Diet products... Worth it?

Eat normal food instead.

Diet foods are usually full of additives. And don't taste so good to me. I only have them if I can't cook for myself. Real, home cooked, meals are much better and you know exactly what's in them.

They are not better, or worse. They don't contain anything that will kill you.

They contain calories, macro and micronutrients just like anything else.

It's how they fit in to your daily goals that matters. If you prefer to eat large volumes of food then maybe "diet" versions are a good way of creating more volume for you allotted calories.

I tend to avoid all products branded as 'diet'. For two reasons (i) they normally have a price premium for no real reason just because retailers know they can rip you off (ii) a lot contain all sorts of additives which you would never noramlly use in day-to-day cooking. Better off preparing your own versions of these products, and know what you are getting.

I don't think there is a blanket answer. I like some "diet foods" like PB2 and diet soda. Others I think are gross. Other people may hate the products that I like.

Depends entirely on your flavor and calorie preferences. For instance, I am all about diet soda and sugar-free sweeteners for my coffee, because I like the way they taste (after years of developing a taste for them as a teen, so your mileage may vary) and I don't like wasting calories in my drinks.

However, any diet food that reduces fat to save calories is an atrocity as far as I'm concerned. Do not steal my delicious, flavor-making fat. I will make room for those calories because that flavor matters to me. However, lots of people love their "light" dairy and PB2 (as seen above), so it's clearly just down to preference.

So, I'd say experiment with what you like and don't like. As long as you're doing your best to maintain a nutritious and varied diet, you'll be fine.

Eat what you want. Just make sure you reach your calorie goal. That's it.

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

i mean, you can eat them if you want to, but eating normal and learning how to control portions is a better method for long term success.

How so and what do you mean by "normal"? It's not as if you can't make diet foods part of a normal diet.

Kittyy1994 wrote: »

hi
I was just wondering is it worth eating diet products for less calories? Or is it better to just eat the normal products, I have heard some diet products have hidden nasties!?

It really depends on what it is, if you like it, and how much of it you will be eating. I eat non fat Greek yogurt and drink skim milk because I prefer the taste. I do not eat reduced fat cheese. I prefer diet soda over the full sugared ones because they taste way too sweet for me. Lower calorie frozen dinners are OK in a pinch, but they are too high in sodium and too small of portions for me to eat them on a regular basis, I would much prefer to eat food I make myself.

I do like a couple of the Walden Farms "0 calorie" salad dressings and the ingredients are not scary at all. Herbs, spices, vinegar, xanthan gum to thicken, etc. Yes, there is the ubiquitous "natural flavors" that doesn't tell you anything but you see that on a lot of foods, not just diet ones.

In other words, read labels and try some things. If you like it, use it. If you don't, don't buy it again.

I dont know what you mean by "diet food", but I like Lean Cuisine. I eat "real food" too, but I like the idea of a quick meal for work or when I dont feel like cooking. They have some as low as 220 cals. Eat it with a salad, it gets the job done. Are there Lean Cuisine that taste like crap? Absolutely. I dont eat those. I eat foods that taste good. I also like variety. Hard to make one serving of chicken marsala at 200 cals. Would require time, ingredients and more scale using that I want. Let Lean Cuisine do the work for the random times I want chicken marsala.

I also think it depends on how many cals you have. I have 1320. You really have to scale back. I eat 100 calorie bread. I eat "light" cheese, dressing, etc. Or I could eat 140 calorie bread or have a lettuce wrap. Eat your cals however you want and however works for you. Its a journey. One day I may find the sodium in lean cuisine disturbing. Today? Not my focus.

I'll be honest, some items are just not worth the calories for the "REAL deal". For example, i prefer fat free yogurt. I prefer diet coke or coke zero. I like the low-calorie sandwich thins or bagel thins. I prefer plenty of low-calorie items vs. the real deal items.

But some others are NOT worth it in my opinion. For example, cheese i must have the full calorie, full fat kind. If im eating straight peanut butter on something it better be the full fat kind (whereas i prefer the pb2 powdered peanut butter in shakes because it gives the same flavor and it isn't worth it to use 200 cals for peanut butter in a shake to me).


In my opinion, why not try them out and see what you prefer? As you continue on your journey it should be able for you to determine where you like to splurge and where it's just not worth it.

I drink diet soda and have low fat yoghurts, mainly because I prefer the taste to the full sugar/fat version, but things like cheese I'll normally go for full fat. I also like light salad dressings and lite crisps, I just try and see if I like something.

bobshouse wrote: »

I used to live on weight watchers products until I realized how many chemicals they contained. I now eat clean food. It means having less but it tastes so much better.

Preferring the taste of other foods is a great reason to avoid Weight Watchers products. But all foods have chemicals.