I have a question for you, what is the default food most people almost always start eating when trying to lose weight? Did you guess salad? We all know veggies are good for you and can help with weight loss.
Salad seems to be the food most people think of when they try to get all of their veggies in. This is actually a good thing. It’s a fundamental fact you must regulate your calorie intake if you want to burn body fat and lose weight. You know you have to get your vegetables every day, so why not just make a salad. Its easy, quick, and you can make them in almost unlimited ways.
When it comes to dressings, I opt for the regular full flavor dressings rather than the reduced fat ones. The way this works is that I read the nutrition label on the dressing bottle and regulate how many calories I eat. I actually measure it out with a measuring spoon; this may seem extreme, but its actually very quick and easy to do. This is much better than just pouring any amount you choose over your salad. If you read the label you will notice that most salad dressings get the majority of their calories from fat. This makes them high in calories, which can add up very quickly. One solution is to use vinaigrettes and oil dressings as often as possible. These dressings are much lower in calories than creamy dressings. Vinaigrettes usually have a serving size of two tablespoons, whereas creamy dressings usually have a serving size of one tablespoon which is often close to twice as many calories as the venerate serving. This simply means that you can eat around twice as much of the vinaigrette dressings than you could the creamy variety.
Remember there’s more than just one vinaigrette, try all the flavors, maybe Asian vinaigrette, fruit or berry vinaigrette, Balsamic, and of course Italian. Find flavors that you really like, and make sure you regulate many calories you are putting on those veggies.
Here’s another tip: If you want to eat a creamy dressing but want to keep it to a serving or less, you can dilute it. If the serving is one tablespoon, measure out a tablespoon and pour that into a small container, make sure you get all the dressing out of the spoon. Next, slowly pour a little water into the measuring spoon. Now pour the water into the container that has the dressing. Then mix it up with a small utensil such as a chopstick, small whisk, or whatever you have on hand. Believe me, this technique won’t hurt the flavor of your dressing; it will only change the consistency. This will also increase the volume of the dressing without increasing the calorie content. This technique will enable you to get more creamy dressing on your salad without having to use more dressing. Just make sure the thinnest you go is a ratio of 50:50.
I want you to know that I use this technique myself when I want ranch or bleu cheese dressings. Bleu cheese and Ranch are my favorite creamy dressings. I honestly don’t eat them often because they are so high in calories. But when I do, I usually dilute them a little. This may seem weird, but it works for me. I like the taste of thinned out creamy dressings just as much as I like them straight out of the bottle. This makes it easy for me to keep my calories down and still get a great tasting salad. In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that I don’t always dilute my dressings, especially when I eat out. I do however always order my dressings on the side and use only what I need, not the entire amount! It’s about regulating calories.
The main point here is that you can consume normal dressings if done sensibly. They most certainly taste much better then the low fat, low calorie versions. If you try the low-calorie dressings and like them, that’s just fine. Some people like the diet foods. However, a good segment of people don’t like the taste of diet salad dressings. I am one of those people! I have tried just about every low-fat low-calorie dressing and I have yet to like any of them. I eat the tasty normal ones, and still maintain my weight. This is because I watch my calories and do my best not to overeat.
So to answer the question that is the title of this post, should you eat low-fat low-calorie dressings? My answer is that you need to decide for yourself by first trying them, if you like them great. But if you don’t like them, you should not attempt to use them to cut calories. Use the techniques above like dilution and using vinaigrettes. This will help you regulate your calorie intake.
I refuse to deprive myself of flavor, and believe you shouldn’t deprive yourself either. If you try to stop eating the tasty foods you love, you are going to feel deprived. The feeling of deprivation causes many people to fall into old habits of overeating or to just give up on trying to live a healthy lifestyle altogether. The key is to know how many calories your body needs, and to make sure you don’t overeat. Eat flavorful food, but be sensible and watch those calories.
I sincerely hope this information helps you.
Thanks for reading,
Kim Nielsen
