What do you think about low fat?

caimay199
caimay199 Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious - do you guys opt for low fat cheese, non fat greek yogurt, etc? Or go for the real thing? Obviously full fat has more calories, but high fat has more flavour and some studies say keeps you fuller.

I'm not talking about chemical laden stuff, like margarine and low fat processed products, I'm just interested whether people choose a little of the high fat stuff or save and go for low fat.
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Replies

  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    I used to do low fat fat free ect. It worked. But it doesn't anymore. I opt for full fat everything now.
  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    I generally avoid low-fat options mostly because they taste worse. And some products don't even have less calories/100g since they replace a lot of the missing fat with carbs.
  • RhapsodyWinters
    RhapsodyWinters Posts: 128 Member
    Sometimes I go for the low fat stuff, especially when it's just an ingredient in a recipe (such as cheese or milk). Sometimes I don't when I want to have the flavor. For me, the most important part is attempting to stay under the calorie restriction. I can always exercise and burn calories to make room for the more fatty foods.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited September 2016
    Fat keeps some people fuller. I'm not one of them. For that reason, I opt for lower fat dairy products. I also am not a fan of saturated fat. Fat is simply a flavor enhancer for me. I like to save my calories for foods that fill me up like protein and carbs. I actually prefer most light cheeses (I know, burn the infidel).

    So, I opt for low fat cottage cheese, low fat yogurt, 2% milk, and those 2% cheeses. I do use butter, though I tend to prefer olive oil for most things.
  • hupsii
    hupsii Posts: 258 Member
    I used to eat lots of low fat yoghurts but recently noticed that I can no longer tolerate them. They give me stomach cramps. Back to full fat and it tastes so much better
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    Full fat for me!
    I intensely dislike low fat cheese, yogurt etc., and as you say, I feel more satiated with less food and the satisfied feeling lasts much longer.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I generally avoid low-fat options mostly because they taste worse. And some products don't even have less calories/100g since they replace a lot of the missing fat with carbs.

    In baked goods, you might have a case to make, but since the OP is talking about dairy products, lowfat dairy does not replace fat with carbs.
  • caimay199
    caimay199 Posts: 39 Member
    Interesting! I like to use butter and just portion it properly - you don't need that much. But i switched to full fat greek yogurt and full fat cheese, and i'm not sure if it's worth the calories or not.
  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I generally avoid low-fat options mostly because they taste worse. And some products don't even have less calories/100g since they replace a lot of the missing fat with carbs.

    In baked goods, you might have a case to make, but since the OP is talking about dairy products, lowfat dairy does not replace fat with carbs.

    OP didn't explicitly say this thread is dairy only. She only mentions it as examples. Regardless, my statement still stands.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Most low fat/no fat food options are nasty. Like no fat cheese for example. <shudders> ;)

    I do love greek yogurt, (including salad dressing) 1% milk, light cream for my coffee. But I prefer to use the 'regular' fat foods in most instances. I just use less of them and less often.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    If they run out of full fat at the store I will settle for the low fat version, but bleh. I find that in most food products you can cut the fat by 1/3 if you need to before quality starts seriously deteriorating. Any more than that and it gets yucky.
  • MsRuffBuffNStuff
    MsRuffBuffNStuff Posts: 363 Member
    Low fat usually means higher sugar or carb. But that's ok. I have three words for you. Dana Linn Bailey. She's low fat, high carb. Do what makes your body function the best. I personally do better on higher protein, higher fat, no sugar or starch.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I eat full fat when possible but reduced fat when it is not (due to unavailability or not fitting my calorie budget.) I do not like the taste of most fat free products (cottage cheese, salad dressing, etc.) so I avoid them when possible.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I eat full fat dairy and butter.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    I prefer full fat. I did low- or no-fat dairy for years, but full-fat just tastes so much better. I would rather have smaller serving sizes of things that I really enjoy than a large serving of meh.
  • caimay199
    caimay199 Posts: 39 Member
    right - that's sealed it for me - I'm sticking with full fat!
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    Depends on the product and how many calories left for the day. We use both.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I generally avoid low-fat options mostly because they taste worse. And some products don't even have less calories/100g since they replace a lot of the missing fat with carbs.

    In baked goods, you might have a case to make, but since the OP is talking about dairy products, lowfat dairy does not replace fat with carbs.

    It does sometimes. Low fat yoghurt is often sugary, sometimes even the low fat bio yogurts have sugar added. So it's worth watching out for.

    I personally go for full fat dairy because I love it, and avoid a lot of commercial "low fat" options because of the above carb-swapping trick. However, I will use low fat tricks in my own cooking as it can be a really easy way to cut calories in a dish.
  • Dachs6
    Dachs6 Posts: 1 Member
    Low-fat "might" be good if it is cutting out saturated fats. Remember some fats are good, in some cases extraordinarily good. As some commenters above have stated, low-fat options often do not taste as good (and let's face it, taste is one of the aspects of food that makes food appealing), unless they've been filled with other things, like sugars, to offset the lost flavor.

    Best option in my opinion, is choose foods that are low in saturated fats, low in sugars (particularly added sugars), and when possible, eat foods with the fewest ingredients possible. Fiber, protein, and fat will make you feel full, and leave you feeling sated for much longer.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2016
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Fat keeps some people fuller. I'm not one of them. For that reason, I opt for lower fat dairy products. I also am not a fan of saturated fat. Fat is simply a flavor enhancer for me. I like to save my calories for foods that fill me up like protein and carbs. I actually prefer most light cheeses (I know, burn the infidel).

    Pretty much this (except for the cheeses).

    I eat less of full fat if the taste makes a difference for me -- I'd rather have less cheese and stick to the real stuff, and I'd also rather have a little less chicken cooked with the skin than skinless, boneless. And I'd certainly rather have less real ice cream than replace it with that Arctic Zero stuff. I'd rather use less olive oil (or sometimes butter) than some fat free dressing or whatever (I make my own dressings anyway, so just control how much oil I put in and similarly control how much I use for cooking).

    On the other hand, I like low fat cottage cheese and low or 0% yogurt as much or more than full fat, much of the time, so I drink them.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I use real butter and eat full fat cheeses.

    I get whatever yogurt looks good, isn't stupid expensive, has flavors I can have, and isn't "low sugar" as the sweeteners usually used in those can cause a flare.

    I drink 2% milk because that is what I am used to and like the most.

    In other words, I don't really make a huge deal out of it. I prefer closer to full fat because I am one that does stay fuller longer with it, but I am not super picky about it.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    I don't use "fake" low-fat versions. I won't do "fat free half-and-half" (WTF is that, anyway?) or low-fat hard cheeses. Those are hideous fakes and full of stuff I'd rather not eat.
    I buy 1% milk and lowfat (but NOT nonfat) yogurt.
    I've found that my breakfast cottage cheese needs to be full-fat to keep me from being hungry faster, and the nonfat cottage cheese tastes like chalk.

    I don't do "nonfat" salad dressing, either. Salad needs some fat on it for flavor and vitamin absorption, and again, the ingredients list tells the story.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I used to eat low fat, because I thought I had to, to avoid getting fat and cancer and diabetes, and I thought it worked, but I couldn't stick to it for long. It wasn't exactly that it tasted nasty or was "filled with sugar and chemicals", just that it wasn't satisfying; dry, and left me longing for something I couldn't quite describe. I have had some minor success eating full fat everything since I joined MFP Dec 2013 - lost 50 pounds and maintained a stable, healthy weight after that.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Also: I've never done the digging to double-check the accuracy of this, but it does an interesting experiement with "nonfat" margarine to show that it's not relaly nonfat.
    "Mono and diglycerides" on a food label are not required to be included in the fat or calorie count. But they are fats and behave as such in teh body, and they have calories.

    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/labels1.html
    Here's what "nonfat margarine" breaks down to. With an analysis of how the label is incorrect re: caloric content.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I use a lot of full fat and never touch the "lite" stuff but I am coming from a low carb high fat diet, so full fat fits my macros best.

    I used to eat low fat but that led to weight gain, prediabetes and reactive hypoglycemia for me over time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited September 2016
    It depends on the product. I don't do low fat cheese...I drink 1% milk...I do non-fat greek yogurt...and reduced fat sour cream usually...it just depends on the product and how I'm going to use it and how much of it I'm going to be consuming.

    I get most of my fat from things like good cooking oils, butter, avocados, nuts, nut butters, etc.
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I generally avoid low-fat options mostly because they taste worse. And some products don't even have less calories/100g since they replace a lot of the missing fat with carbs.

    In baked goods, you might have a case to make, but since the OP is talking about dairy products, lowfat dairy does not replace fat with carbs.

    It does sometimes. Low fat yoghurt is often sugary, sometimes even the low fat bio yogurts have sugar added. So it's worth watching out for.

    I personally go for full fat dairy because I love it, and avoid a lot of commercial "low fat" options because of the above carb-swapping trick. However, I will use low fat tricks in my own cooking as it can be a really easy way to cut calories in a dish.

    I've never seen low fat/no fat dairy with added sugar unless it's something they're adding fruit or whatever...I've never seen plain non fat yogurt add sugar...it has more naturally occurring sugar (lactose) because of the way it is processed...it's not added...it's not some kind of "low fat trick"...knowledge is power.
  • WinterSkies
    WinterSkies Posts: 940 Member
    I use a mix of full and lowfat products. For butter, coffee cream (half and half) sour cream, yogurt and soft cheeses, full fat all the way. We buy only 3.25% milk as we have young children, so I will drink that on occasion when I really crave a glass of milk. I have found that the full fat options for most things taste infinitely better, have a better "mouth feel", and leave me feeling satisfied much longer. I just make sure to measure off smaller portions.

    However, for things like mozzarella cheese blocks, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, and other such things that I usually end up using in a recipe rather than eating by themselves, I'll use the lower fat option to save a few calories.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    For me it depends on the trade-off... If lower fat means more sugar, gelatin, or other additives, then probably no... I would rather have less of the full fat ice cream, butter, sour cream, cheese... However, I'm not a huge fan of milk (for drinking) anyways--I always buy skim because it's mostly water.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I grew up with 2% milk, 2% cottage cheese, nonfat yogurt, and full fat cheese and real butter. To me, those taste best, as I'm accustomed to them.

    I tried 4% cottage cheese once and whole milk. Way too "fatty" of a texture for me. I stick to my choices based on flavor preference, and adjust portions to fit my goals.

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