8 Foods That Can Derail A Diet

Many dieters eat low-fat and sugar-free foods thinking they will help take off the pounds, but they may actually be causing them to eat more.

Americans drink millions of gallons of diet soda, but now studies show it may actually cause weight gain.

One reason is it's 200 times sweeter than sugar and that sends taste buds into overdrive.

UPMC Dietitian Leslie Bonci said, “That sweet switch is what goes on and, as a result, we might find we end up eating a little bit more over the course of the day.”

Fat-free may sound healthy, but it can sabotage a diet.

Gummy fruit snacks are fat free, but full of sugar.

Just one serving can equal five teaspoons of sugar.

Baked potato chips and non-fat dressings may not have fat, but they still contain calories and often don't satisfy.

Bonci said, “We get a lot of sensation of eating. If something doesn’t have fat in it, people might say it didn't really taste good, so we dump some more on.”

And beware of spray margarines as despite the package claim, they aren't calorie free.

Bonci said by law if a product contains less than 5 calories it doesn’t have to be listed on the label, but even 5 calories can add up.

“Let’s say someone uses 10 squirts. There's 50 calories. You have a big potato, you might need 20 squirts. There's 100 calories and it starts to add up,” Bonci said.

Packages of foods that contain 100 calories are a good idea, if you can eat just one package.

Light ice cream is another dangerous diet food.

Not all have fewer calories than regular ice cream, so portions are important, and one way to watch portions is to use a flat bottom cone instead of a bowl.

Bonci said, “Cones have 15 calories and literally a half cup (of ice cream) works beautifully on it and it seems like more and it lasts a little longer than.”

Low-fat cookies can also derail a diet because they usually just don’t satisfy, so we tend to eat more.

Bonci said a better alternative is an oatmeal cookie. It is more satisfying because it contains more fiber and is usually lower in fat.

But Bonci adds, “As long as you don’t have something the size of an SUV tire.”