Stolen from MFP, but it makes a ton of sense and something to keep in mind when going grocery shopping or eating in general.

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Oh, how happy all of us "dieters" were the day Skinny Cow candy bars became available! We can have chocolate! Peanut butter! Caramel! Gooey caramel and chocolate in one little bag! And not feel guilty! Yum! I have realized I cannot have them in my house. Why? They're a sensible treat, at only 110 calories (give or take depending the delicious flavor you finally decide upon). It is the completely sabotaging comfort of "SKINNY". Oh yes, you can have one. Enjoy one! Fondle it in it's pretty wrapper and delight in the first crunch. But I cannot stop at one. That is the same eating behavior that got me to 240 pounds in the first place. If one is good, two is better. Hell, three is 3x better! And guess what, it is guilt free because it is SKINNY!

Don't get me wrong, 110 calories is a lot better than the 245 or 300 or 500 of a regular candy bar or chocolate fix. But I get so wrapped up in "ALLOWED" because they're lower in calories, they are no longer on the forbidden list. I need my forbidden list. It keeps me safe, and hopefully thinner.

And "light" products are doing the same damage. Light chips - heck yes! I'll have more please. In reality, I would never even think a chip is ok while I'm working so hard, but hey, they're LIGHT! Safe, OK, Allowed, please indulge. Don’t even get me started on the sodium "Light" yogurt is the worst offender, in my opinion. Yummy, creamy, dessert flavored yogurt - healthy! Sweet and almost like pudding! And yogurt is healthy right? Oh not so fast...

Many have HFCS, which for me, makes me crave more sugar. I think nothing of snarfing down a carton of yogurt as a "healthy" snack, because it is "light", "healthy" and yummy. In reality I just ate a bunch of ingredients I can't pronounce, and I'm not really satisfied. In fact, if there is aspartame in it, I’m probably going to crave more sugar in about 8 minutes. There I am, sabotaged by “light”.

Yes, I admit I have eating issues (most of us do or we wouldn't be in this battle) and I have a hard time saying no. But it is a whole lot easier to say no when it isn't available, and no matter the "light" label, if it looks like a (chocolate) duck and quacks like a (chocolate) duck, it's a chocolate duck.

So I'm cleaning out my cupboards and fridge, at least for now. Out go the "light" chips, granola bars, cookies and yes, the Skinny Cows. Into the trash with the "light" yogurt and mayonnaise and salad dressing. If it isn't naturally low in fat, sugar and calories, I'm not interested. At least for now.

Apples, baby carrots, whole wheat crackers with fewer than 25 ingredients that look like a piece of the periodic table. Salad dressing made from olive oil and vinegar. Beautiful berries and oranges when I'm really craving something sweet.

Because I personally cannot be trusted. And I'm not going to buy into anything "Skinny" unless is a new pair of skinny jeans that finally fit.

Wow John, so true!! So very true!

OMG! THis is the absolute truth for the majority of us here. I simply don't buy it except on rare occasions, I do buy greek yogurt though and put whipped cream on it.... So delicious with just a little bit of sugar. Love it. Thanks for sharing this John....

Love it and you are so right!

Very well-said indeed. Add in a completely out-of-whack sense of portion control, and you have many of my worst food related "land-mines". Thank you for sharing this!

OMG so true! I've been hooked on the Special K chips because they are "light" and low calorie, I need to get rid of them and not buy them anymore! Thanks for posting..

Marketing geniuses!! It's scary how much we are influenced by words, ads and other visual cues.

Thanks for sharing that...