I keep seeing a cereal commercial on TV that drives me insane. Instant recap: a woman gazes longingly at the chocolate ice cream in her freezer, then reads the nutrition label and decides to pour herself a bowl of chocolate cereal instead. Later, she collects her reward when she admires her thin waistline in the mirror.
I don’t have anything against cereal; I actually love it, although I’m not a fan of the chocolatey type. But the idea that it’s going to thwart your cravings, save you calories and lead to weight loss is misleading at best, especially when we’re talking about a super-sweet version that lists sugar and partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil as the second, third and fourth ingredients (sugar clocks in at #2 and 3).
As this commercial shows, when it comes to making food choices, it pays to do the math. To wit:
- One serving (3/4 cup) of the cereal in question, Special K Chocolately Delight, contains 120 calories. Add half a cup of skim milk and you’re suddenly up to 165.
- One serving (1/2 cup) of your average chocolate ice cream has 145 calories. Yes, some versions (I’m talking to you, Haagen Dazs) have a lot more than that, but most don’t. And if you go for a tasty light version, like Edy’s (my personal favorite), you’ll clock in at just 100 calories per serving. Either way, you’re not exactly ruining your diet.
Point being, if it’s ice cream–or French fries, or whatever–that you crave, then instead of telling yourself you can’t have it, sit down and figure out whether you can fit a serving into your daily calorie budget. You might be surprised by the results.
Of course, if cereal does thwart your cravings, or you can’t seem to stop at a single serving of ice cream, then maybe the cereal trick will work for you. Just don’t kid yourself that you’re doing your health a favor.
-Camille
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Camille
