How to Eat Junk (and Still Be Healthy)
Eat junk and still be healthy?
Say what?!
That’s right, I said it…
Most people will tell you that in order to be healthy, you must cancel certain foods…
How many times have you heard something like the following:
“If you want a flat tummy, cut out all processed foods – sugar, dairy, gluten, alcohol. Just eat chicken, brown rice, and broccoli every single meal! Easy!”
One might argue that junk foods have a lot of calories but none of the nutrients that the body needs for good health.
But – this narrative is missing some important key notes…
Delicious foods serve a purpose, even if they do not contain much nutritional value.
Cutting out an entire type of food is not necessary, and it usually backfires.
Low-quality foods can actually be good for you!
For the purpose of this conversation, we will stick with the name “junk food,” since that’s how most people refer to their favorite treats. But going forward, can we get rid of the name “junk food?” Such a name creates categories of good foods and bad foods, thereby making people feel guilty and shameful for consuming certain foods… There really are no bad foods – it’s just a matter of how much you are consuming and the context behind it.
Without further ado, here’s why junk food belongs in a healthy diet…
You’re Probably Going to Eat it Anyways
Let’s face it, we’ve all had a few too many cookies at one time or another… You probably had a tummy ache and felt some level of guilt and shame. You probably told yourself, “THAT’S IT! I am NEVER doing that again!”
Then some time goes by, and your coworker offers you some homemade chocolate chip cookies that she made over the weekend… so you eat one. But then you think to yourself, “Oh gosh, that was so good. I haven’t had cookies in so long, I can have one more.” And before you know it, you’ve had five… and then your tummy hurts and you’re telling yourself you will never do that again… again…
We wish we could just cut out all of the “junk” for good, but what actually happens is we go through cycles of deprivation and binging…
So, what’s the alternative? Eat a small cookie on a regular basis, and don’t feel an ounce of guilt about it!
You deserve to include a little bliss in your life every single day!
By consuming a bit of your favorite foods on a regular and intentional basis, you will likely be able to curb your cravings and keep yourself feeling more satisfied than if you were to eat a lot, then none, then a lot, then none…
It Will Not Stop You from Reaching Your Health and Fitness Goals
You do not need to eat perfectly 100% of the time to make progress! The 80/20 rule works quite well…
80% of the time, eat whole, nutritious, minimally processed foods.
20% of the time, eat whatever the heck you want!
It Can Even Improve Your Health
Yes, if you eat a bunch of low-quality, less-nutritious foods, your physical health will likely suffer to some extent…
But your physical health is just one part of the puzzle.
As food restriction goes up, so can other problems like food obsession, anxiety, and disordered eating behaviors, thereby making your mental health suffer.
Precision Nutrition recommends that we look at each of the following aspects of health having their own battery:
Physical Health
Mental Health
Emotional Health
Social Health
Existential Health
Environmental Health
Let’s say, for example, you go out with your friends for ice cream (one of my favorite activities)…
You haven’t been consuming a lot of dairy recently, so after eating the ice cream, you feel a bit bloated and gassy – you drained a bit of your physical health battery. You also feel a bit guilty for indulging and you feel some brain fog and sluggishness, so you drained some of your emotional health and mental health batteries as well.
But, going out for ice cream charged some of your other health batteries! You hung out with your friends, charging your social health battery. The deliciousness of the ice cream brought your soul into a state of bliss, thereby charging your existential battery. And if you intentionally indulged in a small amount of your favorite treat, you may have even charged your emotional battery!
Ultimately, by looking at all aspects of our health, we can see that when we eat our favorite foods intentionally – choosing to eat them on purpose, with joy and contentment, in reasonable amounts, and after weighing and accepting the tradeoffs – we might actually boost our overall health!
How to Ensure Your Favorite Foods BOOST Your Overall Health Rather than Worsen It
So, now that we know that junk food can absolutely be a part of a healthy diet, how do we implement what we have learned?
Step 1: Decide whether the benefits are worth the tradeoffs
Is the food worth it? Maybe not if the food also drains your emotional health (if you ashamed and guilty) and your social health (if you choose to eat the pint of ice cream alone in your bedroom… no judgement).
However, it may absolutely be worth it if it adds means to your life, is part of a social ritual, and it helps you cope with stress!
Step 2: Set a barrier between you and your impulse foods
First of all, make sure your kitchen is stocked up with plenty of healthy foods that are easily accessible and ready to eat. Think of high-protein snacks like hard-boiled eggs, yogurt cups, cottage cheese, beef jerky, and a wide assortment of easy-to-eat fruits and vegetables like apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, celery, and whatever else you enjoy! This way, when hunger strikes, you will have healthy go-to options to pick from rather than going straight for the bag of chips.
Next, think about ways in which you can set up some guardrails to prevent you from over-consuming your favorite treats. You might buy single-serving packages or re-portion the family-size package into individual serving containers. If you have trigger foods in which you feel that you cannot control your consumption of, maybe you don’t even bring them into the house – instead, when you really want that chocolate ice cream, you drive to the store to get a single-serving cup or just get a small portion from your local ice cream shop.
Try to consume your favorite treats after your largest meal to ensure that you don’t fill up on the treat for the sake of hunger.
Schedule when you will consume your indulgence treat so that it is more intentional. For example, maybe you have a couple of pieces of dark chocolate as an afternoon snack every day.
Step 3: Enjoy it
Yummy treats are awesome, so savor the moment!
Pay attention to the experience of eating your favorite treat…
Step away from the computer, phone, or TV screen. When we eat distracted, we are not fully paying attention to the act of eating, making it much easier to over-indulge.
Take a few deep breaths before eating to fully bring yourself to the present moment.
Use your senses – sight, smell, taste, and touch—to fully enjoy it.
Eat slowly – make the deliciousness last longer and help yourself feel more relaxed.
Swap guilt for pleasure! If you are consuming your favorite treat intentionally as part of a healthy diet (that is mostly made up of whole, nutritional, minimally processed foods) then you absolutely deserve to enjoy it without an ounce of guilt.
Step 4: When you mess up, move on
Let’s face it – we are all infallible beings. Every single one of us has eaten impulsively on occasion, and it will probably happen again…
When you catch yourself eating mindlessly, call it out, and try to figure out what’s going on…
Ask yourself the following questions:
What led to this moment?
Has this ever happened before? If so, when?
What might I do differently in the future?
By being introspective with ourselves, we can better understand why we do the things that we do… We are complex beings – we often don’t even know ourselves as well as we think we do! When we mess up, it gives us an opportunity to learn and grow.
When you mess up, try your best to learn from it, then wipe the slate clean and move forward.
Turn your attention to another aspect of your health:
Go for a short walk (physical health)
Snuggle with your dog (emotional and social health)
Sit on your porch and watch the beautiful sunset (existential health)
Write about what happened in your journal (mental and emotional health)
Ultimately, there is too much good food in this world to try and resist it – so stop trying!
Instead, enjoy your favorite treats in small, regular doses.
Don’t try to be perfect – just try to eat well most of the time!
