regular or diet food?

2

Replies

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I eat both but I usually only go "diet" with soda (oh, and I throw Splenda on my oatmeal in the morning instead of sugar). My yogurt is plain. I do use calorie free salad dressing instead of full fat, full sugar.
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,434 Member
    Thanks for the input!
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    Whatever helps me meet my goals and leaves me satiated. Ate the same way during weight loss as I am for my gain
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    The only lo-cal, no-cal I do is Crystal Light and diet Coke.
  • TheMannon
    TheMannon Posts: 36 Member
    Mostly regular food - I don't count ground turkey as diet food.

    I do eat a lot of shiritaki noodles. And like some others, I drink Mio and crystal lite and diet sodas.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    The only people I trust to 'improve' my food are either me or a decent cook - real food all the way for me! :)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    The only "diet" food I consume is diet soda (why waste 150-170 calories out of my day?) and 0% yogurt (because I can never find 2% plain around here). The one time I bought fat free sour cream I was horrified...give me the real stuff any day!

    Oh, I've also switched to Kraft Mayo w/Olive Oil because it's only 35 calories for a serving instead of 100.
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
    I suppose it's what you classify as "diet". I use Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk because I like it AND it has fewer calories, but I don't consider it "diet". It's a real food - not purposely altered, so to speak, to make it low-cal, etc.

    I drink 1% Organic Milk because I like it. I don't really consider it "diet". It's just how much cream is left in the final product. (My dear old granddad happened to be a small farm dairy farmer, "back in the day".) Yes, really, the organic stuff tastes way better to me. My husband bought regular brand 1% milk once and I could not drink it because I thought it tasted so nasty.

    I eat Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt and I DO consider this a "diet" food because it does contain sucralose.

    I eat 2% cheese, but again I don't consider it "diet" because it's just a matter of which milk was used to produce it. I DO NOT eat "Fat Free" cheeses because they have lots of added salt and god-knows-what to improve flavor and texture.

    I read the labels for nutrition and ingredients - all - the - time. That's what I use to make my decision, not the "name" on the packaging.

    Let me add that I do not try to eat "clean". I do use "convenience" foods, but I'm trying to do better at staying away from them because of all the added "stuff".
  • tabicatinthehat
    tabicatinthehat Posts: 329 Member
    I drink the "Zero" sodas, the light sour cream (it doesn't have all that water on the top!), some light yogurts, but that's about it. I will go for higher fiber or protein versions if they're offered, though.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I eat both. I eat sugar-free foods and also full fat foods. Low carb gives me the best of both worlds.
  • cherrilovee
    cherrilovee Posts: 194 Member
    I eat regular food, the only "diet" thing I drink is Fat free milk & that's because I can't stand whole milk. I'm lactose intolerant and fat free just tastes better to me!
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    Regular food tastes better IMO so I avoid anything diet, low fat, sugar free, whatever, like the plague. :wink:
  • dsalveson
    dsalveson Posts: 306 Member
    Both but mostly regular
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    I try to eat fairly clean - so normal foods are the basis of my diet. The exceptions are: Milk - I prefer 1%; soda - when I drink it, it's diet; and salad dressing - I generally purchase the light version to save the calories.
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    I buy everything that is lite, diet or fat-free sugar-free of the things that I would eat normally anyway. I eat all the same stuff I ate before but I will opt for a lite version if one is available; every time. I do not eat celery or other "diet" type foods. I eat all the same things as I did before but like I said, include lite versions now.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Be careful of that " Diet" food a lot of it can be dangerous - Low Fat generally means extra sugar - read the label - it might not say sugar but learn the code - any word the ends in ... ose is sugar of some kind. You're better off just sticking with meat, eggs, veggies & fruit
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
    Regular

    It tastes better

    I'd rather have my ice cream sandwiches made with real sugar than splenda
  • nicjustine
    nicjustine Posts: 37
    I try to eat regular food unless the "diet" version is fairly natural (minimal/no chemical alternatives).
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
    I really had to think on this one. One thing I can think of is my drinks. We use saccharin or Stevia for our coffee/tea and sometimes buy diet drinks made with aspartame or stevia. We are adding Nectresse now, but I still feel that is diety since it has a bulker agent just like the others. Another might be yogurt. I typically buy whatever I'm in the mood for so sometimes it's the plain middle fat (2%) which I don't consider diet. But sometimes it's the key lime pie one from Yoplait. Just depends on my mood. Oh, butter. I like butter, but I hate that I can't spread it easily unless I leave it on the counter (which you can do with real butter). And I can't leave it on the counter because my cats are *kitten*. I love them, I do, but one is like a Hoover. She will steal food left and right! So, I get the highest blend I can get that is not hydrogenated. I think the one I get now is 59% butter with the other 41% being oil. I like that it is soft out of the fridge, but you can leave it out for hours and it's fine, too (stays solid). The last is mayo. I have always liked mayo, but I cut back because for me, 100 cals on one tiny tablespoon was too much considering how it just didn't carry enough bang flavor wise. But when the new mayo with olive oil came out, I gave it a go because I missed tuna salad so much. I'm not sure what is different, but I LOVE IT SO MUCH. The flavor is a bit sharper and it just tastes good. I've found one or two regular mayo brands that have a lot of flavor, but for the cals I stick with the lower cal one. Syrup is the last one, but it's not an all the time thing. I didn't grow up using the real stuff, so it's not a big deal to me. But once in a while a stack of pancakes with the real deal is YUM. Other things like jams/jellies I just buy the ones with no added sugar. So, I guess it just depends on your life. I prefer to keep it as 'normal' as possible because this is a lifelong thing for me. But at the same time, I also want to balance what I really WANT and NEED against what just tastes good and what is available.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    food if food. I go for the least amount of calories that has the most nutrients. its a balancing act really.
  • dammitjanet0161
    dammitjanet0161 Posts: 319 Member
    - 0% fromage frais, not because it's supposed to be fat free but because it has more protein than normal yoghurt and it's cheaper than Greek yoghurt.
    - reduced fat houmous, as I can't really tell the difference between the 30% reduced fat and the regular, and the protein levels are similar
    - Diet coke/pepsi or Coke Zero/Pepsi Max

    Regular everything else. Although I'm more of a sweets than a savoury person, I'd rather eat a smaller portion of chocolate than something like a WW cake bar which I find unsatisfying.
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
    Regular food, because the type of food isn't the problem- it's the quantity. I think the only "low-fat" thing I eat is fat-free yogurt; I prefer the taste over the kind with a higher fat content. Which, is strange, since I find most low-fat items to taste horrible.
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
    Oh, butter. I like butter, but I hate that I can't spread it easily unless I leave it on the counter (which you can do with real butter). And I can't leave it on the counter because my cats are *kitten*. I love them, I do, but one is like a Hoover. She will steal food left and right! So, I get the highest blend I can get that is not hydrogenated.

    Haha, I have an a-hole furbaby too... but as long as the butter dish top stays on and I don't leave the bacon fat out, I'm safe. Invest in a butter dish and enjoy that spreadable, buttery awesomeness! :drinker:
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    Some of both. Full fat cheese. Fat free yogurt (but that's because that's what I like). 2% milk (although I don't drink it… it's just for recipes). Regular syrup. Usually reduced or low-fat salad dressings. I can't weigh in on soda. I hate diet sodas… but regular is just not worth the calories for me at this time so I haven't had that either for several months. With applesauce/canned fruits… I go for the no added sugar varieties or packed in water varieties. Lean meats (but that's not new. I can't stand fat in meats. Never have).

    But with treats (ice cream, candies, etc)…. I just get the regular and practice portion control.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I eat both. Regular and diet soda taste the same to me, so I'll opt for diet. Skim milk tastes watered down, but 1% or 2% milk tastes amazingly close to the real thing so I have that. "light" cheese tastes like rubber, so I'll go for the full fat variety every single time unless it's the spreadable kind which is cool with sandwiches.

    I go for "diet" bread because I feel bread is a waste of calories since it's just a vehicle and my diet bread provides a decent "calorie discount" without having to skimp on the quantity. If I'm to eat yogurt plain, full fat is the way to go, unless its these tiny sweet yogurt cups with fruits which just happen to be nonfat. Replacing butter, NOT happening!

    Lean meats for chunks and fatty meat for ground. It doesn't work any other way.

    In short, anything that differs in taste from the full fat / sugar variety is out.
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
    Dannon lite and fit Greek yogurt

    Fat free cottage cheese.

    I use equal in my coffee with fat free half and half.

    Other than that I eat real food. I just make sure it fits in my macros.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
    Mostly real food with the exception of the occasional low carb tortilla, sugar free bbq sauce and sugar free Werther's hard candy.
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    I dont really think of things as "diet" foods and "real" foods!!
    I eat what I want regardless if it fits into my day
  • allanakern
    allanakern Posts: 245 Member
    I eat Sara Lee's 45 calorie bread, sugar free jam (only 10 cal a tbsp. and taste just like regular) PB2 for my peanut butter (only 45 calories for 2 tbsp., as opposed to regular is like 195 for 2 tbsp.)...

    see where I'm going with this... I just look at the calories since that's all that matters anyways when it comes to losing fat. High protein is a plus
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
    Oh, butter. I like butter, but I hate that I can't spread it easily unless I leave it on the counter (which you can do with real butter). And I can't leave it on the counter because my cats are *kitten*. I love them, I do, but one is like a Hoover. She will steal food left and right! So, I get the highest blend I can get that is not hydrogenated.

    Haha, I have an a-hole furbaby too... but as long as the butter dish top stays on and I don't leave the bacon fat out, I'm safe. Invest in a butter dish and enjoy that spreadable, buttery awesomeness! :drinker:

    She's around 10lbs. (maybe more now... probably around 12) and if she smells food, she will push and knock things over until she gets it. We keep EVERY SINGLE THING in the fridge or pantry. I guess I could put the butter in the pantry. LOL I hadn't really thought of that before!

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