Fat Free or Full Fat

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flrancho
flrancho Posts: 271 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious what everyone does when it comes to dairy products and trying to loose weight. Do you get full fat cheese, or buy fat free or reduced fat? Why?

I've heard conflicting information on which one is actually better for you.
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Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Full fat cheddar and I grate it and keep it in Tupperware ...extra mature and a little goes a long way

    0% Greek yogurt cos higher protein

    1% milk cos it's my favourite
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    I eat full fat cheese, half and half in my coffee, and I use butter. I like fat free Greek yogurt (I buy plain and add protein powder and fruit) and I prefer skim milk. To me, it tastes better
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    Full fat dairy for satiety.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Full fat cheese for sure, I only drink fat free milk purely because I grew up drinking it and now anything higher tastes like I'm drinking cream and it's just not refreshing. As far as healthy, it really doesn't matter either way as long as you're hitting your dietary fat goal by the end of the day. Just eat what you enjoy taste wise
  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
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    My main dairy source is cheese, and I eat full fat cheese. I also use regular butter (for recipes), but I'm not opposed to margarine if it's on toast or something/if it's what's laying around. Basically I'm not particular with butter. I don't like milk or yogurt, but I can tolerate greek yogurt sometimes and everything I've had is fat free. Cream cheese and sour cream MUST be full fat for me to enjoy it. Anything else doesn't seem to have much flavor to me.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    When I eat cheese, it's full fat because I like the taste. I eat 16-24 oz of plain greek yogurt a day - 8 of those are full fat because it helps me meet my fat macros, and I drink a glass or two of 2% milk daily - I like it better than skim and as long as I am within my calorie allotment no reason not to.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    flrancho wrote: »
    Just curious what everyone does when it comes to dairy products and trying to loose weight. Do you get full fat cheese, or buy fat free or reduced fat? Why?

    I've heard conflicting information on which one is actually better for you.

    Depends what it is... I have reduced fat cheddar cheese, but occasionally get proper Brie for a treat. Milk is semi skimmed. Normal yoghurt sometimes and fat free Greek yoghurt for breakfast.

    I go for which fits my calories/macros on the day.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Butter ~ 7 calories per gram
    Oil ~ 9 calories per gram

    Butter tastes way better than oil on most things. It's pure win.

    To answer your question though. I keep both fat free and full fat greek yogurt and cottage cheese available. I eat both but choose the one I can fit into my plan for the day....
  • mpeters1965
    mpeters1965 Posts: 370 Member
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    Looks like I am with many of the others in that it depends and if it fits in the daily totals, I'm ok with it. Fat free milk because it's what I am used to. Cheese can be lowfat to full fat depending on the cheese. I don't mind 2% cheddar or part-skim ricotta but prefer others to be full fat. I have some leftover brie from a party that I am doling out to myself every day and enjoying immensely! I just don't like yogurt unless you add tons of sugar so I skip it instead.
  • Thelinna
    Thelinna Posts: 10 Member
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    Full fat cheese. I buy nonfat plain greek yogurt for smoothies on occasion, but that's full of protein and doesn't have any gross additives like the low/non fat flavored yogurts. Generally, in my experience, I feel more full after eating a full fat product compared to a low fat version of the same product.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
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    I use the entire range, depending on whether I have the calories for it.

    Milk - I use skimmed milk because I dislike the "creamy" taste of low-fat or full-fat. I feel like it interferes with the milk taste! But when I'm making a shake/smoothie/iced coffee of some sort, I'll use a little dollop of heavy whipping cream with the skimmed milk to make it more creamy.

    Butter - I only use real butter in baked goods, because there's no point splurging if it doesn't taste like the real thing! I use light margarine in very few situations, and use a touch of oil spray when I just want to keep things from sticking.

    Cheese - Full fat, extra mature cheddar in anything that I think *needs* cheese. Low-fat Hajdu kashkawane cheese on homemade pizza, because I like the taste of the low fat one. And 98% fat free sliced "kraft-style" cheese when I just want salty meltiness that doesn't really taste like cheese.

    Yogurt - I use skimmed, but I do like low-fat. Full-fat is a little too creamy for my liking.
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
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    When I first started I ate mostly low calorie because it was all about quantity but as time has gone on and I have learned what fits and what doesn't I am finding that I choose quality over quantity. That may be taste or it may be macros, it depends on the day. I choose almond milk because it's much lower in calories than cows milk and tastes great in my porridge. I choose 0 fat Greek yoghurt because I flavour it anyway -if I have it plain I choose full fat.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    The only thing I eat that is fat free is candy, and it is naturally fat free.
  • jumblejups
    jumblejups Posts: 150 Member
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    Full fat everything, which in practice for me means full fat milk in tea or coffee daily, full fat cheese a couple of times a month, regular butter a couple of times a week. I've never been much of a fan of yoghurt, although on the rare occasions I have it I get full fat. I have the cheese so little just because I only occasionally want cheese.

    And ice cream. No skinny ice cream for me.

    However on cereal I have almond milk as I prefer the taste that way, but I use Rude Health which is 58cal/100ml so its not too far off full fat milk (which is 64 or 68cal/100ml IIRC).
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
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    Fat free dairy everything. Sure i like the taste of full fat but its a numbers game and i want to eat more food for my calorie allowance.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
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    Full fat everything. Low fat is a very old fashioned idea.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    flrancho wrote: »
    Just curious what everyone does when it comes to dairy products and trying to loose weight. Do you get full fat cheese, or buy fat free or reduced fat? Why?

    I've heard conflicting information on which one is actually better for you.

    Full fat. Because it is more satisfying and tasty.
    I don't consume large quantities of dairy every day though.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
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    Usually full fat. Although I do drink 2 percent milk just because I don't like whole milk. I never eat fat free. It's not the fat that makes you fat. And as others have said, fat is satiating.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Depends what. I did low fat cheddar for a while but nope, went back to the full fat stuff, but mostly because I don't use it that much... low fat was honestly fine in tacos or salads. Some of the 'low fat' cheese really only saves 10 or 20 calories per ounce though so it's not worth the sacrifice. Mozzarella I'm going to use on pizza or in recipes though, I go for part skim... but full fat if I'm having a mozzarella/tomato sandwich or salad.

    Milk I don't drink by itself and only use in recipes once in a while so I usually use 1% as it's what I buy for the kids anyway.

    Greek yogurt, I honestly haven't noticed any difference between 0% and 2%, whether it's taste or how much it fills me up, so I buy 0%.

    Ricotta, I buy part skim, the fat free stuff was just not satisfying at all.

    Ice cream, yeah the full fat stuff is much better, although I don't mind fat free frozen yogurt or slow churned ice cream once in a while (but only Edy's) when I want some but don't have 200 calories to spend on it.

    Just got to try it out and see what is worth the calories for you and what isn't.

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