In a perfect world, we'd all eat fresh fruit and veggies, low fat, high protein foods and fast foods would be non-existent.

But since we all live in the real world, fast food is a reality for nearly all of us.
Simply stated - Americans love fast food.

To answer the question of how much is too much, many nutritionists would say any amount is too much. Fast food is an overly processed collection of salty, saturated fats that offer little in terms of nutrition. And for the most part, the nutritionists are right.

It seems more people are opting for organic, natural food over highly processed food regardless of calorie count.

While food like fruit delivers that one-two punch of low calories and some sweetness, many of my friends are taking the homemade chocolate cake over the 100-calorie snack type foods because they just don't like the idea of eating foods full of chemicals any more.

Has that been your experience as well? Do you find that more people are moving away from so-called junk food?

By Lesley Rotchford
Image: allure

"I'm a very healthy eater," says Emily, a 30-year-old, stick-thin investment banker. "My diet consists of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, Tasti D-Lite frozen dessert, Diet Coke, lollipops, sugar-free gum, and 100-calorie packs. Thank God for the 100-calorie packs. They've changed my life."