Do you rely on diet industry products?

2»

Replies

  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    Heck no. I do what I can with what I have. I can't really afford the diet industry products and besides, I've learned once you stop using them your weight comes back.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    No I don´t use anything diet. I just eat regular food and eat less but more often through out the day so it is more healthy than eating too much and only 1-3 times a day.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    if i like it i eat it, if it says 'diet' or not. only drawback to this is i don't get to be smug about my 'clean' lifestyle - i can have a snickers tho :D
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    ...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?
    Just shakes, vitamins and fish oils.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • blair_bear
    blair_bear Posts: 165
    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!
    This^^ I keep Lean Cusine in the extra freezer we have. I just know that I'm not one of those fortunate people who has a relatively normal schedule and somedays I just have no time to go to the grocery store for the week, so I have to live on what I have in the fridge until I find the time to buy, make, and pre-pack lunches. I'd rather nuke a Lean Cusine than hit a drive-thru.
  • basillowe66
    basillowe66 Posts: 432 Member
    NO!!! If you only want to lose for a couple of months yes, If you want to lose weight and keep it off then you have to do it by changing your eating habits!!!

    Basil
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    I don't eat them just because I don't like them. They taste gross to me so I always end up regretting wasting my calorie budget on them. And since they're trying (unsuccessfully) to emulate delicious treats, they're totally unsatisfying. I mean, if I want chocolate, I don't want chocolate-flavored waxy coating; I want some rich awesome chocolate. So if I eat the substitute, I'm still going to be having the desire for chocolate and will have basically eaten a couple hundred calories for nothing.

    I find that if I eat high-quality versions of these things, I eat less of them because I'm satiated. So to keep with the chocolate theme, I will usually find that one really good truffle is enough for me while I might down three diet bars. Guess which one has (far) fewer calories?

    In the end, I'm more likely to overeat and gain weight on diet products because I never feel satisfied with what I'm eating. It never feels like food.
  • littlemom1983
    littlemom1983 Posts: 193 Member
    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

    This ^^^
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    ...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?


    don't think its odd to eat differently from others, but its odd to check out diarys, comment on them then keep your own private.
  • blair_bear
    blair_bear Posts: 165

    don't think its odd to eat differently from others, but its odd to check out diarys, comment on them then keep your own private.

    :laugh: :drinker:
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    Nope Try to eat whole foods, excercise regularly and stay away from fast/processed foods. Now if I can just keep that damn spoon out of the ice cream.
  • shelllea
    shelllea Posts: 6
    Sometimes I go through phases where I have no appetite and I will use the weight loss shakes. Its a good way to keep getting nutrients without feeling sick to my stomache. But other than that I just try watch what, and how much, I eat.
  • BuffyEat2Live
    BuffyEat2Live Posts: 327 Member
    I'm on Weight Watchers, and I'm still in the first month or so on being back to tracking my food, and YES I do rely on those products to help me get through the week.

    I'm just not up for a lot of cooking right now, but I have gotten there in the past and I will get there again!

    I say that baby steps work for some, and I'm one of them. So right now, I do have "Special K" bars and "SmartOnes" dinners and "Healthy Choice" yogurt. And I'm fine with that. I also eat plenty of fresh produce, because that's a huge part of Weight Watchers, too.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    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.

    Same. I eat normal food. If I eat yogurt it's sweetened with sugar not aspartame or whatever else they use. I eat 14% sour cream, regular salad dressing, mayonnaise, peanut butter and everything else. The only 'low fat' thing I have is 2% milk - which is a $$$ consideration and not a fat one. The whole milk costs quite a bit more.

    The low cal, low fat, snack packs just encourage people to eat more because they have lower calories / fat and not to properly control the portions... Some things aren't meant to go into your body.. What do you eat when there is NO skim milk, fat free yogurt, stevia, diet coke?
  • lionskitty
    lionskitty Posts: 72 Member
    I take vitamins, I switched to diet soda from regular and I like having the weight watcher bread, which is really just better portion controlled slices from what I can see, tastes like bread just smalled/thinner slices. Lower fat dressings and thiings like that aren't really relying on the diet industry, like taking skim over whole milk it's just a choice :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    No, I don't rely on them. But I sometimes buy Weight Watchers or Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches or bars. And if I forget my lunch at work, I often pick up a can of Healthy Request soup or a Kashi frozen meal.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I have watched too many documentaries and have been vastly educated on the truth of our food industry.

    "vastly educated" by the film industry. There is something very wrong with that concept.
  • tripitena
    tripitena Posts: 554 Member
    I admit a weakness for certain items like that. In the last couple of years I've switched us to fat free cheeses & milk, egg beaters, lower sodium pretty much everything I can. I'm a vegetarian & T is omni but I've gotten him to eat more veggies, less red meat,more chicken. I haven't fried much of anything in years. I even steam corn tortillas for enchiladas and use a shell
    shaper to bake them for tacos. We dont drink many sodas or sweet drinks so I havent gone diet there mainly because they taste like crap. We dont use artificial sweeteners or things made with them.
    I think, for us, every calorie and fat gram counts so I cut them where I can. We may not eat strictly clean but we have certainly cleaned our act up.
  • ScubyUK
    ScubyUK Posts: 271 Member
    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 :-)

    That's kinda why I use them to be honest. I'm a pretty decent cook, but I'm single and live alone. Shopping and cooking for 1 is a pain, I always cook too much, and I'm a bit of a food-snob and don't especially like food that's been prepared and then frozen for later, so I either eat too much, or I throw it away.

    Healthy supper club would be aces!!
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Since I dont consider skim milk or 2% cheese to be "diet" food, I guess it's the WW or Sara Lee bread that's lik 90 calories for two slices. I have found however it's REALLY thin and pound for pound it's probably equivalent for calories and nutrients, just THIN. I mean really, I have to put lettuce on my tuna to keep it soaking and tearing the bread.

    But since it's really a delivery mechanism for tuna or egg yolks or smoked turkey, I don't care.

    Oh and diet soda but that's because I don't want the sugar. Even when I hit my goal weight I'm not going to want to drink my calories unless it's wine, beer or hard liquor.
  • tebcolorado
    tebcolorado Posts: 50
    I have watched too many documentaries and have been vastly educated on the truth of our food industry.

    "vastly educated" by the film industry. There is something very wrong with that concept.

    I didn't say I was vastly educated by the film industry. I have been vastly educated by my all natural chiropractor for the last 6 years, reading every nutrition book I can get my hands on, taking multiple nutrition classes and scouring the internet for source after source. They all basically teach the same things so I base my knowledge on years of collective research and education. Thank you very much.
  • paulaviki
    paulaviki Posts: 678 Member
    I do buy some diet versions of food like crisps, but not religiously. I've just got in the habit of reading packaging now and making my choices based on that, not just the brand or type of food it's meant to be. I have found a lot of diet type products are similar to non diet foods in terms of calories and fat, they just tend to be smaller portions!
  • bizorra
    bizorra Posts: 151 Member
    Ugh, WW food.... most of it is overloaded with sodium. I once bought WW pitas because it said "only 2 points!" and I thought that was good since I knew a pita was 4 points... turned out it was 2 points for half a pita (at least they were on sale, grumble grumble) When I was doing WW even my leader warned us to be wary of WW food at the grocery store.

    But I don't rely on diet food. I try to eat lower fat versions, but not if it means adding a bunch of unknown ingredients (like most FF yogurt vs most 2% yogurt) The odd occasion I need to use frozen meals, I make my choice based on calories and ingredients list, not the marketting.
  • rahrahrita
    rahrahrita Posts: 225 Member
    I mainly cook for myself, even when I'm in my college dorm room and only have a microwave and a crock pot to cook with.
    When I do buy snack foods, I do go for the healthier options. I don't just look at the title and say "ooh, Weight Watchers! I'll buy it!" I go through all of the ingredients and compare the ingredients of different brands. I usually opt for the one with fewer ingredients because it's usually the most natural.
    The main thing for me that has helped me with my weight loss (other than counting calories) is eating clean and cooking my own food.

Categories