Do you look at calories or Ingredients??

Happyhealthy08
Happyhealthy08 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering, do you buy low cal foods that are full of questionable ingredients and can eat more or good quality ingredients that are maybe higher cal but better for you?
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Replies

  • kristinhowell
    kristinhowell Posts: 139 Member
    Definitely ingredients. But processed foods have their place. If you lean toward organic products, the ingredients are much healthier in general, and they don't usually push for low-cal. And typically, things that are full fat or such are more satiating, and will keep you full for longer anyways.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Why not eat your vegetables and then you can have the best of both worlds?
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I don't buy diet versions of products usually. I don't think they are necessarily more "questionable" than anything I did not make from scratch. They just don't taste as good. I want to use my money and calories on good tasting food.

    I use butter instead of margarine. Full fat dairy. Regular condiments.
  • Happyhealthy08
    Happyhealthy08 Posts: 6 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Why not eat your vegetables and then you can have the best of both worlds?

    hehe oh i do! I was just wondering basically because a lot of posts i see on instagram from people following slimming world or similar keep their calories really low but the food consists of artificially sweetened things, thin breads ect ect. I tend to avoid these kinds of food and stick to wholefoods but these people are losing weight still.. I was just curious.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    I mostly buy whole food ingredients and cook stuff myself from scratch, I do have the odd low calorie item in my fridge but I don't look at what's in them. If that's something that bothers you there is no reason why you can't seek out more organic or natural foods.

    What matters for weight loss is that your calories in are less than your calories out and that can be made up by whatever combination of foods you want, they don't necessarily need to be low fat/low carb/reduced sugar.
  • Happyhealthy08
    Happyhealthy08 Posts: 6 Member
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    I don't think I've ever run across a food that has questionable ingredients, so not quite sure what you mean there? When I look at nutrition labels I compare calories to grams, meaning how many calories a serving is.

    I did type "rubbish" firstly but ingredients such as aspartame and in general ingredients you cannot recognise :)
  • Anna_137
    Anna_137 Posts: 167 Member
    I don't buy the 'diet' or 'low cal' version of food. The drop in taste isn't worth the small amount of calories difference.

    E.g. - ready made pasta bake for 600 cals which tastes really nice.
    -'diet range' pasta bake for 450 cals which tastes gross and watery and also weighs less!

    I drink diet soda though. It's definitely worth the saved calories!
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I actively don't seek out diet or low cal foods, they are just not worth wasting my cals on. But yes I do read labels frequently. If you are unsure of the ingredients you can always look them up, vitamins and minerals can sometimes sound a little funky to those not in the science field (ex: niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, etc)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Typically calories and serving size. I don't really look at ingredients but I usually stick to 'not overly processed' processed foods (pasta sauce, tortillas, pasta, crackers, yogurt etc).
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited March 2017
    I typically buy what tastes good to me, though I do pay attention to the calorie amounts. If it's a small amount of something for a larger amount of calories, I may not get it solely because the calories aren't worth it.
    As for ingredients, I buy a lot of whole foods, but I don't shy away from something just because it has ingredients I don't recognize. Not knowing what an ingredient is doesn't automatically mean it is bad for me. If I'm really worried about it, I can always Google the ingredient first.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Why not eat your vegetables and then you can have the best of both worlds?

    I wouldn't limit it to just vegetables. I would certainly include lean meats, fresh fruits, etc. but I absolutely agree otherwise.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I look at both, but more calories and macros. I really don't care about the ingredients that much since I don't have to look up ingredients to food that is nutritionally dense. I know if I'm eating crappy food so there's no mystery if I feel like crap after eating something particularly nutritionally void.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Both. Depends on what it is but I still drink diet soda sometimes and I ate a pop tart the other day - and I know there are ingredients in there I can't pronounce. :smiley:
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    happysherri wrote: »
    Both. Depends on what it is but I still drink diet soda sometimes and I ate a pop tart the other day - and I know there are ingredients in there I can't pronounce. :smiley:

    Now I want a cherry Poptart. mmmmmmmmm
  • BonnieDundee78
    BonnieDundee78 Posts: 158 Member
    I don't subscribe to food being good or bad. Everything in moderation (and within my calorie goals) is just fine.

    And just because something contains "mysterious" ingredients doesn't mean it's bad for you. Case in point: cyanocobalamin is better known as vitamin B12.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,669 Member
    If it's not a basic food like veggies, meat, cheese, flour, beans, I check the calories and the ingredients before choosing.

    I do buy one "light" item (English muffins), but usually just balance regular higher calorie foods with lower calorie ones. Otherwise, I eat what I've always eaten.

    I was raised eating mostly whole foods and believe that they're important for long-term health. So I do read ingredients labels and choose or reject in that basis.

  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Happyhealthy08 wrote: »
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    I don't think I've ever run across a food that has questionable ingredients, so not quite sure what you mean there? When I look at nutrition labels I compare calories to grams, meaning how many calories a serving is.

    I did type "rubbish" firstly but ingredients such as aspartame and in general ingredients you cannot recognise :)

    What do you mean ingredients you can't recognise?

    What about aspartame do you not recognise?

    Surely you don't base your decisions on your lack of knowledge of names of ingredients?
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    Calories, serving size, ingredients. I watch sugars and fats for my and my family's particular health issues. As long as I buy foods as clean and unprocessed with as few add ons (sauces, flavorings, syrups, etc.) as possible, those stay under control.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
    I'm allergic to wheat, soy and corn, so I don't have much choice but to read ingredients on everything. Beyond that, I didn't care much. Now I've started paying more attention to other things because I have to avoid chemicals for health reasons. There really aren't too many processed food products that I can eat. I'm mostly cooking from scratch.
  • annteja
    annteja Posts: 48 Member
    Calories and macronutrients (especially sugar). I try to eat processed food as little as possible and even that are things like humus, pasta , souces and basic things like that. I don't eat pre-made mails.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    A bit of both. I have certain staples in my vegetarian pantry/fridge that are processed. (Yves veggie dogs and burgers. Gardein.) I also love to cook and when a recipe calls for something 'convenient', by which I mean something I could make from scratch easily enough but choose not to, say barbecue sauce, I have caught myself checking out different brands in the grocery store and going for a lower-calorie option.
  • tmoneyag99
    tmoneyag99 Posts: 480 Member
    I look at it all. Calories = Weight loss. Macros determine how satieated I will be after eating those calories (ie will I be satisfied or will I need more) and ingredients as well as micros tell me how much bang I get per bite as well as possibly where my calories are coming and how processed the food is.
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