Low Fat foods - weight watchers/good for you etc.............Are they any good?

[northerner]

My dh is on a massive health kick atm, he is not over weight and is very fit and active. We eat a fairly healthy diet, mostly home cooked stuff with the odd take away and treat along the way.

He has decided to now eat only low fat food, so that's bread, pasta, sauces, biscuits, butter, mayo, salad cream, everything - you get the jist!

I can't help thinking that if these foods are so low fat then there must be something else in them that's not so good. Am I right? Does anybody know this?

I beleive a balanced diet, with exercise is the way to go. But my dh always takes things to teh extreme....

Any comments/experience appreciates.
Thanks

Low fat things are usually full of sugar (or worse, aspartame) to make up for the lack of taste. The best way forward is to eat stuff naturally low in fat, rather then manufactured crap. If he wants mayo etc, it's best to buy the full fat stuff, but just have less IYSWIM. I have been doing slimming world for a year, and I don;t buy low fat stuff, because it always tastes shit

Often they have hydrogenated fats in or starch to bulk them out.

I prefer to have less of a good thing e.g. full fat mayo in a very small amount rather than low fat mayo and low fat spread on a sandwich.

Look for the number of ingredients on the packet.

Yeah hydrogenated fats are pretty evil. Have a look at the cholestorol thread below, that's got some great ideas on avoiding bad fats.
Low fat pasta sauces are also pretty revolting - basically he will find himself so depressed by the horrible taste of all this food he will start bingeing when nobody's looking!
My tip is to get a veggie box delivered, a good vegetable-based cookbook and just try and let the fruit and veg take over a larger percentage of his diet than curently.

Thanks guys. Anymore thoughts?

Sorry - really long post repeating from before but it's so important to label check. Details taken from Ocado website.

I know which I'd rather eat!

Comparison of Shape fat-free yog with Rachel's Organic:

Shape Fat-free Strawberry Yoghurt

Ingredients

Fat Free Yogurt, Strawberry (8%), Fibre (Guar Gum, Oligofructose) , Stabilisers (Modified Maize Starch, Carrageenan) , Flavouring, Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame-K), Acidity Regulators (Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid), Colour (Cochineal), Vitamins (B1, B2, B6, B12, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid) , Produced on a line handling Almond, Hazelnut, Walnut and Wheat. , Contains a source of phenylalanine. Contains milk., Not suitable for vegetarians.

Nutrition Per Serving 120g %RDA*
Energy 264kJ
Protein 6.6g
Carbohydrate 8.7g
of which sugars 8.2g
Fat 0.1g
of which saturates 0.1g
Fibre 2.2g
Sodium 0.08g
Calcium 190mg 24%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.2mg 16%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.4mg 23%
Vitamin B6 0.3mg 14%
Folic Acid (Folacin) 31.3µg 16%
Vitamin B12 0.2µg 21%
Pantothenic Acid 0.9mg 15%
*RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance
Energy 264kJ
Protein 6.7g
Carbohydrate 8.6g
of which sugars 8.1g
Fat 0.1g
of which saturates 0.1g
Fibre 2.0g
Sodium 0.08g
Calcium 190mg 24%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.2mg 16%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.4mg 23%
Vitamin B6 0.3mg 14%
Folic Acid (Folacin) 31.3µg 16%
Vitamin B12 0.2µg 21%
Pantothenic Acid 0.9mg 15%
*RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance

Rachel's organic

Ingredients

Added ingredients:, Organic Strawberries (9%), Organic Raw Cane Sugar

Nutrition Per 100g
Energy 243kJ/58kcal
Protein 3.8g
Carbohydrate 10.5g
Fat 0.1g