Who Is Right? (Nutrition-diet Question)

My husband is a personal trainer and after looking at the nutrional info you provided YOU are right! Just because something has 0 fat does not mean it's better for you. After eating 7 cookies you took in 49 g of sugar alone with only 7 g protein. The reason the shake is better for you is because you will not experience a raise in insulin which causes your body to store fat. The protein will also keep you feeling fuller longer and will allow your metabolism to burn more calories throughout the night. He recommends Beverly International nutrition...it's not just for body builders. About 75% of his clients (even the middle aged women) use this shake and love it. The website is www.bodybuildingworld.com They provide great diet and exercise tips. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Good luck to you!

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Foods are made up of:
carbs (carbohydrates = all sugar and starch),
protein,
fats,
fiber, and
vitamins/minerals.

The carbs, proteins, and fats all contain calories, which your body burns to produce energy and warmth.

To lose weight, most people have to restrict the carbs and the fats. Adding a great deal of protein to your diet WITHOUT cutting back on other sources of calories is actually bad for you, because proteins create byproducts that are hard on your kidneys. Adding protein will not make you lose weight. You have to decrease your total intake of calories, and Snackwells have plenty of calories, mostly in the form of carbohydrates.

If you are taking in sugar, it's sugar no matter what the source (and our digestion also turns starch into sugars, just a little slower).

The only way I can lose weight or keep it off is to restrict carbohydrates, which includes all forms of sugar or starch. That means I have to count refined sugar, corn syrup, rice syrup, fruit sugars, etc., all grains, flour, corn, potatoes, etc. I also limit most forms of fats. Good quality butter, olive or nut oils, fish oil supplements for the omega fatty acids are the only oils I will deliberately choose in my diet.

The 84 grams of carbs you had in 7 cookies is more total carbohydrates than I can eat in two whole days and still maintain my weight. Of course, lots of physical activity, if you are capable of it, will burn calories, too, but since women burn only around 100 calories per mile when walking, you'd have to walk 8 miles to use up those Snackwell calories. (Then there's still all the other food you ate today….)

Apples are better than cookies because they have lots more vitamins and minerals and fiber along with the sugar. They are real food, while cookies are just tasty calories. But too much fruit sugar will plump you up, too. Fruit juice, especially, is a very concentrated source of sugar, with all the fiber removed.

Your husband sounds like he might be trying to undermine your diet. It's probably not conscious. He might be concerned that you will make him look fat or lazy if you succeed, or that you'll be too attractive to other men, or might feel to confident about yourself. There are dozens of possible reasons to try to keep another person from changing.

For your weight-loss efforts to work, you really will have to decide, for your own reasons, what your limits are. If you're not determined, any little temptation might overcome your resolve.

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I cannot believe you all are arguing over this...neither is right. Stay away from sugar, carbs...eats your daily allowance of fruits and veggies, and have lean proteins, IE; grilled chicken, some beef, turkey, fish, etc.
Those cookies that you talk about are horrible...its not the fat and calories, its the sugar and carbs!!!!
Protein "drinks"....please!
Good Luck on your argument!!! I hope you all are doing this in good clean fun!!

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the cookies are worse. Especially if you are eating them at night. The carbs, while you are sleeping, turn in to sugar, which then turns in to fat and your body is absorbing it when you are sleeping. the sugar content is very high (that is why they still taste good)
As far as your husband goes, mine does the same thing when I am trying to diet. I kinda get, but also feel like it is sabotage for his own selfish reasons. I have learned to take the food he brings home and stick it in a bag to donate to a food shelf. Most of the time it is Ben and jerry's, my downfall. I know now to take 2 bite and wash the container, then I am no longer tempted.
Good Luck! Awesome for you to be reading labels too.

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tell him to bring you home flowers or a nightie in a smaller size.
go for a walk alone when he comes home no eating after dinner only
natural stuff like fruit

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I told my husband if he just had to bring me something special, bring flowers. At least I can't eat them.

I know where you are coming from. My husband if forever bring home garbage. I will text him a grocery list and remind to stick to it and don't bring any extra home. If he finds a good buy, call and we will discuss it. But by all means don't bring home garbage. He does anyway!!!!

I have been trying to diet for the last 2 1/2 years and all I have managed to do is gain more.

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Neither of you are right, the cookies are bad for you in the quantity you ate, but a protein shake right before bed, do you really need it to stay asleep and not raid the fridge? Everytime he brings something home as a "treat" go for a walk. Regularly go through your kitchen and rid your house of any additives that are highly processed. Eat only low processed foods and only keep those in your house, if he brings home candy, go for the walk then come home and cut up some celery and dip it in hummus or a low fat yogurt dip. Don't eat if you are going to bed within 4 hours and everytime he gives you an excuse to cheat, get moving instead. He will learn that his sabitage will only make you healthier and you could also invite him on a walk or bike ride(go alone if he won't). By the way if you cut out the protein shake you will cut out 840 calories a week or over 43,000 calories a year as long as you don't add anything to replace those calories add on the extra walks and you shouldn't have to do much more to lose the weight.

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Is that 50 cal. per cookie? If it is, then you ate 350 cal. (7 X 50) The main thing is that you want to look at the calories. Protein isn't going to do you a hill of beans unless you are going to lift weights to build muscle. If you don't, your body will turn whatever it finds into fat, which includes unused protein. Too much protein is also not good for the kidneys. It takes more engery to burn protein than it does carbs, but it takes more engery to burn fat than protein. You really need to make a little food diary for your self. Set your calories to 1200 per day, then set out to find low calorie foods...preferably healthy foods since they will be lower in calories. If you cheat, then plan to cheat by only eating one serving and making the rest of what you eat lower in calories. Sure a piece of fruit has sugar, but remember it also has a lot of water, fiber, and the sugar is unrefined. Here's an idea of a good menu plan:

Breakfast: (always eat breakfast) 1 cup coffie, 1 fried egg, 1 slice of toast with light spread or jelly, 1 serving of fruit (whole fruits are lower in cal. than juice)

Morning snack: Celery sticks with fat-free dip

Lunch: Water, Tuna sandwich, (2 slices of bread and 1/2 can of tuna made with light mayo) 1 serving fruit

Super: Go vegetarian for super (a huge salad with fat-free dressing or baked beans and 1 slice of bread)

Night snack: Popcorn or 5 mini rice cakes or 5 fat free crackers with low-fat cheese or grapes (Keep everything in single servings.)

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Well it kinda depends I mean yeah if you are trying to lose weight then you want to watch your calorie intake so if you only ate 1 or 2 cookies then that is less fat and calories then the shake. But when you eat 7 cookies then yeah the shake would have been the better choice. Know what I mean? Really thought it all boils down to the calories. So even if you are eating healthy shakes and food all day but not counting your calories you could still not shed any lbs. If i were you I would start keeping a food journal and write down your calorie intake every day. Depending on how much you weigh can determine how many calories you can have but most people should stay around 1500 to 1800 a day and in doing that you will loose the weight.

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I don't think you need someone else to tell you what you already know :) Of course 7 cookies isn't good. I don't think the protein shake is necessarily bad (I lost a lot of weight taking protein shakes and eating less and EXERCISING), but not sure you need something made for nighttime. You just need a little willpower (easier said than done). Men generally suck for support when it comes to dieting (at least in my experience) and think you can eat whatever. Maybe he just likes you the way you are. But, its all up to you. Find someone else that you know that is trying to lose some weight and use them as your inspiration (or competition, if that drives you more!). Good luck.

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Neither one. Eat the apple. (Or even a glass of wine!)

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you are correct, all those fake ingredients in the cookies are not good for you. of course, your protein drink isn't much better.
i also disagree with those who say calories are calories. it's true but WAY oversimplified. calories from whole foods behave differently in your system than processed ones, calories from fat have both good and bad effects that differ from sugar, which also differs when it comes from an apple and not a spoonful of white sugar.
have a glass of milk before you go to bed. preferably raw.
there's no easy way to deal with the night-time hungries. i've been battling 'em for over half a century. but the absolute wrong way is to load up on fake food.
khairete
S.

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The bottom line with weightloss is a simple equation- how many colories you eat and how many calories you burn.

Your 7 cookies would be worth 350 calories- whereas your protein shake is only 120 calories. You tell me which is better.

To maintain your current weight, you would need to eat approximately 100 calories per pound/lbs that you weigh. If you need to lose weight cut approximately 100 calories from your diet- and keep subtracting 100 calories per day until you start losing weight. Once you have reached a weightloss plateau, cut 100 more calories per week till you start losing weight again.

If you don't want to cut calories, or count calories. You have to exercise.
Gentle walking will not take weight off quickly. If you want to take weight off quickly you must walk quick. Also, drink more water and take a quality multi-vitamin.

Good luck!

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Why would you drink a protein shake at night? Secondly, if you want to gain weight, try a protein shake. It's designed to "fill the gaps" for when you cannot eat real foods, not to let you lose weight - kinda like milk shake. Take this from someone who needs to gain weight and lose the belly, eat healthy small meals often (that's my habit) and send me your protein shake. Everyone metabolism is different, so do what works for you.

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Couple of things, at night when your sleeping, you don't want to have food in your system, that's why they recommend you not eating late at night (and calories from protein vs carbs doesn't matter). The fewer calories the better, but based on those labels overall I would 2-3 cookies and call it a night. To lose weight is a math equation, you must use more than you take in or you won't loose weight, eating protein at night won't force you to use more calories, and the idea that it will is a scam (sorry). If you want to loose 10-12 lbs, reduce your total calories and increase your physical activity (walking is sufficient as long as you raise your heart rate to 140, so a brisk walk for 10' at a time minimum, takes that long for an effect). Eating your favorite foods are fine, as long as in moderation. The government recommedation is 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day because they give you more volume for less calories (plus the vitamins and minerals, etc). Try eating more of those over the day, so you're not as hungry and can still have a candy or dessert. I promise you long term, you won't maintain not eating them and you'll be miserable if you do. If you want to talk more, let me know, there is a lot more detail, but it's really not complicated (hard yes).

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All in all, eating 7cookies puts more energy into your body that assumingly you are not working off, so it turned to fat. So in that case, yes the cookies are worse. The larger issue is your overall diet. The protein shake is high protein and high fat. Fat stored in your body is harder to burn off than sugar in the blood stream (which turns to fat for efficient storage if it's not quickly burned off).

Protein shakes are a bad idea before bed. Your body needs protein in order to build structures like cells and muscles. Buf it only needs tiny amounts at a time, and it cannot store extra protein so it also turns that into fat. Overall, those protein shakes are giving you a lot of fat to store.

What you need is a balanced diet. It isn't about one thing over the other, it's the right combination of the right foods at the right times throughout the day. I suggest you contact a registered dietitian to make a healthy eating plan for you, and stick with it. Have her or him explain the science behind it so that you will be able to make good choices in the future.

Good luck to you.

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Hi!
You are absolutely correct! Best options are always to stick with foods that come from the ground! Fruits and vegetables even with their natural sugars are way better for you than any packaged or processed foods!
Stay strong!

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Yes, it is extremely hard to loose weight without the support from your husband. The next time he brings home junk. Take it and throw it in the garbage. I know, I complete waste of money, but maybe he'll get the point.

As far as which is better for you, it's not the nutrition label, but what are the ingredients. Just my opinion, but I think your better off getting your protein from other sources (lean meat, eggs, nuts) than a powdered mix. Just stay away from all the package foods and then you'll always know who's right.

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I haven't read the answers, but I assume everyone told you that you are right. You need to cut out sugar. 7g of sugar per cookie is ridiculous. It's not all about the "fat" content. If you want to lose the weight, stop eating sugar and white flour, both of which your cookies are full of. Best wishes! You're almost there!!

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Ummm... your husband is nice. Hang on to him because he's lying through his teeth to make you feel better. 7*50 is 350 calories, versus 120??? 350 is a whole meal in cookies. The fiber is really more telling though, which you haven't listed.

That said, you just need support. I lost my baby weight at weight watchers both times, and I have recently fallen off the wagon after a recent divorce and move that was horrendously stressful. I'm back at weight watchers and losing again. The great thing is the meetings, so do take the time to go in. It can feel weird at first, but they don't announce your weight in any way and it can be great to listen to everyone talk about the same struggles you have. The folks at every meeting I've ever attended have given me great tips. Good luck!

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As far as which is less "bad" for you, I think it's the protein shake, but if you really want to lose weight, you'll need to cut down on the carbs--especially from processed foods (cookies, pizza, cake, plain sugar, etc).

Tell your husband if he wants to buy you sweet snacks to cheer you up, go for whole fresh fruit (cherries, watermelon, peaches, plums, etc) When you just want something to munch on, crunchy veggies (carrot sticks, celery, cucumbers, string beans, broccoli, etc) are your best bet, because it usually takes more time to crunch down a carrot than to eat half a bag of chips ;) plus they are lower in calories and carbs and have more nutrition than junk food. If you want something to combine with the veggies, nut butter (w/ no sugar added), hummus, or some other vegetable dips are good.

Keep the good foods available and ready to grab an munch or you'll be even more tempted to just open a bag of cookies. For example, in my house the snacky foods in the back of the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet BEHIND my mixer, so they are not visible when I open the closet and it actually take effort for me to get them out :D, but I keep a platter of raw veggies on the middle shelf of my fridge in easy reach and very visible. Fruit is in the fruit basket on the table. Both are where anyone can grab and eat, but any snacks have to be gotten out by me (and its just too much effort to climb up to get them out of the closet :D).

The cookies have less calories but your body needs protein to burn fat. The cookies have much more carbs, sugars, and no calcium.

If you really want to loose weight and feel full longer you don't want either one of these because neither one has fiber. Now with your drink you are getting most of your calories from the protien which is good for muscle building and the cookies have carbs which are good for a quick source of energy. If you are not working out (strength training), you don't need that protein drink. You can get a good amount of protein for eggs and meat. You also don't want too many carbs if you are not working out because your body will turn that into sugar (think Type 2 diabetes). Find foods that are a good source of fiber, carbs, and protein. You never want to eat something if more that 50% of the calories are coming from fat.

Cookies are not healthy. 350 calories of cookies, even without sugar/fat is a lot of calories to eat for a snack. Just because they are sugar free does not mean you can pig out on them. I don't know what would make your husband think they are better for you - the cookies have more calories if you eat that many, have a lot of carbs and sugars in them, and no protein or any nutrients. If you're trying to lose weight, 350 calories worth of "diet" cookies is not going to help you. However, you shouldn't need a protein drink to give you calories during the night when your body is not burning calories. Those protein drinks are what people use to ADD calories to their diet, not for those looking to lose weight. They are meant to help you "bulk up" and it doesn't sound like that is what you are looking for. Protein supplements are for those who need more calories.

If you're looking to lose weight, eat sensibly - small portions of healthy foods that will fill you up. When I was looking to lose weight, I'd do what I called the "quarter plan" - eat the same foods I always did but get rid of 1/4 of what was on my plate. I could still have lasagna, pizza, bagel with cream cheese ice cream occasionally, but I'd get rid of 25% of my fat and calories - but it doesn't mean you can take 7 cookies and eat 3/4 of them, this only works if you eat the way you normally do and get rid of 1/4 of that. Exercise also works wonders, even 20 minutes a day.

The way I see it is if your husband is over weight he wants you to go down with him. Less guilt if he involves you. Stay away from the cookies, sugar is the secret culprit and will always work against you. Tell hubby he is no help and NO THANKS to the snacks. Good luck, with that kind of help who needs enemies??

350 calories (50 X 7 = 350) is still 350 calories no matter what you ate to add up to that. A time released protein drink? Digestion happens all along your digestive tract. Although various amounts are absorbed through your stomach and intestines, pretty much every thing you eat you absorb over time (a time released effect), so I would worry about / spend money on that. A food/calorie diary will help you figure how many calories you are eating every day and then you can see where you need to make changes. A healthy diet means you can have a brownie every once in awhile, but not every day and not the whole batch. If you start feeling deprived, it could lead to a binge. Eating healthy is a good first step but some physical activity (walking, bike riding, etc) is going to help you burn those calories so they are not stored in fat. Good luck!