Pre-Packaged “100 Calorie” snack packs good or bad idea?
Daily Posts, Food and Snacks, Weight loss Tip Articles July 2nd, 2007
these are the newest thing to hit the snack market- 100 calories snack- Both Cadbury and Hershey offer 100 calorie bar/sticks of chocolate. Mr. Christie has oodles of pre-packaged snacks aimed at dieters- wafer thin cracker-like Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies or Reese’s Pieces cereal snack mix. I do like the portability of the snacks- they are great for keeping in the car for a craving or kids - HOWEVER maybe its me- but they can lure you into a false sense of security. 1 pack is so tiny that I will find myself eating another… and another. Suddenly I have eaten 3 of these things and consumed the same amount of calories as as full size chocolate candy bar .
The snacks tend to be heavy in sugar and simple carbohydrate - leaving you wanting more and more. I undertand their convenience of portion control- but don’t be fooled - or fool yourself into eating more than one of these. You are much better of with an apple or juicy peach- the higher fibre helps with hunger and cravings- you are getting much better bang for you buck when it comes to food “value”.
About
Sometimes, no matter how sweet fruit is, nothing will satisfy the palate as well as a piece of chocolate. As a chronic dieter, I have learned how to satisfy myself with a taste of something sweet..just a taste. I find great value in the 100 calorie packs. If one stops to think about it, the best taste of something is in the 1st and possibly the 2nd bite. After that, the taste is good, but the palate is satisfied. For me, the 100 calorie packs are a great way to have something sweet or even salty without going hog wild and blowing a days worth of good eating with a major indiscretion. Viewed from this perspective, one can really find value in these portion controlled bags.
I am a fat girl trying to shed some weight and these 100 cal snacks are no pleasure for me. If I was one of those people who could eat just a few fries or one square of chocolate I wouldn’t be the size I am. They just leave me craving for more. And you always buy them in multipacks :-( Best to shun all junk food if you are trying to get your weight down IMHO.
I agree with Gary and Ellen, I find once I start I can’t each just one bag. They make me crave more sweets. I’m trying to stick to healthy snacks, like nuts and fruits as part of a Mediterranean diet.