diet versions of stuff

0/0 would not bang

Seriously though. No. It's pretty much all gross.

For me it depends on how it got to be the "diet" version of the original. So for example, I'm all for skim milk, but I try to limit my intake of foods made with artificial sweeteners (partly because I don't think a ton of artificial sweetener is good for the human body and part because I don't usually like the taste). Does that make sense?

I tend to not go for the diet versions of stuff, because I don't like the taste, so it isn't something that will last. I love Diet Coke for mixers, though. I also don't like to eat low-fat dairy, so skimmed milk isn't on my radar. Fat makes my stomach/brain happy!

If you like how they taste (compared to the original), then go for it. If you aren't a fan, then have smaller portions of the non-diet stuff.

Some people don't like the diet versions of food/drink because aspartame, or the fact that they're (usually) higher in something else to make up for the low-fat/low-carb/lower calorie. But, like taste, that's a personal choice.

Depends on the item... I sometimes do calorie savers such as light sourcream or cheese made with 2% milk but I rarely if ever go for low-carb or sweet things that have 0 calories or very low calories (e.g., salad dressing, lite yogurts, low-carb bread, etc.). I think they taste really gross. The artificial sweeteners they add tend to taste bitter and fake. I'd rather just eat a smaller amount of the real thing or skip it all together than save calories on something that tastes like garbage.

I love coke zero. I will never give it up. I don't really give a crap about the artificial whatever crap they put in it, my one can a day, five days a week habit isn't going to kill me anytime soon.

As for other things. Meh. If, like OP said, there's a low calorie jelly...I dunno if I care enough to switch to the low cal? I've gotten good at not need a jelly or a sauce or a butter on most of my food so I'm ok there, I think.

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Diet soda - yes.
Diet cheese - ewwww!

Instead of diet versions of things, I try to just eat low calorie foods that are naturally low calorie. I'd rather not replace calories with chemicals. Anything that naturally would have more calories/fat/sugar and is advertised as diet/lowfat/sugar free is usually full of chemicals and extremely processed to get it the way it is. There's a ton of stuff you can have for around 100 calories - veggie sticks and hummus, a piece of fruit, a hard boiled egg, some nuts, an ounce of cheese, etc.

It depends on the item in question.

Things like Hartleys Jelly or Ice Pops or diet coke don't bother me because well...theres chemicals in the normal versions too so it's just a tide over.

I don't do half fat cheese, yoghurt, ice cream or anything of which the main component of taste is fat and sugar. Because taking the fat out takes the flavour out and I'd rather have a tiny bit of the real stuff, rather than 4 portions of the less tasty.

That said I never drink whole milk because the texture is way too thick.

I'm also a diet soda fan, more for the taste.

I also agree that for most fat free items, the lack of taste just isn't worth it. Plus fat is filling - so although it has more calories, it'll stick with me longer than low/fat free.

Start comparing labels. As others pointed out, there's usually a higher amount of sugar or sodium in low/fat free items than in the normal versions. Plus in many cases, the calories aren't that much different per serving.

I drink diet soda, because regular makes my teeth feel gross. I eat regular ice cream, but I save the higher calorie stuff for my cardio days. If I don't have room, I just don't have a full serving. Sometimes it's just a spoonful (weighed out). Fat free cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are my usual, sometimes fat free cheese, but usually just the lighter stuff. I'll substitute one for the other depending on my macros for the day.

I agree with others that it depends. How bad do you want it? The real version is almost always better than the diet alternative. I say almost because as many people here might already know Diet Coke from McDonalds is its own drink all by itself. Yup, there is no other version of a drink like it. Coke has formulated a special version of Diet Coke just for Mickey Ds and IMO I think it not only tastes pretty damn good, but is kind of addicting.

Lets use one of my favorite calorie dense foods I like to eat as an example.... Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. The mini Reeses cups that are made with sugar alcohols give me stomach issues. So hmm should I eat 4 of those when I could just eat one Reeses cup? Sure. If I want 4 pieces of candy that KINDA tastes like the real thing but not really and then deal with explosive diarrhea afterward. Then the answer is yes.

So see, it all kinda depends.