There are a few different variations of products with low amounts of fat. You’ll find terms like “fat-free,” “light,” “reduced-fat,” and “low-fat,” tossed around a lot.
So what do those terms really mean? And what is the real trouble with a fat-free diet?
“Fat-free” foods have less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.
“Low-fat” foods have 3 grams of fat or less per serving.
“Reduced-fat” foods have at least 25 percent less fat than regular versions of foods.
“Light” foods have up to 50 percent less fat than regular foods.
When you hear this, you probably think: What’s the problem?
Researchers from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab found that people who ate low-fat foods ate about 28 percent more calories. They also discovered that these same people believed that their low-fat foods contained about 40 percent fewer calories than their regular versions, which led them to eat more.
Here are some low-fat foods that you might want to reevaluate before you eat them on a regular basis.
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For decades, nutritionists have debated over the health benefits of coffee. And now, they’ve mostly concluded that it’s actually healthy for you.
But when you start adding in the high sugar content and flavorings in low-fat coffee drinks, it negates some of the benefit. A nonfat mocha drink has 2 grams of fat but 33 grams of sugar.
2. Chips
Low-fat chips love to promise all the taste and half the calories. The problem here is that the flavor you crave comes from added salt and calories that aren’t very satiating.
Chips were already some of the saltiest foods imaginable – and they get saltier when you eat the low-fat variety.
Frozen yogurt contains just as much sugar as ice cream, and sometimes more.
One serving of nonfat frozen yogurt contains 24 grams of sugar, compared to the 21 grams per serving of ice cream.
Again, if you want something sweet, don’t try and cheat.
4. Cookies
When low-fat cookies reached the height of popularity in the 1990s, researchers found that they were nowhere near as satisfying as the originals, according to participants.
And because the sugar content of these cookies was so high, they often had just as many calories.
Cereal bars can be just as bad, even though they’re often marketed towards athletes and people with active lifestyles.
The Best Way to Eat Fat-Free Products
You should always read the labels when you consider buying low-fat products.
You should also watch your serving sizes. You may very well be consuming far more calories than you would otherwise.
In general, you should eat more vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. Not only will you receive far more nutrients on a regular basis, you’ll also feel fuller and eat fewer calories. These foods are also naturally low in fat.
And as always, keep everything in moderation.
What’s your take on low-fat food? Have anything else you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
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Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
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Some popular pre-workouts are all-natural. Some contain the right mix of high-quality ingredients. Some provide clinically effective doses. But only Pulse checks each of these boxes.
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Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
This product doesn’t just “contain natural ingredients’’—every ingredient is naturally sourced from plants and animals. This product contains no artificial or synthetic substances of any kind.
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