Truth or Trend: The “fat” foods

Waist trainers, crash diets, colon cleanses—all things touted as the next miracle solution for weight loss. With the help of our new Registered Dietitian columnist, we’ll sort out the truth from the trash when it comes to health trends on your social media feeds, and provide healthy, sustainable alternatives for those to-good-to-be-true fixes. Welcome to Truth or Trend.

Diet culture strikes again with the lists of “fattening” foods you see floating around your feeds. These lists often include things like soda, pizza, ice cream, and French fries. As a Dietitian, it’s unlikely that I’ll encourage clients to start drinking soda, but it’s also unlikely that I’ll tell them they can never have soda again and must only eat “clean” in order to lose weight.

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Our diet culture has vilified high fat and high carbohydrate foods, while marketing teams continue to do an excellent job of portraying their products as alternative options that are “healthier.” However, all foods have the ability to make us lose or gain weight; it’s about total caloric intake and overall nutrition pattern. An organic “healthy” green juice could have just as many calories as a regular soda, while a sandwich from a fast food restaurant could actually be a good source of protein.

Take Away: Instead of putting foods into only “good” and “bad” categories, try increasing nutrient dense foods like fruits and vegetables while also allowing yourself to indulge in treats like fries to create a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern.

Becca is an Ohio native and University of Cincinnati graduate who works as a traveling consultant dietitian, currently living in Juneau, Alaska. She owns Centum Cento Fitness LLC, a company dedicated to using evidenced-based practice to help empower clients to build sustainable and healthy lifestyles through nutrition and fitness. Follow Becca on Instagram!

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