full cream milk vs skim? CICO users weigh in on this?

Pastaprincess1978

From a CICO weight loss perspective: any benefit on full cream vs skim apart from fewer cals in skim and you may feel fuller on full cream (thereby eating less and helping stay under goal)?

bpetrosky

Pick what fits your calorie target. If you need some extra dietary fat, full fat milk or 2% probably would taste better at least.

WinoGelato

What do you mean CICO users? CICO describes the fundamental energy balance that governs all weight loss, gain, or maintenance. Everyone in the world is a CICO user...

Choosing between full fat dairy and skim milk really comes down to personal preference and what you can accommodate in your calorie and macro budget.

bpetrosky

WinoGelato wrote: »

What do you mean CICO users? CICO describes the fundamental energy balance that governs all weight loss, gain, or maintenance. Everyone in the world is a CICO user...

Choosing between full fat dairy and skim milk really comes down to personal preference and what you can accommodate in your calorie and macro budget.

QFT

Pastaprincess1978

lol I know - I guess I was just pointing out that I don't believe in keto or whatever

AnvilHead

Try them both and see which works better for you. Personally, I don't find liquids to be very satiating, so I drink nonfat milk for less calories. I only use whole milk as creamer for my coffee.

bpetrosky

Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »

lol I know - I guess I was just pointing out that I don't believe in keto or whatever

Huh... Ok. I take it you didn't just walk a quarter mile over here to tell us you have a terminal medical degree too.

VioletRojo

Every one of us uses CICO.

I don't drink milk, but all the other dairy I consume is full fat.

livingleanlivingclean

Skim froths better. I like frothy milk in my coffee.

Pastaprincess1978

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Skim froths better. I like frothy milk in my coffee.

yeah I get that too

serindipte

I used to always go at least 2%, often skim because of calories. Then I started looking at more recent research and now only by whole milk.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/02/12/275376259/the-full-fat-paradox-whole-milk-may-keep-us-lean

mutantspicy

I don't drink milk but I go non fat for most dairy. Mainly because I eat a lot of avocados, almonds, pistachios, and olives. My favorite snacks. Otherwise my fat macro would be way too high comparatively.

sardelsa

I like mostly full fat and cream when I'm bulking, 1-2% when I'm losing. It depends on how you want to spend your calories, what you find satisfying/filling and which you enjoy the most.

JeromeBarry1

I switched from 2% to full fat milk 2 years ago. I learned about kefir 1 year ago. Since I started making kefir, I actually use more milk than I did before, and I no longer have to throw out spoiled milk.

kimny72

I was raised on low fat milk so I find the consistency of whole milk weird. And skim is like white water . So I use 2%. I mostly use it in my coffee and cereal, so the few cals diff between types isn't really a big deal. If you use a lot, you have to figure out the right balance for you between what you like and what fits your cals.

AnvilHead

kimny72 wrote: »

I was raised on low fat milk so I find the consistency of whole milk weird. And skim is like white water . So I use 2%. I mostly use it in my coffee and cereal, so the few cals diff between types isn't really a big deal. If you use a lot, you have to figure out the right balance for you between what you like and what fits your cals.

If you haven't yet, try Fairlife - their skim is much less watery.

kimny72

AnvilHead wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

I was raised on low fat milk so I find the consistency of whole milk weird. And skim is like white water . So I use 2%. I mostly use it in my coffee and cereal, so the few cals diff between types isn't really a big deal. If you use a lot, you have to figure out the right balance for you between what you like and what fits your cals.

If you haven't yet, try Fairlife - their skim is much less watery.

I have, yes. Their skim is definitely better, but their 2% is even better better

strongwouldbenice

I have light milk and low fat yoghurt just because I don't notice much of a difference, but I do notice a difference in getting to have more avocado or peanut butter

Pastaprincess1978

Thanks for the thoughtful replies, all I tend towards 2% but hard to get here in China!

TonyB0588

I usually use 2% Low Fat, never Skim Milk.

kommodevaran

CICO is calories in-calories out, and thus the process that controls weight up/down. Even if you mean calorie counting, I don't see any relevance. But anyway, I switched to full fat "everything" when I switched to MFP. I don't know if it makes me feel fuller. Because I also educated myself on hunger and satiety, and realized that mild hunger is normal and perfectly fine to tolerate. It's more that it feeds a mindset of normality and enjoyment, of trust and confidence - I can eat what I like, no foods are off limits, so there is no reason to overeat, so I usually don't.

Pastaprincess1978

kommodevaran wrote: »

CICO is calories in-calories out, and thus the process that controls weight up/down. Even if you mean calorie counting, I don't see any relevance. But anyway, I switched to full fat "everything" when I switched to MFP. I don't know if it makes me feel fuller. Because I also educated myself on hunger and satiety, and realized that mild hunger is normal and perfectly fine to tolerate. It's more that it feeds a mindset of normality and enjoyment, of trust and confidence - I can eat what I like, no foods are off limits, so there is no reason to overeat, so I usually don't.

I am not as educated in the area but I can relate. When I got influenza I ate a bite of apple over about 60 hours. I was just lying in bed of course and drinking a lot of water. And as I recovered I didn't eat normally for about 3 days just due to feeling sick. I lost a *kitten* load of weight of course (yes mostly water) but my body felt liberated and relieved not to be full of food. It really felt like I had done myself a favour only giving my body what it needed to deal with and it wasn't constantly trying to digest too much food.

Pastaprincess1978

@kommodevaran So tell me more about what you know of hunger at satiety?

kommodevaran

Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

CICO is calories in-calories out, and thus the process that controls weight up/down. Even if you mean calorie counting, I don't see any relevance. But anyway, I switched to full fat "everything" when I switched to MFP. I don't know if it makes me feel fuller. Because I also educated myself on hunger and satiety, and realized that mild hunger is normal and perfectly fine to tolerate. It's more that it feeds a mindset of normality and enjoyment, of trust and confidence - I can eat what I like, no foods are off limits, so there is no reason to overeat, so I usually don't.

I am not as educated in the area but I can relate. When I got influenza I ate a bite of apple over about 60 hours. I was just lying in bed of course and drinking a lot of water. And as I recovered I didn't eat normally for about 3 days just due to feeling sick. I lost a *kitten* load of weight of course (yes mostly water) but my body felt liberated and relieved not to be full of food. It really felt like I had done myself a favour only giving my body what it needed to deal with and it wasn't constantly trying to digest too much food.

I have a feeling you're misinterpreting what I'm saying - I eat three times a day and maintain a normal weight - but going without food for a few days, while not ideal, is harmless if you're healthy and have enough fat on your body.

Pastaprincess1978

yes I understand what you mean. I did not think you were doing that. I related the story to point out that I then worked out that hunger won't kill me but my post didn't make that clear. Not literally kill me either! So what did you learn about hunger and satiety?

kommodevaran

I learnt that "The Hunger Scale" is a great intro to find your own personal hunger and satiety patterns, that cravings are usually a lot harder to resist than hunger, that managing my food intake sensibly makes me feel empowered, that I can want to eat and want to not eat at the same time, and that I need to honor my appetite (working in that).

Pastaprincess1978

kommodevaran wrote: »

I learnt that "The Hunger Scale" is a great intro to find your own personal hunger and satiety patterns, that cravings are usually a lot harder to resist than hunger, that managing my food intake sensibly makes me feel empowered, that I can want to eat and want to not eat at the same time, and that I need to honor my appetite (working in that).

Yep - and that it is worth time, effort and money to do that.

Agree on the cravings - never thought of that.

Honor your appetite? By eating foods that will allow enough volume to feel full and low cals to stay under target?

amusedmonkey

I like full cream or half cream for drinking, skim for putting in things like porridges. From a CICO perspective, the best kind of milk for you is the one that helps keep your calories in lower than your calories out. From a dieting perspective, the best kind of milk for you is one that you enjoy most within your calories and doesn't make dieting harder.

There are no guarantees that skim milk will result in a lower intake or that full cream will help you feel fuller. You could drink skim and be unsatisfied, or get the "dieting paradox" where when you make lower calorie choices you overdo it on other choices. You could drink full cream and not feel fuller, and if you drink a lot of milk it could cut into your calorie allowance too much. You could drink skim milk, and feel like it doesn't help your hunger much, but by doing so, save enough calories for foods that are superior for your hunger. You get the idea. It's mostly about the synergy of your food choices overall, not a single food choice. Experiment and see what makes dieting easier within your calorie target.

Pastaprincess1978

Thanks @amusedmonkey I like skim for the foam, full cream for the taste Once 2% is easily available again I'll use that I think Just wanted to see what others thought/did. There is no magic and I like that!

h1udd

4% in coffee or on cereal .... 2% in tea or soaking oats overnight / poaching fish .... 0% in protein shakes.

Basically if I need the taste I go full fat, other wise I cut the fat out and go thinner and thinner as required

Pastaprincess1978

good plan @h1udd