I always suggest you eat clean. I'm not perfect, but I try to avoid junk. Everyone's definition of junk food is a little different, but I wanted to talk about what I consider junk.
We all have a general idea of what junk food is; candy, cookies, chips and the like. Basically those really salty or really sweet things that you can find in the convenience store or the gas station, or near the checkout of your grocery store. It also comes out in fast foods like super-sized burgers, fries, sodas, and shakes. Again, those things that we might crave, though in the back of our heads we know it's probably a poor choice.
Calorie Density
The problem with those junk foods is that they are calorie "dense". That means that the number of calories per gram of food is high. The range of calorie density is 0 - 9. You may have read that water is 0 calories and a gram of fat is 9 calories, so that defines the range. The mix of macro-nutrients defines the range. Fruit and vegetables are very low is density. They are mostly water with some fiber and minimal fats. On the other end of the spectrum, an ounce of vegetable oil is a 9; it's all fat. If you can stay closer to the low range of density, you can get fuller faster on fewer calories. Try saying that fast 5 times.
What is Junk Food
Junk food is about more than just the calories. It's also the chemicals, additives, preservatives, fillers, etc that go into processed foods. If what your eating came in a package, it's probably junk food. If what your eating doesn't resemble something that came out of the earth or straight from an animal, or you didn't make it yourself, it's probably junk. Pay attention to labels. If the ingredients look like a chemistry experiment, it probably is. The more ingredients, the more likely it's junk. The more ingredients are processed, the further they are from the original thing they were. Ingredients are processed to improve texture and make them less expensive. Flavor is removed, nutrients are removed. They are replaced with chemicals and artificial colorings and flavorings to make you think they are the original product. Chicken nuggets start as chicken, but are processed so far down that they need artificial chicken flavor and coloring to make them once again look like chicken. Many juices have to have coloring and flavor packets added to them to make you think you are drinking the juice of the intended fruit. Pure fruit can be expensive. Adding some fruit to a bunch of water and some man-made mass-produced chemicals can make a huge batch of juice for a fraction of the price and it will taste and look like what your brain imagines the juice should be like. Have you looked at what's in a can of soda? Do you recognize anything on the label?
Alternatives to Junk Food
The best thing you could do is grow all of your own produce and grains, and raise your own animals. Then prepare all of your own meals. I realize that's fairly impossible for most of us, but you can get close. Check out farmers markets for your produce. Talk to the farmers so see what chemicals they use for fertilizer and persticides (hopefully none). Find a local farmer or organic market for your meats. Make your own breads using organic whole grains. That might still be difficult depending on where you live and budget, so at least, start making your own meals using stuff from the outer aisles of the grocery store. But fresh veggies, fresh, unprocessed meats, and whole-grain breads. Some meat, lots of veggies, and a few herbs and spices can go along way to making a great, healthy meal without all of the junk.
We've all grown accustomed to convenience foods. You can go to a fast food place and get a burger, fries and a soda for a family of four for $5/person, and about 1000 calories each. You can go to the grocery store and buy a pound of ground beef for $4, a pacakge of whole-wheat buns for $3, and bag of potatoes for $5. Add in a head of lettuce an onion and a tomato for another $3. For $15 and about 30 minutes of cooking time, you can get the same meal, sans the sods which you shouldn't be drinking anyway, for less money and alot less calories and chemicals, and it will have actual flavor. Plus, you'll have some potatoes, buns and veggies left over for another meal. See, cooking your own food doesn't have to be more expensive.
