You are going to lose weight and you are considering changing your diet by introducing light products to the menu. Is it good idea? What do light, slim, fit products contain and how is their calorific value reduced and are they he althy? Check if eating light foods is a good way to lose weight.

Light products , i.e. energy-reduced products, can be part of a slimming diet. However, it cannot be argued that they are necessarily recommended. The basis of permanent weight loss is changing your bad eating habits. First of all, we must eat less, learn to choose valuable products, properly prepare them for consumption and take care of daily physical activity.

The rule is simple: the basis of weight loss is a negative energy balance. This means that you should eat lesscaloriesduring the day than your body needs. The caloric deficit means that we start using adipose tissue as a source of energy, so the weight drops.

Light products contain less fat, more water and more preservatives

Light foods are not particularly nutritious. In order to lower the calorific value of a product, we need to remove something from it. The fat content is most often reduced in yellow cheeses and cottage cheese. This allows you to save some energy, but the fat-soluble vitamins (mainly vitamin A and vitamin D, necessary for good eyesight, skin and bones) are removed.

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Such treatment actually reduces the nutritional value of the product, and in some cases it also reduces the use of other ingredients. For example, calcium, for which we value dairy products so much, is much less digestible if it is not accompanied by vitamin D. If we remove something from the product, we have to fill the empty space. Often, the position of the missing ingredient is replaced by water and thickeners, which allow it to be retained in the finished product and give it the right shape. The higher the water content, the lower the shelf life of the food, therefore preservatives are often found in low-calorie products. Some of the fat can be replaced with sugar, which is also not goodsolution.

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Important

The psychological aspect is also associated with light foods. If the product has a reduced calorific value, we usually attach less importance to the amount consumed. This is disadvantageous as we don't learn to control portion sizes and then we may just eat too much. Remember that all products, even light ones, eaten in excessive amounts are the cause of excess weight.

Light is not always light

Read labels carefully when shopping. Not every product labeled "light", "fit" or "0%" is really low in calories. It is worth checking the composition of "dietary sweets". The sugar removed from them is often replaced with fat. Such a chocolate or a bar with a changed composition may turn out to be very caloric. These are products intended mainly for diabetics, and not for people who want to lose weight.

Fructose (sugar) or sweeteners are added to dietary products intended to replace traditional sweets. Fructose has the same energy value as sucrose, but a lower glycemic index. It does not cause a sharp increase in blood sugar levels. In addition, fructose is sweeter than traditional sugar, so we can use less to achieve the same flavor.

There is also the economic aspect. Light food is usually more expensive than traditional products, although it is not better in terms of quality. Therefore, slimmed down food products are not a golden measure in the fight against unnecessary kilograms, it is worth remembering before throwing them into the basket.

Important

Synthetic sweetness - what sugar substitutes can you find in light products?

Artificial sweeteners are a diverse group of compounds. Some of them, such as saccharin, aspartame or thaumatin, are even several hundred times sweeter than sugar and can be used in minimal amounts to obtain the desired sweetness. They give a sweet taste without any additional increase in calorific value or only slightly increasing its calorific value. However, sweeteners are not ideal, e.g. aspartame cannot be used in cooking or baking, because it loses its properties at high temperatures and toxic substances are formed. Patients with phenylketonuria must also give up products with aspartame.

Sweeteners belonging to polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, lactitol) have a sweetness similar to sucrose, but their calorific value per 1 g is lower. They are often used assugar substitute. Unfortunately, their excessive consumption can cause diarrhea.

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Slimming