If you had to chose between healthy or low-cal…?

LadyTalulah · February 2015

What would you chose?
From time to time I notice that the healthier options are often very high calorie. For example, if I'm craving chocolate and I have a processed-sugar packed chocolate bar like a twix, I'd be within my calorie limit, but we all know the cr*p this stuff is made of. On the other hand, if I make my healthy brownies from nuts, dates and cocoa powder it would be all natural.. but I'd definetely go over my calorie goal.
Ah decisions, decisions.
What do you choose when faced with this dilema??

PS. There's no right answer, just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

47Jacqueline · February 2015

I don't buy low fat/fat free stuff. Except cheese. When they process food for low/no fat, they add sugar, when they process stuff for no/low sugar, it's often added fat. Check the labels.

The last time I bought low fat potato chips, they had 50 calories more than the regular ones.

RodaRose · February 2015

I would eat the Twix for 250 calories and 2 grams of protein. Then throw away the wrapper.
I am too busy taking care of myself to prepare "healthful" brownies.

If you enjoying cooking, portion them into small squares of 250 calories. Or look for an alternate recipe with few nuts and dates.
Google this for some ideas on how you could modify your recipe: Applesauce Brownies

abk1968 · February 2015

Why not have a smaller portion if you home made and stay under goal ?

Anime_Lovin_Jo · February 2015

I honestly try to pick the higher cal food cuz it can be more nutrient rich. But we all kno life gets busy and you just need a quick bite to keep ya going. I been there before. Gatorade energy chews are my prob right now. Lol

JPW1990 · February 2015

Homemade wins by default for me, simply because a lot of things in pre-packaged can make me sick. That said, if you get in the habit of preparing all your own stuff, it doesn't seem like that much of an inconvenience anymore, and you can get better about adjusting what's in them. You can tweak your brownies to fit any goal you want, so you get more volume and stay under your limit.

Francl27 · February 2015

Brownies if I crave brownies, Twix if I crave a Twix.

Any food can be 'low calorie' if you get a small piece, for what it's worth.

mstaser · February 2015

My diet changes from 1800 cals one day to 2700 the next. As long as I know I am eating healthy and portioning evenly thru the day, cals don't mean anything to me. It all depends on the given diet you're following.

totaldetermination · February 2015

healthy, but within my calorie allowance.

bulbadoof · February 2015

depends on what i care about that day. i'm very inconsistent. if only a candy bar sounds good, i'll have the candy bar because the healthy substitute won't satisfy me anyway.

Lounmoun · February 2015

I don't feel that a candy bar is that much healthier than a brownie even if it is homemade. I would be more likely to choose the home baked item because someone I know made it, it is fresh, it smells wonderful, etc.
A brownie may be more satisfying but it might be the worse choice even if it were lower calorie or more natural. I might eat that candy bar and not even think about eating more where a bunch of brownies might tempt me to overdo it fast.

Great. Now I want brownies. Maybe brownies with a chopped up Twix bar.

MoiAussi93 · February 2015

I go for healthy. But that is based on my own personal health goals. You should weigh your priorities and act accordingly.

Sabine_Stroehm · February 2015

Of course it depends on what your GOALS are. Given those two options? I'd aim for the one that's more nutritious.

JoRocka · February 2015

I don't understand why the two are relatable or not relatable.

healthy is such a subjective term.

Ultimately if the food meets your macros and helps you meet your calorie goals (gain- lose- maintain) then it's a reasonable "healthy" choice.

Occasionally I'll reach for lower calorie options- only because I can't afford to eat something high calorie- or I won't eat at all.

Somethings are too calorie expensive- no matter how healthy someone tells me it is- orange juice- and granola- cereals are few that come to mind.

Lourdesong · February 2015

I pay attention to my macro targets. Whatever foods that will get me there I feel are "wise" choices.
One exception to that is that I won't eat anything I find revolting. I don't care how many nutrients it has, I'm not wasting my precious calories on it.

Also, I don't track nutrients except what MFP tracks, and every time I check out my totals I see no reason for me to be alarmed or seek out more nutritious foods.

hesn92 · February 2015

Typically i go for "healthy" over low cal. Just for example I don't usually buy anything that says diet because that usually means it had fake sugars in it or some other kind of weird ingredients. I always look at the ingredients before choosing.

lemurcat12 · February 2015

LadyTalulah wrote: »

What would you chose?

I don't see it as a trade-off. For me, I choose what fits better into my healthy diet, which for me will generally be really high quality chocolate or the homemade treat vs. some "diet" treat or storebought candy) just because that's how I prefer to eat. It's about satisfaction and not wasting calories on foods not worth it.

But I still make them fit in my calories (unless it's a day I've decided to go over for some reason). I reduce portion size or plan my day so I have enough space.

I have not found it difficult to find single serving (40 gram) pieces of chocolate that have high quality ingredients and tend to be more delicious (to my subjective taste) than a Twix, if that's your concern.

TheVirgoddess · February 2015

Healthy is relative.

I'd choose what fit into my day, calorie/macro wise.

lolly715 · February 2015

Depends how many calories I can allocate to it, and how much volume I want. I turned down a "healthy" chocolate dessert today because it was 350 calories and I can't justify a quarter of my day's allowance on a small pudding. So I went with the 99 calorie one which easily fit within my goals, fake sugar and all.

entezio · February 2015

healthy since my metabolism is god like

thatsillyshana23 · February 2015

Eat which one would make you happiest. I love me some twix, but sometimes I just want something healthy. You can somehow fit either in if you really wanted to.

lcooper327 · February 2015

I choose whole foods over processed most of the time. Do I sacrifice some calories by eating real yogurt rather than low calorie yogurt made of garbage? Yes and I am okay with that. It all depends on what YOU want to do.

alicaramik2 · February 2015

For me, I'd pick the twix. Brownies are a major weakness for me. Once I start, there's no stopping until the whole plan is gone. $:\$ In general, I guess it would depend on how many calories I had left for the day, where my macros were, and how hungry I was.

wizzybeth · February 2015

Those brownies don't sound appealing to me (I hate brownies with "stuff" in them like nuts and bits of fruit...I hate fudge with nuts in it too. I do like nuts, just not in my brownies, cakes, or fudge, lol) so I'd go for the Twix.

lemurcat12 · February 2015

lcooper327 wrote: »

Do I sacrifice some calories by eating real yogurt rather than low calorie yogurt made of garbage?

I think there are great reasons for people who prefer them to eat full fat yogurt--some find them more satisfying or tasty, and if that were the case for me I'd rather eat less of the stuff I preferred. Since I like both kinds, I occasionally do.

However, this idea that something like Fage full fat plain is "real yogurt" and the 2% or skim version of the same is "made of garbage" is nonsense. Check the labels--they have the same ingredients but for the fact that one has had some or all of the fat removed.

I often get yogurt (both kinds) from local farms, and the same is true.

Need2Exerc1se · February 2015

For me, it depends on the product, my mood, what else I want to eat that day or week, etc.. I don't have a global rule for this kind of thing. I make each decision as it comes.

umachanxo · February 2015

I'll be honest - if I had a Twix in my hand and my only other option was to make home made brownies and I was hungry - I'd eat the Twix. That being said, I try to avoid chocolate bars and I rarely make sweets (even date brownies).

MarziPanda95 · February 2015

Low cal every time. That way I can fit more other food into my day.

lcooper327 · February 2015

lemurcat12 wrote: »

lcooper327 wrote: »

Do I sacrifice some calories by eating real yogurt rather than low calorie yogurt made of garbage?

I think there are great reasons for people who prefer them to eat full fat yogurt--some find them more satisfying or tasty, and if that were the case for me I'd rather eat less of the stuff I preferred. Since I like both kinds, I occasionally do.

However, this idea that something like Fage full fat plain is "real yogurt" and the 2% or skim version of the same is "made of garbage" is nonsense. Check the labels--they have the same ingredients but for the fact that one has had some or all of the fat removed.

I often get yogurt (both kinds) from local farms, and the same is true.

Sorry that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about like dannon light and fit or whatever that is like 80 calories and barely recognizable as yogurt.

latoyale · February 2015

I don't like the additives that are put in food when trying to make it low cal. I eat the full fat version, but make allowances in my diet for it. I'll exercise a little more or reduce a snack or something.

If you had to chose between healthy or low-cal…?

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