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michlingle
michlingle Posts: 797 Member
in Motivation and Support
Dunkin Donuts lowfat blueberry muffin...so I got one figuring it to be around 300, felt the urge to splurge, will go for a run later will be able to afford that...but 450 Calories? 45 grams of sugar? I'm already over my sugar now by 21!!!!! This is complete false advertising and it pisses me off.

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  • IsabellaCullen
    IsabellaCullen Posts: 34
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    This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine -- but the issue here is that DD doesn't call it a "low fat blueberry muffin", its a "reduced fat" muffin.

    So what's the difference?

    To be labeled low fat, the item has to have less than 3 grams of fat.

    To be labeled reduced fat, it has to have 25% less than its original version.

    The original DD Blueberry muffin has 16 grams of fat ... the reduced fat version has 10 grams. So it qualifies to be called "reduced fat".

    Unfortunately, this is one of those things that is not cemented into the minds of the public. Just because something is "low fat" or reduced anything (to be reduced anything, it has to have 25% less than the original -- fat, calories, etc) doesn't always mean that its any better than its original. The reduced fat version of the DD muffin even has more sodium than its original!!!

    The key is to remember the difference in the terms!

    Good luck !!!
  • IsabellaCullen
    IsabellaCullen Posts: 34
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    TO clarify -- my pet peeve is in the complicated way that manufacturers label their products to make it hard to figure out what they're really saying ... not that someone misunderstood the labelling! Hope that wasn't misinterpreted!!
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Like I've learned the hard way, most things that are low fat or reduced fat mean more sugar to make it taste better, which usually means more sugars. Can't win for losing can we.
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    I totally agree that the marketing gimmicks companies are using are wrong.

    There was no false advertising, you got and paid for a lowfat blueberry muffin.

    Companies can make something low fat or not fat, but they put extra sugar in there to compensate for the taste. Same thing that I noticed with low fat or 0% fat yogurt.

    The other marketing gimmick I see is to make a serving size smaller
    This way they can say that it's 0% trans fat or fat free because if it's less than .5 grams per serving, they're allowed to say it's 0.
  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    Low fat usually means high sugar since they are countering the taste you get from the fat by adding additional sugar. Manufacturers will put on these since most people don't take the time to actually read the labels and only see the thing that is in the bold circle to make it stand out.
  • Mommyof2in09
    Mommyof2in09 Posts: 16
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    I hate that too! But, my issue is with Starbucks.. here is the nutrition for their "reduced fat" bakery items:
    Calories/Fat/Carbs/Fiber/Protein
    Reduced-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake 390 7 79 3 5
    Reduced-Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake 340 9 62 2 4
    Reduced-Fat Very Berry Coffee Cake 350 10 58 4 7

    I don't consider any of those things to be healthful in any way shape or form and what is interesting is that they are called reduced fat, but there is no "original" version of these items at your local starbucks.
  • JJs25th
    JJs25th Posts: 204 Member
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    One thing I have also noticed is that "low" or "reduced" fat doesn't necessarily translate to lower calorie either. :grumble:
  • Vallandingham
    Vallandingham Posts: 2,177
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    Dunkin Donuts lowfat blueberry muffin...so I got one figuring it to be around 300, felt the urge to splurge, will go for a run later will be able to afford that...but 450 Calories? 45 grams of sugar? I'm already over my sugar now by 21!!!!! This is complete false advertising and it pisses me off.

    You went into Dunkin' Donuts expecting nutrition?
  • michlingle
    michlingle Posts: 797 Member
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    Dunkin Donuts lowfat blueberry muffin...so I got one figuring it to be around 300, felt the urge to splurge, will go for a run later will be able to afford that...but 450 Calories? 45 grams of sugar? I'm already over my sugar now by 21!!!!! This is complete false advertising and it pisses me off.

    You went into Dunkin' Donuts expecting nutrition?

    Read my post, never said that...
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
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    Ugh. That sucks. I hate it when I find out that I've gone way over my calories when I've already eaten something.

    It probably actually does have lower/reduced fat compared to their regular blueberry muffin. Unfortunately, nothing in "low fat" means "low calorie" or "low sugar." That's part of the reason Americans just got fatter during the whole "low fat" craze of the 80's and early 90's.
  • hapemopirate
    hapemopirate Posts: 68 Member
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    It's taken me a long time to mentally accept this, but I've started getting rid of all the "low-fat", "light", or "diet" foods I eat. In my experience, eating a little bit of the real thing satifies me a lot more than eating as much as I want of the "diet" version. So if I'm gonna splurge, I splurge. It might not look that great on my food diary, but I've gotten a craving out of the way.
  • BobbieJo_1977
    BobbieJo_1977 Posts: 197 Member
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    When I go to Starbucks for example, I get the "reduced" fat because it is most definitely better than the regular. And I know I am still splurging. And I'm not going totally overboard.

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