11 low-calorie foods that might not actually help with weight-loss

Powdered peanut butter has developed something of a cult following due to its lower fat and calorie content. One popular brand of the powdered stuff has just 45 calories per two tablespoons, compared to the 190 calories in two tablespoons of conventional peanut butter.

However, nutritionists aren’t totally sold on the power of powdered peanut butter to shrink your waistline.

"The fat [regular peanut butter] contains is the healthy monounsaturated type that helps you feel full and may even help decrease belly fat," Laura Cipullo, an RD and CDE in private practice in New York, told Shape.

Healthy fats can help you feel fuller for longer. Since powdered peanut butter contains up to 85% less fat than the normal version of the spread,  it may leave you craving more, sooner.

Those trendy pints of low-calorie ice cream that you’ve been spotting in health food store freezers may only be 300 calories per container, but they could be stalling your weight loss.

"This fits perfectly in the category of ‘just because it’s a slightly better choice does not mean that it is a good choice," Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, told Fortune.

Everybody needs a treat now and then, but swapping out a scoop of regular ice cream for an entire pint of low-cal ice cream could just reinforce your junk food habit and keep you from changing your eating patterns.

There’s no denying that broccoli is packed with nutrients, and with just 205 calories in an entire head, it’s a great low-calorie swap for less healthy dinner sides. However, when it comes to weight loss, piling your plate too high with this cruciferous veggie has a dark side.

"Eating too much roughage bloats your belly, makes you gassy, and can even cause constipation, none of which will help you look better in a bikini", Cipullo told Shape.  

The real issue with eating mass amounts of low-calorie vegetables like broccoli is that the behavior perpetuates the cycle of bingeing. Part of healthy weight loss is finding a way to eat nutritiously and happily without feeling the need to stuff yourself to the gills.

Think you’re making your salad healthier by opting for low-fat, low-calorie dressing? Maybe not.

A 2004 study published in The American Journal of Clinal Nutrition found that using low-fat dressing dramatically decreased the number of nutrients your body absorbs from salad greens and vegetables.

According to researchers, "essentially no absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads with fat-free salad dressing were consumed."

Fat also increases satiety, which is the feeling of being satisfied and ready to stop eating. Consider using a light drizzle of olive oil and some lemon juice to make sure that big, beautiful salad won’t leave you feeling hungry an hour later.

Sugar-free candy doesn’t end up sweet by accident – it’s usually packed with artificial sweeteners.

Besides keeping you from breaking your addition to sweet treats, some dietitians believe that your body isn’t actually that great at differentiating between artificial sweeteners and the real stuff.

"Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain," registered dietitian Brooke Alpert told Health.

While research into the effects of artificial sweeteners is ongoing, it might be safer to savor the occasional small piece of candy rather than downing an entire bag of sugar-free chocolates.

Many people turn to calorie-free gum to curb their appetite between meals, but it turns out that your stick of chewing gum might not be helping you lose weight.

A 2013 study from Ohio State University found that participants who chewed calorie-free gum before snacks and meals for a week consumed just as much food as non-chewers. Though the gum-chewing participants did snack less, they also ended up choosing less nutritious and larger meals.

The comparative health benefits and risks of diet soda have been a hot topic amongst nutritionists and the media for years now, but there does seem to be some evidence that diet soda might not be doing your waistline any favors.

According to a 2015 study by the University of Texas, participants who were regular diet soda drinkers exhibited a 70% greater increase in waist circumference over the course of a decade than non-drinkers. The study included more than 740 participants and accounting for differences in activity level, diet, and lifestyle.

Even scarier: participants who indulged in two or more diet sodas a day experienced a startling 500% greater increase.

Watermelon is relatively diet-friendly at just 46 calories per cup, but you shouldn’t feel free to overindulge.

While the colorful fruit does come loaded with Vitamin A and C, a single wedge contains 18 grams of sugar. To put that in perspective, the daily amount of sugar recommended by the World Health Organization is just 25 grams.

Coupled with the fact that watermelon is about 90% water, this is one fruit that is likely to leave you hungry soon after you’ve downed your last slice.

"Low-fat butter" sounds like an oxymoron, but could lower calorie versions of the dairy spread actually help you lose weight?

"When low-fat food is manufactured, carbohydrate is often added to replace the calories lost from fat. A low-fat doughnut may have as many, or more, calories than its "high-fat" counterpart, and you’ll have to eat two of them to feel as full," Robert S. Bobrow, MD, told HuffPost.

If you opt for low-fat spreads, you might find yourself using more to make up for the lack of rich flavor.

When was the last time you ate enough raw celery to leave you satisfied? Though it’s frequently cited as a food with "negative calories," there’s actually no such thing, according to the BBC. Celery is also a prime example of something that fills your stomach without creating any sense of satiety.

That means that while the physical space in your stomach is filled, you’re taking in so few calories that you’ll likely to be hungry again in no time.

Plus, who eats just plain celery? Most people take their celery with a helping of peanut butter or cream cheese, both of which pack serious caloric punches.

Common scenario: you see that a snack is only 20 calories per serving, you eat the entire package, and then realize that you’ve eaten about 42 servings.

Nutritional information and labeling can sometimes be deceptive. Sure, seven potato chips may only be 50 calories, but does anyone really eat just seven potato chips?

To be extra sure you’re not consuming more calories than you think, check the serving size against the number of grams or ounces in the package. If a single serving of a low-calorie food is 100 grams, but the package contains 900 grams in total, you might not want to tear through the entire thing in one sitting.

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