Low-Fat Foods

When two foods—one that’s low in fat and one that’s unapologetically full-fat—are staring you down, choosing the low-fat option is a the key to a slimmer you, right? Nope.

It turns out your so-called diet foods could actually be making you fat. Fat-free and low-fat foods are often full of sugar, flour, and thickeners, all of which can wreck havoc on your waistline. “Fat is flavour. When you take it out, you need to add something else,” says nutritionist Keri Glassman, RD, author of The New You and Improved Diet. These low-performing, high-taste stand-ins are digested too quickly to satiate, which contributes to low-fat fans eating about 28 per cent more calories, according to research from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. Believing that low-fat snacks have a about 40 per cent fewer calories than their full-fat counterparts, people often feel free to eat almost twice as much low-fat food without the guilt, according to Cornell. Too bad they are usually only 11 per cent lower in calories. Not to mention often higher in sugar, sodium, and seriously lacking in protein and fibre, Glassman says.

Steer clear of these 15 low-fat foods. (And for more advice on how to slim down, check out Dr. Travis Stork's no-diet prescription to a flatter belly.)

Related: Why You Shouldn't Be a Diet-Food Junkie