{"id":61487,"date":"2012-01-03T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-01-03T13:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=61487"},"modified":"2012-01-02T20:00:38","modified_gmt":"2012-01-03T01:00:38","slug":"packaged-foods-falsely-marketed-as-weight-loss-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/01\/packaged-foods-falsely-marketed-as-weight-loss-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"Packaged Foods Falsely Marketed as Weight Loss Aids"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve turned on your TV in the past week you’ve no doubt been inundated with ads and messages from some of the biggest packaged food marketers <\/a><\/strong>around. The New Year is like Black Friday for the billion-dollar weight loss industry, as this is the best opportunity to catch new dieters<\/a><\/strong>. Marketers from commercial diets to pills and yogurt want your attention, and your dollars, as you make an effort to stick to a resolution to better yourself; a resolution that for most people has to do with losing weight.\"\"<\/p>\n

As you start making changes this week, be a conscious consumer and don’t accept those advertising claims at face value. The more Yoplait, Diet Coke, and frozen foods you toss in your cart, and eventually in to your mouth, the more you’ll continue to fall short of your goals.<\/p>\n

Yes, the package says they’re healthier. It even says things like fortified, low-calorie, natural, <\/em>or a host of others that they get away with via some tricky loopholes in food labeling. They’re nothing more than a clever disguise.<\/p>\n

“These foods are ‘nutritious’ because they are fortified by adding a few nutrients,” said Mary Hartley, RD<\/a><\/strong>, our resident dietitian. “Because so many other nutrients are removed during processing, they pale in comparison to natural foods. The foods do not contain any particular ingredient to promote weight loss; rather, it is either the small portion, or single serving, or boring repetition recommended by the manufacturer that relatively reduces calorie intake.”<\/p>\n

Those fewer calories you’re consuming are also empty calories, meaning they’re void of nutrition. So you’re feeding your body unnecessary calories and not getting anything else out of it.<\/p>\n

Some of the biggest culprits falsely advertising their weight loss capabilities, include Special K, Yoplait, diet soda, Slim-Fast, and Lean Cuisines. Continue reading to see why they’re on our list, and what the healthier alternative is.<\/p>\n

Start the Slideshow<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Next: Yoplait Yogurt<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Special K Cereal<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You’ll hear a lot about the Special K Challenge<\/a><\/strong> in the coming weeks. The idea is to have a bowl of cereal for two of your three meals, and even supplement with their snack products between meals, and lose up to six pounds in two weeks. However, you’re just eating a bunch of super processed foods. Special K Red Berries and Chocolatey Delight both have sugar as a main ingredient, as well as the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup. Chocolatey Delight has trans fat<\/a><\/strong> in the chocolate chunks, as do many of their products, like the cereal bars. This is mentioned as partially hydrogenated oil on the package labels. The protein shakes are a complicated cocktail of more than 40 ingredients with multiple food dyes, artificial flavors and corn syrup. Plus, most people will eat only cereal for breakfast and lunch, and not supplement with any of the daily required serving of fresh fruits, vegetables, or even protein.<\/p>\n

Better Choice<\/strong>: Have a nutritionist favorite – Cheerios with skim milk and fresh blueberries or bananas for breakfast. Then, plan a balanced lunch.<\/p>\n

Next: Diet Soda<\/span><\/a><\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yoplait Yogurt
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the nutritionally void food that is Yoplait yogurt. We’ve blown the whistle on their impostor Greek yogurt<\/a><\/strong> and named it one of the breakfast foods with more sugar than a candy bar<\/a><\/strong>. It is loaded down with sugar, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and no probiotics or dietary fiber. You’ll crash as hard after eating one of these as you would after eating a handful of Gobstoppers.<\/p>\n

Better Choice<\/strong>: To a plain Greek yogurt, like Chobani, Fage, or Voskos, add pumpkin puree and cinnamon, drizzle honey and a sprinkle of cocoa powder, or top with your favorite berries and homemade granola<\/a><\/strong> to achieve the dessert-like yogurts they pitch.<\/p>\n

Next: Slim-Fast<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Diet Soda<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When people start cutting calories, one of the first moves they make is to kick the can of regular soda to the side for a can of Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, or Diet Dr. Pepper. It might say zero calories on the can, but the damage its doing to your body is adding up quickly. Our resident dietitian Mary Hartley, RD noted earlier this year, at the release of Pepsi Next<\/a><\/strong>, that these diet or lower-calorie sodas are still full of additives and preservatives and “keep your sweet-tooth revved up,” she said. Just how bad is it? This graphic argues which is worse – marijuana or diet soda<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Better Choice<\/strong>: It’s always water. You can snazz it up with fresh citrus juice, mint leaves, or even cucumber slices. The SodaStream Fizz Machine carbonates your water to give it that bubbly burn you love.<\/p>\n

Next: Lean Cuisine<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Slim-Fast<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to the meal replacement style of the Special K Challenge, Slim-Fast<\/a><\/strong>‘s plan has you replace breakfast and lunch with their shakes and then consume a “sensible dinner.” While the 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of protein advertised on the front of the bottle with a “up to four hours hunger control” message seems mighty appealing, it’s what’s on the other side of the label that turns us off. Eighteen grams of sugar is a quite a lot, that’s more than is in a Pop-Tart! It comes from sugar being the third ingredient, not to mention other sugar sources like fructose and sucralose. It also has hydrogenated oil, which is a deal breaker in our book.<\/p>\n

Better Choice<\/strong>: If it’s a filling drink on the run you need, make your own smoothies. Gain protein and fiber from a Greek yogurt, and the fiber from whole oats or flaxseed, not to mention all the fresh fruits and vegetables you can mix in. Need chocolate? A dash of quality cocoa powder will be sweetened by all of the fruit!<\/p>\n

Restart Slideshow<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lean Cuisines<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you want a plate of lasagna for lunch, make it yourself. The same goes for chicken enchiladas or turkey and cheese sandwiches. These frozen meals, and their competitors, appear to make it easy to get a “healthy” lunch in minutes, but it’s not anything you couldn’t do yourself. The tomato puree is likely one of the two vegetable servings they claim on the package, but then again, Congress things tomato puree is a vegetable, too. The only other mention of vegetables are diced tomatoes further down the list and onion, and of course five different cheeses, which attribute to the seven grams of fat. The sodium is quite high at 620 milligrams for one meal, something we like to see at 500 milligrams or less. While, ingredient-wise, this is one of the better packaged foods, we’d still like to see less processed foods being depended upon and consumed.<\/p>\n

Better Choice<\/strong>: Prepare a large lasagna with whole grain noodles, ground turkey, bell peppers, spinach, fresh basil, and low-fat mozzarella cheese. Cut leftovers in to single-serving squares and store in baggies or sealable containers. Grab one for lunch, with a side salad, and you’ve got a ready-in-minutes meal that truly is a healthy lunch, loaded with vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. Apply this approach to enchiladas, stir fry, and even homemade pizza. Control the ingredients, control the calories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve turned on your TV in the past week you’ve no doubt been inundated with ads and messages from some of the biggest packaged food marketers around. The New Year is like Black Friday for the billion-dollar weight loss … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695,58],"tags":[2627,8440,409,1094,627,544,2532],"class_list":["post-61487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-womens-health","tag-diet-soda","tag-homepage","tag-lean-cuisine","tag-marketing","tag-slim-fast","tag-special-k","tag-yoplait"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61487"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61577,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61487\/revisions\/61577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}