Health Food Can Also Make You Fat
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My client Jackie was a “health nut.” She shopped only in the health food store and bought organic foods. She ate a vegetarian diet, took loads of vitamins, and preached (to anyone who would listen) about the virtues of eating “pure and healthy.” Yet, at thirty-four years old she was 55 pounds overweight. Jackie ate plenty of “health foods.”
The problem was that she ate them to excess. Many foods give the appearance of being healthy, but actually pack in quite a few calories, fats, and carbohydrates— just stroll down the aisle at Whole Foods or Wild Oats, and really examine some of the food labels. You may be a little surprised by what you discover. For Jackie, the calories added up, and the pounds followed. When she came to me, she didn’t want to hear about any of that “mumbo-jumbo behavior stuff.” She was a perfect example of someone who had detached herself emotionally from her eating problems. Looking at her behavior was still too painful! Instead, she insisted that weight control was only about food and blamed her extra pounds on a slow metabolism and 12-hour shifts at the hospital where she worked. Jackie constantly citied studies from the latest news headlines: “nuts are healthy”; “a recent study shows that eating a slice of pizza once per day can lower your risk of certain cancers”; “chocolate may ward off heart disease”— and the list goes on. In reality, however, she was simply eating too much of the “right” foods, and some of the “wrong” foods as well. She used olive oil to stir-fry her foods, but the food was swimming in oil. Yes, there have been studies to show that some of the foods she was eating have health benefits, but they still have calories. To Jackie, however, reading that a slice of pizza once a day can lower the risk of certain cancers affirmed her desire to have a slice— and not once in a while, but every day.
We solved Jackie’s eating problem by making her aware that eating natural or healthy foods doesn’t necessarily help you lose weight. People often confuse eating “health foods”— foods”— with eating healthily in order to lose weight and be healthy. When I showed Jackie the following information about some of the “healthy” foods she was eating excessively, she was finally able to understand that she was eating well— but eating too well.
Rice Cakes
Believe it or not, these are still very popular among dieters. Their taste has improved over the years, but to me rice cakes are still the closest thing to flavored cardboard with calories. The food label of Hain’s Honey Nut Rice Cakes says that 1 cake is 50 calories, 0g fat, and 11g carbs— but how many of them do we really eat? Don’t get me wrong— if you compare rice cakes to a bag of potato chips, they’re definitely better. The problem is that rice cakes are not nutrient dense, which means you don’t get a lot, nutritionally-speaking, for your consumption, and you will most likely remain hungry.
Yogurt has gained a reputation for being a healthy food for a variety of reasons, including improved digestion, prevention of intestinal infection, and reinforcement of immune function. But, regardless of the truth of these claims, we can’t ignore the fact that frozen yogurt still contains calories and quite a lot of sugar. And since many of us eat way too many calories as it is, any potential benefits from eating too much yogurt may be negated by the increased health risk of being overweight. In fact, frozen yogurt, which is typically on a dieter’s shopping list, may not have the same health benefits as regular yogurt, and in terms of calories, it is often closer to ice cream than yogurt. Nonfat frozen yogurt might seem like a blessing, but just because it doesn’t have fat doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Nonfat frozen yogurt can still contain plenty of calories and carbohydrates. When manufacturers cut fat in a product, they need to come up with some way to keep the flavor, which often means adding additional sugar. Check the labels on low fat products in your supermarket, and you’ll notice the trend.
Veggie Chips
Amazingly, some of these snacks taste great— even better than the some of the so-called fattening ones— but there’s a reason why. Most of the time you may save a few calories or fat grams, but in the long run, you may end up eating foods you would never normally eat at all. For instance, I really like Stacy’s Simply Naked Baked Pita Chips, which are just slightly lower in calories and fat than potato chips. However, I would never eat potato chips in the first place, and with these, I find myself eating at least half the bag— about 390 calories, 12g fat, and 54g carbs. That’s the equivalent of eating 3 bananas or 5 apples— but at least with the fruit, you get some real health benefits, and also feel more satisfied. Then there are those Terra Chips. They look so healthy, packaged beautifully, and again, they are lower in calories than potato chips, but are they REALLY good for you? Just 1 ounce contains 140 calories, 7g fat, and 18g carbs— but have you ever heard that advertisement, “Bet you can’t eat just one? “ It may not be for Terra Chips, but the advertisement still hits the nail on the head.
The problem was that she ate them to excess. Many foods give the appearance of being healthy, but actually pack in quite a few calories, fats, and carbohydrates— just stroll down the aisle at Whole Foods or Wild Oats, and really examine some of the food labels. You may be a little surprised by what you discover. For Jackie, the calories added up, and the pounds followed. When she came to me, she didn’t want to hear about any of that “mumbo-jumbo behavior stuff.” She was a perfect example of someone who had detached herself emotionally from her eating problems. Looking at her behavior was still too painful! Instead, she insisted that weight control was only about food and blamed her extra pounds on a slow metabolism and 12-hour shifts at the hospital where she worked. Jackie constantly citied studies from the latest news headlines: “nuts are healthy”; “a recent study shows that eating a slice of pizza once per day can lower your risk of certain cancers”; “chocolate may ward off heart disease”— and the list goes on. In reality, however, she was simply eating too much of the “right” foods, and some of the “wrong” foods as well. She used olive oil to stir-fry her foods, but the food was swimming in oil. Yes, there have been studies to show that some of the foods she was eating have health benefits, but they still have calories. To Jackie, however, reading that a slice of pizza once a day can lower the risk of certain cancers affirmed her desire to have a slice— and not once in a while, but every day.
We solved Jackie’s eating problem by making her aware that eating natural or healthy foods doesn’t necessarily help you lose weight. People often confuse eating “health foods”— foods”— with eating healthily in order to lose weight and be healthy. When I showed Jackie the following information about some of the “healthy” foods she was eating excessively, she was finally able to understand that she was eating well— but eating too well.
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| Health Food Can Also Make You Fat |
Believe it or not, these are still very popular among dieters. Their taste has improved over the years, but to me rice cakes are still the closest thing to flavored cardboard with calories. The food label of Hain’s Honey Nut Rice Cakes says that 1 cake is 50 calories, 0g fat, and 11g carbs— but how many of them do we really eat? Don’t get me wrong— if you compare rice cakes to a bag of potato chips, they’re definitely better. The problem is that rice cakes are not nutrient dense, which means you don’t get a lot, nutritionally-speaking, for your consumption, and you will most likely remain hungry.
- Quaker Nacho Cheese Crispy Mini’s (9 mini cakes): 70 calories, 2.5g fat, 11g carbs
- Quaker Chocolate Crunch Rice Cakes (1 cake): 60 calories, 1g fat, 12g carbs
- Lundberg Nutra-Farmed Brown Rice Cake (1 cake): 70 calories, 0g fat, 15g carbs
- Lundberg Nutra-Farmed Buttery Caramel Rice Cake (1 cake): 80 calories, 0.5g fat, 18g carbs
Yogurt has gained a reputation for being a healthy food for a variety of reasons, including improved digestion, prevention of intestinal infection, and reinforcement of immune function. But, regardless of the truth of these claims, we can’t ignore the fact that frozen yogurt still contains calories and quite a lot of sugar. And since many of us eat way too many calories as it is, any potential benefits from eating too much yogurt may be negated by the increased health risk of being overweight. In fact, frozen yogurt, which is typically on a dieter’s shopping list, may not have the same health benefits as regular yogurt, and in terms of calories, it is often closer to ice cream than yogurt. Nonfat frozen yogurt might seem like a blessing, but just because it doesn’t have fat doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Nonfat frozen yogurt can still contain plenty of calories and carbohydrates. When manufacturers cut fat in a product, they need to come up with some way to keep the flavor, which often means adding additional sugar. Check the labels on low fat products in your supermarket, and you’ll notice the trend.
- Haagen-Dazs Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt (1 cup): 460 calories, 12g fat, 72g carbs
- Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked Frozen Yogurt (1 cup): 420 calories, 7g fat, 78g carbs (a bit better than their Half Baked Ice Cream counterpart which has 560 calories, 28g fat, 68g carbs per cup)
- Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Low Fat Frozen Yogurt (1 cup): 380 calories, 5g fat, 72g carbs
- Edy’s Heath Toffee Crunch Frozen Yogurt (1 cup): 240 calories, 8g fat, 36g carbs Also, keep an eye on yogurt-covered snacks; some varieties are more like candies in disguise!
- 1 cup yogurt peanuts: 921 calories, 63g fat, 72g carbs • 1 cup yogurt covered raisins: 750 calories, 22 g fat, 139g carbs
- 1 cup yogurt covered pretzels: 391 calories, 14 g fat, 61g carbs
Veggie Chips
Amazingly, some of these snacks taste great— even better than the some of the so-called fattening ones— but there’s a reason why. Most of the time you may save a few calories or fat grams, but in the long run, you may end up eating foods you would never normally eat at all. For instance, I really like Stacy’s Simply Naked Baked Pita Chips, which are just slightly lower in calories and fat than potato chips. However, I would never eat potato chips in the first place, and with these, I find myself eating at least half the bag— about 390 calories, 12g fat, and 54g carbs. That’s the equivalent of eating 3 bananas or 5 apples— but at least with the fruit, you get some real health benefits, and also feel more satisfied. Then there are those Terra Chips. They look so healthy, packaged beautifully, and again, they are lower in calories than potato chips, but are they REALLY good for you? Just 1 ounce contains 140 calories, 7g fat, and 18g carbs— but have you ever heard that advertisement, “Bet you can’t eat just one? “ It may not be for Terra Chips, but the advertisement still hits the nail on the head.
- Good Health Veggie Stix (3 oz): 420 calories, 21g fat, 54g carbs
- Pirate’s Booty (3 oz): 384 calories, 15g fat, 54g carbs
- Kettle Five Grain Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips (3 oz): 420 calories, 18g fat, 54g carbs
- Kettle Organic Sweet Brown Rice & Black Bean Tortilla Chips (3 oz): 360 calories, 18g fat, 48g carbs
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