Junk Food - sin or saint?

Is junk food the source of all evil?

Is it an occasional treat?

Is it an every day food source?

Do the rules differ between children and adults?

What is your opinion on junk food?

Define Junk food

Anybugger wrote:Define Junk food

Yeah! That's a hard one! Are you talking processed food in general?

Is junk food the source of all evil?

Haha -YES! It's made to be a kind of treat food that (some) people can't resist. That's always evil!

Is it an occasional treat?

I think it should be. That MaccyD mum is the perfect example of what happens when it's not an occasional thing.

Is it an every day food source?

No - see above!

Do the rules differ between children and adults?

I don't think so. I think "junk" food should only ever be eaten as an infrequent thing, whether they're children or adults... I'm sure I have more to say on this, but my brain is a bit addled right now!

What is your opinion on junk food?

I quite like it! Unfortunately that's what contributed to my weight gain all those years ago and that's has taken me YEARS to get rid of so I have to be very careful!

Anybugger wrote:Define Junk food

Oops, sorry, I forgot about this thread!

Junk food is anything where the calories could sustain a small country for a day, but the nutritional value wouldn't keep an ant alive - how's that?

Junk food is interesting, actually. The term 'junk' is oxymoronic with the word food. We should not call it food as nutritionally a diet of nothing but junk will ultimately not sustain our bodies.

However.

That said, most junk can be utilised as food, when combined with a normal diet. So a small packet of wheat crunchies with your tuna and mayo salad on wholemeal with an apple to follow will add tasty calories (and fibre!) to the meal, even though you probably wouldn't need them.

If you treat your Pizza Express pizza as a cheese toastie and only eat half of an ordinary sized one, with a small salad and a G&dT, there is nothing nutritionally unsound with that. But eating a medium pan Pizza Hut pizza on your own IS.

Thing is, most people don't actually THINK about what they're putting in their mouths. They just eat it thinking 'this is food' when actually it contains nothing of any use to their bodies at all, other than fuel/calories. But if they thought about it for two moments and adjusted their meal everso slightly, if suddenly ceases to be junk and suddenly becomes food. If you eat the hamburger with apple pieces and an orange juice or milk carton at McDs, that's a pretty wholesome meal. For one meal. But people don't. They buy the triple cheese burger with large fries and a chocolate shake, leave with a McFLurry in their hands and wonder why they need another meal two hours later (lousy nutrition and the sugar crash) and the scales are reading 10lbs heavier this month.

Now, can you tell me, since I know ALL that, and mostly follow it, why I'm the best part of 14st?

I LUCKILY don't like a great deal of junk food - My worst problem is comfort binge eating - which Ia m overcoming

HOWEVER, that said, several weeks in to a healthy diet, I can actually taste and feel the fat in foods in my mouth now that I used to eat a lot of - it's HORRIBLE. So, I like junk food EVEN less now.

DP LOVES his junk food though.

I thnk as an occasional "treat" (although I even have gone off old favourites now so wouldn't even choose it for a treat!) it's fine, but as a long term diet - well, I am the result of a long term diet of junk and convenience food, and it's NOT a pretty sight!
Lx