How counterproductive is it to eat french fries, a hamburger, or pizza?

[GetDatFool]

should all of these be eliminated from my diet? Do french fries or pizza have any positives for muscle building or am i just hoping they might.

[SilentBob187]

They help keep you on your diet if you only treat yourself to them once or twice a month. Cheat meals, unsung heroes.

[Kalakbar]

They help keep you on your diet if you only treat yourself to them once or twice a month. Cheat meals, unsung heroes.

Amen. I cheat once a week, and make sure that the cheat itself never puts me more than 500 over my daily kCals (2500 normally). Last night it was a "Meatora" individual pizza at Boston Pizza, and I still ended up losing weight that day (although my 50km of cycling might have had a hand in that) =p.

[Toby2240]

I cheat once a week too. Though I don't pay too much attention to the overall cals. The way I look at it, so long as you really eat clean the rest of the week, that one cheat day doesn't REALLY do any damage.

[pinchharmonic]

I cheat once a week too. Though I don't pay too much attention to the overall cals. The way I look at it, so long as you really eat clean the rest of the week, that one cheat day doesn't REALLY do any damage.

unless you are a complete glutton like me!

it's a necessary evil IMO. sometimes food is beyond just what is on the nutrition facts. psychological response to food is powerful, just like the mental aspect of lifting weights, sports, etc.

so, despite the fact that it has no place in your diet as far as numbers are concerned, realize that it gives you a chance to freshen yourself up mentally. you may be "indulged" for days after that cheat day, helping you toward your goals.

think of it like overtraining in the gym, taking several days off works better than just training harder.

[suncloud]

a cheat meal once in awhile is good for you. personally, fries i'd avoid at all cost for two reasons : high in sodium, breaks down into sugar quicker than sin - not to include what it may be cooked in (transfat). pizza is also high in sodium, but heck, if its only once a week it won't kill you.

as far as burgers - make your own and eat them every day!

[Palo Alto Labs]

a cheat meal once in awhile is good for you. personally, fries i'd avoid at all cost for two reasons : high in sodium, breaks down into sugar quicker than sin - not to include what it may be cooked in (transfat). pizza is also high in sodium, but heck, if its only once a week it won't kill you.

as far as burgers - make your own and eat them every day!

x2

i was recently at JFK airport.. NY now requires calories to be listed on all menu items.. as im placing my order for a nice juicy CheeburgerCheeburger which came to about 600 calories, I considered getting fries.... ... the fries had about 1200 calories to a single serving.

At least a burger has protein (good), saturated fat (you need some everyday), tomato, onions, etc
The fries are just fat and carbs... the worst two combinations when in high numbers. youll hike up your insulin and then throw extra fat at your cells... hello fat uptake

[warnerve]

x2

i was recently at JFK airport.. NY now requires calories to be listed on all menu items.. as im placing my order for a nice juicy CheeburgerCheeburger which came to about 600 calories, I considered getting fries.... ... the fries had about 1200 calories to a single serving.

At least a burger has protein (good), saturated fat (you need some everyday), tomato, onions, etc
The fries are just fat and carbs... the worst two combinations when in high numbers. youll hike up your insulin and then throw extra fat at your cells... hello fat uptake

so true, I know from experience But they taste so good!

[Rodja]

I love pizza and eat it 2-3x/wk (even while cutting). The key is to not eat so much that you have to skip a meal afterwords.

[mixedup]

I have cheat meals even cheat days in place because i cut like 12-16 weeks at a time as long as you keep track of your calories and macros are on track for the week you should be ok

[PowerlifterMB]

Cheat meals are only really necessary on a cut. The purpose is to raise lepton levels if I remember right. This will act close to the same as increasing your metabolism. Fat doesn't increase do though, you need extra calories and carbs on a cheat day to make it effective. So to answer your question yes eliminate those foods.

[Darkhrse99]

Is it better to skip a meal or eat fast food if that's the only choice?

[yoked317]

Is it better to skip a meal or eat fast food if that's the only choice?

IMO it is always better to get the calories and carbs you need regardless. and all fast food joints have foods with geat nutritional value, broiled chicken, baked potatoes, chicken salads, etc, also you can always stop by a convenience store and pick up some lunch meat, maybe some cottage cheese, some fruit and maybe a whole grain muffin or bagel, and you'll be set. where there's a will there's a way.

[Nonfactor]

French fries should never be acceptable. I am extremely glad I finally completely got them out of my diet.

burgers can be alright if prepared as a healthy burger and not a McDonald's double cheeseburger ( if you can call that a burger)

pizza is ok to cheat with some. stick to thin crust and if possible do not eat the edge. Also try to stick to a limit on number of slices you consume. People over indulge on pizza more than any other food in my opinion. One piece of a healthy thin crust has ~200 calories. One piece of a deep dish can hit huge numbers.

I usually end up eating some thin crust pizza prolly once a week cause the best bar in my town is a pizza joint....

Anyhow please stay around from the fried trans fat starch people call french fries. Nothing could make those healthy.

[ThomasRivera]

French fries should never be acceptable. I am extremely glad I finally completely got them out of my diet.

burgers can be alright if prepared as a healthy burger and not a McDonald's double cheeseburger ( if you can call that a burger)

pizza is ok to cheat with some. stick to thin crust and if possible do not eat the edge. Also try to stick to a limit on number of slices you consume. People over indulge on pizza more than any other food in my opinion. One piece of a healthy thin crust has ~200 calories. One piece of a deep dish can hit huge numbers.

I usually end up eating some thin crust pizza prolly once a week cause the best bar in my town is a pizza joint....

Anyhow please stay around from the fried trans fat starch people call french fries. Nothing could make those healthy.

Can't agree with you at all on that. For starters, a person could take a potato from a supermarket and bring it home. This automatically eliminates any preservatives, excess salt and other stuff that prepackaged fries are packed with. Frying french fries the correct way, small batches, correct heat, should prevent fat on the fries. What also helps to reduce fat is to properly drain the fries, placing food on a paper towel for instance doesn't separate the fat from the fries, it pulls out fat of course but it also places the fries on a fatty surface.

[TripDog]

should all of these be eliminated from my diet? Do french fries or pizza have any positives for muscle building or am i just hoping they might.

French Fries should never be in your diet if you are serious. Burgers can be made at home and kept very lean. Pizza with thin crust, and healthy toppings like ham or veggies is ok on occasion. Chicken is your best friend!

[Palo Alto Labs]

Is it better to skip a meal or eat fast food if that's the only choice?

Fast food is better than nothing. Youd rather slightly overindulge than starve.

Best bet is to get a grilled chicken sandwich, or even a burger... toss the bun (a ton of sugar and HFCS in their bread).

At least then you are getting protein and fat without the simple carbs. Fat is extremely beneficial to your health (in healthy amounts) so once in a while, getting extra fat wont kill you.

My personal belief is that when you are cheating, avoid simple sugars at all cost. By keeping your insulin levels down, you will slow the absorption of the calories and their transition into glucose. This will allow you to burn more of the food as energy before it is stored. Once you add simple carbs into the equation, youve supercharged the process of fat storage.

[joelast]

when on a very strict low cal diet a cheat meal is very productive, it will give you a boost in your metabolism and give you some satisfaction. I always time it up with a long cardio day.

[PowerlifterMB]

In addition to my previous post I'd like to add that McDonald's french fries are quite possibilly the wqorst thing you can eat. High in fat especially trans fat obviously not whole grain and probably contain HFCS.

[whiteonblackL]

when on a very strict low cal diet a cheat meal is very productive, it will give you a boost in your metabolism and give you some satisfaction. I always time it up with a long cardio day.

i try to not cheat,i use to do that but i dont like it, it makes me remember how much i like that food then makes me want go back, .. but when i dont cheat im always striving to get better lol im weird