The vicious cycle of "bad" food

Healthy eating... man, what can I even say about it?
I’ve been trying to do things the right way—starting my mornings with cereal, loading up on fruits and veggies, cutting back on pork, and sticking more to home-cooked meals rather than takeout.

But let’s be real: there are still plenty of days where I just want to snack on everything in sight. I’m talking greasy pizza, toasted sandwiches, decadent desserts, all kinds of junk food...

When you go through one of those long stretches of being "perfectly healthy," you eventually hit a wall. Suddenly, you're dying for a bag of chips, a slice of pizza, maybe some burgers... or a cold Coke, even though you know deep down it's not great for you.
Since I'm still pretty young (only 24!), I don't feel like I need to be a complete drill sergeant about my diet. Plus, it's hard. Sometimes it feels like you're basically a slave to your own rules. Honestly, you can't spend every single second scrutinizing whether something is "clean" or not—especially when you try stuff out and realize later it was loaded with ingredients you didn't expect.

My goal is just to eat better. Weight isn't really an issue for me, so I'm definitely not one of those calorie-counting control freaks. Personally, I think a 70/30 split in favor of healthy food is much better than not trying to change your lifestyle at all.
Regarding what someone else mentioned earlier about feeling tired or totally drained... you really do feel better and have more energy when you eat well, especially if you're staying active too.

At the end of the day, I think the key is building good habits gradually over time. But I also don't think you should be a prisoner to them. You're allowed to eat something totally unhealthy every once in a while if it just makes you happy.🙂

. They laid out this whole meal plan... specific times, exact foods, the works. For instance, breakfast at 7 AM is yogurt(0.9) and oatmeal. I just stick to the yogurt. Then at 9 AM, fruit—like an apple (I skip that too). Lunch at 1 PM is chicken or turkey with salad. I just eat the meat and leave the salad. Around 3 PM, tuna or lean protein. I actually eat that. Dinner is at 7 PM, fish prepared without oil, but I usually swap dinner for a protein shake instead.
They strictly forbade me from skipping meals, yet I end up skipping most of them. Plus, I’m basically cutting out all carbs. What’s your take on this? 😕
I'm carrying about 15 extra pounds. I packed on the weight with fast food. This plan feels like a lot of food, even though I don't normally eat much and tend to skip meals myself. 🙂

I decided to finally overhaul my diet starting this morning. Every previous attempt I’ve made has pretty much gone up in flames, but who knows, maybe this time I’ll actually stick to it. I’ve picked up a few extra pounds lately—nothing major, but it’s definitely getting on my nerves. Plus, I’m just tired of shoving stuff into my body that offers absolutely zero nutritional value. We'll see how it goes...

vividmason162 said:I finally decided to overhaul my diet, starting this morning. Honestly, every single attempt I've made before has been a total disaster, but who knows... maybe this time actually sticks. I've put on a few extra pounds—nothing crazy, just annoying. And besides, there's really no point in stuffing myself with junk that does absolutely nothing for me. We'll see how it goes...

Just hang in there for a few days, then things start looking up. That constant, gnawing hunger eventually fades, and after a while, your body basically starts rejecting the garbage food. My friend gave me this huge bar of Rice Krispies treats today and I didn't even feel the urge to unwrap it. Two months ago? I would've polished the whole thing off in minutes. 😁I realized it’s basically just an addiction—an addiction to junk food. I had to accept that I'd have to deal with the withdrawals and the setbacks, kind of like when I quit smoking. Once you get past that, every day gets easier and you don't have to fight those cravings nearly as hard...

Just wanted to chime in here and shift the focus to some other stuff.

So, back when I lived with my mom, we actually ate pretty well. My mom (who’s got a sensitive stomach) mostly cooked with just a little oil and onions. Nothing was over-seasoned, most things were home-cooked, and we only had pork maybe once or twice a month. Lots of homemade soups and stews—never that canned stuff from a box. And fruit? We had piles of it.

The catch was that all the oil, say for making fries, would get saved in a jar and reused. We used white flour pretty much like everyone else. And we usually ate our fruit in the evenings.
Luckily, I don't have a massive sweet tooth (doesn't mean I don't love sugar), so we didn't bake much.

But honestly, there are a few things I'm grateful to my mom for:
1. She taught me never to leave the house without eating breakfast.
2. She got me used to home-cooked, lean meals.
3. I’m not even a huge fan of pork.

Still, I gained weight.

Once I started working, I couldn't do my usual 2 PM lunch anymore. There’s a bakery right near my office, and well... that’s where those extra pounds came from.

So now, here I am. I bought an elliptical to get back in shape (I used to be an athlete) and I really want to learn about healthy eating. But the more I read, the more confused I get.

For example, I’ll grab some Kellogg's peach and apple muesli for breakfast. Everyone tells me, "Oh, that's so healthy!" But clearly, it's not working for me because if I eat that at 7 AM, I'm absolutely starving by 10. So I Google it—SUGAR... I check the ingredients and see SUGAR everywhere... and I just give up on the muesli and go back to spreads. Honestly, I'd rather have toast with spread; at least I can pile on a ton of veggies with it.

There's just too much info, too much theory, too many explanations.

Bottom line is, I'm a little lost. Based on all the articles and guides out there, I should be eating relatively healthy. Everything is cooked in olive oil (used once 😁) with beef, veal, chicken... TONS of veggies, and fruit in the mornings. The only thing that's a bit questionable is my choice of spreads...

I still feel like I "mess up" constantly. I genuinely feel like I have no clue what I'm doing or how to do it... I feel like a headless chicken. 🤷

steelsailor74 said:Healthy eating... what can I even say about it...
I'm trying to eat better. I've started having cereal for breakfast, I'm eating more fruits and veggies, avoiding pork, and opting for more home-cooked meals...

But there are still days when I just want to snack on everything—pizzas, toasted sandwiches, fancy pastries, all sorts of chips...

When you go through a long stretch of strictly healthy food, you eventually hit a wall where you just want to grab some chips, devour a pizza or some burgers... wash it down with a Coke, even though you know it isn't good for you..
Since I'm still young (24), I feel like I don't need to be incredibly strict about only eating clean foods. Sometimes it’s hard, too. It feels like you're being a slave to your own rules. Honestly, you can't always be scrutinizing every single thing to see if it's "healthy," especially when you try things out and only find out later what was actually in them...

My goal is to eat healthily. Weight isn't an issue for me, so I'm not some calorie-counting control freak. I think a 70:30 ratio in favor of healthy food is much better than making zero attempt to change your lifestyle at all...
Regarding what someone else wrote about fatigue and exhaustion... eating healthy really does make you feel better and more energetic, especially if you pair it with physical activity..

I believe the most important thing is to establish healthy habits and gradually increase them over time. But I also think you shouldn't be a slave to those habits; sometimes you just need to eat something totally unhealthy if that's what you're craving...🙂

Hey steelsailor74, I could pretty much sign my name to everything you wrote here. Healthy eating is about wellness, not just weight loss, and there's no need to stress when you eat something junk-heavy. I've never had issues with my weight, so I don't feel guilty eating a piece of chocolate or some pizza; it makes me happy, and I know my next meal will be healthy and balanced again. To me, that's the path to success—avoiding drastic changes because they're too hard to sustain. Just aim to get a little healthier every single day.

Sophia Barnes73 said:I still find myself "messing up" quite often, and if I’m being honest, I’ve started to get this nagging impression that I haven't the slightest clue what I'm actually doing or how to go about it. It’s one of those days where I feel less like a functioning adult and more like a fly without a head, just bumping into things and hoping for the best. 🤷

If you head up to the top of the forum, you'll find a thread titled "how to lose belly fat," along with a few others like "Losing weight through healthy eating and exercise." It’s actually quite helpful—everything you need to know regarding timing, what to eat, and portion control is laid out right there.

All those Kellogg's cereals and similar processed stuff are just loaded with sugar, so they really ought to be avoided. That said, even things like canned meat spreads aren't exactly a health food either. Personally, I think you’re much better off sticking to a simpler breakfast—just some oatmeal with milk or yogurt. If you want to make it taste a little less bland, you can toss in some fresh or dried fruit, a bit of cocoa powder, or maybe some other healthy grains. It might taste a bit underwhelming at first, but your palate will eventually adjust to the change. As for dinner, I try to steer clear of heavy carbohydrates after 6:00 PM—things like bread, pastries, pasta, rice, or potatoes. Instead, I lean toward things like hard-boiled eggs, tuna, low-fat cottage cheese, or big salads. The only real exception to my rule is if I’m hitting the gym in the evening; if you've just finished a workout, that's when you actually need to refuel with a few carbs.

You can find all of that, plus a whole lot more, tucked away in the specific threads I mentioned earlier.

jadetiger962 said:Check the thread at the top called "How to Lose the Belly," plus a few others like "Weight Loss via Healthy Eating and Exercise." It’s all in there—exactly when and what you should be eating.

Man, I'm reading through what tvuk wrote, but I'm getting bored halfway through... Like I said, there's just so much info, and half the time it feels totally contradictory. Still trying, though.

Brands like Kellogg's and stuff like that are loaded with sugar, so stay away. Same goes for canned meat spreads—not great. You need a simpler breakfast, like oatmeal with milk or yogurt, then just toss in some fruit, cocoa, or some granola to make it taste better. It might suck at first, but you'll get used to the flavor.

I cut out the Kellogg's. I know the canned meat spread isn't ideal, but I'll have maybe two slices of bread with it, paired with a probiotic yogurt, a tomato, and half a bell pepper. And I don't even do that every day. Maybe once a week. Hot dogs aren't great either, but hey, occasionally it happens.
For breakfast, I usually go for grits with milk, tuna, a whole wheat roll, and yogurt, or chicken deli meat, and things like that. I even like chicken liver for breakfast sometimes. I can't eat everything perfectly all at once...

After 6 PM, skip the heavy carbs (bread, pastries, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc.) and stick to boiled eggs, tuna, low-fat cottage cheese, salads, etc. The only exception is if you work out in the evening; then you definitely need some carbs after your training.

Actually, I don't eat dinner... I work out at night, so whatever I eat after that is kind of random. Sometimes just a slice of chicken breast... stuff like that. I'm trying, like I said. I eat rice for lunch almost every day, usually with some white meat cooked in a little olive oil, rice boiled in water with a bit of seasoning, plus a cucumber salad with onion, olive oil, and vinegar.

All that and way more is covered in the threads I mentioned.

I know, but until I actually memorize what to eat when... ugh, I get so confused.🙂

Thanks anyway.🙂