Missing my fast/junk food. When is it ok to have some?

So I've been on a diet for exactly one month today, went from 176 down to 158 with both diet and exercise @ a 5'10 height. 1200-1400 calorie a day diet (not enough for a man?), heavy cardio the first 2 weeks, and now cardio twice a week with 3 days of light weights and stretching to maintain my weight and shape.

No, that's not enough. I lose weight on double that amount. Now granted we are all somewhat different in that we have differing amounts of activity and lean mass but I would be shocked if you couldn't lose weight on much more food than that. Additionally, your rate of weight loss is WAY too fast. This is not necessarily a good thing especially given that you were not exactly obese, unless you have dwarfism.

I'm really starting to miss my burgers and pizza though I don't want to go crazy with it, but I feel like if I don't have some soon I will be very sad

I get scared that if I even have one whopper with fries and a few slices of pizza all the fat I got rid of will return to my midsection. Since I've worked so hard and committed to it very seriously I do not want to take this risk.

That's not how fat works. You aren't going to gain from the names of the foods you eat, you are going to gain from eating excess calories above and beyond what you expend over time.

What is a healthy portion to have, how often can I indulge, and after a month of healthy habits is it ok for me to start introducing some junk/fast food into my regular diet with any consequence.

That's up to the individual. I personally limit my trans fats as much as possible but it's still a matter of dosage and context. As far as "junk" food in general, if you're exercising and remaining active and you're able to have it in "moderation" then I don't see an issue with it. In fact, I'd say that from a mental standpoint, it's superior to be able to exercise moderation with the things you enjoy, vs becoming an all-or-nothing dieter who labels foods into "good" and "bad" buckets, and practices avoidance (outside of medical necessity to do so).

Would love to hear some opinions please

Get an estimate on your TDEE and increase your intake gradually (150 kcal per week as a starting point) until you're consuming about 20% under your TDEE. Right now you're creating a very big deficit and you don't have the fat stores to pull that off unless you want to look like a raisin when you're done dropping weight.

Additionally, you should probably ditch the idea of light weights and start lifting heavier, assuming you would like to look athletic.

Lastly, what is your protein/fat intake in grams? Considering your caloric intake is as low as it is, you are likely deficient here too.

Listen to him^^^

Agreed! Spot on advice!

Honestly, I didn't even read everything Sidesteal wrote, but he knows his stuff. I don't have to read it to know he's right. Listen to him.

Listen to him^^^

Agreed! Spot on advice!

And another, sidesteal knows his stuff!!

Eat a lot more based on tdee. (helloitsdans post 'in place of a road map' explains this)
Switch to heavy weights
Everythibg in moderation - if it fits in your macros and you don't have junk every day don't worry about it.

I lose 1.5pw on 2000 cals. I'm female and eat 'bad' things a few times a week, you just need to balance it out with healthy choices the rest of the time :-)

Just another suggestion. I have starting making pizza at home for our family. It's much better for us and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Maybe try some healthier alternatives to the "junk" you crave? I buy the pizza dough from the deli at the supermarket and doctor up my own sauce and pick what toppings I like. You can get really creative and have dinner on the table in 15 minutes or less.

agreed with Sidesteal but I wanted to add that I have dropped 40 lbs having moderate amounts of pizza and beer on the weekends.

Exactly, and while the point of my post wasn't to say "go have a bunch of junk food", I believe that each individual needs to find the right balance of making healthy decisions while still allowing some "fun" items into their diet.

Congrats on your weight loss. To clarify strictly for the OP, the above poster was able to do this because including the above food items did not cause him to over-eat calories over time. He was able to maintain a caloric deficit with the inclusion of pizza and beer.

Thanks. I tend to aim for a weekly caloric goal rather than daily. This way, you can plan ahead for "fun" meals and it becomes more of a lifestyle rather than a diet.

I just make myself healthier versions of the junk food so I can have it and feel good about it and most of the time it tastes just as good and is more satisfying mentally as well as physically

What is a healthy portion to have, how often can I indulge, and after a month of healthy habits is it ok for me to start introducing some junk/fast food into my regular diet with any consequence.

Would love to hear some opinions please
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Key words you wrote are "without any consequence". If you are referring to only weight loss/gain, it doesn't matter if you eat crap food that gives you heartburn at a minimum. Problem is that much of the junk food is calorie dense and lacking nutrition. So you will have to eat more of it to fuel the body, and hence repeat the cycle.

If you want to be choosy, choose not to go back to junk food. There is a reason we call it junk food.

When you can control how much you eat, and you wont feel guilty about eating it.

I agrree with sidesteal if you want those thing make it homemade you know what's in it and it will taste alot better use ground turkey for burgers and homemade toppings for the pizza you can even buy healthy pizza dough to make at home. There are lots of way around it just don't consume it everyday once a week is OK.

Congrats on ur weight lose keep it up

As for the daily intake of between 1200 - 1400 calories, I have become pretty accustomed to it. I don't find myself hungry throughout the day or low on energy. With 3 meals a day and 2 snacks in between I rarely find myself wanting to eat more. I just wouldn't know what more to eat. Maybe eat larger portions of what I'm already eating to have some extra calories? My TDEE came out to 2740, so based on what you said I should be eating about 2200 in calories a day.

Check out this blog post...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/UponThisRock/view/listen-to-your-body-your-body-wants-to-be-fat-259511

Great thread!

First - listen to EVERYTHING Sidesteal has said (I know you have - just re-iterating it).

If you have problems actually eating more food - just make the food you eat more calorie dense. For example, no low fat anything, and eat things like nuts, avocados, peanut butter, seeds, cheese etc. Also, if you have problems getting to the protein macros, there is nothing wrong with supplementing it with a protein shake.

I am almost the same height as you, and maintain on 1800-2000 without exercise... you are no way eating enough and really is not healthy for your body to be running on that low of calories longterm, once you have reached your goal weight, imo. You weigh over 30Ibs more than me, you should be eating a lot more. As someone else suggested, I would add some more calorie dense, but very healthy and nutritious foods into your diet, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, whole eggs and even dark chocolate is pretty good (provided it is around 85% cocoa). Allow yourself treats a few times a week, I have started doing this, though I was never a fan of burgers, fries or pizza especially, more an ice cream or cake sort of girl.