I have always been lean until recently. I’m 45 and in 4 weeks my waist ballooned up 3 inches! I’m horrified. I’ve been exercising 3 days a week at the gym. Yogurt is the one thing I added to my diet. What a shocker. No more bad yogurt. Thanks for the tip.
A few weekends ago I was in LA with my buddy Vince “No Nonsense” Del Monte and a few other fitness friends for a marketing conference, and upon arriving at our hotel the very first thing Vinny and I did was take a taxi run to the grocery store.
Now, generally we’d be a little more laid back when traveling for the weekend, but fact is we’re both currently “in training” for an upcoming deadline and we know that we’ll make the best food choices when we’re in control of the menu.
So we hit the grocery store, and one of the things I happened to pick up was yogurt.
You see, yogurt can be both delicious and healthy, but the problem is that most people are mistakenly buying yogurt that is TERRIBLE for their health and waistline, even though it’s touted as “healthy as can be”.
Take for example, this label from a popular “low fat” yogurt:
Sounds like a healthy option…”low fat yogurt”. But no. 33 grams of carbs, 27 grams of sugar (most of which is dreaded high fructose corn syrup), and only 5 grams of protein. That is, essentially, a recipe for fat storage despite the fact it’s “low fat”.
So, what type of yogurt should you be eating? Without a doubt the answer is plain Greek yogurt. Compared to the above, plain Greek yogurt has 6xs the protein and 1/3 as much sugar (which is simply the naturally occuring milk sugars lactose and galactose).
That’s 31 grams of protein per 8 oz and just 12 grams of low-glycemic carbs!
Need something a little sweeter than plain yogurt? Throw some mixed berries in (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc) and/or sweeten it a tad with some Splenda or Stevia. DELICIOUS.
This is one of my favorite snacks throughout the day, and it packs a ton of high quality nurtients in to a very filling meal.
Take home message: Ditch the sugar-laden “junk” yogurt and go with delicious, thick, plain Greek Yogurt instead (look for the 0% fat variety).
P.S. The above yogurt and berry blend was actually a small part of tonight’s HUGE dinner, which also included an ample-sized lean steak, mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, quinoa mixed with pumpkin seeds and cranberries, green beans sauteed with garlic and roasted tomatoes, a huge spinach salad with roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, artichokes, blackened chicken and avocado, and jumbo grilled asparagus topped with organic blue cheese crumbles.
And you know what? Dinners like that are the norm EVERY SINGLE DAY of my brand new rapid fat loss 28-day diet, The HUGE Dinner Diet.
Want a copy of the Huge Dinner Diet? Well, although you can’t even buy it for another 6 months, I’ve decided to give a free copy of the HDD to any one of my readers that picks up a discounted copy of my buddy John Romaniello’s brand new Superhero Workout program. Even if you never even open John’s program, you’re going to get my brand new 28-day rapid fat loss Huge Dinner Diet system 6 months early, and cheaper than it will be later. Think of the Superhero Workout as a “bonus” to an already ridiculous, exclusive deal.
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199 comments - add yours
I eat Activia almost every night. Am wondering how healthy that is. Also, have plain yogurt w/granola or oat mixture w/berries sometimes. I guess I need to look at them a little closer. Thought I was doing something good for myself.
@ Mary:
Hi mary, I would suggest taking probiotic “Pearl” products instead of eating yogart as an alternative source. I do this when I travel or when I run out of yogart and haven’t had time to go to the grocery store. Hope this helps. Sour Kraut is good bacteria for the digestive tract as well. If you don’t like the taste of that, add a little to soups or stews. My kids and grandkids never know its there. Sneeky grandma. :-)
@ G’ma Suzie:
I second the motion. In our local supermarket you can get a liter free with purchase of one liter tub. Sometimes I don’t add anything, sometimes cottage cheese, and if I feel like it, put some zahatar, a local spice which is a combination of local herbs.
When I do sweeten it, I use honey. Granted it is a “sugar”, but there are a few vitamins and minerals that you don’t get in other sweeteners.
Had to smile when I opened your post, as I had a spoon in one hand and a pot of 0% fat Greek yoghurt in the other (with an apple and mixed nuts on the side).
Love the stuff!! And as an instructor dashing between teaching classes and training clients its a perfect ‘on the go’ food that is easy on the tummy.
I really enjoy all your posts. Be happy & health.
Vix
I make my own yogurt at home without sugar or any added sweet. I love to have it with some nuts or raisin on it. The problem is the milk is not fat free and in my country we don’t get fat free milk or greek yogurt. We don’t have skimmilk so I use pasturize cow milk. Should I continue with this type of yogart or stop. Please reply me. When I ask something here, how do I get the answer? I have to come to this page again or do you reply in other pages?
The big mystery for me, that no doctor or anyone else for that matter have been able to solve, is why I get so tired every time I eat yoghurt. Pure yoghurt with no sugar added. I get so tired I use to fall asleep after some time. And I’m not lactose intolerant or allergic to the protein.
Can anyone solve this mystery?
I gave up yogurt as a “healthy food” (at least in terms of exercise) when I started noticing how quickly I became hungry after eating it.
I did some math and, for the calories you are eating, it sure wasn’t filling. And definitely didn’t seem like it was going to help my weight loss goal.
So I have it on occasion for a fun snack or if my stomach is hurting (long story there.)
Didn’t know that about the greek yogurt though! I’ll have to take a look! Always looking for good ways to keep up the protein intake. In fact, I got a bit off track this past week with all the work I needed to do. I couldn’t figure out why I was so tired and brain dead. I just could not *think*.
Enter some protien and ZOOOM! Both brain and energy took off!
Unfortunately that was during a late dinner so I ended up staring at the ceiling for quite some time when I went to bed that night. Eventually gave up and hit my Total Gym for a bit, that seemed to help and I finally dropped off.
I can be a slow learner sometimes and it happened to me again today and i had to stop and make myself something. Sure would be nice to have a quick thing of yogurt to ward off the zombies instead of having to go to the effort of mixing a shake or cooking a steak.
Hi!
We use to eat the 10% fat Greek yogurt, don’t you need to eat fat to burn fat, or am I totally wrong here?
It’s the same with most supposedly healthy low fat version of existing popular food products (not just yogurt) sold in most supermarkets. The big food company’s like us to think they are concerned with our health by offering low fat version of there best selling products only to fill it with much too much sugar & artificial flavorings to replace the fat content they have just taken out! Make your own with just the basic ingredients, natural yogurt, a little honey and or pieces fruit. Will be better value for money too!
Interesting info… I am aware of the misleading LOW FAT labelling.. Think the Greek yoghurt/organic plain varieties are good.. however, for fruit.. should we not eat fruit in between meals as opposed to i.e. dessert due to the fermentation aspects?? have researched this – yet not many people are aware of this.. As a trainer with an avid interest in nutrition and health generally, thought would get your thoughts on this!
Non-fat or low -fat items should be shunned, I think. Additionally, as someone mentioned in an earlier message, “whole” milk is the most appropriate choice. I agree, but would add that milk is an even more appropriate choice when it’s raw. Unfortunately you cannot get raw milk yoghurt.
Joel,
You’ve given your seal of approval to Greek Yougert. Great, I like it too, plain up. But where does it fit in in your xTreme Fat Loss Diet? Protein?
Instead of Yogurt i eat Siggys Icelandic style Skyr. It has 100 cal.
zero calories from fat.
zero sat fat
zero Trans fat
Zero cholesterol
60 mg sodium
11g carb
9 g sugar
14g protein
and live cultures
I love it! I add any kind of berries and it fills me up all morning (I do snack on nuts mid morning though).
Try peanut butter and jelly yogurt… Plain Greek Yogurt + All Natural Peanut Butter + Fresh Fruit of your choice. It actually tastes pretty good! Lots of protein.
I make my own yoghurt.So I do not have to worry about any chemicals or high sugar content
I love greek yogurt!!! I am currently doing XFLD, and am wondering if greek yogurt would be considered an ok food to eat any other day except cheat day?
I LOVE Greek yogurt. I found some that was sweetened with just a bit of honey. Still low carb but sweeter than normal Greek yogurt. Great stuff
Joel,
I am a fitness coach and I tell my clients when it comes to yogurt plain Greek yogurt is best with only honey or raw sugar as a sweetener. Using artificial sweeteners like Splenda is bad advice. For me, the jury is still out on Stevia and Agave. It is also bad to combine fruit with yogurt because it ferments in your gut which creates a fire in the intestines. Do yourself a favor and research your information.
Hey Joel thanks for the article.
A question: I always pick the 2% “total” greek yogurt (from “Fage”) and put some honey in it to sweeten it since i can’t eat it plain and i don’t like it too much with berries (yeah i know I’m picky). I need your opinion in those 2 things:
– Is 2% fat or 0% fat better if you’re interested in reducing body fat.
– Is honey a good option for sweetening the yogurt (note – i don’t buy the yogurt that includes honey on the side – somehow the ingredients say it has 30ish g of sugar vs 8g that the 2% plain yogurt has – , but i buy a honey jar separately and just add 2 spoons in my yogurt).
Well that’s actually 2 questions:).
Thanks Joel
What about low fat greek yoghurt?? Is that ok??
@ Bob Rossignol:
Bob, you need to see a doctor. That is not normal weight gain.
@ Luke:
Fire…? Uh, I’m assuming that’s hyperbole, since I’ve never heard of human combustion as a result of eating fruit in yogurt.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...