What is so bad about "diet" food?

swhiteism

I see things like diet pop, Lean Cuisine, and Special K get such a bad rep and I really don't get it. What's wrong with saving yourself a few calories with something that tastes almost as good? Anyone against these types of products care to share their thoughts?

KarenJanine

In order to make these products lower cal they often take out natural fats and sugar and replace them with artificial sweeteners. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but fats are essential in the diet and are needed for satiation. Therefore I would rather have a smaller portion of the 'full fat' version with better macros rather than a 'diet' product.

I will occasionally have diet pop as I prefer not to drink too many calories. But some people will avoid these as they wish to avoid artificial sweeteners.

Fuzzipeg

Diet foods often contain a worse balance of nutrients and probably more salt than a smaller portion of a normal meal.

For me they often substitute cornflour as a thickener because it keeps the smooth feeling of fat in a product. They usually trade fat for artificial sweeteners which can be harder for some to digest. I realise salicylate is not a problem for many but it is for me. I do not use mayonnaise because of the olive oil in it (High in salicylate) I do not use the LOW fat version either because it substitutes cornstarch which is also high in salicylate.

SmartAlec03211988

Because less of the real thing is always better than more of the fake thing.

Jestinia

The diet food boom sure didn't make us all skinny. Of course, as one documentary pointed out, eating an entire box of snack-well cookies and calling it healthy isn't exactly helping!

Like KarenJanine and Fuzzipeg said.

I'm not even going to conspiracy theory the whole low fat craze (much as I do love a good conspiracy theory). They tried to sell us processed, convenient, and tasty foods that wouldn't make us fat and might even make us thin, it just didn't work.

And Special K? One bowl and I'm ravenous for more. Or more of something, anyway. And it ain't exercise!

goldthistime

I'm a fan of Lean Cuisine. I try to mix in another serving or two of vegetables with it to fill me up, and justify all that sauce. The salt isn't that bad (most non-diet frozen dinners are worse, food from places like McDonald's are worse). The big reason I like it is that you get a small serving of meat, with zero effort. I live with two vegetarians, so that is priceless.

ponycyndi

I'm glad there are diet foods available, since I have to watch my sugar/carb intake because of diabetes.

I'm definitely NOT a fan of replacing multiple meals a day with "foods" that have no real substance or nutritional value, unless you have a medical condition, I'm not a fan of "shakes".

RunnerStephe

I'm against it. Diet to me means there is something in it replacing another ingredient. It doesn't mean there aren't healthy options, I'm referring to my own choices. I prefer items that have few ingredients, or no added ingredients.
Soda is so bad. It was a treat for us as a kid, but these days people drink it all the time. In the navy we used it to clean brass. Imagine what it does to your insides.

onefortyone

I prefer to make my own meals, and work on making them healthier and smaller portioned with more veggies, because that's what I plan to do for the rest of my life, and that's the food I plan to feed my children. I don't buy into the idea that stocking your freezer full of boxed food will make you lose weight - of course you can use them occasionally as a tool to help you/save you time/etc., but IMO relying on them 100% is like every other 'short-term' fix - as soon as you stop buying the boxes, you're at risk for re-gaining the weight because you didn't learn how to eat.

shawmutt

You'll get no slack from me for diet soda--I drink it like I'm supposed to drink water!

Lean Cuisine on the other hand, this ingredient list:

COOKED CHICKEN TENDERLOINS (CHICKEN TENDERLOINS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CORN OIL, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, GARLIC, ONION, PAPRIKA, SPICE), WATER, BLANCHED ENRICHED LONG GRAIN PARBOILED RICE (WATER, RICE, IRON, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID), GREEN BEANS, WHEAT BERRIES, CASHEWS (CASHEWS, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL), 2% OR LESS OF MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SUGAR, CHICKEN BROTH, VEGETABLE BASE (SAUTEED VEGETABLES [CARROTS, ONIONS, CELERY], SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN, CANOLA OIL, CORNSTARCH, WATER, NATURAL FLAVORS, CONCENTRATED CARROT JUICE, CARROT EXTRACT), SEA SALT, CULTURED WHEY, CHICKEN FAT, CARAMEL COLOR, PARSLEY, LEMON BLEND (LEMON PEEL, SUGAR, LEMON OIL), LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, SPICES, DEHYDRATED ONIONS, DEHYDRATED GARLIC

And it tastes nasty compared to an easier to prepare chicken dish.

BUT, if you like them, they sure make it easy to keep track of calories!

zyxst

For me, it's the sodium since that's what I have to keep in check. If I didn't have to watch it, I'd be eating Stouffer's lasagna and Lean Cuisine 4 cheese ravioli every day.

Foodiethinking

Personally I don't mind diet food if I genuinely LIKE it. I now and then might have a WW meal because I genuinely quite like it, but they're not my sole intake and don't buy them for their calories.

Slacker16

I see things like diet pop, Lean Cuisine, and Special K get such a bad rep and I really don't get it. What's wrong with saving yourself a few calories with something that tastes almost as good?

If I had to guess, I would say it's action and reaction.

As you pointed out, most "diet" foods only taste almost as good as the regular kind. I suspect a lot of people forced themselves to eat mostly diet foods for awhile, felt frustrated because of that and after finding out it isn't necessary swung to the opposite extreme.

In time, such attitudes mellow out and people settle on a decent compromise between the two.

corgarian

I personally wont eat something that cooks in a microwave, but thats because I have beef with microwaves.

I also just dont really eat snacks from the chips/cookie isle regular or "diet". That being said if you were craving for a cookie the diet one DOES have less calories so you would be doing less damage that day.
On the flip side, I watched a documentry once a few years back that did a test on a group of people at a movie theatre. The first test group was given a bag of snacks that was "normal", and the second group was given a bag of snakcs that was "diet". The "diet" group ate 3x as much as the "normal group. The test was to show that we look at foods differently based on what the lable says. People will tend to eat more then they normally would if a lable says "diet", and this is a big reason as to why ever since the whole "diet/low-fat/reduced-fat" boom, people have been getting FATTER, not skinnier.

So I think it has more to do with self control. Our brains are a powerful thing and can trick us. If you want that low-calorie cookie, go for it! Just have self control and stop yourself at one and not eat the whole package because "it's healthy".

Charlottesometimes23

I usually have a couple of lean cuisine or ww meals in my freezer for nights when I work late and couldn't be bothered cooking. Just a 6 or 7 minute zap and they're in my tummy. I have no problem with them as a sometimes food, or any food considered 'diet' that tastes ok.

One of my favourite 'diet' foods that we don't have here in Australia is baked Lays. Whenever I visit the US, my first purchases when I get off the flight are usually the Lays and a US Vogue. :laugh:

Francl27

Because less of the real thing is always better than more of the fake thing.

Because people think like that. Which I totally disagree with. Some things are not worth the extra calories that make it full fat... IMO.

fificrazy

It's just a marketing gimmick. Like, they might advertise it as "fat-free" and load it up with sugar instead (next time you buy gummy worms, notice they always advertise them like this hahaha). Really doesn't matter- sugars just another form of energy for us- but it's just the deception that grinds a lot of people's gears.

liftingandlipstick

Because less of the real thing is always better than more of the fake thing.

Because people think like that. Which I totally disagree with. Some things are not worth the extra calories that make it full fat... IMO.

This. Is gelato better than frozen yogurt? Hell yes! But I like to eat, and I'm watching my calorie intake. So if I can have a full cup of frozen yogurt that will satisfy that sweet dessert craving as easily as 1/2 a cup of the gelato, then I'm gonna take it! That doesn't mean I don't occasionally get the gelato instead, but if I ate that every time I wanted I would have to give up something else in my day. And I don't want to, because I like to eat.

SLLRunner

I see things like diet pop, Lean Cuisine, and Special K get such a bad rep and I really don't get it. What's wrong with saving yourself a few calories with something that tastes almost as good? Anyone against these types of products care to share their thoughts?

This from a person who spent many years eating diet food, so this is my opinion only:

Diet stuff triggered hunger for me, which led to me eating more than I needed resulting in weight gain.

I used to eat low fat, fat free, diet whatever, and I always seemed to be very hungry.

Since last year, I have gotten rid of most of the "diet" food and have been eating real food that does not have "diet" or "low fat" on it. The only exception is that I used sugar free pancake syrup because that amount of sugar makes me feel icky. My hunger has been under control for several months now, except when I don't take care of myself and use Splenda in coffee at work because it's handy.

For me, the point of making a lifestyle change was to eat what I normally like to eat just less of it. For me, that is real food while keeping in mind food intolerances (soy and lactose) and sensitivities (processed sugar and caffeine), which means none of the former and moderation of the latter. However, you need to find what works best for you, but "diet" foods surely aren't going to make you lose weight any faster.

stephe1987

Diet soda is full of chemicals. We are just now discovering its harmful side effects. Water should be your primary beverage.

Diet food is okay but IMO it's not very flavorful. It is low in calories but the taste is bland. I don't think I could eat those more than a few times a week at most, so it's not a sustainable long term diet for me. I need something that is low calorie and tastes good. Something I can eat and continue to eat even after I reach my goal weight. Basically just eat what I normally do except in smaller portions. I have only been logging food for four weeks now so I'm still learning what portion sizes should be.

shawmutt

Diet soda is full of chemicals. We are just now discovering its harmful side effects.

Everything is full of chemicals. Which harmful side effects are you referring to?