Don’t be fooled by “guilt free” choices
I just had a “fresh-Mex” style salad and had to laugh how the restaurant sells it as “All the good stuff without the guilt!” First I laugh at the whole “guilt” thing; food is amoral, and all foods can be part of a healthy diet. Second, if you’re looking at the salad as a low calorie option compared to say, the smothered burrito, it isn’t. How much of what is sold to us as “diet” or “guilt free” really is a better option than the food we might rather have?
Fresh Mex…Burrito vs. Salad. Hmmmm, so you’ve basically got all the stuff that’s in the burrito, but then you add a half a cup of salad dressing (yup, measure those little plastic cups, the regular serving ones are half a cup, the smaller versions are a quarter cup), then add fried tortilla strips and then add guacamole. Granted, the burrito DOES have cheese, but by adding the dressing, the fried tortilla strips and the guacamole, you’ve more than made up for the shredded cheese. If you want to eat a salad because the fresh, crisp flavor appeals to you, then enjoy! But if you think you’re making a lower calorie choice, eat the burrito and savor it.
Bacon…Turkey vs. Pork. Same calories per slice. Say that again!? Yes, they have the same number of calories per slice. The main nutritional difference is that turkey bacon has 1 gram of saturated fat and pork bacon has 2 grams of saturated fat per slice. I guess if you’re going to eat 5 slices of bacon per day it’s going to make a difference (and then you may end up with other issues to address), but if you have a couple slices on a Sunday morning, choose the bacon that you want to eat and relish it.
Fast Food Sandwich…Burger vs. Chicken. At Wendy’s, a Double Stack cheeseburger has 360 calories and a grilled chicken sandwich has 350 calories. If you want a cheeseburger, eat a cheeseburger!
Rice…Brown vs. White. Brown rice has 140 calories per 1/4 cup of uncooked rice and white rice has 150 calories. Brown rice is less refined, can keep you more satisfied and is more nutritious, but when it comes to calories, they’re pretty much tied. Yes, I always recommend eating whole grains, but I always recommend enjoying your food.
Hydration…Sports Drinks vs. Water. I know sports drinks aren’t really sold as “diet” beverages, but they’re still touted as healthy and necessary. This choice a no brainer, but it doesn’t stop people from drinking Gatorade and Powerade. Water has no calories and unless you’re running a marathon in the summer heat, you don’t need the extra sugar and electrolytes. Even if I’m on my bike for an hour and a half in the summer, I’ll still choose water and a granola bar. Same calories as the Gatorade, but with fiber and “staying power.”
If you’re working on losing weight, pay attention to the calories in food and don’t assume that something “healthier” or “guilt free” is actually lower in calories than the food you’d like to eat. And don’t forget that you can have a smaller portion of the food you’d like to eat rather than the whole portion of something “guilt free” and “flavor free” and still eat the same number of calories.
May you be happy, healthy and enjoy your food,
Regan
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