"Lean Cuisine" is a brand name for a line of frozen lunches and dinners that are low in fat content and calories. The Lean Cuisine products became increasingly popular in the 1980s and 1990s as components of low-fat and low-calorie diets. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, low-carbohydrate diets became a more popular choice of fat-loss diet. When followed strictly, low-carbohydrate diets force the body to use fat rather than blood sugar as its main energy fuel. This kind of metabolism is also known as "ketosis." Unlike the original Lean Cuisine products, several of the newer items are low in carbohydrates and can thus help to induce ketosis when substituted for a regular meal.
Lean Cuisine
Nestlé started marketing Lean Cuisine as a healthy alternative to existing frozen dinners in the early 1980s. Lean Cuisine entrees are low in fat and calories. All products contain fewer than 400 calories and less than 10 g of fat. This makes the products well-suited as components of low-calorie and low-fat diets. A typical low-calorie diet restricts the daily intake of calories to 1,200 per day, or the equivalent of three of the Lean Cuisine dinners with the highest calorie content.
Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Low-carbohydrate diets peaked in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The most popular among these diets is the Atkins Diet. Unlike low-calorie and low-fat diets, the Atkins Diet does not restrict the intake of fat or calories. During the initial phases, the diet restricts the intake of carbohydrates to 20 g a day. The main reason for the effectiveness of low-carb diets is that fat and protein break down at a slower pace than most carbohydrates in the digestive system. This results in a steady surge of nutrients into the blood stream, which can prevent hunger pangs and prolong a feeling of fullness.
Low-Carb Diets and Ketosis
When followed strictly, low-carbohydrate diets have further weight-loss benefits. Carbohydrates are the main source of blood sugar, or glucose. During starvation or when protein is consumed in excess, the body converts protein into glucose. But, it can only convert fat into miniscule amounts of glucose. Unlike most of the body's cells, the brain cannot use fat or protein as an energy source. It ordinarily uses glucose. However, when glucose levels are low, it can use ketone bodies, a by-product of fat metabolism. If the carbohydrate intake is very low and the protein intake is limited to what is necessary for maintenance, the body must burn dietary or stored fat to create sufficient energy for the brain. Low-carbohydrate diets thus ideally force the body to burn fat.
Low-Carb Lean Cuisine Products
After the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets peeked in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lean Cuisine sales suffered. To counteract the drop in sales, the company began to market low-carbohydrate products, such as Steak Tips Portabello and Roasted Turkey and Vegetables. Because of the dietary reference in the brand name, the FDA requires all Lean Cuisine products to be low in fat and calories. So, the the low-carb Lean Cuisine meals are low in fat and calories but contain fewer carbohydrates than the original products. The low-carb Lean Cuisine products can thus be used either as components of traditional low-calorie or low-fat diets, or as components of low-carb diets.
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