Low Fat Diet...

Losing2Live1989

My doctor told me to go on a low fat diet. I also need to be on a diabetic diet. I have no clue what low fat is. Is there a fat number I should try to stay under? I been reseaching with no luck...any tips or advice?

servilia

wow it's really disappointing that your doctor threw these at you without giving you actual breakdowns. I don't really know what a low fat number would be as I don't limit my fat. I hope someone can help you. Or can you go back to your doctor and ask him/her?

healthy4self

I think "low fat" is under 20 g per day?

deathstarclock

See a nutritionist. Do you have diabetes?

Losing2Live1989

I'm newly on set diabetic.

JillyCornwall

I think "low fat" is under 20 g per day?

Correct...and a diabetic diet is a 'Low GI' Diet...which also happens to be pretty much low fat..so if you 'google' GI Diets you will be on the right lines. I'm amazed however that he did not give you any guidelines. Very poor help.

Scoobies87

I think "low fat" is under 20 g per day?

I would have guessed the same. I have eaten very low fat before and managed to eat under 10g of fat but it is difficult. Baked beans were my holy grail when I did this!

Sharon009

I dont know what you normally eat but try choosing lower fat versions on your favorite foods. ie, milk, cheese, etc.. I dont like fat free stuff and rarely eat it but the lower fat versions are always good. Diabetic diet, you'll need to watch your sugar intake and that includes things made with white flour such as bread, rolls, etc.. and potatoes, either eliminate altogether or eat small portions only a few times a week. Also fruit will need to be limited, such as a whole banana or a large apple is too much. Same with grapes, only about 10 at a time. I'm hypoglocemic so I have to watch all these things too. I drink sugar free drinks only. It took me about a week to get used to diet soda and then after that I didnt like the taste of the other stuff.

reepobob

Until you get some clarification, you could go into the "Goals" section of MFP and customize your macro percentages...I've been on a low fat diet and my breakdowns are currently set at 45% protein, 35% carb, and 20% fat...if you are diabetic, you may need to adjust the carbs even lower to maybe a 50/30/20 split...but, I would definitely ask for some nutritional clarification from the doc.

Also, when you do ingest fats, they should be the good fats that you find in nuts, avocados, lean meats, etc...

Losing2Live1989

thanks for all the tips!

JillyCornwall

This is a very good site where everything is made very clear about diabetes, the foods you can eat and should avoid and good advice

http://www.diabetesdietfordiabetic.com/

LillysGranny

If your health is that seriously in jeopardy, you should consider consulting with a registered dietitian in a diabetes specialty clinic (often part of endocrinology clinics). And shame on your doctor for not giving you more complete information. I do not believe you should limit good fats, based on my own reading, and instead should focus on limiting saturated fats only. Your second focus should be the removal of refined carbohydrates (think white flour, white sugar, white rice and anything with ingredients you cannot pronounce) with a focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and fish.

Many communities have sponsored diabetes workshops that provide free access to TONS of dietary information as well. Maybe there's one coming up in your area some time soon.

Good luck!

bstamps12

Definitely try a dietician or nutritionist, but I agree with keeping it under 20g of fat per day. This should not be hard as long as you eat at home. You will consume over 20g of fat per day just going through a drive through once. Just throw your butter away, cook with cooking sprays instead of butter in your skillet, for example. Stay away from mayonnaise--use light Miracle Whip, full fat salad dressings--buy the fat free versions instead, use Skim milk instead of 2%, buy sherbet or frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, switch to turkey burgers and turkey sausage instead of fatty beef burgers and fatty pork sausage, choose other lean meats, and just look for "Fat Free" or "Reduced Fat" versions of your favorite snacks.

Don't look at this as a limitation, look at it as a chance for you to really meet your weight loss goals. All of these switches are things most of us on MFP do anyways. As one of your friends on MFP, I think the biggest struggle for you will be the fast food. Put a note in your car or on top of your wallet that says "I don't want to be diabetic!" or "Is this food filled with fat?" so that you keep your goals visible when you are tempted. This is really a change you can embrace not only to try to reverse diabetes, if that is possible at this point, but to finally lose your weight before the wedding!