Is Low Fat Part of the Problem?

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  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    All of the above posts prove why there is no one "diet" that works for everyone.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    It's so individual, it seems like: Fat isn't terribly satiating for me; I tend to need protein and volume (usually veggies & fruits). Fat is the macro I'm most likely to undereat, if I don't pay attention . . . and I do need to pay attention, because I've learned that eating too little of it has a negative effect on my digestive system.

    Same here except that I don't really need to pay much attention to it. Protein and fruits and veggies are most satiating for me. My fats have been coming in around 50 to 60 grams. I currently weigh about 185. That seems to be fine for me with no ill effects.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2019
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    I need some fat for satiety, up to a point. It's a balancing act for me, too little and I feel hungry, too much and I feel hungry because it's calorically expensive so my meals are smaller and less satisfying. About 45 to 60 grams seems to be my sweet spot. It is the macro I tend to undereat sometimes when I'm calorie compliant because volume and starches play a bigger role in my satiety. I have to consciously remind myself sometimes that fat does contribute to satiety somewhat. When I go over calories, fat is usually the culprit, so yeah, it's a balancing act. Too little leaves me hungry and too much is too delicious not to overeat.

    Edited to change from percentages to grams.
  • liz0269
    liz0269 Posts: 139 Member
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    cheryldumais wrote: »
    I'm curious if any of you have found that you are more sated with a bit more fat in your diet. I have been low fat since I lost weight but have noticed an odd phenomenon. Whenever I have a higher fat meal I don't want to snack all the time. Although I am in maintenance my calorie level is still pretty low so I have continued to keep my fats low most of the time but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm hungry all the time because of that. Maybe if I were to add more fat back and lowered my refined carbs a bit I wouldn't need to snack so much? Thoughts?
    Perhaps swapping out the refined carbs for whole foods? Not all carbs are the same. I can easily stay within my calories when I focus on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains - not whole grain products but actual whole grains. But I struggle with hunger and I am more likely to overeat when I eat refined carb products or higher fat.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,400 Member
    edited July 2019
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    It's so individual, it seems like: Fat isn't terribly satiating for me; I tend to need protein and volume (usually veggies & fruits). Fat is the macro I'm most likely to undereat, if I don't pay attention . . . and I do need to pay attention, because I've learned that eating too little of it has a negative effect on my digestive system.

    Fatty food doesn't satiate me at all. But I don't seem to digest fatty food very well. On a vacation in a country where I mainly got very fatty, meaty food I felt miserable the whole time and had lost weight when I was back home. Mind you, I do have gallbladder issues, and probably had those for ages.

    This aside, I'm a volume eater, and especially grains, rice, potatoes, pasta fill me up, but so do veggies. Fruits though are hopeless.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,648 Member
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    Over time I've added judicious amounts of fat in food I prepare and it does make a positive difference to satiety for me between absence and adding a few grams.

    However that cost benefit win is not there for me when there is an over abundance. That's when the extra calories pile up faster than the extra satiety!
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,531 Member
    edited July 2019
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    It is correct that each person is different, what we do know that the government supported theory that 'fat is bad, gives you heart disease' has no proven basis. I won't go on about LDLs and HDLs here though everybody should understand more about them. Anything to excess is bad but an amount of fat is necessary and it does make you feel fuller (generally). Just keep away from trans fats.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,174 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    TheMrWobbly wrote: »
    It is correct that each person is different, what we do know that the government supported theory that 'fat is bad, gives you heart disease' has no proven basis. I won't go on about LDLs and HDLs here though everybody should understand more about them. Anything to excess is bad but an amount of fat is necessary and it does make you feel fuller (generally). Just keep away from trans fats.

    WHO recommendation, last I checked, was 15 to 30% of calories from fat with 20% for women of reproductive age....

    A quick read of the current recommendations doesn't say much about fat being bad as an absolute...

    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

    US recommendation is currently 20-35% of calories for total fats for most adults (but less than 10% from saturated fats).

    https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-7/
  • liz0269
    liz0269 Posts: 139 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    TheMrWobbly wrote: »
    It is correct that each person is different, what we do know that the government supported theory that 'fat is bad, gives you heart disease' has no proven basis. I won't go on about LDLs and HDLs here though everybody should understand more about them. Anything to excess is bad but an amount of fat is necessary and it does make you feel fuller (generally). Just keep away from trans fats.

    WHO recommendation, last I checked, was 15 to 30% of calories from fat with 20% for women of reproductive age....

    A quick read of the current recommendations doesn't say much about fat being bad as an absolute...

    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

    US recommendation is currently 20-35% of calories for total fats for most adults (but less than 10% from saturated fats).

    https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-7/

    Both agree to the 10% from saturated. WHO is putting forth the 30%; but, it is a limit mainly placed to control calories. Neither 30% nor 35% sounds like don't eat any fat or you'll die! The limits on Saturated and Trans DO sound like it, though, and they're meant to!

    Exactly! What I read in one of those reports is 15% is recommended for health - the rest is preference.
  • tanyaltrl
    tanyaltrl Posts: 42 Member
    edited July 2019
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    I don't know what kind of low fat diet you're doing, but I've personally followed a low fat vegan diet. When I first started, I didn't use any oil at all, including oil free salad dressings and spaghetti sauce. Also ate a ton of greens and steamed veggies. My macros were maybe 85% carbs 7% fat 8% protein on average.

    There was a point when I added hummus, regular marinara sauce, and even a teaspoon of margarine from time to time. Nothing too crazy. I noticed a difference in satiation but had to be careful with portion sizes. Times that I've stopped watching my fat intake, I don't feel my best anymore. I crave more junk, gain weight, and my skin breaks out. The way I measure it these days is having added fat in only one meal per day. So I still eat much lower fat than most MFP'ers would recommend, but a bit more than Dr. McDougall, Neal Barnard, and those other low fat vegan doctors.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
    edited July 2019
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    My recent experience may be relevant to this discussion.

    I previously was on a high protein/low fat diet (when I was lifting heavy to build muscle) and was burning a lot of cals doing additional cardio on a rower (10k meters daily), during which I constantly felt hungry.

    Daily cals consumed were about 2200-2400, daily cal burn was about 500-600 and macros were 40P/40C/20F. Weight dropped from 160 to 150 w/a drop in BF from 16% to 8% in 12 months..

    Got burned out doing this and stopped lifting & rowing daily for several months and regained the 10# in just 6 months, 1/2 the time it took to lose it.

    In order to reverse this trend, I started 16:8 IF, reduced cals consumed to about 1800 cals/day, resumed rowing about 5k meters/day which burns about 300 cals/day and switched to a high fat/lower protein diet with macros of 20P/40C/40F.

    Quickly lost 5# to my goal wt of 155 in just 1 month doing this and, now, despite only eating w/in 4-8 hr window and eating about 400-600 cals less per day than b4, I do NOT feel hungry during the 16-20 (usually 18) hr fasting period.

    The major difference is that I am consuming much more fat that I ever did b4, which as far as I can tell is the main reason I do not feel as hungry as I did b4.

    Not sure if this is THE reason that I don't feel hungry while fasting but it is the only thing that I can think of that explains it.
  • New_Heavens_Earth
    New_Heavens_Earth Posts: 610 Member
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    I'm starting to find the same. A teaspoon of butter, PB, or full fat dressings, even a few nuts or a little cheese in dishes have been leaving me more satisfied lately. Yes I weigh them, just using teaspoon as an approximate of how much I add.

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