Fatty, Fatty Two-by-Four

First off, these Eat This! Not That! articles are awesome. More than just a gimmick, they offer legitimate, comparable alternatives to calorie-laden foods. In addition, they also give solid health tips, such as the ones in this article: 20 Habits That Make You Fat.

Yeah, some of this stuff is pretty obvious (at least, it ought to be), but there's some stuff on here that I was surprised to learn. Here are my comments on a few of them:

Fat Habit #1: Eating "low-fat"
I've already heard the supposed dangers of the artificial ingredients used in many "low-fat" foods, and while I haven't heard any solid evidence for or against them, I have heard enough to make me cautious. However, that's not what this tip was about. Rather, it had to do with the fact that "low-fat" foods still usually contain about as many calories as the regular varieties, and that it's the calories that play the real role in adding pounds, not the fat. Also, "low-fat" foods tend to leave you hungry sooner. Things to keep in mind next time I'm buying yogurt.

Fat Habit #3: Sleeping too little or too much
I've heard this one before, but it bears repeating: get a good night's sleep! Lay off the caffeine in the afternoon so you can go to bed on time. And beware the opposite extreme, too; sleeping too much makes you lethargic, which means you'll burn fewer calories.

Fat Habit #5: Drinking soda--even diet!
When did it become the norm that every meal had to be accompanied by a flavored beverage? Obviously, before my time. Truly, soda is the bane of a healthy lifestyle: it's loaded with unnecessary calories, sugar, and sodium, and it offers nothing in return. It isn't even filling! And more recently data has arisen that suggests diet soda also encourages weight gain, despite having zero calories. I've saved many, many calories (and a lot of money, too) since I switched to drinking water at every meal.

Fat Habit #13: Eating white bread
When I look back on my youth, I have to wonder why I ever even liked white bread. It's a bland, near-flavorless imitation of fibrous, delicious whole grain variety. Oh, and it's also bad for you.

Fat Habit #16: Having overweight friends
OK, I have to admit: I just found this one funny. But seriously, I have plenty of overweight friends, and I love them all. I do hope they read these tips and take them seriously, though.

Fat Habit #19: Drinking fruity beverages
This probably could have been lumped in with the tip on drinking sodas, but whatever. As the article points out, most restaurants don't even serve real fruit drinks anymore, preferring that you guzzle down syrupy, artificially flavored concoctions. Obviously bad stuff. Here's another tip: even real fruit juice can be bad for you. Fruit juice has all the calories of an equivalent serving of fruit, but without the solid bits that help fill you up.

Again, you can read the whole article through the link at the top. Hope it's useful.