100 Calorie Packs - article

MTGirl

Found this on The Daily Dose - MSN. I think the moral is not to necessarily quit using 100 calorie packs - but to be conscious in your use of them, if you use them!

The End of 100-Calorie Packs?

Why portion-controlled snacks are falling out of favor.
Posted by Susannah at MSN Health on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:44 AM
When the marketing minds at Kraft came up with the idea to package snack foods in individual 100-calorie servings, a snack revolution was born. It seemed like a great idea at the time--consumers could have all of their favorite treats and lose weight without feeling deprived. Why skip dessert when Kraft made it so easy to indulge in a sensible, but still indulgent bag of Oreo cookies (albeit in a tiny portion and without the cream filling)? Calorie-conscious snackers rewarded Kraft's marketing ingenuity with sales that totaled more than $75 million in the first year.

Other food manufacturers followed suit, and today it's easy to find 100-calorie packs of products from Planter's peanuts to Ritz crackers to Chips Ahoy! cookies. Since January 2008, 258 products making the 100-calorie claim have been introduced, but Brand Week reports that these products are falling out of favor, as evidence suggests that imposing portion control through food packaging doesn't actually promote weight loss.

A study reported in the Journal of Consumer Research found that participants given 100-calorie snack packs while watching television ate significantly more than those who were given regular-sized bags of potato chips to snack from. Food analyst Marcia Mogelonsky, Ph.D., tells Brand Week that the 100-calorie packs were "a license to overeat."

Portion control as a tool for weight loss may be falling out of favor according to some experts, with "satiety" taking its place as the buzzword du jour. Satiety, which comes from eating foods that are rich in fiber and protein, refers to a feeling of hunger satisfaction—something you don't get from snacking on cookies, candies and other processed treats.

Phoenix_Rising

A study reported in the Journal of Consumer Research found that participants given 100-calorie snack packs while watching television ate significantly more than those who were given regular-sized bags of potato chips to snack from. Food analyst Marcia Mogelonsky, Ph.D., tells Brand Week that the 100-calorie packs were "a license to overeat."

How?

If I eat out of a bag of chips (thank God I NEVER do this), I eat easily hundreds and hundreds of calories.
I'd have to eat 4, 5 or more bags to equal the same. I'd never eat that many 100 cal pacakges in one sitting.

KaitieBug

Awww...I love the 100 calorie packs....they work awesome for me! I don't know ANYONE who can count out just one portion of Harvest Cheddar Sunchips and STICK TO IT...whereas the 100 calorie pack minis make me very happy and it's easy for me to just eat one...there's no big bag for me to go back to!! :laugh:

Phera

Now I'm craving Oreos I think it's more of a problem of people sitting around bored and not paying attention to how many of those packs they're eating.

moujie

I get it. they ate multiple packs because they figured each one was only 100 calories and that wasn't much. still hard to believe they ate more than a person with a big bag of chips. anyway, for those of us who need (and by need I mean NEED!!!!) a little treat from time to time lest we be overwhelmed by cravings and devour an entire chocolate cake and a gallon of ice cream, the 100 calorie packs are a pretty decent alternative to gluttony.

MonicaRod

This is a great article and thank you for posting it!!
I myself have NEVER been a fan of those 100 calorie packs...If I eat one, I start thinking...ok only 1 more because its ONLY 100 calories right?!

The nutritional value is usually not very good...I could use those 100 calories for something that is nutritious AND will fill me up!

Thanks again for posting that!!

bikergirl10

I have heard of that before. I like the 100 calorie packs but find with them that I want more. I try to do the small Ziplock bags that say they hold 100 calories.

aprilann

I could see where people ate a few different packs in one sitting. Or dumping a few packs in a bowl I mean it happens. I personal take a bag of chips grab a sm dish of salsa by the time my salsa's gone I stop eating the chips without the dip it's just not as good to me! So that is my portion control. Not only that but people that eat 100 cal packs might over eat in another area because they had such a low cal snack. Just mty opinion.

Phoenix_Rising

I couldn' t imagine eating multiple packs at once. Those things are expensive!! :laugh:

kelligirl

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I personally have never been a fan of those type snacks, as I would tend to think, they're small, I'll have 2..or 3..or..... That type of treat - the simple (processed) carbs - tend to make me binge. I try to snack on truly healthy foods like frozen blueberries w/ a bit of non-fat yogurt, or apple slices & natural peanut butter or almonds, cottage cheese & fresh peaches. If I over-induldge with any of those, I'm not apt to so feel bad/guilty later. The article makes me glad I've sworn off processed food.

DBranchaud

I also agree...i can eat a few of those 100 cal things at once. I've been known to eat almost an entire box of snack cakes in one sitting when I have the right kinda craving(once a month). So a box of 8 snack cakes and each is about 220 or a box of 8 and they are only 100....... I don't keep snack cakes in the house anymore:grumble: even if they are 100 cals each.

kelligirl

I'm with DBranchaud - I used to eat an entire box of snack cakes (swiss cake rolls - frozen) - because once I got started, I was done for. My frame of mind: If no one sees me eat it, it doesn't count. WRONG! It counted all right. What was I thinking?

FluffnStuff

I think 100 Calorie packs have their place... along with anything else we eat (cheesecake.... pasta.... sugar free jello pudding packs...etc).
I don't think the issue is the packs per say (although... they aren't overly nutritious).
It's about self-control.

As mentioned above, given a "regular" bag of chips... I'd nibble right through it.
However, sometimes... I would like doritos....cheetos (especially with a sandwich).... etc.... instead of opening a HUGE bag (which compells me to eat more before they get chewy...that's how often I crave chips). I snag a little calorie pack. Same flavor... size is altered... but it satisfys the craving I had for some crunch (celery/carrots don't cut it yet).

It's about learning to control yourself.
Cause as much as we think those little Powdered Sugar Raspberry filled jelly doughnuts are gonna attack us... and we need to get them first.... usually(I was raised with 5 older brothers... I've been attacked by food before)... they don't.
It's about resisting what you can, finding substitues for what you can't, and indulging once in a while in the forbidden.

kariadams

Sorry to hear they are falling out of favor in other people's homes, but not mine!!!!! We love them and we have made a life altering decision to become healthy and drop the weight we put on. Like everyone else who has commented on this, they help us not to feel deprived.

MTGirl

I couldn' t imagine eating multiple packs at once. Those things are expensive!! :laugh:

:laugh: I thought the same thing - then remembered the 1 and only time I bought some 100 calorie snack packs. I ate one, then 5 mins later another, then 5 mins later another. . . that is why I don't buy them anymore!!

Like I said - I think the true moral, like with anyother food, is being conscious of what you are doing when you are eating them. For me - they set me up for cravings so I don't use them. But for a small treat now and again, they could have their place!

I had an issue with the last paragraph - portion control is not working for weight loss?? On what planet?? Obviously you have to have portion control along with the satiety - I don't think they are mutually exclusive!!

Great discussion - I thought it was an interesting perspective. I still don't see how the person with the regular bag of chips ate less then the person with the 100 calorie snack packs either :laugh:

Mom_To_5

i think they are all right, as someone else said they would eat more if they opened a regular size bag, i don't eat junk food very ofetn and never really have, but the 100 cal. packs satisfy my craving and then i am done with just one, they are too expensive anyways to eat too many at once, there fore are a treat.

Ahmee2034

I like them as much as anybody (especially the nutter butter cookies) but, they're just like everything that isn't necessarily "good" for us...EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. No matter how it is packaged, YOU still have to take responsibility for your own actions. Just 'cause it's "diet food" isn't a license to eat the whole box at one time! :happy: In my opinion, if you're someone who will eat an entire box of 100 calorie whatevers, then you're probably not really looking to change your lifestyle. You're just trying to make yourself feel like you're doing something. Self sabataging.

hiddensecant

The price alone makes them a very rare treat around here, hehe ... normally around THAT time of month.

jdl249

I love the 100 calorie packs myself. I still go to college and I make a little lunch of a sandwich, a bottle of water, and one of those 100 calorie packs. This coming fall, I'll get to do that twice a week, so I guess that's moderation enough...and I've been strong before where I never ate the whole box or even close in one sitting!

adopt4

I love the 100 cal packs. When I want a snack that I normally couldn't have... I reach in my tub of 100 calorie packs and pick out the salty or sweet thing I've been craving... and that's the end of it. I used to eat 2-3 packs a day, I had a lot of cravings, now I might eat 1 per week. But it's nice to know they are there if I want a bad for me snack. They help me keep self control, unlike a bag of chips or something, where I'd have to measure/count... and try to forget there's a big open bag in there...

beckythebunny122

I think that the study overlooked whether people are buying the 100 calorie packs. Obviously, if people still buy them, the companies are going to continue to sell them. Basically the study showed that if you aren't paying attention, then eating something labeled as "low calorie" or "healthy" can be just as bad for you as the regular stuff.

Personally, I use them. I find it much better to eat one of the 100 calorie packs than to eat out of a whole bag of chips. I once sat with an open bag of chips watching TV and put the chips I WOULD have eaten into a bowl to see how much there was. It was over 800 calories! But if I eat the 100 calorie pack, when it's gone, then it's gone. If I want to eat another, I would have to go all the way over to the cabinet, get the step stool, move stuff down, and get another one. And honestly, that makes me think of what I'm doing. It forces me to pay attention to what I'm eating.

But gee, if I didn't have these and Fudgsicles I would have stopped this long ago. Sometimes a girl has to have her salty snack or her chocolate!

Shanta1983

:laugh: Oh Boy Oh Boy I bought a pack of nabisco 100 calorie pack popcorn, And Boy I ate one was like ummm good, One more not gone hurt I have plenty extra snack calories left:laugh: . And boy I finished the whole box in to days:laugh: I dont buy them no more

DBranchaud

I'm with DBranchaud - I used to eat an entire box of snack cakes (swiss cake rolls - frozen) - because once I got started, I was done for. My frame of mind: If no one sees me eat it, it doesn't count. WRONG! It counted all right. What was I thinking?

I found a new strategy...i bought a lovely assorted cookies bag( 5 cookies =150 cals)... the thing is they are the dry shortbread-ish kind......I can only drink them with a cup of tea. I kinda trick myself. I make myslef a cup of tea ... take out a few cookies and go into another room......I'm usually too lazy or I forget to go get more.... It's worked soo far:drinker:

Nich0le

100 calorie packs are a rip off. The product is very rarely the same and you pay way more money to have someone pre package things that you probably shouldn't eat everyday anyway. If you crave something buy teh real thing and get snack bags adn portion it out and limit yourself to just one snack bag.

Sorry, just a pet peave of mine, just another way the marketers of crappy processed food get the public to continue to eat crappy foods...it's all just a big marketing scam!

LeanLioness

100 calorie packs are a rip off. The product is very rarely the same and you pay way more money to have someone pre package things that you probably shouldn't eat everyday anyway. If you crave something buy teh real thing and get snack bags adn portion it out and limit yourself to just one snack bag.

Sorry, just a pet peave of mine, just another way the marketers of crappy processed food get the public to continue to eat crappy foods...it's all just a big marketing scam!

I agree with you............they want consumers to think it is healthier for them and its not........

Give me celery and peanut butter to snack on any day.........

1 oz of any type of nuts

1 cup of fruit

And I am eating something that is NON-processed and has some nutritional value to what I am putting in my mouth.

chicaloca6470

i love the 100 calorie packs and i do good with them for snack. the loora shortbread cookies and the oreo ones are my faves. i will drink a small glass of milk with them and i have the perfect snack. better then me running to dairy queen and getting a small blizzard.

chopsticks

Ok i'm a fan of calorie packs...mine are usually the 90 cal packs from special k... but well i ate my chocolate drizzle bar,"special k" and the woman i take care of ate a chocolate drizzle rice krispi treat i noticed that the only nutritunal difference was krispie had one more fat gram than Special k and the dietery fiber....hers 0 mine less than one. I could have had that rice krispie treat for basically the same nutrients the cals were all the same and hers i'm sure tasted better!!!!

FluffnStuff

It's about resisting what you can, finding substitues for what you can't, and indulging once in a while in the forbidden.

:flowerforyou:

astridfeline

A study reported in the Journal of Consumer Research found that participants given 100-calorie snack packs while watching television ate significantly more than those who were given regular-sized bags of potato chips to snack from. Food analyst Marcia Mogelonsky, Ph.D., tells Brand Week that the 100-calorie packs were "a license to overeat."

How?

If I eat out of a bag of chips (thank God I NEVER do this), I eat easily hundreds and hundreds of calories.
I'd have to eat 4, 5 or more bags to equal the same. I'd never eat that many 100 cal pacakges in one sitting.

I would

marm1962

I too find the 100 calorie packs too expensive, I don't eat a lot of cookies (unless they are homeade). What I did was buy 4 bags of baked chips/pretzels/tostitos/cheese puffs and bought some snack size baggies and counted out a serving size to each bag. Yes it takes a little time, but it's easier for me.

arewethereyet

I bought these little cups from Glad. They are 1/2 cup and I count my yummies in the morning.

Now grant it, my yummies are carrots, strawberries, cherries, grapes, hummus, cottage cheese, triscuits.........but I count my cals.

So on Friday I have 1/2 block of cheddar cheese left, and a few cups of snacks. I pulled them out, cut up the cheese into 1oz portions and shared with my work unit.

I loved that my coworkers were eating good foods. they all asked me about the portion control cups and tasted cottage cheese on triscuits and hummus on carrots!!

much cheaper to buy a cup and reuse, and more earth friendly.:flowerforyou: