Ut oh- I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray loaded in fat?!?!
Wow. I just read one article about this online, after my mother in law told me the other day that it is loaded in fat. Seems like this is true. When I think of how much I have used this to substitute butter or margarine on things in the past and how I didn't lose any weight, now I know why.
Anyhow, here is the first article I found on it, written by a Personal Trainer:
"In case you're curious, the entire bottle contains 900 calories and 90 grams of fat! Helpful hint: When it comes to this stuff, stick with spraying as opposed to pouring."
I've used that sort of thing before. It really has to be a very short spray for it to be a very few calories. However, a short spray is better than a dollop of fats.
I don't think it's misleading or bad.. I mean, its only 10 calories for 12 sprays! Of course if you spray something 50 times it's going to add up. Does anyone really spray something that many times?? Taking off the cover and pouring it kind of defeats the whole purpose..the spray was intended for light, full coverage for minimal calories..like those new salad dressing spritzers.
I use becel light spray periodically and it's nice to put 5 sprays on my steamed veggies for like 4 calories ..I think as long as you use in moderation they have a time and a place and are an extremely low cal alternative..
Another great use: to spray on popcorn before adding the spices to it
I don't think it's misleading or bad.. I mean, its only 10 calories for 12 sprays! Of course if you spray something 50 times it's going to add up. Does anyone really spray something that many times??
Sadly, there are folks like myself who have used it to replace butter/margarine in many recipes, thinking they were cutting out a lot of calories and fat, only to find they didn't at all. So, yes, it IS misleading. Notice they have 0 calories for 1.5 sprays and 5 sprays for topping? Notice they didn't put on the label one tsp= 20 calories and 2 grams of fat? A tablespoon adds up to 60 calories and 6 grams of fat. See where I am going with this, and how it sure is misleading when folks don't read the label or check out products recommended by family and friends who also thought the entire bottle was calorie and fat free?
A lot of my family members and friends go by word of mouth and don't research stuff like this on the internet like I do. So, when my father-in-law was gung ho on this product, I believed him (he certainly didn't mislead me on purpose!!!) and did what he did, replacing it in many recipes and used it in place of popping oil for popcorn (it's still better than the oil, I will give you that). He's super thin, so I figured this was definitely something great and a change in my diet that I didn't mind, as I loved the taste in the ICBINB spray.
The reason I started this thread was just to inform others like myself who wasn't aware of this. I still may use it from time to time on my popcorn and corn on the cob, but I sure as heck won't be using it in place of butter or margarine in recipes anymore- thankfully, Z Trim is going to help cut down a lot of fat and calories in my recipes now. That is one product that I know for a fact works, as I changed none of my other foods that I ate, just replaced half of my sour cream/salad dressings/veggie dips/cream cheese and other things with it, and I lost two pounds in one week just from that change alone. I did not lose any weight at all using that ICBINB spray, and I feel foolish using it all this time, thinking it was helping me, when it made no difference at all calorie wise or fat count.
Last edited by Steelslady; 06-03-2007 at 04:01 PM.
I guess if it sounds to good to be true, research it.
Sad, isn't it? Lots of folks, who again, don't research products, have no idea that Splenda also increases your appetite. So, you think you're saving calories in one of the products that have Splenda, only to eat more calories later because it makes you hungry.
Also, the verdict is also out on the dangers of Splenda. I had to stop using it after a few months because I felt funky when I was using it. Brain fog, tired, couldn't concentrate or focus on what I was doing among other things.
Thank goodness for informative web sites like this and others to help folks along and give them the real scoop on these so called diet products! Remember the 80's with the fat free or Light versions of everything? People assumed they were calorie free and that they didn't convert to fat no matter how much you used. Well, fat free diets made folks fatter, LOL.
In situations where the labeled serving size is very small, like the ICBNB sprays, I always check the ingredients list. This is useful for thinking about how large serving sizes might work out on a product that is zero cals per serving, as well as for looking for things (like trans fats) that only have to be listed on the label if they are over .5 grams per serving. The second ingredient on the ICBNB Spray is soybean oil...which makes it pretty obvious to me that it can't be fat free, as that is what oil is...fat.
However, I don't think this makes it not a viable product for weight loss, or a "bad" diet product. I can't melt or measure 5 sprays worth of oil from a bottle...the spraying mechanism allows you to use a much smaller quantity of oil than you might otherwise. And if the product is used as directed (ie, sprayed onto food rather than poured), the label is accurate.
This is, in my opinion, way less sketchy than companies that mislabel (such as the Rising Dough cookies at Jamba Juice, or the banana crisps from Trader Joes, which were blatantly mislabeled in terms of fat/calories).
Don't know what it is like in the US . . . but in Canada, I know that Splenda does tell you the calories in a serving . . . rather than being labelled as "no calories".
always take note of the "*adds a trivial amount of fat" at the bottom. Pam cooking spray is basically vegetable oil. but a small spray on the pan isn't going to be enough to matter much. Its still better than using a butter knife.
Just goes to show that you really have to educate yourself--read labels, and learn what to LOOK for on those labels. The FDA labeling requirements in the U.S. state that the company can label something as having 0 calories as long as it has fewer than 5 calories per serving. In order to know what you're really getting, you really have to read the ingredients. If something contains any sugar or oil or whatever, then you know it does have calories in larger quantities.
Same goes with trans fats. The government says food companies can say something has 0 trans fats if it has less than .5g per serving--but check the ingredients. Lots of foods labeled as having 0 trans fats (example: fat free Cool Whip) actually contain partially hydrogenated oils, which means there ARE trans fats, especially in larger servings.
If I planned my diet by following what my friends and family tell me or recommend, I'd be in a pretty horrible place, chomping on "harmless" 100-calorie snack packs (often packed with HFCS and/or trans fats) and eating trans-fat-laden reduced-fat peanut butters and such
I know that article is about ICNB but the same holds true for all oil sprays. Pam included. I like Pam and ICNB because I can use a short spray and get lots of flavor.
I know that article is about ICNB but the same holds true for all oil sprays. Pam included. I like Pam and ICNB because I can use a short spray and get lots of flavor.
Yup...anything with a tiny serving size likely has that tiny serving size for a reason
I've heard this before - and it's true. Both spray cooking oils and Splenda do contain some calories. I do think it's misleading - the products want you to think "calorie free" and make it a point to not emphasize that it does contain some calories.
As for Splenda, the calories come from the maltodextrin added as a bulking agent to the sucralose. You can get pure sucralose - no calories at all - from places online. I buy from Sweetzfree http://www.sweetzfree.com/ (I'm not affiliated with them in any way - I just like the product).
Ut oh- I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray loaded in fat?!?!
