Can Pizza Be Part Of A Healthy Diet?

At any given time, approximately 65 million Americans are on a
diet. As a nation we try every diet product that comes along,
from diet pills to fat burner lotions to weight loss surgery. We
attend Weight Watchers meetings for our weight loss support, and
we seek out weight loss tips anywhere we can find them. We’ve
tried the weight loss herbs, the Nicole Richie weight loss plan,
and the fat flush diet. In other words, many Americans have
tried every weight loss system on the market today.

Unfortunately, most people haven’t yet written their own weight
loss success story. Most people are seeking rapid weight loss
through one method or another, yet almost two-thirds of our
nation is still classified as overweight. About one-third of our
population is clinically obese. Clearly, the average weight in
the United States continues to rise just as fast as the number
of crash diets advertised on television.

While it can certainly be argued that Americans don’t exercise
to lose weight nearly enough and rely too much on quick weight
loss diets, it’s also true that a healthy diet will can have a
substantial impact on fat loss results.

Diet Dilemma:

Unfortunately, when most people consider weight loss nutrition
they automatically think of low fat foods such as alfalfa
sprouts, broccoli and nonfat cottage cheese. Just the thought of
surviving on such meager fare leaves the dieter discouraged and
disappointed. Unable to eat the foods they love, dieters give up
all hope of achieving their spot on the ideal weight chart and
revert to their old pre-diet dining habits.

That’s where most diets fail. Consumers, seeking honest weight
loss help, are led to believe that in order to reach their ideal
body weight they absolutely must give up all the foods they love
and enjoy. Not realizing that this diet information is dangerous
and self-defeating, the average dieter attempts to ‘willpower’
their way through day after tortuous day, denying themselves the
very foods that they cherish the most. Such an approach almost
never leads the consumer to a healthy weight because it’s
virtually impossible to deny yourself to this extreme. After the
inevitable failure of this weight management technique, the
dieter feels like a personal failure. Feelings of inadequacy set
in, and it’s easy to lose weight loss motivation altogether.

Thankfully, your weight loss story doesn’t have to end here. An
eminently better way to diet and lose fat is to make
modifications to your menu that you can stick with for life.
While it is possible to burn fat using the ‘willpower through
it’ method, weight loss success is much more likely when small
(almost unnoticeable) changes are made.

Americans Consume Piles Of Pizza:

Pizza is a perfect example of how you can make a minor
modification to your diet, without giving up the foods you
adore, and still attain some healthy weight loss. “Americans
spent more than $22 billion last year on pizza, according to
‘The Pizza Market’ study conducted by Packaged Facts, a market
research company. Helping to drive this trend is what many refer
to as “consumers’ growing love affair” with frozen pizza. About
7.7% of total dollars spent for pizza in 1995 was for frozen
pizza, and growing sales are being spurred by the new rising
crust varieties.” (Source: Baking Business; 11-26-1996).

Most pizzas will do little to help your fast weight loss diet
because they’re typically loaded down with high-fat toppings
like cheese and pepperoni. As an example, Pizza Hut claims that
“If all the cows it takes to produce Pizza Hut cheese stood end
to end, they would span the distance between the international
space station and Earth at its point closest to the planet (333
kilometers or 207 miles)” (Source: Pizza Hut).

As a nation, our love affair with pizza has hindered our weight
control efforts. Each man, woman and child in America eats an
average of 46 slices (23 pounds) of pizza a year (Source:
Packaged Facts, New York). A look at the Pizza Hut menu reveals
that a single (100 gram) slice of Pizza Hut pan pizza
(pepperoni) has 280 calories. That same slice at Domino’s Pizza
will cost you 310 calories. A single (153 gram) slice of Papa
John’s Pizza (The Meats) checks in at a whopping 430 calories,
while a slice of pepperoni (111 grams) at Round Table Pizza
boasts 310 calories. Finally, a (141 gram) deep-dish pepperoni
slice from Little Caesars will set you back 350 calories.

Can Pizza Be Part Of A Healthy Diet?

With all those calories in pizza, and the pizza delivery truck
just a phone call away, your diet and nutrition plan may be in
jeopardy. But it doesn’t have to be. The incredible pizza served
up at your favorite pizza restaurant doesn’t have to derail your
weight loss plan. While the local pizza franchise won’t ever be
mistaken for the neighborhood quick weight loss center, and
pizza probably won’t ever qualify as a fat burning food, you
don’t have to give it up entirely in favor of the latest fad
diet.

Many Americans are finding that their local pizza place is now
offering healthier choices. With consumers concerned about so
many carbs in pizza (due to the Atkins Diet and the South Beach
Diet), and with high fat foods still a concern for many, pizza
recipes are changing for the better.

Papa Murphy’s deLITE Pizza May Fit Your Diet Plan:

Papa Murphy’s Pizza is a fine example of a company that has
listened to the customer and now offers a diet recipe on its
pizza menu. Aware that many people are on a low-carb diet and
weight loss program, Papa Murphy’s has adjusted their pizza
dough recipe accordingly. The result is their deLITE line of
pizzas, where a slice of pepperoni will cost you only 160
calories. Mindful of the millions of Americans on a low
carbohydrate diet, Papa Murphy’s has cut back on the crust while
preserving the flavor. Even the Papa Murphy’s equivalent of the
big sausage pizza, which they call the Meat DeLITE, has just 190
calories.

With their Cheese DeLITE pizza boasting only 140 calories per
slice, and the Veggie DeLITE pizza coming in at just 150
calories per slice, we may assume that the pizza ovens at Papa
Murphy’s are working overtime!

So, Can Pizza Be Part Of A Healthy Diet?

While a steady diet of pizza will never be the next Weight
Watcher diet, and the local pizza restaurant will never be a
weight loss clinic, it is not unreasonable to claim that the
Papa Murphy’s deLITE line of pizzas can indeed be a valuable
part of our diet and exercise program.

Traditional diets promising easy weight loss demand that the
dieter forfeit their favorite foods. More often than not, such
diet programs include giving up pizza. Such drastic actions are
often a direct path to failure, leaving the dieter with a weight
issue they cannot handle and a monumental feeling of failure.

A much better approach to any weight loss diet is making small
but significant changes that the dieter can stick to for life.
One such change is making a switch from regular high-fat,
high-calorie pizza to the Papa Murphy’s DeLITE line. Based upon
a comparison to Papa John’s (see above), substituting the Papa
Murphy’s DeLITE pizza will save you 290 calories per slice.
Keeping in mind that the average American consumes 46 slices of
pizza annually, the potential caloric savings is 13,340 calories
per year. That’s almost four pounds of fat that can be shed each
and every year simply by switching to the DeLITE pizza!

Is the DeLITE pizza a guaranteed way to lose weight fast? Is the
DeLITE pizza a diet food or even a low fat option? Of course
not. But it will help most dieters stay on their plan, and thus
gives them a higher probability of achieving their ideal weight.
So while it’s not a good idea to go into a pizza frenzy just
yet, the DeLITE pizzas from Papa Murphy’s may indeed be part of
your healthy diet.

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