Not afraid of fat when losing weight

Fats from natural, real, unprocessed foods are rarely bad for you in reasonable quantities. If you want to cook with butter, go ahead and do so. Keep it moderate and there is nothing to worry about. The problem arises when you get into things like trans-fats and the kind of grease coming out of a McDonald's french fry.

I'm just wondering if anyone here is not afraid of fat?

I use real butter, olive oil, an coconut oil for cooking. I use whole eggs instead of egg whites. I use full fat milk, cheese, and yogurt (though I will treat myself to some flavored Chobani options on occasion which are all low and nonfat). I prefer dark meat with skin over boneless white meat chicken breasts. I enjoy nuts, nut butter, olives, and avocado.

Is there anyone else out there who really isn't afraid of fat? Given the choice, I'll pick the higher fat option over the fat-free or low-fat almost every time.

Anyone here doing that and losing weight? It seems that everyone is pushing the low-fat options everywhere, so I'm wondering if anyone is losing weight eating all the full-fat stuff.

I am still trying to overcome the low fat 90's fad diet thinking. Even though I eat all the foods I love all the time, I still find myself buying low fat and fat free products and then discovering they often taste disgusting and are not worth the few calories I'm saving. It took me forever to clue in butter being better than low fat margarine and I can't tell you how many times I've bought some nasty low fat cheese that tastes like rubber.:sick: (Many companies do make excellent non fat yogurt now though). I do prefer the white meat chicken though and I've never been able to stomach an avocado, they just taste odd to me. So, I guess, I'm stuck getting most of my fats from ice cream and peanut butter. Oh, and pizza. :bigsmile:

There's nothing wrong with dietary fat as long as you watch your calories

This. Learning the role and necessity of dietary fat helps to quell your fears.

I count calories. Period. If I end up avoiding fat, it's just because I'm choosing something low cal. Pretty much the only thing that I've bought that is fat free, or low fat is Italian salad dressing because it's only 25 cals per serving. I don't cook with oils or butters, just because I don't want to have extra calories. I'd rather have a 15 oz piece of chicken that I've cooked without oil than a 9 oz piece because I used butter. If I was going to follow any other factor, it would be my protein and that's just because I have so much weight to lose and I'm lifting weights to try and preserve some muscle. But, I don't really even think about my protein much because I eat so much lean meat. I don't know how much weight I've lost, because I'm still too heavy to weigh on the scale at the gym and just haven't spent the money to buy one, but I know in the past 36 days, my belt has gotten too big and I've had to add 3 holes. It's getting loose, so now I'm gonna add a 4th hole this week. So, for me, it's just calories I count.

Absolutely. I never choose the low fat option - I'd much rather have full fat and flavour but just less of it than low fat or chemical substitutes. Fat is not evil, over-eating is the problem.

Yeah. Still trying to get over the low-fat craze of the eighties and nineties (never eat anything over 5pc fat, Rosemary? Really?) But I try! I generally cook with butter, olive oil or ghee. And don't panic too much about fatty meats and oily fish. Full fat yoghurt is a real git to find, especially if you're looking for natural, rather than added flavour. As long as it fits in my calories, it's good. I do find that aI eat less of a good full fat meal, and it keeps me fuller for longer. But portion control and accurate logging are key to successfully dieting on a higher fat diet.

I always go for low fat. I find that I feel sick if I eat too much fat.

Absolutely! I love avocados, olive oil, nuts, fatty fish- I find that I feel much better when I incorporate fats in my diet. I don't really limit anything (in regards to fat, protein, carbs) as long as it fits in my calories. If anything, I focus on getting plenty of protein and good fats. I limit carbs in the sense that most of the carbs I like prohibit me from getting enough protein or nutrients (I went through a phase a couple years ago while my husband was on deployment when I would make mashed potatoes, and just eat mashed potatoes all day... yeah, you can definitely overdo some things). But I will still eat a carb filled meal if it fits into my goals and not bat an eyelash.

I think the "lowfat" idea that was popular during the 90's was a very simplistic concept- "EAT LESS FAT TO BE LESS FAT". It doesn't take into account the actual value of dietary fats. I do eat a couple low fat products, but generally find that most of them replace fat with sugars, etc. Why bother when you can have the real thing (as long as it fits in your macros)???

Is there anyone else out there who really isn't afraid of fat?

I haven't eaten so much fat since joining MFP. :bigsmile:

Mainly nuts and PB.

Weight Watchers taught me to eat low fat for decades and it didn't work long term so now I eat full fat and loving it thanks to listening to the advice of people that know what they are doing on MFP. Lean meats are horrible.

Came here to say this.

WW gave me my first insight into "dieting" (although I stopped WW and piled the pounds back on!). The mantra always was "how can you lose fat if you eat fat". I still find myself swerving to low-fat diets.

I'm still fighting thinking that way all the time! Their food is expensive and not great value health wise. Wish I knew better.

I eat quite a lot of fat, most from sources like nuts, nut butters, olive oil, rapeseed oil, yogurt & oily fish. but I also love chocolate, coleslaw, pizza, ice cream, cookies, cheesecake etc etc. I am of the mindset that IIFYM then eat it!

I'm with you. I love healthy fats. Olive oil, ghee (oh, ghee!!) avocado, almonds, coconut oil and peanut butter are some of my favorites... they keep me full longer. I find the low-fat options are usually covered in sugar to make them taste better. My strategy is to avoid over processed foods and stay away from foods made with refined flours/sugars (for the most part! I still have a cupcake every now and then!) You need healthy fat to live. I rarely eat meat but when I do I tend to keep that lean... there isn't much healthy fat in meats.

Me me me me me! I go over on fat almost every day.

I love fats, especially the healthy ones, but don't get me wrong, I like unhealthy fats, too! It's all about moderation.

Besides, I have some pills, that take out 1/3rd of the fat of whatever I ate, should I eat over 15 grams of it in one meal.

I don't care about my fat intake anymore...usually it's a chore for me to eat enough. I don't much care for red meat, and was only eating lean meats for a long time. As a result, my dietary fat was too low and I believe it's one of the things that messed up some of my hormones.

However, some things I choose the low fat version of just to save calories. I like Pringles, but only eat the fat free kind. To me, they taste the same, and I'm saving calories I can use for something else.