This thread was inspired by crazymom's reference to eating two hot dogs, cheese fries and a piece of chocolate cake for a meal, and having trouble losing weight.

I don't disagree, but many may have noticed that when you break down so-called "junk food", it really doesn't seem so bad.  What is a hot dog?  It's a piece of pork and bread.  Hot dogs are not usually fried in gobs of grease.. they are usually grilled.

Hamburgers: same thing... it is beef and bread.  If you add cheese, you are mostly adding milk.

Pizza is the oddest one.  Pizza is bread, pizza sauce (mostly tomatoes), cheese (mostly milk) and assorted meats & vegetables, depending on what toppings you eat.  And it's baked, not deep fried or anything. 

These things may not be the healthiest food in the world, but I don't see what's so bad about them.

Chocolate cake, I can understand because of the high sugar... but believe it or not, a single serving carton of orange juice contains more sugar than the average piece of chocolate cake or the average can of soda.  (I check this stuff because my husband is diabetic)

If meat, milk products, sugar, tomatoes, and bread are bad for you... that doesn't leave much. :-\\

Yeah ... what's wrong with pizza.  The man taking us down.  >:(

Nothing wrong with a pizza or a hot dog every now and then, just as long as you're not like sitting on your couch eating one after the other for hours on end ;D

I say 'everything in moderation'... :)

It's interesting...when people think of eating healthy they look at the carbs and the calories, yet few people pay attention to the sodium content. And if you look into it, you'll find that most of your store-bought foods are packed full of sodium, especially your frozen dinners and your canned foods, particularly soup. I went in for a physical about 3 years ago, and was shocked to find that my blood pressure was at a dangerously high level. They got me on some medication to control it, but one thing the doctor told me was that I should try and cut back on my sodium intake because it can be a big contributing factor in hypertension.

Chocolate cake, I can understand because of the high sugar... but believe it or not, a single serving carton of orange juice contains more sugar than the average piece of chocolate cake or the average can of soda.  (I check this stuff because my husband is diabetic)
I almost never drink pop anymore. There's nothing at all good about it, but you're right about one thing. I haven't checked this myself, but I believe you when you say that orange juice contains more sugar than most soda. And you know why? Because most soda contains no sugar at all. It contains high-fructose corn syrup.  And if you look at a lot of foods, they also contain high-fructose corn syrup. I'm not sure the exact reason why, but back in the 1970's the food industry moved away from using cane sugar in their products and started using this corn syrup as a sweetener. I'm guessing because it was probably cheaper. But I've heard that there's studies out now that say that the use of high-fructose corn syrup is one of the leading causes of the obesity epidemic in America. 

Getting a burger.. with lettuce!

Just had a couple bowls of pasghetti.

It contains high-fructose corn syrup.  And if you look at a lot of foods, they also contain high-fructose corn syrup. I'm not sure the exact reason why, but back in the 1970's the food industry moved away from using cane sugar in their products and started using this corn syrup as a sweetener. I'm guessing because it was probably cheaper. But I've heard that there's studies out now that say that the use of high-fructose corn syrup is one of the leading causes of the obesity epidemic in America. 


That pisses me off.  That's like a freaking silent holocaust >:(

That pisses me off.  That's like a freaking silent holocaust >:(
You think that's bad? When you get some time, check out some of the canned foods around your house (or next time you're out grocery shopping) and see how much sodium they contain (especially the recommended daily allowance).

You think that's bad? When you get some time, check out some of the canned foods around your house (or next time you're out grocery shopping) and see how much sodium they contain (especially the recommended daily allowance).


Sodium is basically like salt, right?

Sodium is basically like salt, right?
Yeah.

Anything that I don't eat...!!

I think it's all the chemicals, preservatives and artificial coloring that are making foods less healthy....

It's interesting...when people think of eating healthy they look at the carbs and the calories, yet few people pay attention to the sodium content. And if you look into it, you'll find that most of your store-bought foods are packed full of sodium, especially your frozen dinners and your canned foods, particularly soup. I went in for a physical about 3 years ago, and was shocked to find that my blood pressure was at a dangerously high level. They got me on some medication to control it, but one thing the doctor told me was that I should try and cut back on my sodium intake because it can be a big contributing factor in hypertension.

The sodium content in soy sauce is surprisingly high too. :o

Fruits,vegetables and cutting down the salts and sugars you intake.

Odyssey, what you say is true.  These things by themselves are not necessarily bad.  It's a combination of too many and too much of these that causes the problem.  I looked in my kitchen (and online) to get the approximate calorie count for the lunch I described on the other thread:  Hot dogs=180 each, buns=120 each, fries=about 500 (without cheese), chocolate cake=about 600.  So, in 1 meal, there's at least 1700 calories :o  Now, in someone who's very active, that may not be a problem as they probably will burn a majority of them off, but for someone who's not as active, that's WAY too much.

AFA the sugar content (I check this too as my mom's a diabetic), there's a difference between processed sugar (corn syrup) and natural sugars.  As Al said, many food manufacturers use corn syrup to sweeten things.  Natural sugars almost always have some nutritive value whereas processed ones do not.  Also, foods with alot of added sugar almost always are high in calories, whereas foods with natural sugars are not.


Yeah, I knew that your comment was correct and I hope you didn't think I was disagreeing... I was just kind of marveling at the idea that everything that tastes good seems to be bad for us in some way or another... and that even the most basic things, when they are combined and spiced up to be tasty, they are suddenly bad for you.