I was a teenager when the 100-calorie snack pack trend took off around 2006. I was working as a cashier at Wegmans, and I watched as more and more customers (mostly women) loaded the 100-calorie boxes into their carts and onto my conveyer belts. The boxes were filled with small, colorful packets with familiar brand-name snacks like Oreos, Wheat Thins, and Doritos.
Then suddenly they became a staple in my own home, where my all-female household embraced them — especially my mother, who had struggled with her weight (and body confidence) for much of her adult life.
We thought: They're only 100 calories! Guilt-free snacking! This is great! But while this kind of portion control might work for some people, it only taught me that calories were something to be counted and avoided.
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