A few years ago I came across an interesting article on debt counseling; one part in particular really intrigued me: the article quoted a debt counselor who said his #1 rule for women who shop too much and get into debt was to never buy anything on sale. The reason for this being that you are more likely to buy things you don't really need when they are on sale because you convince yourself you are getting a deal. Although I have never had a shopping addiction, I took this to heart because I noticed the things in my closet that I never wore were all things I bought on sale. This debt counselor also said that you should never buy things you don't love enough to buy at full price.
Well, I feel the exact same way about "free" food items, i.e. the "sugar-free" and "fat-free" products that fill the aisles of major supermarket chains (and now the plethora of "gluten-free" and "dairy-free" items - appropriate product choices for a consumer with a real gluten or lactose intolerance but not exactly a health boon for the rest of us). The bottom line is this: when you think something is free, you are a lot more likely to overindulge and pay the price later, whether it's cookies, chips, shoes or handbags!
Just like those 40% off must-have designer shoes, all of these "free" foods are still costly (to your health if not your budget). Before we get into some of the hidden costs of "free" foods, first let me remind you that any food that claims to be healthy usually isn't. Why? Because if it's telling you it's healthy, it comes in a box and that means it's processed and packaged. Do the carrots or sprouts in the produce aisle tell you they are fat and dairy and gluten free? No, but they are. However, you better believe that sugary cereal produced by the major manufacturer will tout its so-called healthy virtues - "cholesterol-free" (duh! it's not an animal product), "low-fat" and "a great source of whole grains" (yeah, plus 20 grams of sugar to make up for the lack of fat and to disguise the healthy whole grain taste).
So, that's the first problem with these foods: any food that is altered from its original state, whether the fat is removed or the sugar or something else, is more processed and thus less natural. Highly processed food is now being recognized by most health and nutrition experts as the #1 problem in the American diet and the #1 reason for the increase in the chronic diseases that kill so many Americans every year although they are preventable. For a summary on this and other problems with America's food supply, see this great op-ed by Mark Bittman.
The second problem with these "free" foods is what's put in them to compensate for the lack of sugar, fat or whatever else was removed. The sugar that should be in sugar-free foods is generally replaced by aspartame, which is a known neurotoxin and thought to be carcinogenic in large amounts. I try to never touch the stuff personally. Most people love sweets and it's perfectly natural to want something sweet at the end of a meal. My advice: Try a small piece of good dark chocolate or some fresh berries instead. Never go grocery shopping hungry, when you are likely to be tempted by cakes and cookies placed in strategic locations to get you at your weakest. It's best to not keep a lot of sweets in the house, but if you have a spouse or kid that demands them, find something that they love but you can do without (for us, it's the ginger or cocoa snaps shaped like hearts that they sell at Whole Foods - husband and son love them, but they do not tempt me in the least). Whatever you do, do not resort to non-foods full of artificial ingredients like sugar-free jello or pudding pops.
As you may have noticed by now, most "fat-free" foods are very high in either sugar, carbohydrates, chemicals or all three. Don't even get me started on "fat free Half and Half." If Half and Half is by definition half cream and half whole milk, what is this stuff made of? Suffice it to say it involves a series of chemical reactions dreamed up by a highly paid "food scientist." We all know by now that margarine is worse for you than butter and that fat-free cookies, cakes and flavored yogurts are just piles of sugar that never really satisfy you but still make you gain weight. Fat itself, in reasonable amounts, does not make you fat. It is a necessary part of the human diet, and it's the component of food that satisfies you - this is why people find they can eat 10 fat-free cookies in one sitting. Most experts agree you can safely consume 25-30% of your calories from fat (all the better if it's mostly the unsaturated kind) without putting on weight or increasing your risk of disease.
My advice: buy and eat whole fat or low-fat versions of the foods you love (Greek yogurt is something that is best in the low fat version, not whole or free) but learn what the actual serving size is. A tablespoon of butter or sour cream will not kill you or make you fat. Just like everyone should have a clothing budget, it is smart to have your own personal food "budget" as well. Love butter and cheese? Can't live without cream in your coffee? Fine, have an appropriate serving size of real stuff (about 1 oz) and skim fat or calories from somewhere else in your diet OR if you are incapable of eating a small amount of something, avoid it all together if you are trying to lose weight (see how this relates to the theory of buy full price or not at all!), but don't fill up on poor tasting, highly processed substitutes for the original.
For problems with gluten and diary free items for those that don't need them, read this post in my archive.
Training yourself to eat all things in moderation is the key to maintaining your weight over time; so instead of going on 4 crash diets a year where you cut fat and sugar, try this at every meal: fill 60-80% of your plate with vegetables and other whole, plant-based foods and then use animal protein and/or fatty foods as fillers and garnishes: think a large salad topped with 3 oz of protein, a handful of shredded cheese or nuts and 1-2 tablespoons of an olive oil or yogurt based dressing; or a roasted vegetable and whole wheat cous cous salad tossed with an oz of feta cheese and a touch of olive oil. You get the idea. If not, you know where to find me: www.inhabithealth.com.
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