I was walking around at the grocery the other day and wandered down the cereal bar isle. These bars include fiber-one and nutri-grain bars, among others. As a personal trainer, I notice a few things that others wouldn’t I suppose.
I noticed that many of the boxes bragged on the health benefits of the bars. “No High Fructose Corn Syrup” exclaimed one; “Rich in Fiber, Low in Fat” shouted another.
The fact that these bars have good ingredients and some helpful qualities for the body is not the issue here. The issue is the fact that people think that just because something is low in fat, or doesn’t include high fructose corn syrup – that they can chow down without ramifications.
I hate to be a “bubble buster” but these bars are rich in calories the same as snack cakes. It amazes me how often I have to tell people that they can get just as fat on healthy selections as their “junk food” cousins.
- At Least This Cat Is Straight Up With You…No Hidden Agendas Here!
Get up and eat a bowl of granola cereal and a protein shake and you could be looking at a whopping 600 plus calories. Get up and eat a hostess cupcake and a protein shake and you’ll ring in around 300 calories.
That’s not opinion. It’s fact.
Fat made from “healthy foods” looks exactly the same on our bodies as fat made from “junk food”. It’s still jiggly, it’s still nasty, and it’s still unhealthy.
Now I’m not telling you to go out and buy snack cakes and have them for breakfast, but the fact remains that too many people are eating trail mix, nuts, granola, and other “healthy” foods and thinking they won’t get the old blubberoo from them.
Trust me, you will – and it will be just as ugly as fat made from Hershey bars or fried potatoes.
So keep an eye out for calories in disguise – they like to talk about how nice they are – how they don’t have certain ingredients – how they are the nice guys. Well in this case the nice guys are only as nice as the amount of them you consume.
I’ve said it over and over – when it comes to your waistline – calories are calories.
Don’t fall for the tricks, check out the label – the one on the back – and see how much fuel is in this so called “healthy” choice. Only then will you know how much of the food you can consume – and if it’s a good return of investment.
Whether you like it or not, if you don’t want to be overweight, you have a set amount of calories you can consume in a day. Go over and you wear it. And like I always say: “Wearing fat around is worse than a polyester leisure suit, it’s uncomfortable, it’s ugly, it’s out of style, and if you don’t burn it – it lasts forever.”
Talk soon.
Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.
