Is Nutella Good for Weight Loss?
What do you know about Nutella?
If you haven’t heard of it go here.
You could probably guess the common internet answer to the following question:
Is Nutella good for weight loss?
If you have been reading the Cornerstone Weight Loss Blog you already know, especially in the world of weight loss, simplistic answers seem to be incomplete answers.
A simplistic rejection or affirmation of the above question just won’t do if your goal is to better understand how food affects your body in common sense way that will put you in control of how you look.
What this short blog post will do is introduce what Nutella is and then use it as an example of how to look at other foods in the context of your weight loss program. After reading this you will be better able to use certain foods to your advantage that others may shy away from.
Let’s get to work!
What is Nutella?
Nutella is a cocoa and hazelnut spread that goes well with a great deal of foods. Regularly, Nutella is spread on bread or toast and adds a creamy, chocolate-hazelnut dimension that can be irresistible.
According to their website, Nutella is made with seven ingredients: sugar, milk, palm oil, cocoa, hazelnuts, lecithin and vanillin.
The macronutrients breakdown of Nutella is as follows:
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Kcal: 200
Total Fat: 11g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Total Carbohydrates: 22g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Total Sugars: 21g
Protein: 2g
What does it take to achieve weight loss?
The trick to achieving weight loss is knowing there is no trick. Energy balance is the key factor that leads to weight loss or weight gain. The boring, old calories-in/calories-out, or CICO, model is the tried and true reason you’re either putting on or losing weight. If you’re an avid reader of the Cornerstone Weight Loss Blog, this is something that’s hammered home often.
CICO seems to be often vilified. Whenever some new study or theory comes out that sounds like the calories-in/calories-out model for weight loss/gain is about to be disrupted, many jump on the bandwagon in order to sell you some snake oil.
*Side note: please refer to the first law of Thermodynamics to understand why CICO will usually be the reason why you gain or lose body mass.
For additional support and information, please read this.
It’s tasty foods that make CICO NOT boring and actually very exciting!
Though the title of this blog post seems like click-bait, it’s actually a great opportunity to learn how to better understand how food affects your body in a common sense way so you can take control of how you look.
For you who is unsure if there are certain foods you must shy away from during your weight loss program, let this be a realization that you actually have more freedom in weight loss than you’re being led to believe. There are those who profit from getting you on yo-yo, fad diets, please consider using this as an antidote to their BS.
*Side note: Cornerstone Weight Loss calls those culprits of misinformation Yo-yo Diet Profiteers, by the way.
It seems like beginning your weight loss program by first throwing out everything that your taste buds find enjoyable works against you. Creating a hostile environment for your taste buds allows for consistency to degrade. This lack of consistency seems to be the one of the greatest factors for weight loss failure.
What do you know about your Big Rocks?
It sounds like you may not need to throw your jar of Nutella out after all. Nutella can actually be used as a tool to help you stay on track (in a caloric deficit) with your weight loss program.
So, is Nutella good for weight loss?
Answer: It can be a great tool to help your weight loss efforts under two conditions:
- You are able maintain a caloric deficit while incorporating it into your diet. Said a different way, you consume less in calories than you burn on average after including Nutella.
- You are someone who is able to consume Nutella in specific portions and are not prone to bingeing on this particular product.
If you have checked the box for both of these caveats, enjoy your Nutella freedom!
A word of warning
Nutella may not be good for your weight loss in certain circumstances.
If you’re just guessing at what it means for you to be in a caloric deficit by failing to calculate your Metabolic Snapshot (click the link, scroll down, wait for the pop-up, and fill out the form to calculate yours for free), this creamy, chocolate-hazelnut dream may not be the greatest choice for you, yet.
Additionally, Nutella is not good for your weight loss program if it’s a food you have a difficult time controlling in regulated portions.
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? Proverbs 6:27-28 (KJV)
Comparing similar foods for perspective
Before the conclusion of this blog post, just one more point ought to be touched upon. For your benefit, let’s compare the nutrition label of Nutella to that of a common food that fitness enthusiasts eat all the time: peanut butter.
This comparison is meant to show you that substitutions can be made in order to facilitate a higher diversity of food choices during your weight loss program. Having varying options will help you with your overall consistency which will lead to a smaller chance of weight loss failure.
Nutella
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Kcal: 200
Total Fat: 11g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Total Carbohydrates: 22g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Total Sugars: 21g
Protein: 2g
Jif Smooth Peanut Butter
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Kcal: 190
Total Fat: 16g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Total Carbohydrates: 8g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Total Sugars: 6g
Protein: 7g
See how calories overall remain about equal, but you exchange a little more fat for a little less carbohydrate if you choose Jif over Nutella?
See how looking at the macronutrient breakdown of seemingly different foods grants you a little more freedom in how you can eat during your weight loss program?
It looks like you have more choices than you think.
It also looks like Nutella can be good for weight loss under certain circumstances.
In order to get in touch with a professional who can help tailor your weight loss plan to you, click below, fill out the information, and a member of the Cornerstone Weight Loss team will reach out to you to get the results in weight loss you deserve.