What is Your Opinion?

Gentlemen, What is your opinion of fat free and low fat/calorie foods? Would you choose a potato chip that is advertised as "40% less fat that regular potato chips" over regular chips? Do you say to yourself that the low fat version is better than going without, or would you rather go without. For me, I generally avoid the low fat/calorie foods and go without...but not always. Let me give you a bit of background to my question. I am the quality assurance manager for a regional snack foods manufacture. We make all of the nasty things us deep navel guys love but shouldn't be eating, like potato chips, tortilla chips, cheese puffs, popcorn, etc. I rarely eat any of it. Our sales staff is convinced that there is a vast number of weigh****ching people in the market that will buy anything that says "less fat" or "fewer calories". I simply don't buy into that idea and have tried to tell them so. I believe that anyone who is seriously watching what they eat will not eat junk food, even low fat junk food. The choice that most people make is to say, 'I'll go without', or 'the heck with it, I'll eat anything I want' and then opt for the regular calorie version. I don't think there is much middle ground for the low fat/calorie foods. What do you do, buy the regular version, light version, or go without? What light foods do you find acceptable? What light foods to you dislike? May Your Lantern Burn Bright, Paul

Paul: Very interesting , thought provoking discussion. After reflecting on your questions I discovered that when it comes to making food choices I am a split personality.....Balanced and in control OR Whacked-out and in full out of control binge mode. Moderation is the line I cross as I go from one extreme to the other Pre-op: When on a "diet".. only low / no fat choices Off the diet... only the foods I knew would be the worst for me.. It was that I was punishing myself for being a "failure" on my last diet... It was self loathing... self hate.. self destruction. Another part was being the "bad boy" doing what I knew was wrong.. to reinforce my "Kevin's a loser" self image. Post-op: My honeymoon phase: for the first time in my life I could eat small quantities of any foods and lose weight... I was blown away... all of the foods I associated with being "bad"...did not reinforce my "failure" thoughts... I experimented with just about all foods... small amounts.. salty..sweet...soft..cold..warm... they felt pleasurable the first few times I "got away with it".. but slowly the thrill is deminishing.. high fat / sugar leaves me feeling slow and sluggish.. I much prefer feeling strong and powerful..It was like the 18 year old who gets his first freedom living away from his parents.. push the limits.. experiment.. go over the line.. and in time I am discovering.. what is best for Kevin.. as a man.. what do I stand for.. what are my values.. in relationship to food choices. Today.. I chose foods which support a strong energy filled life 90% of the time.. my biggest weakness is "skipping meals" ( the same behavior which set up my pre-op binges).. I now have protien shake mix at home & the office and rather than skip a meal I can get 26grms. of protein.. vitamins.. healthy calories and feel better physcially and mentaly and spiritually..For snacks.. I do only do 5% of the shopping and our pantry has poor choices in it.. of these tortilla chips in very small quanities.. when I do shop.. I select mixed nuts.. high calories.. but protien and healthy fats.. keep my quanities small As to the overall choices society makes, I believe in the 80/20 rule. 20% of your clients consume 80% of the junk food.. those who do not have food "issues" can take it or leave it, they buy very little snack foods. The big "gimmick" seems to be selling 200 calorie portions of really unhealthy foods, it gives the consumer the feeling of control. All of the snack food companies are doing it.. chips ahoy.. hershey..etc etc etc. Thanks for the great post and thought provoking questions

Hey Paul.... What a great question.... First let me answer as a WLS person...at this point 21 months out, if I'm going to go off track for a few mins...I go whole hog...I know that the occation is special, and that is it....no beating up..just 'hell, I want some cheese nips..and i'm gonna have it...maybe one or 2 or maybe a handful....and I stear away from the fat free ****if I'm going to riot...lets party..but I don;t do that but maybe once a week, or two.... Ok but your target audience is not WLS patients...if only... There are a **** load of "pretend Dieters" out there.. the people that will eat a 1 pound bad of "Fat Free" pretzels at one sitting, comforting themself that....at least these are Fat Free...never realizing that pretzels have always been fat free...these are the same peole who think a serving is when the bag is empty...so matter what size you start with... A 2 gallon tub of popcorn, at the movies, but that's ok because i used the butter flavored salt, instead of the liquid stuff Damn I sound harsh....but there are heards of these bovines ou there, adn this is how they cope with life....( I ate a whole gallon of "Ice Milk"...at least it wasn't ice cream) So from a business stand point...put low cal, fat free.. no net carbs on everything..and people will buy it.... But what ligh foods do I find acceptable....before surgery none....since surgery, I have been able to tolerate Kraft light french dressing...I have bought a bunch of stuff, and throw it out...the mayo is the worst...and SF pancake syrup....is just nasty.... we have done some limited driving in the past 2 years, and I have to say...I do without rather than eat what is available at the truck stop shelves.... a honey bun with plastic sugar on to at 400 cals...I'd rather go hungry....and I just can't make my self eat the fish sticks from the vending machine at the phillips 66, no matter if it does have a little protein... But I don;t hink the truck stops are ready for a small pac of soy nuts, hell sometime you have to go t def con 4 just to get sweet and low for you coffee... but we can always fall back on the big pink jar of pickled Quail eggs for nutrition.... ok long ans short...people will buy anything that make them believe they are eating better...even if they are not What a goot rant for saturday morning.... Russ

When it comes to snack foods, I avoid them. Even lower fat/lower calorie item are wasted calories IMHO. I do partake in low fat/low carb when it come to essential things like Mayo, salad dressings, etc. I always look for a lower calorie item if its a meal item. I choose white meat chicken over dark, lower fat ground beef. etc. i hope my post makes sense. Thanks

OK, as someone who has just crossed over, here is my opinion. I have two teenagers left at home and I do almost all of the shopping for the family. About six months ago, I started to really analize what my kids were eating. My 14 year old son is a rock. Seriously, he is six feet tall with six pack abs. His favorite snack is sun chips but he does not over-do anything. On the other side of the equation is my 15 year old daughter. She is a snack food fiend. Ice cream, chips and chocolate could be her complete diet if allowed. She is tall and big, not fat but big. I am trying hard to limit what is available in the pantry. I only buy light mayo and salad dressing. I compromised on 2% milk. For chips we stay with Sun Chips and occaisionally regular stuff too. We are one of the few families left in America with a working kitchen as we make over half of our meals and actually sit down to dinner together a few times a week. My wife and I both travel a lot so it is often just one parent there but still a family meal. I look at the store shelves and I have to agree with your marketing and sales people. Most people will try anything that says "light" of "Low Fat" and will continue to use it if they like the taste.

I had the DS, so when it comes to my own eating, I look for things that are low carb over things that are low fat. But i do buy a lot of the 100 calorie snack packs (esp the doritos or baked cookies), not for the fat content, but because they are set proportions. If a food is lower in calories or fat and doesn't use artifical sweeteners or trans fats, I will buy them for my kids over regular fat products. My youngest is a *****ubby, and my wife and I are constantly looking for lower calorie alternatives for him. Scott