Diet Derailers: Cupcakes can make you crack

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Sep 8th 2008 7:30AM

Derail. You know the word. Let's face it, most of us working toward good health through diet and exercise have an intimate relationship with the word. Diet derailers are everywhere -- in your house, in the grocery store, at work, at play, in your head even. Here, we'll address the very things that throw us off course. Together, we'll learn how to avoid our diet traps -- and how to get back on track when we can't.

Weekends are a top diet derailer, we told you in this post. Saturday and Sunday shouldn't take all the blame for our food and fitness missteps, though. Cupcakes are another culprit.

If cupcakes are not your thing, count yourself as lucky. If cupcakes make you weak in the knees, though, then you know what I mean when I say they can cause you to crack. Those fluffy, sweet, moist, frosting-topped treats are simply scrumptious -- and oh so dangerous.

Diet Detective Charles Stuart Platkin has nutritionally analyzed cupcakes from the Magnolia and Crumbs bakeries in New York to your run-of-the-mill Hostess cupcakes straight from the box. Here's what he found: Gourmet bakery cupcakes are higher in calories and fat than store-bought varieties. Eating one of Crumbs' masterpieces -- 542 calories and 25 grams of fat -- is equivalent to eating three slices of pizza. A six-mile jog is required to make amends. Compared to a cupcake from Per Se restaurant in New York, this isn't bad -- try 2,400 calories and a 30-mile walk for this one. Hostess? Only 181 calories and six grams of fat.

Cupcakes have become quite trendy lately, especially in the Hollywood arena. Katie Holmes once toted dozens to the set of her Mad Money movie, spoiling cast and crew alike. Cupcakes made an appearance on Sex and the City a few years ago. Teri Hatcher enjoys them with daughter Emerson (Hatcher's a fan of chocolate too). Even Courtney Love digs a good cupcake. Clearly, cupcakes are enticing, which means you should be able to have one now and then. Go ahead -- now and then. Just get back on track after your indulgence for the sake of your butt, your thighs, your gut -- anything you wish to keep slim and trim. If you're anything like me, you'll blacklist this derailer altogether. I'm just not one to have one of anything. It's all or nothing for me. And I'm going with nothing in the cupcake category. How about you?

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

olee 9-08-2008 @ 11:00AM

link to original article is broken. what's the nutritional info for the magnolia cupcakes?

thanks.

Jacki 9-08-2008 @ 11:24AM

Link is fixed.

Janis 9-08-2008 @ 4:13PM

First off, I don't believe Teri Hatcher eats cupcakes, but that is besides the point. I have a hard enough time maintaining my weight without eating a 542 cupcake. I used to eat a bran muffin every morning deluding myself that it was nothing like a cupcake and it was "diet". Well I looked up the calorie count of my bran muffine that had no sugar added, and found out it had about 45 grams of fat and was about 1000 calories.,,. OUCH!

My best tip for weight loss or maintenace i is to eat a healthy filling Breakfast and not eat donuts, muffins or bagels! I feel eating a healthy breakfast helps me to make smarter decisions all day. If I don't eat breakfast as I want to save calories, I usually end up pigging out later in the day and making poor food choices. I also think that flax seeds are huge in helping with weight loss.

I have the same breakfast every day. I recently lost 30 pounds following the weight watchers program http://www.weightwatchers.com and I now just am more watchful every day of what I eat. I have a banana low fat yogurt with golden roasted flax for breakfast every
day. It is filling, keeps me regular and tastes fabulous. My Weight Watchers leader recommended fitflax to me and it definitely helped the last 10 pounds to melt off. It is a flax and chia blend and I think I read about it in O mag. They also listed a code to get 15% off. The site is
http://www.fitflax.com and the code for 15% off is FIT15

jennabvaught 9-17-2008 @ 8:25PM

The only way for successful weightloss is living what is "realistic" and in "moderation" both with fitness and nutrition for the rest of your life. So eating a cupcake or a special treat once or twice a week, in fact, I think keeps me or tract...because I can still enjoy life and the food that comes with it. Intresting story...Miss Plus America Elite 2007