The Low Fat Question

[Neens]

Hi - following Low Carb (carb counting) and delighted to be told by the DN that I needn't have Low Fat Natural Greek Yoghurt as it is actually higher in carbs. So have indulged in my 2nd bucket of the creamy full stuff! I am weighing it and no more than 100g per serving.

So I followed suit with cheese and have been reading a lot of info on food and T2. I am trying to lose weight (I have lost 12lbs already) and have just under 1.5 stones to reach BMI. So I know that LF is sometimes best option.

So cheese... I know about the matchbox size etc. but do people buy Low Fat versions or not?

I know people who change milk for cream etc. I haven't done that and I limit the amount of low carb nuts as I know they are high in fat.

Are there other foods where Low Fat is the more sensible option (even when the carbs are slightly higher)?

Thanks

 

[Drummer]

I can't think of any food where the full fat version is higher in carbs than the low fat one.
When some evidence that not eating fat is doing good things for the population is produced I might reconsider, but there are two essential macronutrients and fats are one of them - our brain and nervous system are constructed and protected by fats, the white tissue of our brains is cholesterol - there is even the idea that not getting the right fats is affecting the brains of children - so for the moment I am using fats. I do not add much fat to the foods I eat, but I buy chicken thighs not fillets and do not remove the fat from meat. I collect the juice and fat from the joints of meat I cook and use it to cook vegetables or as the basis for casseroles.

 

[Jodee]

Hi - following Low Carb (carb counting) and delighted to be told by the DN that I needn't have Low Fat Natural Greek Yoghurt as it is actually higher in carbs. So have indulged in my 2nd bucket of the creamy full stuff! I am weighing it and no more than 100g per serving.

So I followed suit with cheese and have been reading a lot of info on food and T2. I am trying to lose weight (I have lost 12lbs already) and have just under 1.5 stones to reach BMI. So I know that LF is sometimes best option.

So cheese... I know about the matchbox size etc. but do people buy Low Fat versions or not?

I know people who change milk for cream etc. I haven't done that and I limit the amount of low carb nuts as I know they are high in fat.

Are there other foods where Low Fat is the more sensible option (even when the carbs are slightly higher)?

Thanks

I sometimes buy the cheese with the naturally lowest fat edam being one. I generally just go with what I fancy, hard goats cheese is one of my favs, for a quick snack a slice of edam (pre sliced pack) can be satisfying.

You may have seen this page already, but scroll down for list of cheese fat content and carbs etc https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...-with-diabetes/food-groups/dairy-and-diabetes


I recommend the Xpert education course for a better understanding on food types https://www.xperthealth.org.uk/

 

[Deleted member 25429]

I get low fat cheese and follow a low carb diet . The low fat cheese is just as good as full fat . I’ve got another stone I want to loose

 

[ianf0ster]

As far as fatty meat, fatty fish and Full Fat Dairy is concerned, for me the higher the fat content the better! High fat in a non-processed food always means lower carbs.
As Drummer says, there is no believable scientific evidence that dietary fat (in natural foods) causes any harm- still no evidence after all these years of Fat /Cholesterol scares!
Fat and Protein are the only 2 essential macro nutrients, we can't live without them, though peoples such as Inuit, Masai, Sioux, Mongolians etc did very well on zero carbs (or very close to zero)!

 

[ianf0ster]

I get low fat cheese and follow a low carb diet . The low fat cheese is just as good as full fat . I’ve got another stone I want to loose

If you have another 14lbs to lose, why are you sabotaging your weight loss by choosing low fat versions. It is carbs that make us store body fat - not dietary fats!
In natural/ traditional foods, there is no such thing as High Fat together with High Carb. But Low Fat processed foods are almost always High Carb - to compensate for the flavour lost by reducing the fat content.

 

[rebrascora]

If you have a lot of weight to lose then keeping your fat intake moderate whilst also eating low carb will cause your body to burn more of it's own fat stores. Once you reach a more normal BMI, then fat intake can be increased to stabilise weight. One of the advantages of eating fat is that it takes much longer to digest and only about 10% of it breaks down to produce glucose, if I remember correctly, so it gives you slow release energy and makes you feel full and satisfied for longer rather than carbs which release their glucose in a few hours and then you are left wanting more. If you are strong willed and can manage to eat low carb without eating too much fat, then you will lose weight faster I believe and then increase the fat gradually as you approach target weight, but look out for nutritional info on low fat foods as they almost always contain more carbs than the full fat version.
I would stick with the creamy natural yoghurt but perhaps go steady on the amount of cream and cheese you eat for now.

 

[Deleted member 25429]

If you have another 14lbs to lose, why are you sabotaging your weight loss by choosing low fat versions. It is carbs that make us store body fat - not dietary fats!
In natural/ traditional foods, there is no such thing as High Fat together with High Carb. But Low Fat processed foods are almost always High Carb - to compensate for the flavour lost by reducing the fat content.

If you read my post I actually have a very low carb diet less than 50 grams a day , I’m type 1 and only need about 4 units of rapid insulin a day. I have managed to loose over 3 stone since July so think I’m doing ok eating the low fat cheese

 

[chaoticcar]

I eat lots of full fat everything but low carb and I can't gain an ounce of weight
Carol

 

[Wirrallass]

I concur with the @ianf0ster and @chaoticcar ~ high fat = lower carbs.
WL

 

[Ljc]

I just eat normal fats rather than high fats. I won’t touch anything that’s been made to be low fat as they add carbs / sugar to make it taste better and improve the texture, however I do eat things that are naturally low fat apart from cottage cheese that is, as I think it’s vile

 

[Neens]

Thanks all for your replies, most helpful.
I do limit cheese intake a bit, as in I try not to have it every day (I think it is the come down after Christmas/Christmas cheese) before diagnosis I only had it once or twice a week (although more than a matchbox), old Slimming World habits mean I am quite good as estimating a small portion/matchbox, sometimes I weigh it out and make it last throughout the day.
I have also started to buy a much smaller block (financially not the best plan) but stops that - oh, no it's changing colour best eat the rest of the block - problem. I like Edam so that's an option. Having had LF cheese before (SW) I think a lesser amount of the full taste is more satisfying for me but will check out a few labels when I need to restock.

The meat I have bought tends to be lean anyway and as for cream I don't tend to have it in my coffee and will just stick to the milk. I thought at first I would switch to Almond milk but DN said Dairy was fine.

It is good to hear opinions on it all though, voices of experience, so thank you all.

@Jodee thanks for the link - one of the few pages I had missed on the site - not sure how, an important one for me.

 

[Toucan]

After years of being brainwashed that fat is bad, it is quite difficult to get used to including it - but it is lovely to enjoy the full-fat versions of things like yoghurt. cottage cheese etc, and I now never buy the low-fat versions of things.
I an though still a bit restrictive of eating some saturated fats like butter, cream and some cheeses, and tend to use olive and rapeseed oils. Not sure on the logic of this, but it feels right for me.
I do love cheese though - particularly green cheese. So I use St.Agur Blue Cream cheese which is a spread that I eat with celery sticks as a snack. It is around 4g carbs for the whole 150g pot, and it only needs a small smear to satisfy the taste buds.

 

[ianf0ster]

If you read my post I actually have a very low carb diet less than 50 grams a day , I’m type 1 and only need about 4 units of rapid insulin a day. I have managed to loose over 3 stone since July so think I’m doing ok eating the low fat cheese

I apologise @Freddie1966 , I didn't read your post correctly and thought you were a Type 2.
Your priority must be balancing Insulin against Carbs (and Protein) you plan to eat.

Ha you been a Type 2 then eating a lower fat cheese, unless you prefer the flavour texture etc., would be strange since Higher Fat Lower Carbs addresses both the condition and the desire to reduce weight.

 

[ianf0ster]

I eat lots of full fat everything but low carb and I can't gain an ounce of weight
Carol

I'm not sure if your Frown emoji is meant seriously.
If it is then in order to gain weight while keeping Blood Glucose under strict control you could try doing extra muscle building exercise such as lifting weights, doing squats, push-ups etc. together with eating a little more protein - to build the additional lean muscle.

 

[grovesy]

I'm not sure if your Frown emoji is meant seriously.
If it is then in order to gain weight while keeping Blood Glucose under strict control you could try doing extra muscle building exercise such as lifting weights, doing squats, push-ups etc. together with eating a little more protein - to build the additional lean muscle.

Some struggle to put on or maintain their weight. I believe @chaoticcar is one of those.

 

[Deleted member 25429]

I apologise @Freddie1966 , I didn't read your post correctly and thought you were a Type 2.
Your priority must be balancing Insulin against Carbs (and Protein) you plan to eat.

Ha you been a Type 2 then eating a lower fat cheese, unless you prefer the flavour texture etc., would be strange since Higher Fat Lower Carbs addresses both the condition and the desire to reduce weight.

I looked at some of the slimming foods, more carbs in small snack bars than I eat for my main meal !! I stay away completely from anything that is processed ( except cheese) natural healthy food is the way to go for me

 

[nonethewiser]

Fridge has plenty of low fat food in it, wife on diet so has to be low or zero fat.

 

[rebrascora]

Fridge has plenty of low fat food in it, wife on diet so has to be low or zero fat.

Actually it doesn't and this is the whole problem with weight loss diets. They are based upon the flawed theory that fat makes you fat... and it doesn't. Excessive carbs make you fat. Cutting portion size whilst still eating carbs and not eating fat means that when you reach your target weight and stop the diet, you put the weight back on again.
Fat is satisfying and therefore you are much less likely to overeat and over time your stomach shrinks. It also provides steady slow release energy rather than the glucose surge you get from carbs. Many of us find that 2 meals a day on a low carb higher fat diet is all we need. I know I eat a lot less now than I ever did before.

 

[Drummer]

I tried to lose weight on low fat low calorie high carb regimes as directed - sometimes I started collapsing, sometimes I became befuddled. When I went back to low carb and lost weight I was often told it was a delayed reaction - I heard that again when my cholesterol went down after I was diagnosed. The nurse was quite sarcastic inferring that I'd been frightened into compliance by becoming diabetic. By eating low carb with fatty foods I found I'd lost loads of weight in a few weeks - that is what always works for me.