When we move into supermarkets we spend some time near the shelves while reading the food labels. This is due to our growing consciousness on calorie intake. Today issues like diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases have led us to rethink about our diet. That is why, we are running for low-calorie foods. But taste occupies a great position in human diet. We love tastier options and thus, various items which we love to have, have been prepared with low calorie ingredients. Here's a list:
- Skimmed milk: Choosing skimmed milk instead of whole milk can bring down your saturated fat intake significantly while still providing you with plenty of protein and calcium. Whole milk has a fat content of around 3.5% as compared to less than 0.5% fat in skim milk. Low fat or semi-skimmed milk has a fat percentage ranging between one and two percent.
- Low fat spreads: We love the taste of butter or cheese on the breads during breakfast. But the fat from these items constitute a considerable portion of our total daily fat intake. Hence, you should select low fat spreads like margarines (choose tub or liquid margarine with zero trans fat) to reduce your daily fat consumption.
- Diet drinks: A standard can of cola drink comes with 7 teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories. The diet colas which are artificially sweetened are believed to be sugar and calorie free. So diet drinks have found acceptance among people who not only love colas, but who are weight watchers as well. But the consumption should be limited to a maximum of two cans per week as many of the diet fizzy drinks have unhealthy levels of salt, aspartame (artificial sweetener), chemical preservatives and chemical colors. As a result, many people who consume such drinks regularly have an unbalanced insulin and blood sugar.
- Low fat sausages: People who love to have sausages should opt for the low fat sausages. But, limit the consumption of sausages to once every week as the fat content is still high in comparison to lean meat.
- Reduced fat crisps: Crisps or potato chips are a good time-pass and keep the mouth busy. The reduced fat crisps may be lower in fat (up to one-third less fat) than a standard bag, but they are by no means a low-fat food. They are still laden with more than 20 percent fat content. These are a good option compared to their counterparts as they are fried in healthy cholesterol free oil but they should be consumed in moderation.
What should you leave behind on the store shelves?
You might feel tempted to buy other diet foods which promise to contribute to your weight maintenance goals. But considering certain facts, you should choose to leave these foods on the shelves.
- Diet yogurts: Diet yogurts are not better options than the natural yogurt. The diet yogurts contain artificial sweeteners and get the flavor due to the presence of gelatin and starch. Instead you can enjoy the natural probiotic yogurt with added ripe, sweet fruits.
- Low fat cookies/biscuits: The manufacturers of low fat cookies/biscuits may claim that the products come with 25 percent less fat, but these cookies/biscuits usually contain more sugar than their original versions. Greater amounts of sugar or high fructose corn syrup is added to these products to make up for the taste lost by reducing the fat. Thus, the total calorie saving per biscuit becomes too marginal to make any real difference.
The true fact is that some foods are irresistible and even if we know about their high calorie content, we still relish each bite! The next moment again, we start feeling guilty! That is why, we need to go through the food labels thoroughly to know about the ingredients. The diet foods have been designed keeping the food-loving weight watchers in the mind! And we want everything - excellent taste and a good figure as well!
