Junk-food dieters fake their way to skinny

By Lesley Rotchford

updated 9:13 a.m. ET March 14, 2008

"I'm a very healthy eater," says Emily, a 30-year-old, stick-thin investment banker. "My diet consists of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, Tasti D-Lite frozen dessert, Diet Coke, lollipops, sugar-free gum, and 100-calorie packs. Thank God for the 100-calorie packs. They've changed my life."

Emily is a card-carrying — make that banner-waving — member of the newest group of calorie counters: junk-food dieters. According to their credo, low-calorie is good; no-calorie is better — even if the food contains more chemicals than a can of hair spray. "If it's associated with being a certain size, they'll eat it freely," says Lauren Slayton, director of Foodtrainers, a nutrition counseling center in New York City. Many believe ingesting a few artificial ingredients is a small price to pay for being able to eat the things they love while staying as thin as a Pringle.

The people who fit the profile are as much of an oxymoron as the concept of diet junk food itself. Women who would never carry a fake Birkin seem to not think twice about toting around fake butter. "I have clients who go to the best hairstylist, the best trainer, and have the best clothes — yet eat this trailer food," says Slayton. The irony of this is lost on Lindsey, 24, a talent manager who says that processed foods like Lean Cuisine are as much a part of an affluent lifestyle as couture is. "When you're going to dinners and cocktail parties all the time, you've got to budget your calories during the day," she says. "And the easiest way to do this is to eat things that have the calories printed on the back."

Easy? No argument there. Effective? In some cases, yes. Every nutritionist interviewed for this story was quick to pledge their allegiance to natural products ("If only you'd eat more processed foods!" is not something you're apt to hear out of any nutritionist's mouth). But a few brave souls went out on a limb, admitting that low-fat chips and individual packs of cookies can help keep one's weight in check. Stephen Gullo, a weight-loss specialist in New York City, recommends certain low-calorie junk foods to clients. Susan Bowerman, assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, can make a case for them, too: "If you're eating a balanced diet and have used the majority of your calories wisely and have a few extra calories, then fine." But there are a few important things to know to ward off junk … in your trunk.

Driven to distraction
Kate, a 32-year-old advertising executive, made an important discovery a few years back: Chewing sugarless gum — an entire 18-pack of Extra over the course of a day — prevented her from snacking. "I have it on hand at all times. It's stashed in my drawers at work, in my kitchen cabinets, in my car. If I don’t have any, I'll have to run out to buy some," she says.

"I hear this all the time," says Slayton. "People will say, 'I'll chew a piece of gum after dinner, and it prevents me from eating everything in sight because it keeps my mouth occupied.' And that makes sense." Bowerman has recommended this trick to her clients, although she warns that gum can have an unpleasant side effect: gas. However, gum sweetened with Splenda, as opposed to sugar alcohols (namely sorbitol), rarely causes this problem.

Artificial Intelligence For those who want even their healthy diet food to at least taste like junk, there are new low-calorie seasonings that add lowbrow flavors to just about anything. We conducted a taste test. Bacon salt ($4.49, baconsalt.com). Available in Original, Hickory, and Peppered, these rust-colored crystals are calorie-free and kosher, and aim to provide a hint of bacon flavor. Our tester shook them over salad and — surprisingly — raved about the "real bacon taste." Kernel Season's popcorn seasoning ($3.99, kernelseasons.com). We found that at only two calories a shake, the powdery product livened up a bag of Orville Redenbacher. Out of the 14 flavors, White Cheddar was our tester’s favorite, "but when you eat too much, it starts tasting like chemicals." Seasoned skewers ($6.95, seasonedskewers.com). These wooden skewers are soaked with oils and herbal extracts that aspire to duplicate flavors like Honey Bourbon and Hickory BBQ. Our tester made chicken kebabs and found the flavor "subtle...maybe even a little too subtle." — Hannah Morrill

Lollipops, which typically weigh in at around 60 calories, are another tool to keep one's mouth busy and out of trouble. The logic is that if you're sucking on one, you're presumably not sucking down a sleeve of cookies. Nutritionists will argue that an apple is also low in calories and also takes a while to eat — and New York City nutritionist Esther Blum, author of "Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous" (Chronicle Books), points out that some lollipops contain hydrogenated oil, "which may raise cholesterol and cause hormone disruptions." What's more, sucking on one makes you look like Britney Spears.

Amy, a 30-year-old publicist, credits Starbucks iced nonfat latte with keeping her hand out of the office cookie jar. "I started drinking one for breakfast instead of having cottage cheese and berries, and I lost ten pounds,” she says. "Sipping it all morning quells my food cravings. When I used to eat the cottage cheese and fruit, I'd crave more food until lunch."

But can this possibly be healthy?

Gullo notes that many coffee drinks contain skim milk, which provides protein for minimal calories. But nutritionists concur that they shouldn't be used to replace a meal. "These drinks can be as low as 100 calories, and if someone's previous breakfast was 200 calories, that could result in a weight loss of ten pounds a year. And yes, sipping a drink all morning can make you feel full," says Wahida Karmally, director of nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center. "But the best research we have about weight management is that successful losers eat breakfast."

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