When entering the supermarket on a diet, it’s important to arm yourself with as many facts as possible. Advertisers aren’t looking to help you, they want your money, and nothing sells quite like “diet food.” With all their promises of measured calories and healthy ingredients, which slogan do you trust? Starting a diet is hard enough, but choosing to eat healthy also means spending a little more time in each aisle to be sure the food you’re putting into your body isn’t poison.

We’ve all seen the 1-calorie snack packs at the local grocery store. Whether mini-muffins, pretzels, or chips, they are everywhere, and promise a small escape from our diets with healthy, portion controlled snacks. Do not buy what they are selling! These little sacks of sweetness do little more than remind you of the food you should be avoiding, while leaving your stomach empty for more. I’ve seen, more often than not, that those little packs are consumed en mass rather than their recommended serving size.

Why is that, though? Why are we motivated to over-indulge on our delightful little packages of managed calories? These snack-packs, oftentimes filled with foods that provide zero nutritional value, don’t have the ability to fill us up as normal food can. Just enough to tickle our tastebuds with the promise of sugar and leave us wanting more, this is like a smoker attempting to quit and sneak in the occasional menthol.

Additionally, dieting does not mean that you can’t enjoy yourself. Smart snacking on veggies or snack with natural ingredients can fill you up for longer and keep you from rebounding on your diet. For peace of mind and a flat stomach, be aware of the foods you decide to dine on. We’ve established that a corporation won’t do it for you, so own your diet and your inevitable success. It’s a hard road, but one that gets easier with each step.