Is it okay to have 'bad food' everyday?

Everything in moderation! If you deprive yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure! Good luck!

I don't restrict myself, I think the key to anything is "moderation".

You can still lose weight doing that, but, as you get closer to your goal, it will get tougher. That last ten pounds will take a little more discipline. Well, a lot more. But, you can get 90% of the way there eating that way and just restricting your cals.

I'm one that enjoys certain foods, like Mexican food. It's really difficult for me to restrict that. So, I work out harder. But, I also know that I will probably never get to that ideal state, even though I keep pushing for it.

I love Mexican food too, I eat a ton of amys enchiladas though. They're frozen but they're non- GMO ingredients and vegetarian, so the calories are low. Pico de gallo and avocados usually curb my craving but the calories in tortillas add up, so I put some cayenne on the pico and avocado and it fills me up faster.

There is not such thing as "bad" food...unless maybe it's not food...like nails. Anyway, if it fits in your macros, put it in your face!

Personally, I do not have a bad food everyday because everytime I have a bad food, it means less good food or less on my plate at meals to balance up the calories.

If you within your calorie limit-yeah...but remember cholesterol and sodium can affect your long term health. Better to be healthy from the inside out..Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect at all. I am a beer junkie on the weekends. I should follow my own advice!!!! :drinker:

By some standards, I eat "bad" every day - I eat a pretty high proportion of my meals in restaurants or fast food joints, I live for cheese (no, really: that's on my inspirations list! *laugh*), and when I want some fried chicken I'm gonna have me some fried chicken! *laugh*

You can't out-exercise a bad diet, but just 'cos I want a cheese burger or chili fries doesn't meant I have to eat a GIANT PILE of it, either. I found that most of the time, it's the first few bites that are amazing, and I feel sated of that craving - I don't need to eat all of it to be happy. Just enough to know that I "can," if you will. that I have the ability to choose for myself I have built a habit for myself where as soon as my meal comes, I set at least half aside. I relish the portion I've allotted - and sometimes, now, that's even more than I can eat at once! if I'm still enjoying the heck out of it and the enjoyment hasn't diminished, I might have a bit more - but generally, I find that half is MORE than enough, and I feel a) like I can do what "normal" people do, b) a sense of pride in my self-control, and c) excited about my lunch the next day

Of course you can! Some days I have chocolate (that time of the month), some days I eat out with family/friends and want something besides salads! The only way you will stick with it is if you allow yourself some "bad food".

Also try having a crave day once a week. Generally by the time you get to the crave day you have lost the craving!

Just make sure that you don't go over your calorie limit, if you do, then do some extra cardio to make sure you continue in the right direction with weight loss!

Just try to do better each day, and you will continue to make progress!

In response to this post, I think this might be a great time for you to try new foods. I understand you have cravings for chicken nuggets and French fries, but why not try grilled shrimp instead of chicken nuggets or baked cauliflower with olive oil instead of French fries? There are so many new, exciting things to try, don't limit yourself! Eventually you'll lose the bad cravings for those things. I cut red meat and fowl out of my diet, so I've been exploring more seafood options, and it really surprises me how versatile it can be. When I think of burgers now, I think heavy, hard to digest, and really not appetizing.

Yes.

is the right answer....

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.

If they feel it is like a major deprivation, maybe they should take a step back and accept that this "deprivation feeling" is what goaded them on to eat crap and so, in turn, become overweight in the first place.

You may be eating bad stuff everyday, more than once and always be under your calorie goal, but there is more to nutrition than just being under that goal and that is that you feed your body the correct nutrients.

I have a friend on MFP who did one of the most common-sense things I have ever heard of, in that she would only have treats after she had fulfilled her nutrients for the day, if those nutrients were not met, then it was no treats. In other words, nutritious food came first, treats followed and were not always forthcoming, it all depended on the tally at the end of the day.

I have something "bad" most days. Although I don't consider anything that fits into my calories as bad.

Me too. Whether its a mini snickers or shot of jager, if its fits, I dont feel that bad about it.

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."

There is DEFINITELY good food and bad food. How long do you think he's going to live eating twinkies?! It's not just about dieting to lose weight, its about being healthy for life and fueling your body to help fight disease!

Good docs to watch: fat, sick, and nearly dead; food, inc.; forks over knives

The more you know savour exactly what it is you're putting into your body, the longer you'll live. You shouldn't ingest things that have ingredients you can't pronounce!

There is no such thing as a "good" food, or a "bad" food. There are healthier options, and less healthy options. In a balanced, well prepared diet, no food is "good" and no food is "bad." Good and bad are emotional responses, and food doesn't have emotion.

Oh, and that "don't eat foods you can't pronounce" argument. That's silly. EVERYTHING you eat has a very difficult to pronounce chemical name. Can you pronounce this? Spinacia oleracea. That's spinach, I'd consider that healthy, whether you can pronounce it or not. How about Phenylalanine? That's an essential amino acid, you'd die if you didn't eat it regularly, yet again, tough word to pronounce. How about alphalinoleic acid? An essential fatty acid that you also need to consume every day for health purposes. I could go on all day.

I have 2 fat free fig newtons every night for dessert. On a free-for-all day, it's usually Mexican Food.

Don't be silly. That's Latin. Spinach is great for you.

You're obviously missing the point here and just arguing for arguments sake.

You really shouldn't be promoting twinkie diets.

However, if you want to do it yourself, you definitely should.

I'll be there for you when you develop diabetes.

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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."

There is DEFINITELY good food and bad food. How long do you think he's going to live eating twinkies?! It's not just about dieting to lose weight, its about being healthy for life and fueling your body to help fight disease!

Good docs to watch: fat, sick, and nearly dead; food, inc.; forks over knives

The more you know savour exactly what it is you're putting into your body, the longer you'll live. You shouldn't ingest things that have ingredients you can't pronounce!

There is no such thing as a "good" food, or a "bad" food. There are healthier options, and less healthy options. In a balanced, well prepared diet, no food is "good" and no food is "bad." Good and bad are emotional responses, and food doesn't have emotion.

Oh, and that "don't eat foods you can't pronounce" argument. That's silly. EVERYTHING you eat has a very difficult to pronounce chemical name. Can you pronounce this? Spinacia oleracea. That's spinach, I'd consider that healthy, whether you can pronounce it or not. How about Phenylalanine? That's an essential amino acid, you'd die if you didn't eat it regularly, yet again, tough word to pronounce. How about alphalinoleic acid? An essential fatty acid that you also need to consume every day for health purposes. I could go on all day.
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