3

I bought these watermelon flavored ices from the supermarket because they have 100 calories per cup and 0g of fat and saturated fat. But they do have 24g of sugar.

Will eating these be against my weight loss intentions?

Jake
  • 33
  • 1
  • 4
  • 1
    This doesn't make any sense -- sugar has about 4 calories/gram, which would be almost 100 calories per cup of your product. Perhaps the label meant 0 calories from fat? – tcrosley Mar 19 '12 at 00:44
  • @tcrosley oh my goodness, sorry you're absolutely right. I wrote 0 instead of 100, it actually has exactly 100 calories. – Jake Mar 19 '12 at 01:06
  • 1
    @Jake Why do you think that eating fat should be avoided while trying to lose weight? – Dave Liepmann Mar 19 '12 at 01:47
  • @Dave Liepmann I am obese at the moment, weighing 200lbs while according to my BMI I should be around 150lbs. I know a proper diet consists of good fats but atm I want to lose as much as possible quickly so I am trying to avoid as much as possible. Besides good fats are found in things like avacado, almonds, etc. these are ices :) – Jake Mar 19 '12 at 02:26
  • 1
    Jake, some researchers are starting to think that saturated fat is healthy, not unhealthy or fattening - and that "whole grains" may not be healthy... I realize that's a shocking suggestion, and goes against the Conventional Wisdom - but, the evidence is growing. See my answer for more information. – John C Mar 19 '12 at 11:56
  • @Jake The point I'm trying to make is that dietary fat is not a major determinant of body fat. That a food has no fat doesn't make it good, and having significant fat doesn't make it bad. – Dave Liepmann Mar 19 '12 at 13:51
  • 1
    I think the general rule is that, if you have to ask "Should I be eating this?", the answer is usually "No". – DForck42 Mar 19 '12 at 17:44
  • @DForck42, so how does that rule explain raw oysters? :) – John C Mar 20 '12 at 11:53
  • @johnc the answer's still no ;) – DForck42 Mar 20 '12 at 13:25

3 Answers3

3

It sounds like nothing but sugar to me. Most highly processed foods work against fat loss, and this sugar shot is no different. At the very least, it is empty calories--calories that perform no function.

The thing to be concerned with is what other affects those empty calories can have on your body. It might be just enough to kick start your metabolism, and cause your brain to signal the "I'm hungry, feed me" response. If that happens, the net effect is it incites you to overeat.

In general, any calorie not doing anything for you while you are attempting to lose fat will at the very least slow your progress down. It's easy to justify little cheats, and tell yourself that "it's not that bad". Until you bring yourself into discipline, you should not give yourself little treats. You should be finding out how to make the food you should be eating more tasty.

Berin Loritsch
  • 42,604
  • 1
  • 61
  • 149
2

Avoid

You may think that this drink is only 100 calories. And that may be so. But, what it doesn't tell you is that the significant sugar (24g) will spike your blood sugar causing your body to produce more insulin. When your body produces insulin, it immediately goes into fat storage mode. So instead of burning some fat (in addition to carbohydrates), it burns 0 fat and continues to store energy reserves as fat.

A rule of thumb that I use (works for me, may not for you), is if sugar is listed as the first or second ingredient and/or is more than 8g, I don't eat or drink it. This includes 0-calorie "sugars" like aspartame.

Keep your blood sugar in check, and you won't need to be on a "diet".

Ryan Miller
  • 2,566
  • 14
  • 17
  • This is a very limited view of how your body's metabolism works in reaction on insulin. Furthermore, aspartame pretty much does nothing with your insuline. – GetXXL Mar 20 '12 at 17:41
  • Managing your blood sugar is the key to managing your weight regardless of how limited or complex you make it. – Ryan Miller Mar 20 '12 at 18:43
  • You can perfectly lose weight while still consuming sugars. Insulin production does not mean you can't burn fat and only store fat, this is highly dose dependant. Complete inhibition of lipolysis only occurs at (extreme) supraphysiological doses of insulin. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with aspartame. Your answer is a merely an opinion, the true answer to the question 'Will eating these be against my weight loss intentions?' can only be no, as you can still perfectly lose weight when consuming sugars. The best way is an entirely different question. – GetXXL Mar 20 '12 at 20:16
1

Hard to answer outside the context of your whole program. Sounds like empty calories, which are never good, but there are worse things for occasional splurges.

MathAttack
  • 279
  • 1
  • 3
  • By "empty calories" do you just mean calories from a food that has no nutritional value? or are empty calories worse than that? If the former then it's fine since it's just 100 calories and the rest of my diet is pretty strict on caloric and fat intake. – Jake Mar 19 '12 at 04:18
  • Yes, that's why I say it's not too bad as an occassional splurge. – MathAttack Mar 19 '12 at 09:42
  • 1
    If the "occasional splurge" is more than once a week, it probably shouldn't be considered "occasional", IMO. – Ryan Miller Mar 19 '12 at 21:36