Choose the Best Ice Cream Flavors for Losing Fat

Whether it's chocolate, peanut butter, mint or strawberry, you simply love the taste of ice cream. Sometimes it's a cone of some thick selection, while other times you consume a large glass full of soft ice cream without a moment's hesitation. Either way, you are consuming more calories than if you ate a Quarter Pounder. Unfortunately, your undeniable love for the cold treat in bright packaging does nothing for your efforts in losing fat. Wouldn't life be marvelous if you could eat all of the ice cream you wanted and still manage to lose weight? Fortunately, consumers can now choose from a variety of diet ice cream flavors with reduced fat.

To begin, you have to learn what makes certain flavors more fattening than others. While you will be out of luck in restaurants and most parlors, you can always check nutrition labels on the cartons in a grocery store. Just carry the knowledge with you the next time you are ordering dessert in a restaurant. When shopping for the best options to slim down, nutritional experts teach people to make sure their choice is no more than 120 calories. It should also have 4 grams of fat, if not less. Most sorbets, sherbets and low-fat ice cream choices contain 3 grams or less. Meanwhile, your flavor should not contain more than 15 grams of sugar, or 10 milligrams of cholesterol.

The key to enjoying any potentially fattening treat is to watch your portion sizes. Take small servings. Do not put more than a quarter of a pint, or the size of a tennis ball, of any kind of ice cream in your dish. The more you serve yourself, the more calories you will consume and the fatter your belly will grow. Always scoop your cold treat into a bowl, rather than grabbing it directly from its container. Put back the tablespoon, and scoop up your delicious snack with a teaspoon in order to avoid overeating. Meanwhile, enjoy everything just as it is, free from any whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and candy toppings. Otherwise, top off your treat with protein-filled nuts, as well as nutritious fresh fruit. If you insist on adding chocolate to your dish, use a vegetable peeler to shave a minimal amount over your treat.

Many diet flavored ice creams on the market are made with artificial sweeteners. They are less fattening than ordinary sweeteners, but they can have bad effects on your body. Consuming too much of an artificial sweetener can cause chaos in your stomach. At the same time, eating nondairy selections may contain less saturated fat than ice creams made from milk. However, they can be more fattening due to oils added in order to give the products a smoother texture. All ice creams give your body a fair amount of calcium, but you're better off getting your calcium from milk. Regardless, it still tastes better to protect your bones with fat and calories from ice cream.