Weight loss: which foods to focus on when shopping?

Published on 11/07/2024 13:18

A healthy caddy for a healthy body: it's the secret of half-weight loss. Still need to know what food to turn when you find yourself (alone and poor) at the supermarket. We take stock of some misconceptions to properly prepare his slimming special sli

When weight loss begins, one must first restore one's dietary balance.

But once on the shelves of the supermarket, we get lost and we do not really know which products to turn to.

To avoid some pitfalls and to shop quietly, we lift the veil on the misconceptions that surround certain foods.

Bread, cheese, ketchup ... My list of races under scrutiny

The bread is too caloric

True and false. The calorific value of a food is its carbohydrate content that results from the presence of starch or other sugars, added or not.

We can consider that starch (the sugar present in bread) is "a good sugar", it is then the nature of the flour that must be taken into account.

Wholewheat is better than white bread because the flour that makes up white bread contains cellulose. In comparison, white bread represents 255 kcal (including 55g of carbohydrates) and 230 kcal whole grain bread (including 50g of carbohydrates).

The calories are counted thanks to the name "slice of bread". But be careful, because the weight of a slice of bread can easily vary between 20g and 50g. If you're on a diet, think about weighing your slice of bread so you do not exceed the allowed amount.

We also pay attention to the standard names "English bread" and "soft bread" because they are characterized by the addition of fat that can be healthy (with rapeseed oil) or more problematic for health as those very rich saturated fatty acids (palm oil, coconut).

Cheese is to be banned

False. Just check its fat content. It is expressed in grams: either in relation to the total weight of the cheese (water included), or in the form of quantity of lipids per 100g of finished product.

Before, when it was written 45% fat for 100g on a label, it was deduced that there was 45g of fat, which was wrong. With this new labeling system (directly calculated in grams), you can really know what's on the plate.

For gourmets: we choose it according to our tastes, without taking into account the percentage of fat or any other nutritional characteristic. But we eat it in limited quantities.

For those who need calcium or protein: choose Parmesan cheese or cooked cheeses.

To avoid lipids : eliminate mascarpone, Rondelé, Tartare, Boursin or Kiri with cream.

Yogurts and crème fraîche are very fat

False. Do not confuse yogurts and desserts (too sweet and too fat) that are not clearly separated on the shelves. We check if yogurts (0% fat or not) are sweetened with aspartame or sugar, because their caloric content is different.

Another option: they are homemade to manage the amount of sugar and opt for the least fat (skimmed) milk.

For light desserts, care must be taken that the lipid content does not exceed 4g per 100g of finished product.

As far as sour cream is concerned, it is the least fat in comparison to oil, butter and margarine. The cream comes from milk and contains saturated fatty acids but contains on average only 32g of fat per 100g. From a nutritional point of view, fresh creams at 4% or 5% fat are very easily used in diets low in cholesterol in particular.

A pad of rumsteack is less caloric than a chopped steak

True. Contrary to what we tend to think, rumsteack is a lean meat, with an excellent nutritional ratio, since it is full of proteins. In addition, many chopped steaks are at 20% fat, which is a lot.

Cereals are too sweet

It depends. Filled cereals or those generally intended for children are often very sweet and therefore to avoid as part of a diet.

Low-energy cereals such as muesli (> 400kcal per 100g) are used with low fat levels and moderate amounts of fast sugars (20% maximum).

Cereal bars make you fat

True and false. Lipid levels range from 1 to 6g per bar, or up to 25% fat. A bar of cereals weighs between 20g and 32g, which is not enough, in any case not enough to experience a real feeling of satiety.

So we tend to eat several and to grow. It is better to be satisfied with one from time to time (before or after the sport for example) or to buy cereal bars of big brands that are of better nutritional quality because they contain less saturated fatty acids.

Ketchup makes you fat

False. If it has a bad reputation in France, it's because ketchup is often related to junk food, fast food and hamburger / fries.

Still, it is a very lean condiment and essentially composed of carbohydrates. In addition, it contains active lycopene, an antioxidant beneficial to our body. The only downside: ketchup is very salty, so it is to consume with moderation.

Dietary products: good or bad idea?

On supermarket shelves, dietary products are classified into five broad categories:

Health products that contain vitamins, minerals and have a reduced sugar, salt or fat content for people with diabetes, cholesterol or food intolerance.
The slimming products and meal substitutes for use in a high protein or low calorie diet.
Health food supplements or slimming to pair with a balanced diet.
Organic / soy / vegetable products that often have good nutritional qualities but are not necessarily less caloric.
Sports nutrition foods to eat as part of a physical activity only because they are rich in carbohydrates.

Attention, do not confuse dietary product and diet product.

It is not enough to replace a meal with a dietary supplement to lose weight. Above all, it is necessary to target its specific needs according to its objectives and state of health and to take into account the place that physical activity is given in its diet.

Learn more with Dr. Cohen and Dr. Serog's "Knowing how to eat, the food guide".