I would like to know, from you who are maintaining or have lost a huge amount of weight... do you EVER eat junk food? Do you ever plan a meal of, say, pizza and ice cream? Do you EVER eat chips or cookies anymore? Is it a slip-up, or is it planned?
Or is your eating now based completely around making healthier choices?
I ate ice cream tonight, I eat pizza on a regular basis, I have some chips and cookies in my pantry.
I don't really consider it junk though. The ice cream (really soy frozen yogurt) has pretty decent ingredients and I measured out one portion. The pizza I eat is either homemade or from a pizza place I know that makes 'healthy' pizza and I eat it without cheese. The cookies and chips in my pantry all have decent ingredients and I can measure out a portion. Although this is partially a new phase for me. Other than eating pizza regularly, I'm introducing certain things into my plan as long as I measure them out.
I personally wouldn't touch things like Oreos, Lays chips or Ben N Jerry's ice cream but I do think there are decent alternatives and those aren't things I crave.
It also depends. I had to banish ice cream treats from my freezer for a couple years just because I couldn't control them. Now I'm practicing control with healthier versions and it is going well so far. It is an interesting experiment.
Interesting question. When I crave something that is truly junky, I proceed in roughly this sort of way:
1. Drink some water, chew some gum
2. Think about whether a healthier option would suffice (ie, if I want ice cream, would I be satisfied with an equal amount of fat free frozen yogurt or fruit-based sorbet?) or whether I can make it myself in a healthier way (ie, chocolate chip cookies based around canned pumpkin, made in a small batch so I don't overdo).
3. If I still want it, find the best darned version of it I can get. If I want a cupcake, for example, I'm going to a bakery and getting one of my very FAVORITE kind of cupcake. Just ONE. And the very best I can get. I have a great bakery semi nearby that will let you buy individual desserts.
Now, I often eat off plan without eating JUNK food. I mean, I go out to dinner and order my entree and split a dessert, and don't consider that junk because it is real food, prepared well, and I usually have planned for it. I consider "junk" food to be things like chips, cakes/cookies/candy, etc.
Well I've been sort of maintaining for the last 4-ish months. I'd call it a plateau, but a plateau implies that you're working really hard to stay OP and exercise and still not losing the weight. What I'm doing is sorta-semi-slacking and keeping myself w/in a 3-ish lb range.
Yeah, I eat junk. Not nearly as much as I used to and not nearly as often as I used to. But today I went out and had pizza at California Pizza Kitchen with a friend. I ordered the Margharita pizza and instead of eating the whole thing as I would have done in the past, I ate 1/2 of it and brought the rest home. I'll have a baked chicken breast and broccoli tonight for dinner. The lower cals in my dinner will make up for the higher cals in my pizza at lunch.
This weekend I"m going to be flying to DC for a nice romantic weekend. You'd better believe I"ll be drinking champagne and eating chocolate truffles. But I won't eat the whole box of chocolate in one sitting and I'll enjoy and savor the champagne. It's a special occasion and I'll allow myself that treat.
When I hit my goal, I plan to keep to the same sort of routine. I won't eat junk every day, or even every week. But when I do, it'll be something that I'll do with the full knowledge of what I'm doing (instead of doing it mindlessly as I would have before) and it'll be something worth eating (i.e. going out for pizza with friends, vs. chowing down on an egg mcmuffin in the car on the way to work).
I cannot see never eating those foods again, to be honest. If I thought that I would never ever ever be allowed to eat anything junky or rich or chocolaty or whatever, I would give up and never lose any more weight. For me, knowing that I *can* have junk if I want it makes it much easier to resist and only have it as a special treat once in a while.
Height: 5 ft 8.5" athlete who can give a punch & certainly take one too! :)
Ok, 22 more days and I have been maintaining my 25 pound weightloss for 1 year.
Heck ya, I still eat things like candy, cookies, chips, wine, chocolate, fattening dinners out. This time around no foods are forbidden, I do not believe in depriving myself of every goodie, moderation is key though. The junky foods are my sometimes foods, they are not everyday staples.... This lifestyle I can live with and I can still maintain my loss by eating them. I also work out religiously EVERYDAY for 1 to 1.5 hrs though just for the record and no doubt that helps keep the pounds at bay!
I totally agree that moderation is the key! I also do not have any food that is off limits. I find there are some things I just don't care to have anymore. For example greasy foods really upset my stomach now so I really don't have them much, but I have at least a little chocolate everyday. I also love ice cream, but usually eat the reduced fat and calorie version. I agree with everyone else this is a new way of life and I have no intention of giving up some of my favorite things for the rest of my life. I just have to learn not to have them every day.
I don't worry so much about the times I go out and have a great meal and eat more than I normally do and/or foods I don't regularly eat.
I have a number of times when I mindlessly eat. Luckily, this is usually not "junk" food -- just my regular food in too high quantity. This bothers me more because when I mindlessly eat I am more out of control... often in response to stress.
If I really feel like something then I will have it but it isn't really all that often I want "junk" food.
I eat chocolate occasionally and if I am at a dinner party or our to dinner I will thoroughly enjoy a disgusting dessert and when I visit my parents I HAVE to have some of my dads famous (and terrible for you) pizza...plus wine and cheese nights etc...but it's a case of all things in moderation. I don't go overboard and if I do overindulge I don't get upset about it rather just throw in an extra session at the gym the next day or two.
Having said that I just CAN'T eat deep fried or overly fatty foods anymore - not because they are a trigger but because my body rejects them lol. If I eat more than a couple hot chips I am constantly running to the toilet :P Same with sweet food and very rich chocolately things...my stomach turns! I only need a small amount to savour and enjoy or else I get sick
Hmmm, I guess you have to define junk. I have done a good job (according to my goals) of cutting out fast food, sugary soda, chips, packaged baked goods - I haven't eaten any of those foods since I changed my life in 2004. These arent food that I miss or tempt me, I consider them so nutritionally vacant that I can't see any benefit to eating them, taste is not enough. These are also huge trigger foods for me, if I eat 1 Oreo, I want the sleeve. I would prefer not to eat the first one. Bakery-style cookies are the same, I've had very few.
Ice cream - very rarely. It's a big trigger so I can't have it in the house, the very rare occasional scoop from a parlour or as part of a dessert in a restaurant.
Fried foods - never except for the occasional calimari in marinara which I cant resist for some reason.
Cream-based sauces - practically never, but I was never a huge fan in the first place.
Pizza - while I make my own pizza all the time, I've only had "pizza restaurant" pizza less than 10 times since 2004 - mostly it's a cheese issue (cheese and I have issues these days)
Candy - the rare hard candy, I particularly like Werther's. When I eat one, I want another one, then another one, so candy is problemmatic. I haven't had a hershey's quality candy since I started. I used to have a huge candy bar issue, so that's just ground I don't want to walk again. (like buying a huge bag of hershey's miniature for halloween and eating them all myself). I do have the occasional nice piece of dark chocolate, but I buy small squares - single portions are key.
I am far from "perfect" and I don't really want to try to be "perfect" anymore because that kind of thinking made me feel bad about myself if I wasn't perfect all the time (and who is??). My big weakness isn't what people normally define as "junk" (candy, fast food, soda, etc). My big weakness is - social situations/work situations involving food and fine dining.
Faced with cheese/crackers/wine at a work event, I will probably eat something I didn't "plan." I'm also a foodie, completely and utterly love food and eating and once a week I usually have a very nice dinner at a restaurant including wine, split an appetizer, entree and split a dessert. I eat mindfully most of the time so I can enjoy that meal freely Those evenings are definitely planned! I can eat salads all week knowing I'm going to a 5 course Chef's tasting menu on Saturday night.
I don't miss "junk" at all, but I would sure miss my occasional chocolate molten lava cake. I made hard decisions about what I could live without (fast food, soda, fried chicken) and what I could not live without (red wine, dark chocolate, etc). I base my life around eating healthy choices - so I can be the healthiest person possible AND remain slim while enjoying the occasional decadent evening out. I feel these choices are a very personal part of a weight loss journey and have to be specific to the individual, what works for me wouldn't work for someone else. Some things, I honestly can NOT moderate - I feel badly when I eat too much of those kinds of foods. I don't feel badly about not eating them in the first place, so it doesn't feel like a sacrifice - I feel free for the first time in my life.
I am also a modified junk person. When I go shopping I just totally ignore the middle isles. (mostly junk) I hardly ever have big junk such as chips; or ice cream; or cake. I don't keep it in the house and don't crave it.
However, every once and a while I will have "junk" food. If I am caught at work or if the train is late I will stop at McDonalds. The key is picking something reasonable there. Before I always felt the need to get the big meal. When I am at work and we are having a party I will have the cupcake.
While I was losing I ate next to nothing in junk food. I just wasn't interested.
My plan to maintain my weight loss was to eat the same exact foods (that I've come to LOVE), in the same portions, that I lost with, during the week and to have an occasional splurge meal - at a wedding, at a party, out with friends or the such. It was working out quite well in the begininning, but lately I've had a string of occasions to eat those "splurge" meals, and therefore I've splurged a bit too much, so I may have to rethink. Maybe have them every 3rd week or so.
But to get to your answer, yes, I eat junk, mostly planned - you name it - ice cream, pizza, pasta, cookies, cake, cheesecake (a trip to Cheesecake Factory while on vacation) - whatever. Adding in those "splurge" meals has opened up the door for me to eat these foods and I'm not totally convinced that's a good thing. Ask me again, when I'm back down a few pounds , and not having the splurge meals so often . I without a doubt DID find it easier when I just said completely and totally NO to these items. There are some things I still have yet to eat - mayonaise, dressings, potato chips, fried foods, french fries, fast food, donuts, candy bars. These are still taboo for me for some reason. Not that I'm complaining.
Although I've had too many of these splurge meals lately, it is nothing, absolutely NOTHING like it used to be. It couldn't be even if I wanted it to. I simply can not eat the same quantity of food that I used to. My stomach has really shrunk, not that I have the desire to. And during the week, it's right back on plan for me. And quite frankly, being on plan makes me the happiest.
My stomach has really shrunk, not that I have the desire to. And during the week, it's right back on plan for me. And quite frankly, being on plan makes me the happiest.
Same here. I still have more weight to lose, but even at the point I am now, I simply cannot eat the same volume/quantity of junk (or not even junk, but heavy, rich, high calorie foods) that I could before.
If I want potato chips, I can actually buy a small snack bag at the gas station and eat 1/2 of it. If I eat the whole thing, I start to feel queasy and sick to my stomach from all the grease.
I can (and have) gone out with friends and shared a piece of cheesecake 3 ways and not felt like I had to make sure I got my "fair share". A few bites and i'm satisfied. And again, I know that if I were to eat the whole thing, it would make me sick.
I am happiest and feel best when I'm sticking close to my plan. My tummy just can't handle junky or rich foods in quantity any more.
I have come to recognize that I base most of my food choices on convenience rather than taste. As a consequence, there is really no food that I can't live without - though I really, really want berries to come back into season so I can eat them. But if someone puts food in front of me, I sometimes have difficulty deciding not to eat it. I can pass on food that's offered, but when I'm sitting next to my husband at the movie theater and he's eating popcorn, I want to join him in eating it.
So, yes. I maintained a 60-pound weight for four months (like Photochick, mine was neither planned maintenance nor a true "plateau") while eating things that were very much off-plan for me. I never went back to my "old" habits for more than one or two really bad days, and still paid attention to what I ate, but I know myself well enough to know that I will never be perfect.
I really don't touch junk-if I want pizza, I make a Lean Cuisine or make a healthier option at home. My only splurge every now and then is an extra ounce or two of lean beef and a couple extra oven fries (both on my program). Then I really focus on eating very strictly for a couple of days after. I have learned to substitute healthier options for junk, watch my portions, and don't have junk in the house to tempt me.
Maintainers: do you EVER eat junk?
Those evenings are definitely planned! I can eat salads all week knowing I'm going to a 5 course Chef's tasting menu on Saturday night.
, and not having the splurge meals so often . I without a doubt DID find it easier when I just said completely and totally NO to these items. There are some things I still have yet to eat - mayonaise, dressings, potato chips, fried foods, french fries, fast food, donuts, candy bars. These are still taboo for me for some reason. Not that I'm complaining.
