Full fast vs low fat

pianoplaya94

I KNOW that calories in / calories out what is needed for weight loss, but I'm curious... do you prefer low fat or full fat products when losing weight? There was a study done a while ago that showed those who preferred low fat versions (I think it was of yogurt? Or maybe in general.. an't remember) had a higher proportiong of obese people than those who ate full fat products (one theory being that the low fat people just ate more because it was low fat). So this made me curious... what do you do?

lemurcat12

Depends on the product. This mainly comes up for me with dairy or ground beef (or other meats). Or, I guess, eggs.

I think the idea of low fat cheese is repulsive, so (for me), I'd rather eat less really good cheese (I also don't understand the popularity of string cheese, but so be it). For cottage cheese and greek yogurt, I like low fat (and even 0% Fage) just as well as full fat, and it's not less filling for me, so I am more likely to go with low fat. Save my dairy fat for foods in which I will appreciate it, like cheese! I don't drink milk, so that's not an issue. I nearly always eat whole eggs, as I prefer them and hate waste enough to budget in the calories at breakfast.

For ground beef, I like the very lean cuts perfectly well, in part because I mainly use them in pasta sauce. I buy from a farm a lot (grass fed) and don't have complete control over what fat % I can get, but it does tend to be leaner, and I like it. As for other meats, I sometimes go for lower fat options, like the boneless, skinless turkey breast I just made a batch of, and sometimes for higher, like a pork shoulder. I just adjust my sides or the rest of my day.

As for the study on yogurt, I suspect part of it is the people who are likely to gravitate to low fat in the first place may be disproportionately overweight.

pomegranatecloud

Full fat only.

cmriverside

I use 1% milk, 2% Fage Greek yogurt, and full fat cheeses.

With ground beef, 80/20 because it's less expensive, gives me more calories for the money, and it's more tasty to me. I eat a lot of chicken breast, tuna, and fish/shrimp - so those are lower fat protein sources. With eggs, I eat 1/2 whole eggs and 1/2 egg whites.

All that to say - it depends. Butter! Bacon! I don't really try to limit fats, just keep within my calorie goal. Fat keeps me satisfied for a long time.

tryett

Leans meats, but definately full fat dairy. Heavy cream and butter are the best when cooking, nothing beats good quality cheese, bacon and sausage. I don't try to limit fats.

kommodevaran

Almost exclusively full fat, because taste, satiety, nutritional profile, and mouth feel. For me, low fat has the opposite of the desired effect - I just eat more to compensate for the lack of taste and calories, and I don't make the best choices when I'm hungry, frustrated and unsatisfied.

Maxematics

Both. I always keep 0%, 2%, and Whole Fage in my fridge. If I'm going to pair the yogurt with fresh fruit, I go for whole, as it tastes like whipped cream to me and the fat balances out the carbs from the fruit. If I'm going to add fruit and granola/a protein bar, I go for 2% as I'm getting fat from my granola/protein bar as well. If I'm using it as a dessert base and plan on mixing in nut butter, cookies, etc. I go for 0% to get all the protein for less calories since my add-ins are more calorie dense. Milk I only do 2% or whole if I want some and my mozzarella must be whole milk unless I am having string cheese where I can eat reduced (I'm talking by only 2g of fat) or full fat. Low fat/fat free milk and cheese make me cry. Fat is great for your diet.

MarkusDarwath

Several of the vitamins in dairy products are fat soluable, therefore must be consumed with fat to be utilized. Non-fat dairy is pointless.

I'm doing low carb for blood sugar control, so I try to make sure I'm at or below my carb target, at or above on protein, and fat falls where it may. I find that 20% carb and 25% protein keeps me satisfied at 2200 calories per day. The only issue with consuming too much fat is that it contains twice the calories per gram vs. proteins or carbs. One has to be careful not to blow through their calorie target without feeling full enough.

cwolfman13

It depends on the product.

Hornsby

I'm gonna go with "it depends on the circumstances".

MoveitlikeManda

I have semi skimed milk but everything else is full fat,
we get the 5% lean steak mince because it cokks better than any others Iv tried and tastes better too

leanjogreen18

I go full fat. It seems to help with fullness, taste and skin.

I believe I read (I'm sure someone will correct me) that lower fat foods usually have a higher sugar content to compensate for taste.

jemhh

I like full fat yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk. I will drink 2% milk though. And I'll eat reduced fat yogurt but not fat free. I live in a tiny town and the grocery normally has fat free yogurt galore and one or two reduced fat containers in stupid flavors.

Lounmoun

I prefer to buy and eat full fat dairy. I may buy leaner meats at times.
I don't buy diet products.

malibu927

I grew up on 2% milk, so I still stick to that. For plain Greek yogurt I prefer fat free because I put 200 calories of granola in, so that balances my calories. For everything else, give me the fat.

Francl27

Depends for me too. I prefer full fat cottage cheese, don't mind fat free Greek yogurt... but prefer full fat regular yogurt. And full fat cheese, but I'll use 2% american cheese slices in my breakfast wraps/burgers.

For meat, yeah, I prefer leaner meat as well.

dizzieblondeuk

I used to get low fat/fat-free foods, but now I tend towards full fat - mostly on the basis of what is put in products to compensate for the loss of fat. Looking at a fat-free yogurt ingredient list is like a horror show to me now - especially around the sugars or sugar substitutes! For dairy, especially, I tend towards organic full fat items. I never eat a lot of cheese or yogurt, but the little amounts I do have, I want to taste as good as possible, with natural ingredients. There's so much conflicting advice and (pseudo)scientific evidence, but my personal belief is that everything in moderation is fine, and eating whole foods is always best. I'm not a 'clean food' zealot, but there are simple ways I can avoid unnecessary chemical additives, and one of those ways is not buying low-fat foods, and cooking from scratch as much as possible. I can make foods naturally lower in fat, by cutting off any visible fat or skin from meat, or grilling/steaming/boiling food instead of frying, so I'd much rather do that than buy foods that have had a whole bunch of flavour enhancers added to compensate! Apart from anything, 'diet' prepared food items are almost invariably higher in price than the standard variety.

afatpersonwholikesfood

Nonfat plain Greek yogurt. Full fat cheese or sometimes reduced fat but never fat free - same for cottage cheese. Fat free milk. Real butter but light butter recently just because I wanted to try it.

Whole eggs at home; sometimes I order egg whites at restaurants.

Mainly chicken and pork. Ground turkey instead of hamburger most of the time, but I don't typically use lean ground beef - if I want hamburger, I want fatty hamburger.

Full fat peanut butter. I also like avocados and almonds.

In general, I eat plenty of fat and don't think it's evil, but I like to save calories and eat more where I can. The products that I buy that are nonfat or low fat are ones that don't make me miss the full fat version. I treat sugar/sugar substitutes the same way. I love Splenda. I drink coffee with cream, but I use fake sugar.

I don't buy things like Snackwells or reduced fat crackers. I don't really eat any of that stuff.