Low Calorie or Real Food

SCOUSERWENCH

So how many of you eat Low Calorie food and who eats normal food? or mix them?

I'm all for eating normal, dont like the sound of these weight watcher low fat stuff...

Rilke

I eat healthy portions of real food, with the occasional un"clean" treat (like today's pizza slice). I never buy anything labeled "diet" or "lean" or "low" (except low sodium). Real for the win.

AlyRoseNYC

My weakness is the GNC Lean Shake. Besides that, I don't eat any diet food. Most of it has too much sugar and carbs for my liking anyway. My mom eats A LOT of low fat and WW food and enjoys it and is losing weight.

Pocket_Pixi

Real food please... diet food tastes like cardboard.

lauehorn

So how many of you eat Low Calorie food and who eats normal food? or mix them?

I'm all for eating normal, dont like the sound of these weight watcher low fat stuff...

I do my best to only eat clean, whole foods 90% of the time and I eat in moderation.

Happy0326

I just get the real food too...Im focused on serving size & sticking to the servings I'm supposed tohave not over doing it. I want to eat how I'm gonna eat for the rest of my life. If I start taking things out & supsituting things it doesn't last long for me. I just want to eat it after I've already eatn the diet food. so to avoid a binge I just eat what I want just portion controlled.

czechsmate

I eat mostly real food...I have a couple exceptions like low-fat string cheese and I will use diet tonic when I drink vodka

ebonaskavi

normally I try to adjust portions rather than what i'm eating. That said, I do use part-skim mozzarella, substitute ground turkey for ground beef in some recipes, etc.

Since I like to cook, I feel like that's a more realistic, long term way to lose weight than to use pre-packaged diet meals, shakes etc. That said, for some people, they may work really well. I think it depends on the person--a lean-cuisine might be the way to go for someone who was previously getting fast food for convienence sake.

pa_jorg

I do my best to eat REAL food, but every now and then something low-fat sneaks into my diet.

TeaBea

A mixture: If they reduced the fat, it's fine, if they added fake fat - yuck!

2% cheese is fine by me - Fat free cheese is gross. Ice cream is a good example - I would rather eat full fat - than fat free. The fat free has a wierd aftertaste.

I eat "real" bread as opposed to the 45 calories per slice kind - somethings are worth the slurge (I guess).

eattolive8

I mostly eat real food but do choose low calarie or fat free dairy products.

lunamare

For the most part I eat real food. Sometimes I have some "Diet" or "Light" items because I like them. I had my first Lean Cusine in over 4 years the other day because the Santa Fe Rice and Beans was just calling my name (Used to be a fav when I worked nights) I try to go with Amy's Organic when I can for pre-made foods to bring for lunch if I don't have leftovers. And I love Trader Joe's. My rationale is that if I eat most of my food as REAL food, if I have a couple of "treats" that are low in calories or processed it's not going to be the end of me. I definitely avoid Splenda and fat free cheese, both make me sick. I've never had a problem with aspertame, but even then, my favorite yogurt is Trader Joe's Fat Free Organic French Vanilla and that uses sugar.

SoDamnHungry

The only low cal/fat foods I have are:

1. Low fat string cheese
2. Sugarfree Gum
and
3. Sugarfree Werther's. I get cankers from any sugar or acid in my mouth longer term so I have to get sugarfree (and acid free) hard candies and gums.

czechsmate

I eat mostly real food...I have a couple exceptions like low-fat string cheese and I will use diet tonic when I drink vodka

Oh...I forgot about chobani non-fat greek yogurt, have tried the 2% and I don't taste the difference so I prefer non-fat

RichardWhitman

Calling you all out on this one.
Just because something is low calorie, does NOT mean it's not real food.

As I think about it, I don't even know how to define "real food". Not plastic fruit?

SCOUSERWENCH

Real food please... diet food tastes like cardboard.

Someone who thinks the same as me lol

Rilke

Oh, I forgot about low fat string cheese. I do occasionally buy the organic ones at TJ's

New_Hope

I'm not sure what you mean by "real food" -- as in full fat? If that's your definition, then I eat almost all low calorie foods. I use turkey instead of beef and try to eat only lean cuts of meat (fish, chicken breast, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, trim all excess fat off what pork we do eat). Though I do use EVOO when I cook.

Edit: Re-read the original post. As far as "diet entrees" -- I very rarely eat those. I'd much rather cook than have to have tiny portions of high sodium food chalk full of preservatives. Especially since they don't seem all that good for your diet anyway.

CMmrsfloyd

I consider it all real food for *me* b/c it's delicious and has nutritional value LOL but technically I am mixing the two by a lot of people's standards. One day lunch might be a smart ones freezer meal and dinner might be a tomato, a cucumber, and 16 baby carrots all diced up and mixed with some feta and italian dressing. A snack could be a banana or canteloupe or it could be peanut butter on reduced calorie wheat bread or a yocrunch cheesecake flavored yogurt. Just depends on my mood.

wannabesexymama

healthy portions of Real Food and some low calorie stuff!

LisaMarieee

Real food.

mjshmily

I prefer real food-but to me that includes Fat Free or "Diet" yogurt, low fat salad dressings/condiments and occassional diet beverages. When small portions of normal food don't fill me up I indulge in some of the diet treats (namely the yogurt). I do keep a couple of PC Blue label frozen entrees in the freezer for what I consider emergency usage-like if something happens and I can't pack a lunch then I can take it with me to work.

calamitydown

I try and incorporate as many low-fat and low-sodium items into my diet as possible. The meat I eat is usually only 7% fat maximum, but often it ends up being under 5%. Most of my dairy products are fat free (which I honestly prefer taste wise). After drinking skim milk for 6 years, any other type of milk tastes like cream or butter to me (blech)! One thing I will NOT substitute is sugar. Artificial sweetener is sooooo horrible for you and tastes like absolute **** (not to mention the headaches, stomach aches, and overall nastiness it gives me). I'd rather deal with working a few extra calories off than have aspartame break down into formaldehyde and spread through my system.

There are times when I end up eating processed foods, but I try and cook everything from scratch as much as possible... and to be completely honest, I feel a lot cleaner, lighter, and energized after ridding myself of all the fat and salt in my previous diet.

maremare312

Ugh, I hate Hungry Girl. I mean. the website, the show, the recipes, not the person. It's all just crap processed foods mixed up. I like a few low-cal "crap" treats, but they're treats, as in something to be eaten on occasion, not everyday. I've gotten away from eating most Lean Cuisine type frozen dinners and cook more, which I think is healthier and saves money. I use some Splenda but I don't drink diet soda (never was much of a soda fan). I like and prefer skim milk and am not a big yogurt fan but decided I do like regular (not light) greek yogurt.

jemachharo

Real Food. I don't care for most low-fat versions or sugar-free items. I just watch portions and limit sugar.

talk2tiff

I love WW food & its really working for me. Most dinners are WW meal & salad/veg & WW dessert. I love the WW yoghurts at lunch too with soup or sandwich. I do use sweetners in my tea too which have enabled me to not add sugar anymore (luckily as i used to have 4 heaped tsp, i kno yuck eh!). I wish i cld cook for me & the fam tho, that wld be the ideal, but i dnt have the know-how, time or the patience! Btw fair enough some of the low cal stuff is not very clever but i wld say majority is a fab substitute, i love it.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Zeromilediet

Real food because it tastes good and is something I can eat forever.

LorinaLynn

I check labels and decide which is worth it.

I drink diet soda because I love soda, and none of them are exactly health foods. But if going to have one, I'd rather use that 200 calories elsewhere.

Sometimes I'll get frozen yogurt over ice cream, depending on the difference in calories. Sometimes I'll take the regular. Like ice cream sandwiches. 160 calories for real ice cream, 150 for low fat? Gimme the real deal!

I go for low or no salt peanut butter, not reduced fat.

I like whole eggs, not just the white.

I drink skim milk because the brand I like (Super Skim) lasts forever and a day. It's been good over a week past the expiration date. And it tastes and looks just like real milk, not all watery like some skims.

So... it depends. If the flavor is still there and the reduced version is actually better for me (for instance, not low fat but higher sodium), I'll go with reduced.