Daily Food Myth

Myth #9: Fat-free and reduced-calorie foods are the best options for weight loss.

Truth: These days, nearly every full-fat food, from cookies to ice cream, has a fat-free counterpart. It's the first instinct of many people to simply eat these reduced-fat and no-fat foods to control their weight; however, this tactic could actually derail your good intentions. Why? Because most of the fat-free foods you can buy are things you shouldn't be eating anyway: empty-calorie junk food and heavily processed sweets, crackers and cookies. These items have been available for more than a decade, but people aren't getting any thinner by eating them. Remember, dietary fat isn't the sole culprit that has made us overweight; excess calories are the issue, and fat-free doesn't mean calorie-free. All the reduced-fat foods in the world will not help you lose weight if you're making poor food choices or eating too many calories in general.

Myself: So, I typically stay away from reduced fat or low fat in most areas. Some of the items that I do include light syrup, reduced fat Skippy Peanut Butter, no sugar added ice cream, low-fat ranch, non-fat sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, and low-fat milk. Most of these as you can see are dairy items. I typically don't eat low fat cheese because it taste pretty gross. I like the light syrup because it's not as thick or sugary. During previous diets I have had a lot of gimmick diet foods, but those are usually over priced junk foods that come in single portions, but still allow you to eat several in a single sitting. If I eat junk food, I'm going to eat it naturally. (Such as a single bag of Doritos's, homemade popcorn, or any baked good I decide to make.) Great items to substitute for these include alot of fresh fruits, smoothies from fresh fruit, dried fruit, granola and yogurt, popcorn, whole wheat English Muffin with reduced fat peanut butter, or a hard boiled egg.