Junk Food

qpqkim · Post by **qpqkim** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:12 pm

I apologize in advance for the long post. I have a wierd question - I wanted to know from those of you who are "junk-a-holics" who have been doing/tracking this (diligently) for at least a year or two - whether you have lost weight consistently just on habit alone despite eating junk food.

I am completely hooked on no s and the book. I know I can lose weight on this system. I know I can do this. What tips can you long timers give me so that I don't eat so much processed food all the time even though I love it? At some point, am I going to have to grow up and stop achieving *just* the sustainable minimum of compliance?

The rest of this post is just background information - please feel free to skip since this post is so long...

I've been lurking on these boards for over a year now. Joined after I bought the book in 2010 and started playing with the online HabitCal though I prefer tracking on paper. However, I was not diligent about paper tracking until March of this year (2012). I weighed my all-time high in January and lost 6 pounds, and have gained 2 back as of last Saturday.

March was all green. Had a week of red in April, otherwise all green. I had one red day in May. So far June has been green. I know one of my problems is I eat a lot of processed and/or junk food on my N days while still complying with the basic rules of No S. Drinking juice and milk between meals was becoming a problem, so I modified that behavior.

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:32 am

Every month I strive for basic vanilla No S compliance and maintenance. Sometimes I lose weight and then I must maintain those losses. I have a weakness for corn chips with salsa and kettle cooked potato chips as well as other not so good for you stuff. However, the one plate rule forces some moderation. Also, I do not binge on S days. I allow myself some treats but do not go hog wild. I exercise quite a bit. I am 56.

In 17 months I have lost 50.6 lbs. I only officially weigh in once a month. If I step on the scale mid month I do not record it. I only gained one month (2 lbs), and I lost that 2 lbs the next month.

Good luck!

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:28 pm

Junk food is technically allowable so you need a different strategy from No S. How about dividing up your plate into quarters or thirds or what have you and only allowing a certain amount of space for junk food.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:31 pm

I'm going to be honest - no. I still eat 'junk' food and I haven't lost an awful lot of weight on NoS, although I have lost a bit (maybe 5-6 pounds, to get to a healthy weight I need to lose another 20 or so) for a sustained period.

I regularly eat fresh, home cooked meals with a good portion of vegetables included. However I also quite frequently eat crisps with my lunch, takeaway for tea and the occasional ready meal. So I think I agree with Blithe Morning - a different strategy is required for figuring out what goes on the plate!!

I am curious though, what kind of food are you thinking of when you say 'junk food'?

qpqkim · Post by **qpqkim** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:36 pm

Thank you all for your replies. I agree I need to change my approach and start looking beyond No S at what I am actually choosing to eat.

Since I have a LOT of pathetic excuses for why I don't eat healthy (hate to cook, etc.), I try to justify why I make certain choices.

For example:

1. I don't enjoy tomato slices, but for some reason I like salsa and tomato soup. Eating those foods are better than not getting any fresh vegetables in my system, right? 2. I am not a "salad person" but I enjoy taco salads with lots of meat and cheese. If I have it in my budget, I like to go to Chipotle and get a burrito bowl which has lettuce, salsa, cheese, sour cream, chicken, rice, and guacamole. 2. I don't like oranges (the texture) but I like orange juice. I gave up pop completly, even on S days(Pepsi, Rootbeer, etc.) but I justify drinking carbonated juices like Izzy or Switch or the Juicy Juice brands since that is better than not getting any fresh fruits in my system.

Yesterday I ate the following, most of which I consider junk:

Breakfast - Two apple cobler cereal bars (7.9 oz each, purchased from natural food section of my grocery store...my justification that it is somewhat healthy) and a glass of whole milk. I am not a breakfast person, but since I read No S I usually have breakfast on N days.

Lunch - A small handfull of cheeze-its. Small individual serving container of strawberry jello (I eat it for the gelatin and it is not sweet enough to me for me to consider it a desert. Perhaps I need to rethink that.) 5 frozen chicken and cheese taquitos microwaved, dipped in bbq sauce but sometimes I eat with cream cheese. 1 can of orange carbonated juicy juice, all natural.

Dinner - (this is bad) Another small handfull of cheeze-its. Two frozen sausage, egg, and cheese croissants microwaved dipped in ketchup. Water.

Yesterday was a bad day but my good days are not much better. I might have macaroni and cheese, frozen microwave potatos, microwave frozen meals or caseroles (which at times contain some vegetables, depending on if I like a particular vegetable mixed in it).

I need to grow up. I need to start taking responsibility for my choices. Sorry again for the long post...

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 3:43 pm

Be careful you don't turn into the food police.

Yes, you can make better choices--even among "junk foods." Does that mean you are "failing" No S? No, it does not. Try to keep things in perspective.

In my opinion, Chipotle is great. Maybe you need to distinguish between "fast food" and "junk food." I think many menu items at Subway are also good, and I wouldn't call them junk food.

My main concern for you is that you're not really getting a plateful of food at each meal. You're eating "filler foods" and not learning to judge how much you're eating properly. The danger there is that you'll find yourself getting hungry with a long time to go until dinner. And then you'll want to snack, or drink more sugary drinks.

qpqkim · Post by **qpqkim** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:24 pm

LOL!!

Well hopefully I won't overdo it.

I love Chipotle and Subway is really good too. I don't consider either of them bad for me, but am worried that the only time I eat (what I consider) a salad is when I can afford Chiptle. I have fortunately cut back on greasy fast food too, so that is a bonus. I don't enjoy salad from other fast food places.

I do get plenty to eat and virtual plate if I am eating a handfull of something that is junkier than the normal food on my plate.

Thank you again everyone for your tips and feedback!!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:51 pm

I'm not a salad person either, but I have recently found the joy that is oven roasted vegetables! I'll stick anything in the oven with a bit of olive oil and it'll be delicious eaten hot or cold! Helps me up my vegetable intake without trying to force down salad that I don't really like

I mainly stick to onion, peppers, brussell sprouts, sweet potato, squash, aubergine and courgette but that's variety enough for me.

Another fast cheat to better vegetable intake is to eat microwaveable steam bags of mixed - they are so quick to prepare, I can chuck one on the plate with whatever else I have prepared and I know I'm hitting at least some nutritious food!!

As for fast food, I think the only downside is that they can be hugely calorific even if you really don't expect it. Of course NoS should limit us to that one plateful so we don't go for the huge portions, but even a regular size portion of fast food could be pushing 1000 calories and if you eat that 3 times a day I think you're in trouble! Of course NoS doesn't suggest calorie counting, but if fast food is a regular part of a diet, I do think it's useful to be armed with knowledge about the better choices to make.

Could you try and physically virtual plate if that makes sense.... so put everything you are going to eat for one meal in front of you on a plate and see what it looks like?