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A Brief Look at Low Fat Diets
Benefits
In a typical low fat diet, fat makes up less than 30 percent of the total
caloric intake. The remainder of the calories should consist of whole
grains, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and lean meat. To avoid raising
your cholesterol, you should choose unsaturated fats, such as vegetable
oils, nuts and fish.
Being on a low-fat diet doesn’t mean a lifetime of tasteless meals and
cookies that taste like cardboard. You have over 5,000 low fat food products
to choose from. Most of your favourite foods come in low- or non-fat
varieties, including yogurt, cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and milk.
Instead of ground beef, you can eat ground turkey.
Preparation is everything. Instead of eggs, use egg substitutes. You can use
applesauce or pureed fruit in place of oils, butter or margarine. You can
also reduce calories from fat by broiling, baking, steaming or poaching your
foods instead of frying them.
Problems with Low Fat Diets
One problem with a low fat diet is that low fat does not mean low calorie.
Many people load up on low fat candy, cookies and pretzels without regard to
portion sizes. While they are eating less fat, they are consuming more
processed sugars and products made with white flour, which are both high in
calories.
Diets low in fat and high in carbohydrates can increase triglycerides (fat)
in the blood. This results in a decrease in "good" HDL cholesterol. It also
has a negative effect on the size of "bad" LDL cholesterol. This can lead to
heart disease, especially in some severely overweight individuals.
You can lose B vitamins, zinc and some essential fatty acids if the fat
content in your diet is too low. Fat is needed to help the body absorb
vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well lycopene, which protects against prostate
cancer.
Current Food Products
Jenny Craig: Meals provide from 1,000 to 2,300 calories per day,
depending upon the dieter’s beginning weight and weight loss goals. The
prepackaged frozen breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts contain
50%-60% carbohydrate, 20%-25% protein, and 20%-25% fat. They cost
approximately $308-420 for a 28 day supply. Although there are many
varieties of food offered, critics say that they all taste the same and
portions are very small. WebMD.com noted that the foods had the same taste
as their frozen counterparts and the taste was enhanced by adding a portion
of fruit during or after the meal.
NutriSystems: There are more than 120 prepackaged frozen meals and
desserts. Meals provide from 1,200 (women) to 1,500 (men) calories per day.
Low in fat, saturated fats and cholesterol, they also contain omega 3 fatty
acids. The prepackaged frozen breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts
contain 55% carbohydrate, 25% protein, and 20%fat. All foods are delivered
to your door in microwaveable pouches. They cost approximately $327 for a 28
day supply, although the price decreases to $294 if you opt for the
automatic delivery system. Supplemental foods, such as fruit, vegetables,
salads and milk, cost extra and are available at your super market.
Seattle Sutton: Meals provide 1200-2000 calories per day. The
prepackaged food is fresh, ready to eat and delivered twice a week from a
local distributor. Meals are low cholesterol, low saturated fat, 55%
carbohydrates, 21% protein, 24% fat, and sodium restricted. There is a five
week rotation of menus and over 100 varieties of food to choose from. Costs
vary by local distributor.
Weight Watchers: Meals are available at your super market. You pick
and choose the foods, and buy only what you like. Weight Watchers does have
its own food products, but you are not required to buy them. A number of
well-known food companies are associated with Weight Watchers, including
Hostess, Mrs. Dash, Quakers, Progresso Soups, Tropicana and Tysons. You pay
regular retail prices and can take advantage of sale prices. Foods are
assigned point values. Dieters are allotted points based on the weight and
height.
References
Blake, Joan Salge. (2008). The Pros and Cons of a Low Fat Diet. Food
Network.com. URL:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_hl_low_fat/article/0,2661,FOOD_20756_3584986,00.html.
Federal Trade Commission. (1997). Commercial Weight Loss Products and
Programs: What Consumers Stand to Gain or Lose. Report of the Presiding
Panel. URL:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/1998/03/weightlo.rpt.htm.
NutriSystem, Inc. (2008). New for 2008: NutriSystem Advanced. URL: http://www.nutrisystem.com/shop/main.cfm?action=catalog/displayCategoryMembers&category_id=66.
Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating. (2007). About Seattle Sutton’s Healthy
Eating. URL: http://www.seattlesutton.com/AboutUs.asp.
WebMD.com. (2007) Jenny Craig: What It Is. WebMD Health and Diet Center.
URL: http://www.webmd.com/diet/jenny-craig-what-it-is.
Weight Watchers Inc. (2008). How Weight Watchers Works. URL: http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/index.aspx.
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