health effects that I'm sure would be worse than the SAD diet that at least has some real food..

And you've just described the entire purpose of the Twinkie Diet. What you eat doesn't matter, how much you eat does.

As for the original question, there's no such thing as "good food" or "bad food."

Yes.

you can lose weight by eating junk 24/7 as long as you stick to your calories, but for your health its better not to have it everyday.

Dont get me wrong, i love my treats and im not saying dont eat bad things ever, but try to limit them slightly without depriving yourself. In a week I will usually have 1 meal out, 1 fast food meal, and 1 or 2 sweet things (cake / icecream / chocolate / nice coffee)The rest of my meals are good healthy stuff to balance it out.

Another thing we are not considering is macro-nutrient ratios and the fact hat most people who have trouble losing weight are pretty insulin sensitive and should avoid high amounts of carbs. It you eating throws that out of whack then it could be detrimental. Now here it is when it gets back to goals as this problem would be more prevelant when trying to get very lean.