Top diet foods for YOU to try out!

Look for these low-calorie options when it comes to your favourite foods -- they're tasty and won't pack on the pounds.

When we visit supermarkets we tend to spend some time reading the food labels on most items. This is due to our growing consciousness of calorie intake.

Today, issues like diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases have led us to rethink our diets. That is why we are gravitating towards low-calorie foods.

But taste occupies a great position in the human diet. We love tastier options and thus, various items which we crave have been prepared with low calorie ingredients. Here's a list:

Skimmed milk

Choosing skimmed milk instead of whole milk can bring down your saturated fat intake significantly, while still providing you with plenty of protein and calcium. Whole milk has a fat content of around 3.5 per cent, as compared to less than 0.5 per cent fat in skim milk. Low fat or semi-skimmed milk has a fat percentage ranging between one and two per cent.

We love the taste of butter and cheese on bread or toast for breakfast. But the fat from these items constitutes a considerable portion of our total daily fat intake. Hence, you should select low-fat spreads like margarine (choose a tub or liquid margarine with zero trans fats) to reduce your daily fat consumption.

A standard can of cola drink comes with seven teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories. The diet colas which are artificially sweetened are believed to be sugar and calorie-free. So diet drinks have found acceptance among people who not only love colas, but who are weight-watchers as well.

Consumption, however, should be limited to a maximum of two cans per week, as many of the diet fizzy drinks have unhealthy levels of salt, aspartame (artificial sweetener), chemical preservatives and chemical colours. As a result, many people who consume such drinks regularly have unbalanced insulin and blood sugar.

People who love sausages should opt for the low-fat variety. But limit the consumption of sausages to once every week, as the fat content is still high in comparison to lean meat.

Crisps or potato chips are delicious and keep the mouth busy. Reduced fat crisps may contain less fat (by up to one-third) than a standard bag, but they are by no means a low-fat food. They are still laden with more than 20 per cent fat content. These are a good option compared to their counterparts, as they are fried in healthy, cholesterol-free oil but they should be consumed in moderation.

You may be tempted to buy other diet foods too, which promise to contribute to your weight maintenance goals. But considering certain facts, you should choose to leave these foods on the shelves:

Diet yoghurts

Diet yoghurts are not better options than the natural yoghurt. They contain artificial sweeteners and get their flavour due to the presence of gelatin and starch. Instead, you can enjoy natural, probiotic yoghurt with added ripe, sweet fruits.

The manufacturers of low fat cookies/biscuits may claim that the products come with 25 per cent less fat, but they usually contain more sugar than their original versions. Greater amounts of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup is added to these products to make up for the taste lost by reducing the fat. Thus, the total calorie saving per biscuit becomes too marginal to make any real difference.

The true fact is that some foods are irresistible and even if we know of their high calorie content, we still relish each bite! The next moment again, we start feeling guilty. That is why we need to go through the food labels thoroughly to know about the ingredients. Diet foods have been designed keeping food-loving weight-watchers in mind. And of course, we want everything -- excellent taste and a good figure too.