Healthy Eating: Whole Foods vs. Diet Foods
Back in my dieting days, I thought my food choices demonstrated picture perfect health. Guess what my diet consisted of?
Special K cereal, Lean Cuisine frozen meals, 100-calorie packs, and artificial sweeteners. Basically, everything I ate came from a package, usually one that touted the product’s weight loss potential on the front.
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Why did I think these foods were so healthy? Because I made the common mistake of equating “healthy” with “low-calorie.”
My foods in my diet were incredibly over-processed, filled with funky additives, and had mile-long ingredient lists, most of which were unrecognizable and unpronounceable. I didn’t realize this at the time, but even if I did I probably wouldn’t have cared. Because, again, all that mattered to me was that they were low in calories and hence would help me lose weight.
Obviously today I have a much different perspective. I try to eat a Michael Pollan-inspired diet: whole foods instead of “edible food-like substances.” I try to avoid eating too much that comes from a box instead of from the earth, and when I do eat packaged foods, I try to pick ones with a relatively short list of recognizable ingredients. Even though these foods sometimes have more calories than the ones I used to consume, I recognize now that they are what truly healthy eating is all about.
Monica from Eat, Run, Repeat recently linked to this great article on Psychology Today. I loved this quote:
“Indeed, a $60 billion a year diet industry would have us believe that aspartame is a “healthier” choice as a sweetener than a calorie-laden whole food like honey or maple syrup. In this eating disordered paradigm, a box of “non-fat” cereal, whose second ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup (that cheaply made sugar substitute, which is heavily processed after being produced by land-destroying industrial agricultural methods), is better for you than a bowl of plain oatmeal and raisins.”
I am NOT suggesting that my diet is perfect, or that I never eat overly-processed crap. I mean, you can see that’s not true from my “What I Ate” posts. But believe me, it’s a total transformation from how I used to eat.
I’m also not saying that one should NEVER consume Special K cereal or a Smart Ones frozen entree. Sometimes we want these foods because we think they taste good, or we’re in a pinch and it’s the best option we have. Sometimes they help us satisfy a craving without going totally overboard. I don’t think that’s a bad thing!
All I’m saying is that for me, relying solely on those foods as “healthy” fare simply didn’t work. When I get a hunger pang at 3:30 in the afternoon, I know that a banana with natural peanut butter is going to fill me up way more than a 100-calorie pack. Diet foods never left me feeling full or satisfied!
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When I choose whole foods – instead of artificial dieting products – my body definitely thanks me.
When you look back, do you notice that your definition of healthy eating has changed or evolved in some way?
Themocracy
Oh my goodness, my view of healthy eating has changed so many times! Thankfully, I am finally eating in a way that feels best!
Katie, I love your blog posts! I definitely relate to your writing
My definition of healthy eating has definitely changed – I used to be ‘low cal is best’ and now I believe ‘real food is best’
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Katie,
My definition of healthy eating has changed so much over the years and has continued to over the past few months as I have found the world of healthy eating blogs. I think my definition of ‘healthy eating’ had so much to do with my disordered eating mind frame. If food had no substance.. I wouldn’t gain weight. Agh! No wonder I had no energy, no drive! Today I am proud to say that I nourish my body with nutritious, whole foods as often as I can… and my body, like yours, thanks me!
I hear ya – it’s crazy how my disordered eating mind frame totally screwed with my perception of what was “healthy”!
To answer your question, absolutely! But in general I think a lot of society is coming around and people are becoming more educated.
For example, my mother, in the 80′s and 90′s. Poor woman was raising 3 heavy children, and bought things liks Snackwells cookies and fat free frozen yogurt. The problem? We were pretty much allowed to eat however much we wanted – so we never learned portion control. To this day I am still trying to teach my body and brain to recognize the feeling of fullness and stop when appropriate.
I think I went off in a slightly different direction, but I’m happy to say that as an adult I have a very different view of healthy eating that I continue to learn more and more about.
Thats so funny! I did a similar post today on this sort of topic.
This is something I am struggling with at the moment. I know that whole foods is best but I can’t help picking up low-fat items, unless I totally deprive myself of the things I crave. You put it best when you said, “Sometimes they help us satisfy a craving without going totally overboard.” It turns out I have a lot of cravings! I have done really well to stop my 2-a-day diet pepsi habit but I still drink 2 or 3 a week, low-fat yoghurts with sweeteners are the only kind I can find that I like and my favourite, daily mocca drink has a long ingredients list . . .
I love your posts. You know when to publish the right topics!! I have been thinking back and I realized that these diet snacks really did not help me at all. When the 100 calorie packs came out, I thought it was the greatest thing. Then I ended up eat three of those things and was never satisfied.
I have not eliminated them but there are not as many as these “snackie cakes” as I call them around our house.
Did you notice how expensive they are too? Even when on sale? For $3.00, I could buy tons of bananas and make some homemade banana bread!
Have you noticed lately that the snack bags for Ziploc now advertise as 100 calorie bags?? Interesting, huh?
I’ve noticed how crazy expensive those 100-calorie packs can be! I’d much rather buy whole foods and then pre-portion them myself – healthier and WAY cheaper! I hadn’t noticed about the Ziploc bags…seriously, is EVERY product going to start using dieting as a marketing tool?!?!?!
GREAT POST! so glad you covered this. i definitely used to equate healthy with low calorie, but then again at that time i was not striving for health, i was striving for weight loss! which are definitely not the same thing! nowadays i am a lot better about that, i realize that eating REAL food, not “edible foodlike substances” is what my body wants and needs. plus it’s just more satisfying to eat the real deal, instead of some impostor that leaves you craving the real thing anyway!
I couldn’t agree with you more- I have learned so much about what it means to eat real, whole foods. I am one hundred percent happier with the way I eat now compared to my days of processed diet foods. I feel satisfied now. And I’ve realized how beneficial fat is in my life.
This is such a perfect post and it’s so important for this message to spread. Millions of people are making decisions based on incorrect information and faulty logic!
I used to eat a TON of processed foods (I still eat some) – but we have cut way back. It helps now that I’m a stay at home mom, and not in an office where I am tempted all day. I love home cookin’!
You know it’s funny that you posted this. Today I was in the multi-purpose room of my school with some students, and I noticed a rather odd bulletin board. Upon first glance I thought it was a bulletin board featuring junk food, but upon closer examination, I realized it was a Weight Watchers bulletin board! I couldn’t believe it!!! I definitely feel healthier since I’ve made a conscious effort to eat foods that are closer to the source. I only wish programs such as WW would feature whole foods rather than the processed junk… but I guess they couldn’t get endorsements on eggplant, now could they?!?!
Such a good point! I actually heard that in New Zealand, WW and McDonald’s have created a deal to have McDonald’s feature a few menu items that are only 6 WW points…all fine and good, I guess, except that now WW won’t exactly be broadcasting the negatives of fast food.
Another great post. I feel like you and I have a lot in common when it comes to food and the mental aspect of healthy living. As I read your blog I feel like I am reading my own thoughts! I used to equate healthy with low-calorie as well. I used to truly believe that nuts were “junk” because they had high calorie contents while 100 calorie packs were healthy.
When I recommitted to being healthier in December the first thing I did was cut out as much of the processed food as a I could. I continue to work and strive for that. I am not as far along in my journey as you are but I find that my definition of healthy has greatly changed. Now I try to nourish my body rather than worrying about the calories. I find that it works- which I would have never believed.
That’s so awesome! Believe me, I relied on “diet” and overly-processed food for a long time, and switching to more whole foods wasn’t easy. But it’s definitely helped me maintain a healthy weight and just feel better overall. Plus, it’s liberating to read a label and look at the ingredients first, instead of the calories.