HOT DOGS FOR WEIGHT LOSS!

Although Americans love hot dogs, they are actually a German invention. These tasty treats apparently got the name “Hot Dog” because people thought they contained dog meat! Although they don’t contain dog meat, these products are created from animal trimmings. Not to gross you out, but those animal trimmings may include pig snout, lips, organs, fat, and other parts of the animal that people normally would not eat. However, hot dogs also contain non-meat ingredients such as salt, sugar, water and spices. Although the most common hot dog is made from beef, they are also made from turkey, chicken, pork, and vegetarian products.

The Problem with Hot Dogs

It is a fact: burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. Although we don’t count calories on the Achieve Weight Loss lifestyle, they are a factor. How do we NOT count calories yet consider calories? We do this by thinking of food as food–by thinking of food in categories. When it comes to proteins, there are two categories; Lean Protein (LP) and Fatty Protein (FP).

Lean Protein meats are lean because they are lower in fat and; therefore, lower in calories. Products in this category offer the most flexibility. Fatty Proteins (FP) are higher in fat and thus higher in calories. There are more limits on how we can use foods in this category. (If you want learn more, check out our free trial!)

Portion Size

In our classes we teach a simple portion rule which works the majority of time, but when there is question one can revert to weight. Generally, we recommend ladies keep your protein portion between 4-6 ounces and men between 6-8 ounces. Regarding hot dogs, a safe rule is to consider each hot dog as two ounces. Therefore, we recommend one to two hot dogs for the ladies and up to three hot dogs for the men.

Lean Protein Hot Dogs

The best hot dogs for weight loss are those which fit into the Lean Protein (LP) category. Due to their lower fat content, these products have lower calories and can be combined with more than one food category (or they may be eaten by themselves). Here are a couple Lean Protein Hot Dogs:

• Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks. These hot dogs only have 45 calories per frank with only 9 calories from the fat!
• Ball Park All-White Meat Turkey Franks. These hot dogs only have 45 calories per frank with 0 calories from the fat!

Fatty Protein Hot Dogs

Because these products contain more fat, they are going to be higher in calories; however, that doesn’t mean they are “off’ limits” for weight loss or a sustainable weight loss lifestyle. Here are a few of our top picks:

• Oscar Mayer Lean Beef Uncured Franks. These are the lowest in calories (60 calories per frank) with 52% of the calories coming from fat.
• Hebrew National Reduced Fat Beef Franks.
• Ball Park Turkey Franks.

More hot dogs are listed on the website in the grocery database. If you want to learn more, try our 7 day free trail and let a coach work with you on your weight loss journey!

Have a Healthy Day,

Jim