Even though I’m a registered dietitian, I don’t typically recommend traditional diet foods to my clients. Thing like fat free, low fat, sugar free, reduced calorie, etc.
Why? Because the diet versions of regular foods are often unsatisfying and not as good as the original. Think of things like reduced fat peanut butter (it has a weird texture and it has more added sugars), low fat crackers (the texture is not as good), or low sugar ice cream (often replaced with artificial sweeteners that have a strange taste, like monk fruit which is the absolute worst in my opinion!). Never as good as the original.
The other potential problem with diet foods is that we over eat them, whether because we are looking for satisfaction or we think it’s a free pass to eat more because it’s not as “bad” for us.
However, there are certain products I choose to buy for myself that might fall under the diet category. And I have my reasons. For any traditional diet product, you might have a good reason to eat it and that’s totally fine! What matters is how you are thinking about the products. In other words, are you are coming from a diet mindset or not?
Here is my list.
- Fat free shredded cheese: I have to emphasize that I typically only buy shredded cheese in fat-free form. Not any regular block cheese or snacking cheese! I basically only use shredded cheese for my eggs, which I eat immediately. If left for too long, fat free cheese tends to get rubbery. I like the texture in my eggs, however. Also, I don’t like to eat lots of fats in the morning. My personal preference! I like the added protein without the added fat.
- Crystal Light: I love Crystal Light. I do not like drinking my calories and typically avoid soda and juice for that reason. But I love something other than water every once in a while, so I buy Crystal Light to keep on hand. Crystal Light has often been marketed as a diet food, but I don’t look at it that way. I only look at it as something I enjoy.
- Light Yogurts: My favorite yogurt is Dannon Light + Fit. It’s fat free and 80 calories with 12 grams of protein. For a similar reason as the cheese, I don’t like a yogurt with a high fat content because it’s too filling for me, and I typically eat my yogurt in the afternoons closer to dinner time. I don’t want to ruin my appetite! I like the texture as well.
- Egg whites: Egg whites are fluffy and I love the texture. I don’t always love egg yolks or whole eggs – similar reason to above is that they are filling to me! I also prefer the taste of egg whites mostly over whole eggs. I love whole eggs in salads and on toast however, but that’s not the point of this post! I eat egg whites when I want something high volume and high protein, and that’s fine!
So, I love these foods because I love them. I’m not approaching it with a dieting, weight loss or restrictive mindset.