"diet" food....

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walldancer
walldancer Posts: 910
in Food and Nutrition
I'm not talking about natural healthy food like fruit and veggies, quality mean, nuts etc... I'm talking about
1. calorie lowered packaged processed foods you buy in a box/can at a grocery store
2. "healthy" versions of yummy food that you find recipes for on facebook or pinterest..pic looks great..you make it and it tasts like *kitten*.

Not sure about anyone else..but I'd rather have one tablespoon of full fat yummy mayo....than a cup full of plastic bastardized "fat free" mayo that tastes like..well..white plastic.

I'd rather have a REAL chocolate chip cookie made with butter/sugar/chocolate...than the "diet" verson sweetened with stevia, and karo. sorry..but that version is absolutely disgusting...and I hate it when people pretend it's "Just as good". It's not!!! Stop lying to me!!!!

So here is my diet "plan". Eat the damn real cookie. Stop at one. If you don't..and you eat 5....forgive yourself, and do an extra cardio session with in 24 hours.

Seems to have worked for me. :) Yay real food!
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Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    agreed…cauliflower should never be eaten as pizza…unless said person has a carb or gluten sensitivity and then I get it ..but you can make your own "healthy pizza" using real ingredients and it will come in at about 220 calories a slice...
  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
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    I fully agree! I think it's better to have 1 or 2 of something you're really wanting than to overindulge on a fake. I've tried to find subs too many times and I'd finish it off, hoping it would start to taste more like the real thing...it doesn't get better. Its more humbling, imo, to be able to look back and see you were able to work 2 real cookies into your diary than looking back to see you ate a whole pan of "cookies" that you didn't enjoy as much.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    I agree with you in general, although I think you have to do what works for you. I eat some reduced fat and/or sugar products because I actually prefer them (eg. skimmed milk) and I eat some because I don't enjoy the higher calorie versions enough to use up my calorie allowance on them (eg. mayo, coke - both things I eat rarely anyway.) I mostly use real butter (love the taste) but if it's somewhere I'm not going to taste it much, and it's more to add a bit of moisture/texture, then I'm happy to use a lower fat alternative. Sometimes I tweak recipes to use less fat, and am completely happy with the result, so why not? But yeah - on the whole I agree. I'm all for enjoying your food, getting a good nutritional balance, not being afraid of foods, and doing what you can to not feel like you're "on a diet". Also, fat is good. :smile:
  • George_Baileys_Ghost
    George_Baileys_Ghost Posts: 1,524 Member
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    Don't tell me what to do! I like my totally unnecessary dietary flagellation! It makes me feel good!
  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
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    I agree. I do use low fat milk and yoghurt while losing weight since I still like those and use them quite frequently so it's an easy way to save a couple of calories. I don't trust people who eat low fat cheese or 'diet' ice cream and all that suff though, you might as well not eat any as far as taste goes. Besides, many of those processed 'diet' foods contain tons of chemicals, additives, flavour enhancers etc. which personally I find disgusting and would NOT ever put into my body.
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
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    I've eaten sugar free, non-fat, low-fat, so called 'calorie free' foods (nasty!) and once a 'fake' ice cream that was gross!

    Sometimes it works, other times I'm not willing to compromise on certain things.

    Boils down to personal choice.
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
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    I totally agree. I have diabetes and I refuse to eat those "special" foods that are supposedly made for people like me. They are full of sugar alcohols and are just gross. If I want a chocolate chip cookie I'm having the real deal. I just have to plan for it.

    I will say that there are some things I take advantage of. I found those Special K flatbread breakfast things and I really enjoy them and they are perfect for my hectic morning schedule. But otherwise, I mostly just eat food that I enjoy, in quantities that make sense for my own body, and then I supplement with physical activity. Nothing is off-limits, it just has to be planned for and eaten with care.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    I think there is a place for lower calorie alternatives, and as PP said, it really boils down to personal choice.

    I am quite happy with skim milk and low fat mayo and low fat ice cream and diet coke - so I have them instead of the higher calorie versions.
    If you detest low fat mayo, don't have it - but if somebody like me doesn't mind it, that's ok too.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
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    >> cauliflower should never be eaten as pizza<<

    OMG yes! Gimme the real stuff!
    While I do indeed eat some of the packaged stuff Id rather have that cookie, or that slice of REAL pepperoni pizza.
    I just try to budget for it, or do a little extra workout before of after.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I tried, back in the day. I had the 97% fat free chocolate mousse, the 99% fat free mayo and dressing, the Kraft "free" cheese, the Weight Watchers snack bars, you name it.

    Stuff it. Stuff it all. Give me real mayo, where I need mayo. If it's just as a moisture adder, I'll try avocado or greek yogurt instead. Dressing? give me vinegar, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice. Give me greek yogurt, garlic, lemon and pepper. Give me the recycled oil from my garlic chilli olives that I love so well. Give me real cheese, oh god, give me real cheese. "low fat" chocolate crisp bars? I had a slice of Choc Orange Tim Tam cheesecake today for 277 calories and it was ah-fricken-mazing. WW can stick their $7 for 5 bars.

    It took me a long time to get over the WW mentality of "substitute it for the low fat, no fat version and pretend it is just as good", but it's so much better now.

    I do, however, drink skim milk (full fat makes me nauseous) and I don't think I've ever seen, much less eaten any type of cottage cheese besides low fat, and I like that just fine.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
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    There are some things I don't mind the low fat version of, others I can't tolerate.

    I made tuna casserole this weekend, yep i used full flavored hellmans mayo... One of those things I think is worth it... Just have to fit it into your allotted calories...

    To each there own....
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    Agreed, I go full fat all the way.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I disagree. For cookies, yeah. For things like mayo or shredded cheese, I'd rather save the calories while still having the flavor.

    Same with Greek yogurt actually. I tried 2% instead of 0% for a week... didn't fill me up more, just made it easier to go over my calorie goal. I'm back to 0% this week.

    And the Sweet Freedom ice cream is actually pretty satisfying for 1/3 less calories. Although I agree that some products are horrible (sugar free jello - yuck. The mousses are fine, the puddings... ugh).

    To each their own.
  • mynamealex
    mynamealex Posts: 26
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    you gotta point there
    fake/replacements for foods are mostly suck
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    I agree with you in general, although I think you have to do what works for you. I eat some reduced fat and/or sugar products because I actually prefer them (eg. skimmed milk) and I eat some because I don't enjoy the higher calorie versions enough to use up my calorie allowance on them (eg. mayo, coke - both things I eat rarely anyway.) I mostly use real butter (love the taste) but if it's somewhere I'm not going to taste it much, and it's more to add a bit of moisture/texture, then I'm happy to use a lower fat alternative. Sometimes I tweak recipes to use less fat, and am completely happy with the result, so why not? But yeah - on the whole I agree. I'm all for enjoying your food, getting a good nutritional balance, not being afraid of foods, and doing what you can to not feel like you're "on a diet". Also, fat is good. :smile:

    This. I do wut I want.
  • Anonycatgirl
    Anonycatgirl Posts: 502 Member
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    My mother's diabetic, and when she was first working with dietician to relearn how to eat (she's controlling it through food, yay), she was told that most low-fat things are hidden sugar bombs and in most cases filled with mystery ingredients that weren't exactly food. Now if you don't have a reason to worry about carbs and you're tight on calories--and we all are some days if we're trying to eat at a deficit--it may be a reasonable tradeoff. But most of the time I'd rather eat less of something that tastes good and has ingredients I can pronounce.

    That said, some lighter versions of favorite recipes taste fine. Pumpkin bread with no-sugar-added applesauce (the way I've always made my applesauce, just because I like that way) subbing for part of the fat is delicious and I can fit a slice or two into my day without living on salad. I've tried a few Cooking Light recipes made with fat-free condensed milk, and since you know if it has condensed milk in it, it's something to eat in moderation even in the "light" version because it's a sugar bomb, I don't mind the couple of mystery ingredients in the fat-free stuff. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt, while not as luscious as a locally made organic full-fat (I still have that sometimes because it's so good!) isn't bad, and the good brands aren't full of mystery fillers, just skim milk and happy bacteria. And many of my favorite recipes are "peasant cuisine" originating in a time when people needed to pack in calories because they were doing so much manual labor, so I feel no shame about cutting back on the huge quantities of olive oil in that Greek veggie stew.

    But overall I agree. There's scary stuff out there pretending to be food. It may be low in calories, but if it tastes vile and/or makes me feel like I'm participating in a chemistry experiment rather than eating dinner, I'm not touching it.
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
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    it depends what it is ...

    lower fat cream cheese (nuefatchel), and regular cream cheese, no difference , really fat free creamcheese, agree tastes like the box

    same for sour cream- the lower fat is good,fat free is nasty

    i prefer lowered sugar yogurt,
    but refuse to compromise on my cheese( anyone who is on my FL and looks at my diary knows i eat a hella lot of cheese)
    and not the cheap ole sliced process stuff.

    I drink skim milk , because it stays fresher longer, and in Florida, for whatever reason (poisoned cows, who knows) milk goes bad FAST

    fat free crackers ? whats the point, im not going to eat a pound of them
    sugar free cookies, no thanks

    i make "healthier" cookies cupcakes at home, add flax, cut back some sugar add in oats and protein powder, but thats not always for calories or fat, but to add nutrition... and its HOMEMADe - which is totally out of the topic.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    It's all a matter of taste. I actually really like some replacements (ex: greek yogurt instead of oil) - it up's my protein and lowers my calories and fat - win win! And trust, I get plenty of healthy fat so I'm no low-fat person. There are substitutions that I enjoy and some that I don't so I will do what tastes good to me. Just because something is "healthier" doesn't make it evil to the taste buds of all.

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