Do you rely on diet industry products?

WaterBunnie

...or are you re-educating your eating habits?

I ask because I have noticed a lot of WeightWatchers this, or Diet that in people's diaries and wonder if I am odd to be avoiding these things?

In my mind that wouldn't be teaching myself what things I should be eating - and besides - they usually taste awful compared to the thing they are emulating. I think I'd rather have the real thing less often than a over-processed imitation of that thing - but am I missing a trick here?

sandrajune72

It's totally up to you what you eat!

I buy the odd weight watchers stuff, the yoghurts are really nice, but the problem with their stuff is they take out the fat and load it with sugar instead! You've gotta make sure you check the nutrition label before you buy to make sure it's not too heavy on the sugar. I usually compare it to "normal" products on the shelf.

mirandamayhem

I'm currently using herbalife shakes, and having one a day. But I don't really like diet food, and don't intend to use the shakes for much longer. Will use up what I have. I prefer to have cleaner foods, without the articial stuff in.
I hate diet yogurt and desserts, and think a proper wholesome meal is far more fulling. But each to their own. I need to learn portion control more than anything i think

MandyMoos1978

The only Weight Watcher items I use are treats such as cookies, crisps etc. I find that they allow me to have a little of the things that I like without me having to reduce the amounts of other things I eat. For example I quite like the weight watcher sweet chilli crisps. They have half the cals as a packet of normal crisps which means I could use those 'saved' calories if I wanted to on other things (plus its hard to just eat half a packet of crisps) I tend to stay away from the ready meals as they do not satisfy me and I find I could eat a lot more if I made myself a healthy meal for the same cal content! I think that these kind of 'diet' foods are good for certain things like treats and snacks (the weight watcher caramel wafers are delish) but for whole meals I would stay away!

MzBeckie

I use to buy the Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisines (separate times of dieting) but I decided to just homecook more and do the portion control. I learned how to do the measurements for portions and that made me realize how much I was eating of each food item.

Martina_Who

A few years back I used to but now I realised that all these products are just a con.
Weight watchers products in particular are nothing by a con in my opinion, if you looks closely at the items and their size in grams you will realise that the calorie content is extremely similar to the 'normal' products. I bought bread rolls and wraps recently from them and realised when i weighed everything that the difference in calories was due to the fact that the WW products were smaller! I've tried their meals in the past and they're tiny, full of empty calories that wouldn't fill you up at all. I've tried all the treats. Savoury and sweet and the calories in them are too high for the size of the item.
I choose 'normal' items now that are within a good calorie range such as crisps for 67calories(skips) and chocolate(magic stars)for 64calories. Much nicer and the calories are actually lower than if I bought WW items!

I'm convinced it's all a con but if someone can recommend nice diet food with a good calorie count I'd love to hear!

Flafster

No. I like food. 'diet food' tastes of disappointment and regret. If I have to eat fewer calories, then dammit each one had better count and be awesome

TinnedTuna

I have Never eaten a weight watchers type anything, you don't need them at all. they are just cashing in on our insecurities.
Just eat as sensible as you can, good clean homemade food is the best, no nasty surprises inside

DietandVlogsense

I have never used "magic bullet" industry products, such as pills. I did have good success on the Slimfast plan a few years back, but it all fell apart once I stopped using the products.

This time I am re-educating myself about food; through MFP I have learnt so much and come to understand a lot of the mistakes I have made with foods in the past.

Kara_xxx

I don't use anything of the sort. I don't feel I'm missing out. :happy:

jlbay

I have in the past (slimfast, weightwatchers, lean cuisine, atkins, and so many others), but I don't really like the taste of the products and it doesn't seem to work for me.

I've found that I do better when I prepare my own meals - feel more satisfied.

But, some people really love them and they do take the thinking out of the process (somewhat). I have a friend who is doing some shake diet (sounds similar to slimfast) and she is very successful on it and loves it.

smaschin

educate and make informed choices, dont succumb to marketing and false claims.

All the nutrition and benefits you need are found in natural foods, all the hydration you need is in water alone and all the electrolytes you need to aid hydration and nervous system function are also in natural foods.

Dont buy crap and you wont be crap ;-)

Peace

yksdoris

The only "diet" thing I regularly use are Weight Watchers muesli bars, which are just under 80 kcal per bar as compared to the regular ones which range from 150 to 200 kcal per bar. I usually have one right before working out as I tend to get nauseated if I have a full meal too shortly before the workout but at the same time get light-headed if I haven't had anything.

I *could* get the same result with a banana or apple but I don't like bananas and I'd rather keep my apples as treats for after dinner.

tebcolorado

I have watched too many documentaries and have been vastly educated on the truth of our food industry. I am a clean eating gal meaning I refuse to buy frozen microwave meals or processed foods of any kind. I cook every day but if I don't have a lot of time I make sure I have healthy snacks on hand like organic fruits/veggies, nuts, canned wild tuna, natural nut butters or just plain old oatmeal. Do research. Don't settle for gmo corn filled products. They are toxic and we all deserve better.

Elleinnz

When I started off I used Jenny Craig food, and then when I left Jenny C I bought a lot of the WW type food.....
Over time I educated myself on eating better and "cleaner", but the big change really came in January when I started eating according to the Paleo plan - now 99% of what I cook comes from fresh and raw, and I feel much better for it.....

One of the biggest changes I have made is to move away from low fat or no fat and embraced healthy fats back into my life - yah!!

Looking back I can not believe the supposedly "healthy crap" I put into my body.....

BillyPinky

I find weight-watchers meals and all diet ready-meals are so small I have to cook a lot of vegs to go with them. So If I have to cook a load of veg I might as well make something fresh to go with my peas and carrots .

bathsheba_c

I can't eat most of the diet foods, with the exception of meal replacement shakes, for religious reasons. I can't say that I feel especially sorry about that. I did, however, once drink meal replacement shakes (Boost or Carnation) for breakfast because I hate eating breakfast, and this was a way to get some nutritious calories in me so I wouldn't be starving by lunchtime.

Maddyjoe

When I don't want to cook, I eat 2 boxes of either frozen Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine. I don't see it as diet food. I see it as convenient. Over-processed? Please. Full of sodium? I drink way too much water to need to care about that.

RhonndaJ

Re-education, though I might use a diet product now and again if I felt like it.

melaniecheeks

Some. I don't like the ready meals such as lean cuisine, but I might choose the Sainsburys Be Good to Yourslef range of lower fat cheese, say, or Babybel light.

ScubyUK

I use these guys here in the UK.

www.soulmatefood.com

Everything is freshly prepared and delivered to my door every other day 3 times a week. All made with fresh ingredients, nothing processed or packaged a-la Weight Watchers or Biggest Loser, and completely tailored to my dietry requirements and my likes\dislikes.
The closest I come to a "meal replacement shake" is a fresh smoothie or a juice as a snack.

The closest thing I could find across the pond is this place.

https://www.zonemanhattan.com

MandyMoos1978

How ironic - an advert for Weight Watchers appeared on here as I was reading the comments!

Martina_Who

I think it's more to do with the fact you're being tracked! As far as I know browsers track your activity unless you turn it off!
Whenever I'm reading up on something I'll get ads relating to that appear in my web pages! I should turn it off but I haven't figured that bit out!

mirandamayhem

I use these guys here in the UK.

www.soulmatefood.com

Everything is freshly prepared and delivered to my door every other day 3 times a week. All made with fresh ingredients, nothing processed or packaged a-la Weight Watchers or Biggest Loser, and completely tailored to my dietry requirements and my likes\dislikes.
The closest I come to a "meal replacement shake" is a fresh smoothie or a juice as a snack.

The closest thing I could find across the pond is this place.

https://www.zonemanhattan.com

Looks bloomin expensive but LUSH!

TheVimFuego

If it has a health claim on the box/packet it is immediately suspect for me.

Double suspect if it has 'diet' in the title and don't get me started on 'low fat' or 'lowers cholesterol'.

I tend to therefore avoid psuedo-food in boxes and packets.

ScubyUK

I use these guys here in the UK.

www.soulmatefood.com

Everything is freshly prepared and delivered to my door every other day 3 times a week. All made with fresh ingredients, nothing processed or packaged a-la Weight Watchers or Biggest Loser, and completely tailored to my dietry requirements and my likes\dislikes.
The closest I come to a "meal replacement shake" is a fresh smoothie or a juice as a snack.

The closest thing I could find across the pond is this place.

https://www.zonemanhattan.com

Looks bloomin expensive but LUSH!

It works out at £22.50 per day, that's Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack and Dinner - 6 days a week. No wasted or spoiled food, no time spent shopping for groceries (I can now go grocery shopping once a month for the household type.), no time spent cooking (other than heating the food through.), I have more time to spend on myself and exercising.

momtokgo

I don't eat any weight watchers type packaged foods. If I won't feed it to my kids, I won't feed it to myself.

WaterBunnie

A friend of mine is on LighterLife and absolutely everything she eats at the moment comes from a sachet. I don't think I could stick to that for 3 days let alone weeks on end!

Admittedly she is losing faster than I can eating sensible amounts of real food, but then I don't have to be monitored weekly by a health counsellor either so it can't be completely safe, and anyway it's not just about speed, it's about change for me, at the end of the day she'll have to start eating real food again and I wonder what she'll have learnt through this process? Probably just to go back on the program when it starts piling back on :-(

WaterBunnie

I use these guys here in the UK.

www.soulmatefood.com

Everything is freshly prepared and delivered to my door every other day 3 times a week. All made with fresh ingredients, nothing processed or packaged a-la Weight Watchers or Biggest Loser, and completely tailored to my dietry requirements and my likes\dislikes.
The closest I come to a "meal replacement shake" is a fresh smoothie or a juice as a snack.

The closest thing I could find across the pond is this place.

https://www.zonemanhattan.com

Looks bloomin expensive but LUSH!

It works out at £22.50 per day, that's Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack and Dinner - 6 days a week. No wasted or spoiled food, no time spent shopping for groceries (I can now go grocery shopping once a month for the household type.), no time spent cooking (other than heating the food through.), I have more time to spend on myself and exercising.

Expensive but maybe you'll feel empowered to learn to cook the same kinds of foods for yourself once you've learnt the foods and quantities you can eat? It's a shame we are all so spread out across the country/world or we could set up healthy supper clubs :-)

cpaman87

I just make better choices.

krisiepoo

I would rather stay away from the processed foods, but sometimes I'm tired/lazy/busy and they're there and easy. Eat what fits into your calories and makes you full!