Comments on: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fat Free

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:07:00 +0000

ok seriously? anyone ever hear of the saying “Everything in moderation.” Read the serving size for goodness sake. those of you using a bottle a day what did you expect?? its not misleading…its called using your brain and reading all the information and not just gulp everything down b/c the label is shiny and says fat free. butter is fat free if u took just a miniscule amount on the tip of ur spoon. its the same concept. its fat free cause it’s a spray…thats what it’s there for. your not suppose to take the spray off and pour it on your food like syrup

By: Scholastica8

Scholastica8 — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:07:59 +0000

I have to admit that I’m amazed at how people are using this product. It has all those 0 amounts because you are supposed to use so little. It would be less if you were giving things a spritz of real butter, but butter doesn’t spray well.

The real problem is that you’ve been accustomed to using a lot of real butter or margarine on your food, so your taste buds want that.

Lay off of all butter & butter substitutes for a couple of months, then a single spray of something like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter will be enough.

I use it about 3-4 times a week, yet I only buy a bottle about every 6 months. I have it a large bowl of popcorn, but each bowl only gets about 3 spritzes. That’s plenty.

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:38:10 +0000

If people misuse a low fat product by using a stupid amount per time thats their own fault.

Anyone trying to lose weight should base their food choice on the amounts per 100ml or 100g not per serving, FYI, butter serving is 10g so that seem small enough as well.

As for the oatmeal person, WTF?

By: ter

ter — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:36:00 +0000

Does it really help to lose weight?
ANyone can help me how to lose weight in just a short period of time?

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:38:51 +0000

Wait, so whoever this is either…
1. Doesn’t read the nutritional information or
2. Doesn’t have a “Per 100g” or “Per 100mL” section in the nutritional info.
Which one?

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:45:32 +0000

I have no sympathy for you. None. The reason people like you and I have to lose weight is because we always over indulge. a little is ok and then you can eat whatever you want. A lot of ANYTHING is bad for you and there in lies YOUR problem. I have lost 120lbs just learning to cut the amount of things I eat and I stil get to have cake and burgers etc. when ever I want.
Learn that it wasn’t what was on the bottle that got you in trouble, it was your propensity to “over indulge” that got you in trouble and will keep you there.

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:54:55 +0000

I’m sorry, but pouring a whole BOTTLE of anything on your food isn’t going to be good for you, and it going to have calories.
Yes, food manufacturers will ‘lie’ and hide the truth behind some fanciful wording, but seriously??
Someone has to be told that pouring a bottle of butter substitute in their oatmeal is a bad thing?

All I can do it shake my head.

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:39:43 +0000

If you are serious about a diet you SHOULD be checking the nutritional information AS WELL AS the serving size. They are both important as the nutritional information is calculated by serving size.
The reason these products sell is because (to put it bluntly) consumers are stupid and lazy. The companies rely on people who don’t read ALL the information as these are the people who do the most buying.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:31:22 +0000

WOW!
You guys are brutal. I think this is all great info and a great forum for people trying to learn more about what they eat. Do you have to be so nasty in sharing what you know. This is how people learn. They have to start somewhere. By the way… Flavored Seltzer water can also be misleading. I learned that from reading the can.
Try to be nice people… it’s much easier to digest.
Amy

By: anon

anon — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:47:54 +0000

Hi
Believing that “Fat free”= no fat, and that “Zero calories” = No calories doesn’t make you gullible, since it is clearly a lie, no matter how (small) you cut it (the serving). If you think 226 servings at 0 calories = 350 calories then your maths education obviously stopped at the age of six, or perhaps you learned from pre-crusade textbooks written before those cunning moslems introduced us to the concept of “zero” (Handy chaps, thanks, now how about the keys to Jerusalem?).
No food has no calories?
How about vinegar? Does salt have calories? Celery?
As someone sensible (like the first poster) pointed out, manufacturers and retailers will lie, obfuscate, and deny in order to sell their products without strong intervention and regulation. And we browbeaten consumers will continue to have a hard time telling the beef from the bull unless they do. They do it better in the UK than in the US, and better in most of mainland Europe than in the UK, thanks to EEC regs and political pockets less open to the odd 500 euro note.
Dan

By: Donna

Donna — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:26:49 +0000

P.S

Im pretty sure the reason this isnt forsale in the UK is because our food has nutritional info per 100g…as well as er serving.

ICBINB works out i think at about 350cal per 100g…which in actual fact is pretty damn good.

I’m guessing that there is no such thing in the U.S hence the confusion by those guliable people.

By: Donna

Donna — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:13:13 +0000

Im going to be blunt… I am amazed at how stupid people are and wonder how these people manage to get through their lives with such little common sense.

NO food has 0 calories and how anyone could think that consuming a whole bottle of anything other than water had 0 calories is just incomrehendable to me, especially when the primary ingredient is oil.

Its perfectly reasonable to say 1 serving has 0 calories,because it does but if you actually read the bottle it has 226 servings, so if you consume 226 servings of course your gonna get fat…if i ate 226 servingss of celery or carrots id probably be consuming alot of calories too!

IMO this spray is a life saver because you can have a SERVING and have fried food or deliciously buttery food with negligable calorie difference.

I think anyone who has to have a whole bottle of the stuff on cerial must have a serious eating disorder and should seek medical advice.

By: adam

adam — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:15:09 +0000

I have read both the “ican’t believe it’s not butter and the parkay Fat free Ingredeints and niether have hydrogenated oils which have trans fat. Everyone keeps talking about it. but this stuff is made of soybean oil which contains No trans fat and a small amount of mono and poly unsaturated fats. that’s where the .5 grams of fat comes in to play and remember that .5 is at most. Oh so much better than smart balance and of course real butter just Don’t pour it on People. If you spray each bite on your fork a couple times it’s just as good as pouring.

By: Admin

Admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:37:46 +0000

The nutritional values label states that a serving size is only about 3 sprays or something like that. All you have to do is Google “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray fat and calories” and you’ll find plenty of results that talk about the real fat and calories.

By: r barrett

r barrett — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:52:19 +0000

I have been using this butter for over 3 months on my diet and my cholesterol is great. I have lost 50 pounds in less than 4 months. I get blood tested every 6 weeks with my physician. I can understand how it’s not completely fat free or calorie free. but it’s alot better than real butter. Plus I don’t pour it on my food. But I do use well over the serving size. Where are you getting this information that it is 90 grams of fat and 900 calories that seems like the biggest mislead on this page. Not the nutrition label. Bottom line is I’m doing great. I use at least 3 bottles a week.

By: Jill C.

Jill C. — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:29:30 +0000

Thanks very much for this post! I eat a very healthy diet aside from the use of fake butter spray. Seriously, I pretty much only eat fruit, veggies, and lean protein, and all of this time I’ve been flabbergasted as to why I was still gaining weight. Normally I am very skeptical of “light” versions of normally bad foods.

Off I go to throw away the bottle of “not butter” spray that I’ve been putting on most of the veggies I’ve eaten for the past few years! I have a roommate whom I have seen pour this stuff on pasta…I should tell her about this too!

By: my year without

my year without — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:20:29 +0000

Over the last year I have had to carefully read labels in my own personal effort to kick white sugar out of my diet. What I found is so disturbing. There is so much misleading information out there, I look forward to what I believe is a new Age of Transparency, thanks in part to the information available to us online, including your article.

I found that “sugar” has a plethora of different names found on ingredients labels. Even so-called “health foods” are duping the very customers they imply that they care so much about.

I’ve found that if you are going to buy ANYTHING packaged, you have a research project ahead of you. I know because I have been doing it since the very beginning of 2008. I’ve written to companies calling them out for their misleading labels. I’ve spent hours reading labels at health food stores, even, expecting better ingredients and not finding as many as I had hoped to find.

Our safest bet is to buy fresh foods and prepare them ourselves. When people complain about the time and effort it takes to do this, I question their priorities in the first place.

By: Alice

Alice — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:10:09 +0000

This brings up a question then - Waldenfarms has many products which are no fat, no calories, etc… - is it just as bad then?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:25:30 +0000

I think there is a lesson to be learned here…

Read the INGREDIANTS! If there’s oil, theres fat!

Also, this brings up another point- TRANS fats. Many things claim to be trans fat free, but there may actually be a small amount of trans fats. Check the INGREDIANTS and if you see and PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OILS, theres trans fat!

By: Dino

Dino — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:25:16 +0000

I did some research and, interestingly, extra virgin olive oil, which I personally believe to be fairly innocuous cooking fat, has the same gram for gram amount of saturated fats (the bad kind) and 30 more calories than I Can’t Believe It’s Butter (regular, stick).

I was trained in french cooking and it’s nice to get to cook french at home every now and again less 5g of saturated fat and 31 heaping milligrams of cholesterol per 14g dollop so even though I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter isn’t exactly, y’know, Jesus, I still think it’s pretty great.

By: hiten patel

hiten patel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:18:22 +0000

It was good of you to put up this article. I have used this junk advertised product for the last 8 months. Now I will not. I would rather use ordinary margarine or whipped butter. Thanks.

By: Doctor recommended!

Doctor recommended! — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:13:07 +0000

My husband was at a doctor’s appointment last week, when they were talking about what he was using for butter, etc. His doctor told him that “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” was a better source than what he was using, as it had no calories and could use as much as he wanted. This just shows to us that even our doctors that so many trust so much in don’t do complete research either!!

By: Renske

Renske — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:21:18 +0000

As Jane says: don’t you guys read the ingredients? Jeeez. All this talking about being mislead by companies and about ’serving sizes’ (who invented that? I like to decide for myself what a serving size is, and when I want to go overboard) and advertisements of being ‘fat free’… when I read ‘fat free’ or ’sugar free’ on a package of food, it mostly means that it’s unhealthy. Otherwise they wouldn’t have to try to sell it with big words like it being fat or sugar free. Just buy yourself an apple, bake your own cakes, or cup cakes. And read the ingredients! Ignore the advertisements. Like Jane says: if it says ‘oil’, than it’s fat. I mean, if you’re dieting and you’re literate you have no excuse. Use your eyes and common sense. You can never beat the evil world around you.

By: Leona Feiner

Leona Feiner — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:41:00 +0000

I love your products, but they are very pricy and have chosen less expensive spreads recently. One of the stores in our community has the I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUTTER at 3.00 a piece! That’s way out of line. Walmart has gone up also! What gives? 1-605-995-1277
I need coupons to buy your products now for sure!

By: Lang Skrimshire

Lang Skrimshire — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:47:18 +0000

Having lived in the US and the UK I’ve noticed a big difference in claims of fat/calories and I think it’s time the FDA adopted more stringent standards. In Europe and most of the world nutrition information and claims are based on percentage in the food itself. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration says any food serving that contains less than half a gram of fat, protein or carbohydrate can claim 0 grams — and thus, 0 calories — for those nutrients. Plus, any nutrient with less than 5 calories can be listed as having no calories on the nutrition label. This is why in the UK French’s Classic Yellow mustard is labelled as ‘low fat’ (it’s about 4% fat) and in the US it claims to be fat and calorie free. Coke Zero is advertised in the US as Zero Calories, when in fact the can has 4.5, it just says ‘Zero Sugar’ elsewhere. But surely a little common sense is appropriate, I use ICBINB spray, and the main ingredient is soybean oil, if i use more than the 1.25 sprays (I don’t even know how you’d do a quarter spray!) you get more product and therefore more calories

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:26:17 +0000

agreed about the bending out of shape over butter. the way some people are defending it makes them sound like close personal friends of the spray butter trying to redeem its bruised ago. or employees of the company. but anyways, this posting has opened my eyes to this particular scam. i am skeptical by nature of claims made by companies wanting to sell a product, but i really thought they could not, would not lie this blatantly for fear of being caught and that backlash, if nothing else. i understand that the FDA says a little fat means fat free, and that only a few calories is none. but, in reality, a little fat is a little fat, and 4 calories are 4 calories. companies should be held responsible with truth, but wishful as that is, we should expect the government that regulates these companies to uphold the truths they will not, and not near-truths.

By: plumps

plumps — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:37:28 +0000

To be honest, I think all of these diet/low fat/sugar free/no carbs foods are soooo bad for you.

They are so outrageously over processed that all nutritional value has been completely extracted from the food. Then they have to pump it full of additives and preservatives, not to mention oodles of salt, to make it in any way palatable. If something is fat- or sugar-free, then you should ask yourself what exactly has been used to replace it.

I think you’d be much better off using whole, unprocessed foods, whether you’re on a diet or not. (Not to imply that I don’t eat my fair share of processed stuff!) Fresh, unprocessed food made with good quality ingredients is so much tastier. And often, you don’t eat as much of it, because you’re satiated with smaller, flavorful amounts. Besides, you need all of these food groups in your diet (in moderation) to feel full and to properly fuel your body.

At the end of the day, a small (small I said knob of butter (which is basically unrefined and unmodified apart from the addition of some salt) is going to be much less damaging to your health. Plus, people tend to know exactly what they’re getting into with butter, and can treat it with the respect it deserves.

By: Plumps

Plumps — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:34:08 +0000

To be honest, I think all of these diet/low fat/sugar free/no carbs foods are soooo bad for you.

I think you’d be much better off using whole, unprocessed foods, whether you’re on a diet or not. Fresh, unprocessed food made with good quality ingredients is so much tastier. And often, you don’t eat as much of it, because you’re satiated with smaller, flavorful amounts. Besides, you need all of these food groups in your diet (in moderation) to feel full and to properly fuel your body.

At the end of the day, a small (small I said knob of butter (which is basically unrefined and unmodified apart from the addition of some salt) is going to be much less damaging to your health. Plus, people on a diet tend to exactly what they’re getting into with butter, and can treat it with the respect it deserves.

By: Hikaroo

Hikaroo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:17:31 +0000

I never would have thought of using butter spray to any extreme… (I don’t like butter anyway!) I tend to look at all of the labels of everything that I buy so I can get a rough idea of what a serving size is and what I’m getting in that serving size.

It just pays to look at every angle of what you buy.
That’s why I spend a really long time buying my groceries in the grocery store… *-*

However! Thank you for the information, I totally appreciate it. :3

By: Admin

Admin — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:12:45 +0000

Most people don’t take moderation into consideration when something is labeled as being fat free and zero calories. They think that they can over indulge all they want with no worries.

By: Monica

Monica — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:31:16 +0000

You need to step back and think about the reason you got to where you are (needing to lose weight). Excesses…Moderation is key in EVERYTHING you do even when it comes to “diet” foods.

By: Lena

Lena — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:19:03 +0000

Hey everyone–thanks for all the info. Even if there are differing views and some people are getting a little too passionate about butter…the back and forth comments have given me the information I was looking for about this butter substitute I’ve been using. Thanks!

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:46:42 +0000

I just found this post on a forum……. I completely disagree with Rachel’s comment. If something says it contains 0 calories and that it is fat free, of course people are going to think that they can use the heck out of it. I have used this stuff for about 6 months and a few sprays can’t even coat a piece of toast. I also was suspicious about the nutritional facts label claiming that the spray was fat free and no calories, so I asked someone at my gym if they knew anything about it. They said pretty much the same thing as this article.

Why should consumers suspect that something contains fat or calories when the nutritional facts say zero for everything? The FDA needs to be a little more strict with companies when it comes to nutritional labels and serving sizes. They have rules regarding the amount of fat and everything that’s in a product to be labeled ‘fat free’, but they have absolutely no rules as to how much a serving size has to be.

And as far as Rachel’s comment about potato chip serving sizes, that’s common sense. I completely agree with the article that if someone labeled potato chips as fat free and called a serving size 1 potato chip, there will be plenty of people who don’t pay attention to the serving size and just eat half the bag of chips thinking that they’re indeed fat free. Of course people accept what companies say. If a product is labeled as being fat free, why would you think otherwise?

After all, they surely wouldn’t be allowed to use misleading nutritional facts, right? (sarcasm)

I think the article is just trying to point out that nutritional labels can be very misleading if you’re not careful. You ladies seem to be getting all bent out of shape, thinking that the guy is calling companies liars or something. I don’t think that is the case. He is acknowledging that what they’re doing isn’t by any means illegal or breaking the rules, it seems like he’s just trying to warn people and let them know that it isn’t really fat free as it claims to be, and to use it with caution.

What’s wrong with trying to inform people so that they don’t use the heck out of the butter spray thinking that it’s fat free?

-J

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:43:43 +0000

This is why advertising works. Because people accept what companies say at face value. How about you actually know what is in your food before indiscriminately shoveling it in your face? ICINB spray is made up of mostly oil. Guess what, oil=fat. Oh, and using 80 times the recommended serving size and then complaining that it has more calories than the bottle claims is ludicrous. Eating an entire bag of potato chips doesn’t make it only 180 calories because that is what it says for ONE serving.

People like you are the reason coffee shops have to put “CAUTION: HOT BEVERAGE” on their coffee drinks to avoid lawsuits. Use some common sense, use the serving size and take some personal responsibility.

By: Admin

Admin — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:34:22 +0000

I was at the grocery store last night picking up a few small things. I went to grab my usual big box of Post’s Honey Combs and I checked out the nutritional facts. The serving size was 1 and 1/2 cup. I then checked out the Chocolate Honey Combs, which I have never tried. I expected the fat and calories to be much more than the regular Honey Combs, however, Post calls a serving size of the Chocolate Honey Combs 1 and 1/4 cup, making it appear that the chocolate version of the delicious breakfast cereal contains less fat than the regular version. Just another small example of how nutritional labels can really be misleading if you don’t pay attention to everything on them.

By: Admin

Admin — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:03:10 +0000

The FDA says that as long as a serving contains 1/2 a gram of fat or less per serving, it can be labeled “fat free”, the only catch is, the FDA has no rules on how much a serving size has to be. Companies could make “fat free potato chips” just by calling a serving size 1 chip. People need to be aware of these tricky nutritional labels before jumping on these so-called fat free products. Be sure and research something before buying it for dieting purposes and be sure to read all of the nutritional facts. If you’re unsure about something, ask a nutritionist or a doctor.

By: Admin

Admin — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:51:11 +0000

Yes, I know exactly how the nutritional facts work, but, as I said, many people over-use the products (as I did) thinking that they are actually 100% fat free and have no calories no matter how much they use, which is not the case. I have read plenty of reviews about these butter sprays online and watched several video reviews with people saying things like “you can use as much as you want, its fat free!” and “this stuff is great if you’re dieting and want a fat free alternative to butter and margarine”. People have absolutely no idea that the nutritional facts on the butter sprays are misleading, which is all I am trying to point out. I am not telling you not to use these products, I am just trying to insure that people understand that they aren’t truly fat free. By all means, use a couple of sprays on a piece of toast, just don’t overindulge in the stuff and think you’re eating healthy and fat free.

By: Joanna

Joanna — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:40:12 +0000

Jane, I can’t agree with you more. Though I also am addicted to Spray Butter on Green Beans…well any veggie for that matter.
I think that your response is great, and everyone should chill. There is a trick that I do, which people might want to know… pure half the bottle into another container, and fill the other half with water. This will water down the butter for you still leaving some of the flavor, sure it is not as creamy, but it works.
Also. Molly McButter salt is good and McCormick Imitation Butter Salt is okay for popcorn and non canned veggies.

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:16:20 +0000

I think you are, or were, misinformed. A serving size is 5 sprays and a little goes along way (since the product is sprayed, as opposed to using a glob of butter, it goes farther on your food, so you *don’t use as much*). THAT’S the idea.

And for your info, the term “no-calorie” is allowed when the number of calories per serving is less than 5; fat-free means there are less than 0.5 grams per serving. For a butter spray product, 25 sprays add up to approximately 20 calories and 2 grams of fat – a whole lot better than 1 Tbsp of butter/marg at 100 cals and 11 g of fat. Plus, soybean oil is low in saturated fat, contains no trans fat, is high in poly- and monounsaturated fats, and is better for you than butter. Didn’t you read the ingredients – the 2nd on the list is Soybean Oil, and the last time I checked, all oil had fat and calories, and you would be ignorant to think otherwise.

“Every time I fixed green beans, I was actually removing the spray cap and pouring the liquid butter over the green beans, coating the entire bowl with a thick layer” and the other comment of “poured it on my oatmeal” to consume an entire bottle in one day??….yeah, not exactly how the product is to be used.

By: Admin

Admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:23:02 +0000

I am glad you found this post and were able to quit using the “fat free” butter spray. Many people are using it as much as you were and have no idea how unhealthy it really is. I have found several blog posts and videos on websites such as YouTube with people talking about how great the butter spray is and how it is fat free and contains no calories. People really have no clue. I hope that more people can find this post and quit using the butter sprays. Thanks for visiting.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:45:42 +0000

I have actually been using this product for 12 years. For the past two years, I have literally poured it on my oatmeal. Usually I would consume an ENTIRE bottle every day!!! At least Twice a week, I would eat a bowl of oatmeal with my “fat free” butter for dinner and breakfast. I found out last night that one bottle was 900 calories!!! I was sick. My innocent bowl of oatmeal could have been replaced with four donuts or the biggest meal possible from mcdonalds. I was consuming between 7000 to 10000 calories per week on spray butter! I know its overboard, but I had no idea how unhealthy this was. I have forwarded an email to a friend a shape magazine and my trainer who is on the radio….I’m only hoping others find out how misleading this product is.