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Full fat VS low fat

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Bex953172
Bex953172 Posts: 4,070 Member
in Debate Club
Which do you think is better in your diet?
And why?

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Replies

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Other than milk which is semi-skimmed (as called here in the UK, I believe it's the middle ground between full and almost no) purely due to what I have had all my life making full fat too creamy for me, I don't pay too much attention. We need fat and as long as my protein and calories are good I'm good.
  • Bex953172
    Bex953172 Posts: 4,070 Member
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    CornflakeGirl01 wrote: »
    I have done a great deal of personal research on this topic and definitely have an opinion, which can be substantiated by numerous scientific research. Fat in your diet is essential for energy, healthy tissue, controlling inflammation, absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, & K), and regulation of many hormones. It can even help with weight loss, by providing enough calories and energy to keep you feeling satiated and your energy levels even.

    The trick is to eat the right kind of fat, which is mainly plant based, from nuts, seeds, avocados. In addition to plant based polyunsaturated fats, fats found in fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines contain essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 that help reduce heart disease. Vegetable based fats help with insulin resistance and body inflammation, which contributes to multiple chronic diseases.

    Fats from animal sources are called saturated fats and are okay in moderation. You get these from beef, cheese, ice cream, and eggs.

    Trans fats are found in processed foods and should be avoided at all costs. Cookies, cakes, and fast food contain trans fats. If it comes in a box, it has trans fats most likely and is artificially created! Additionally, "low fat" foods are often created with increased sugar and other processed items like refined substances (flour, starch). They do this to make the "low fat" taste good, but end up jacking up our blood sugar, spiking our insulin levels and even causing weight GAIN!

    So, I personally, so not eat anything "low-fat". It is better to choose half and half for your coffee than processed, sugary creamers. To me, "low-fat" equals high sugar, high insulin body spikes, low nutritionally value, and possible weight gain.

    I hope this helps!

    Yes! this was what I wanted to know!

    I knew there was something "bad" about low fat items but weren't sure what it applied to!
  • Bex953172
    Bex953172 Posts: 4,070 Member
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    (I'm in the UK too)

    I've just found that the Greek yoghurt I eat for breakfast comes up with that red notice about its fat content when I log it.
    And I'm always slightly over in my fat content

    But didn't want to go down the low fat route if I can just switch my foods
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Whichever fits my calories and macros on any given day.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    pinuplove wrote: »
    Full fat vs low fat what? I generally steer clear of anything with 'diet' or 'low fat' advertised in it because I feel many times the quality of the product suffers when fat is removed. However I do eat fat free Greek yogurt with my breakfast often because I've found one I like and have it with eggs, which provide the fat. I wind up with a well-balance breakfast from a macro perspective.

    I use full fat cheese, milk, eat nuts, avocados, olive oil, etc. Fat isn't scary or to be avoided. Bacon is delicious. Turkey bacon makes me :cry:

    @pinuplove What full fat Greek yogurt brand have you found that you enjoy? I'm looking for something new.. planning on trying plain Greek and adding mix-ins to avoid some of that crazy amount of sugar in the fruit yogurt.

    Any responses are appreciated! Thanks :smiley:

    Regarding OP... I used to go with fat free this and that.. but that was when I started out. Many times when you buy a product that has the fat cut they'll increase the sugar. Same if you buy sugar free or reduced sugar, they raise the sodium or fat.

    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    You need to eat fat, therefore some of your food has to contain fat.

    I choose low fat dairy as I prefer to add fat in other ways - like a sprinkle of nuts with berries on the yoghurt. Skim milk froths better than fattier milk, and I only use it to make froth for my coffee...

    I prefer using some egg whites with a whole egg or two rather than all whole eggs as I prefer to add other fat - like avo on the eggs, or in a salad.

    I prefer to not cook with oil as I can have a fatty piece of salmon instead.

    Some days I'll lower fat in meals so I can include some chocolate, or icecream, or chips/crisps etc

    Choose your fats. You need them.

    I like what you've shared..thinking it through like that makes sense, thanks for tanking time to share that. :smiley:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    It depends on what makes dieting easier for you. Would you rather go for the taste of full fat or does low fat taste not bother you enough?

    Personally, it depends for me. Greek yogurt almost NEEDS to be full fat for me to enjoy it and low fat regular yogurt is too much hassle to hunt down so I typically go for full fat in that case too. I used skim milk for oatmeal and pancakes, and half fat milk for drinking (1.5% fat). Cheese needs to be full fat or I won't eat it, except for one brand that I can't always find. Low fat cookies are typically not worth it, they make it sound like a big deal but the actual reduction in calories is too small to be worth the taste compromise. Low fat pudding, on the other hand, is a very acceptable choice for me.

    I'm not overly worried about vitamin absorption because I most definitely get my fat elsewhere within most meals, it doesn't have to be in milk, and no, skim milk doesn't have added sugar (sugar isn't something I'm concerned about anyway). Low fat does not mean low nutritional value or extra sugar, and they will never cause you to gain weight unless your overall intake of all the foods you are eating ends up putting you at a higher calorie level than your body needs. Feel free to judge for yourself if using something that is lower in fat is worth the extra calories saved without being swayed by fear mongering.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    You need to eat fat, therefore some of your food has to contain fat.

    I choose low fat dairy as I prefer to add fat in other ways - like a sprinkle of nuts with berries on the yoghurt. Skim milk froths better than fattier milk, and I only use it to make froth for my coffee...

    I prefer using some egg whites with a whole egg or two rather than all whole eggs as I prefer to add other fat - like avo on the eggs, or in a salad.

    I prefer to not cook with oil as I can have a fatty piece of salmon instead.

    Some days I'll lower fat in meals so I can include some chocolate, or icecream, or chips/crisps etc

    Choose your fats. You need them.

    Good explanation. I approach it similarly, although it leads me to some similar choices, some different ones, because of course preferences/macros/calories differ.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    @Hearts_2015 I like Oikos but I get the flavored kind. I don't track sugar, just carbs, so it's not worth the extra hassle for me to flavor my own.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Bex953172 wrote: »
    Which do you think is better in your diet?
    And why?

    Never thought it through fully, but the milk I use is 2% Low Fat. I hardly ever use the Full Cream anymore. But then milk seems to be labelled and categorized different ways in different countries.

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