You try so hard but foods are often misleading

SimonLondon

Need to vent my frustration :-/

It is so difficult to spot the hidden dangers in the foods and drinks you buy. Sometimes it gets very frustrating.

When I quit drinking the fizzy drinks I switched to bottles of a very well known UK berry drink thinking it would be much better for me. Wrong because it has almost the same sugar content as a can of coke

For the last couple of weeks I've been eating 3 fat free yogurts a day. Cool I thought! wrong again as the sugar content in pretty much all store bought fat free yogurts is really high (some of them really, really high!).

Why make something and portray it as good for you (like fat free) when they contain high levels of things that are bad for you. Can you imagine if labels were really clear... "ACME's fat free Yogurt, Zero fat - HIGH in sugar". You wouldn't have to stop and read every label because you can clearly see what's going on.

In today's mad rush of a World you often do the shopping by grabbing something as you whiz down the isles and I think this is what the suppliers count on. Lesson learnt - Just because something claims to be good for you check those labels religiously because chances are there are some nasties laying in wait and hoping you don't spot them.

I'm still new to this so learning the pitfalls and sneakiness of it all one day at a time...

savvystephy

You'll figure it all out! :flowerforyou: The reason they have a lot of sugar (the low fat yogurt) is because they try to add flavor to it. As for the berry juice - you will find that fruit juice has a ton of sugar in it. Just drink water, and what I do if I get board is add lemon, lime, to it. I have heard of putting cucumber peels in water too. I am sure you can find some recipes that will hardly give you any calories but flavor the water.

denriop

I so understand. But it change for me . Here are the rules from my dietetician ::

For yogurt, buy natural yogurt and add your own fresh fruits in it. Or better, make your own during the week end for your entire week. Homemade yogurt with simple machine is so delicious.

Never buy product with ingredients that you cannot pronounce the name or that you cannot have in your kitchen. (meaning it is coming from a lab)
Never buy products with more than 5 ingredients.
Make 80% of your diet with not transformed products (fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, dairy product) and 20% with products with no more than 5 ingredients.

Take a deep breath and continue your journey. It will be hard but so rewarding.

Denise

lulabellewoowoo

Something I discovered when I ran into the same frustration as you...In order to make "diet foods" taste good, they must add sugar to make up for the loss of fat. Depending on the product, sometimes it is healthier to eat the fat if it's a healthy fat. It's all about portion control, so since you are mastering that, you probably should have too much problem with the "real food" out there. Trial and error for all of us.

Lady_C_the_1st

Why make something and portray it as good for you (like fat free) when they contain high levels of things that are bad for you. Can you imagine if labels were really clear... "ACME's fat free Yogurt, Zero fat - HIGH in sugar". You wouldn't have to stop and read every label because you can clearly see what's going on.

Unfortunately that is what these companies rely on to sell their products. If they advertised the fact that it was high sugar to make up for the lack of fat they would not sell any.

You'll get used to looking at the labels. As long as you know the kinds of figures in 100 grams that make something low fat/sugar/calories etc. It does become an obsession though in a way!

As lulabellewoowoo says it can sometimes be better to eat the full fat product rather than the low fat product. Also the sugars they use will be refined sugars or artificial sweeteners which can come with an array of unwanted effects.

healthycat31

Yep, I know exactly how you feel.

That happened to me when I started to become more health conscious for products like yogurts & cereals. Some of the products will have a title/slogan/ something suggesting it's the healthiest (or one of the healthiest options out there) for that type of product (& it's so easy to pick it up from the shelf) but when you look at the nutritional labels, you realize it's just the healthiest option that that particular brand can offer for that type of product.

sonjavon

I feel your pain... and the very thing that you speak of is why half the world feels that losing weight is "just too hard". Companies honestly believe that we're just too stupid to know any better. I've found that when it comes to drinking... water is always best. If I want to add flavor, I squeeze some lemon juice in it or add some mint leaves. If I really want a treat -I make some sun tea and use real sugar. I'm sure at some point in the future I'll have the occasionaly soda - but I haven't had the craving for one in a long time... so maybe not.

As for everyday eating. The majority of what I eat comes directly from the earth... I try to eat at least 5 pieces of fruit a day... high in sugar, yes - but also high in fiber and naturally satisfying. I don't buy anything that is labeled "fat free", "sugar free", "lite" etc... I'd MUCH rather eat less of the "real thing" - than more of something else... I like real cheese, real sour cream and real mayonnaise. The exception to this would be butter... I use "I can't believe it's not butter".

You'll figure it all out and you'll feel so much better for it!

Amy_B

I am a huge label reader. It might annoy other shoppers, but I don't care. You just really have to pay attention.

SimonLondon

Yup I'm learning that the hard way

swopeswick

You definitely need to read the labels carefully... there is way too much junk in prepared foods!
I eat the Dannon Light & Fit Fat Free Yogurts... get the vanilla and add your own fruit. A 6oz serving only has 15g of carbs and, of course, is fat free. It tastes great and is really good for you. They also have a 'carb & sugar control' product and a '0% plus' product that I have never tried, but I believe are even lower in calories and carbs.

Good Luck!

kwardklinck

I had a hard time because I love flavored coffee creamers. The problem was that the fat-free didn't taste so good and had sugar in it. I switched to sugar free which has the same taste as regular but the same number of calories as the fat free. It works for me.

TropicalKitty

It's very frustrating. The yogurt and cereal/bread misleaders are what annoys me horribly. I've fallen madly in love with greek yogurt (twice the protein and often less carbs of traditional fat free/low fat yogurt). However, Dannon adds modified starches to their product. Or they label it as "Best Life" when it has a bunch of modified crap in it. I've learned to go for the more natural/organic brands as they tend to have the least amount of added junk that I don't want. (Stonyfield Farm, Chobani, Fage)

As for the bready stuff, I love how Sara Lee has whole grain white. That's an advertiser's masterpiece of lying! So many other brands have caught on to the whole grain "movement" so they tag the front of the box with WHOLE GRAIN! and in little letters, made with. Or how more companies have the whole grain stamp on them. Unfortunately, we've let this happen to us. And now we have to take our eating back into our hands and read the label.

*insert fist shaking smiley here*

questionablemethods

I totally hear you and it is something that I've gradually been learning myself.

My biggest strategies are:

1) I try to buy foods that are as close to their natural state as possible (e.g. fresh broccoli or frozen plain broccoli and not frozen cheesy broccoli)

2) I try to buy things in their most "plain" state and add my own sweeteners, fat, spices--that way I KNOW what is going in. For example, I buy totally plain yogurt and I add some vanilla and cinnamon while cooking it. I buy plain yogurt and add fruit and maybe a bit of honey to it. (I've also heard that with yogurt, if it already has fruit in it, then the probiotics are basically useless.)

3) I aim for as few ingredients as possible on the ingredient list. For example, I eat a lot of egg whites and I feel bad throwing out all those yolks, so I looked for a carton of liquid egg whites. After reading the ingredients on all of the ones in the store, I chose the one that had a one-item long ingredient list. Same with peanut butter. I don't bother with low fat peanut butters or whatever. I just buy natural peanut butter with one or two ingredients on the list: peanuts, salt.


I also agree with the "if you can't pronounce the ingredients, don't buy it" type of rule. It is definitely a learning process. Best of luck!

hallswan

I completely agree - I get popcorn from Pret - called double cheddar and onion topcorn - at some point in the last month, the calories have gone up from 98 to 123!

sonjavon

3) I aim for as few ingredients as possible on the ingredient list. For example, I eat a lot of egg whites and I feel bad throwing out all those yolks, so I looked for a carton of liquid egg whites. After reading the ingredients on all of the ones in the store, I chose the one that had a one-item long ingredient list.

Ok - this is something that I have struggled with in the past too... so I'm anxious to get your thoughts on this. WHY do you feel bad throwing away the egg yolks? I too, looked at the cartons of liquid egg whites... and realized that they're more expensive and not as environmentally friendly (my corrugated cardboard egg tray is more biodregradable than the wax lined carton). I just throw the yolks in my compost bucket. I'm just curious what your thought process is... maybe I'm missing something! LOL!

michilynn

Also remember that if it's NATURAL sugar that it's not the same as sugar... i.e. a banana versus a cookie...

questionablemethods

3) I aim for as few ingredients as possible on the ingredient list. For example, I eat a lot of egg whites and I feel bad throwing out all those yolks, so I looked for a carton of liquid egg whites. After reading the ingredients on all of the ones in the store, I chose the one that had a one-item long ingredient list.

Ok - this is something that I have struggled with in the past too... so I'm anxious to get your thoughts on this. WHY do you feel bad throwing away the egg yolks? I too, looked at the cartons of liquid egg whites... and realized that they're more expensive and not as environmentally friendly (my corrugated cardboard egg tray is more biodregradable than the wax lined carton). I just throw the yolks in my compost bucket. I'm just curious what your thought process is... maybe I'm missing something! LOL!

You know, I've gone back and forth on this a lot and I don't know which one makes more sense, frankly. This is what I'm currently doing. And actually, it is less about "feeling bad" as much as it is about not wanting to buy four or five cartons of eggs at a time. (I don't have a car so I walk my groceries home. Luckily it is only a few blocks.) I think it ends up being cheaper for me too. But yeah, then there is the thing about which one is more environmentally friendly and I tend to think that just buying the eggs and tossing the yolks is actually "greener". So, perhaps my wording was wrong. Like I said, I go back and forth. Either way, I prefer to use just actual eggs or a carton where the only ingredient is "egg whites".

TheMaidOfAstolat

The best piece of advice I can offer is to eat as cleanly as you can. Not only does it cut out all the processed crud but you'll be eating healthy fats, good whole grains, lean proteins, and you will feel much better for it.

paddlemom

I also agree with the "if you can't pronounce the ingredients, don't buy it" type of rule. It is definitely a learning process. Best of luck!

Agreeing with everyone, except I really dislike this common disclaimer in label reading.....many healthful ingredients have scientific names that look scary on a label. Regulators are very clear on what name you can use to describe an ingredient to be sure that everyone is comparing apples to apples. Rather than using common names for some things, because they can mean different things to different people, their more scientific label is being used.

I am more inclined to encourage people to educate themselves. If you see an ingredient that you can't pronounce or are unfamiliar with, look it up! In this internet age, we have so much access to this information. Some things you want to avoid like the plague, but some things are really either benign or beneficial. If we are becoming more proactive about educating ourselves about what we put in our bodies, we owe it to ourselves to truly understand.

sonjavon

3) I aim for as few ingredients as possible on the ingredient list. For example, I eat a lot of egg whites and I feel bad throwing out all those yolks, so I looked for a carton of liquid egg whites. After reading the ingredients on all of the ones in the store, I chose the one that had a one-item long ingredient list.

Ok - this is something that I have struggled with in the past too... so I'm anxious to get your thoughts on this. WHY do you feel bad throwing away the egg yolks? I too, looked at the cartons of liquid egg whites... and realized that they're more expensive and not as environmentally friendly (my corrugated cardboard egg tray is more biodregradable than the wax lined carton). I just throw the yolks in my compost bucket. I'm just curious what your thought process is... maybe I'm missing something! LOL!

You know, I've gone back and forth on this a lot and I don't know which one makes more sense, frankly. This is what I'm currently doing. And actually, it is less about "feeling bad" as much as it is about not wanting to buy four or five cartons of eggs at a time. (I don't have a car so I walk my groceries home. Luckily it is only a few blocks.) I think it ends up being cheaper for me too. But yeah, then there is the thing about which one is more environmentally friendly and I tend to think that just buying the eggs and tossing the yolks is actually "greener". So, perhaps my wording was wrong. Like I said, I go back and forth. Either way, I prefer to use just actual eggs or a carton where the only ingredient is "egg whites".

Fair enough and thanks for not taking offense... like I said, I've struggled with this one too... and certainly, I can understand not wanting to carry 5 cartons of eggs home! I buy a case of eggs from Walmart (5 dozen) every other week... it's crazy how many eggs we go through... lol!

toots99

3) I aim for as few ingredients as possible on the ingredient list. For example, I eat a lot of egg whites and I feel bad throwing out all those yolks, so I looked for a carton of liquid egg whites. After reading the ingredients on all of the ones in the store, I chose the one that had a one-item long ingredient list.

Ok - this is something that I have struggled with in the past too... so I'm anxious to get your thoughts on this. WHY do you feel bad throwing away the egg yolks? I too, looked at the cartons of liquid egg whites... and realized that they're more expensive and not as environmentally friendly (my corrugated cardboard egg tray is more biodregradable than the wax lined carton). I just throw the yolks in my compost bucket. I'm just curious what your thought process is... maybe I'm missing something! LOL!

You know, I've gone back and forth on this a lot and I don't know which one makes more sense, frankly. This is what I'm currently doing. And actually, it is less about "feeling bad" as much as it is about not wanting to buy four or five cartons of eggs at a time. (I don't have a car so I walk my groceries home. Luckily it is only a few blocks.) I think it ends up being cheaper for me too. But yeah, then there is the thing about which one is more environmentally friendly and I tend to think that just buying the eggs and tossing the yolks is actually "greener". So, perhaps my wording was wrong. Like I said, I go back and forth. Either way, I prefer to use just actual eggs or a carton where the only ingredient is "egg whites".

Fair enough and thanks for not taking offense... like I said, I've struggled with this one too... and certainly, I can understand not wanting to carry 5 cartons of eggs home! I buy a case of eggs from Walmart (5 dozen) every other week... it's crazy how many eggs we go through... lol!

I just posted this same exact thing yesterday, saying I felt bad throwing away the yolks...I just feel bad throwing any food away. I thought about switching to cartons of whites, but I figured it wouldn't be as cost effective, and the boxes aren't going to be recycled. So throwing away the yolk was the lesser evil. :laugh: