Okay. So I am watching my calorie Intake and certain things I eat. Like all my breads have gone to Whole Wheat. Should I also try to buy the things that so low fat as well. Like Cheese for instance; does it matter if I get the full fat or should I get 2% if I am counting calories does it matter. I am not breading any meats, every bread is whole wheat if I eat any including pasta, and also switch to Skim Milk. Do you think whole cheese will matter much. I wouldn't be eating it a lot. Just occasionally like on a Whole Wheat Turkey Sandwich with cheese.
My own preference is to eat full-fat cheddar cheese and full-fat blue cheese. As with anything, it has to be measured carefully. And I don't eat much at a time.
OTOH, I drink 1% milk and eat 2% cottage cheese, part-skim ricotta, and lowfat string cheese.
I mostly go by taste, but I know what I'm dealing with before I consume it.
I don't use too much low-fat stuff, because many items contain chemicals or extra sugars to replace the fat flavors. The only lower fat foods I buy regularly are 2% cheese sticks for snacks and Hellman's olive oil mayo, because I just can't give up the mayo. I really think if you're watching your total calorie and fat intake, especially trans- and other bad fats, avoiding fried foods, it's not all that important to switch to all fat-free foods.
Editing to ad that we have always used skim milk and part-skim mozzarella cheese, because that's what I grew up with, so am used to those items.
Any time you remove something from a food, you add something else to make up the difference. A lot of time when fat is removed from food, sugar, gelatin, or other ingredients are added to either maintain the flavor or the texture.
It's up to you what substitutes you're willing to accept and what flavor/textural changes you're willing to live with.
Like Jay, I won't eat low fat cheese. I love cheese of all types and I'll gladly allocate the calories for them. Also like Jay, I tend to go by taste and content rather than by an absolute rule.
I won't go with "light" olive oil - EVOO is a healthy fat and it's counter productive (IMO) to work around that.
I personally can't stand the texture of low fat cottage cheese, so I eat the full fat variety.
I would far rather have 1t of real butter than any amount of margarine or butter substitute.
OTOH, I eat 2% yogurt and love it. And when I make yogurt at home, I use 2% milk and low-fat milk solids.
I use light mayo (not fat free) for mixing into salads because when it's mixed in, you can't really taste the difference.
I sometimes will use a light salad dressing (my favorite is Kraft Asian Sesame), but most of the time I use red wine vinegar and olive oil.
This is one of those areas where there simply isn't a hard and fast rule. It's all about the decisions you make for yourself about what you'll give up and what you won't, and what you like and what you don't.
I use mostly full-fat cheddar - but I love Light Laughing Cow and light string cheese. SOME 2% cheeses aren't bad, but I try to limit my cheese intake and full-fat extra sharp cheddar satisfies way better than the lower-fat varieties.
If you like the taste of the lower fat cheeses - go for it - those are fat calories you can save for something else (like nuts).
I actually eat far more full-fat foods now than I did when I weighed 215. I cook with olive oil, I eat nuts and full-fat cheeses. Healthy fats (MUFAS) are an important part of my diet.
Like PhotoChick - I do like low-fat yogurt. I make mine with either 1/2% milk or fat-free milk powder. It is one food that I actually like better without the fat.
Last edited by CountingDown; 11-22-2008 at 08:32 PM.
I actually eat far more full-fat foods now than I did when I weighed 215.
Same here. I ate a lot of low-fat and no-fat foods and avoided the healthy stuff when I was "dieting" becuase I thought I shouldn't eat it.
Now I get about 25% of my calories from healthy fat - things like olive oil, avocados, peanut butter, flax seeds, fish, and so forth. I also get some fat from dairy products, but in limited quantities.
I do not go with the low fat or non-fat on anything really -- I just use portion/calorie control. I use full fat cheddar. We have 2% milk at home. I cook and use olive oil when I need oil for something like stir fries and salads, or a little canola if the flavor of the olive oil will interfere with the recipe. In truth, looking at a breakdown of the foods I eat, I generally need the fat not visa versa. I refuse to eat fat free yogurt, but I do eat low fat yogurt -- with real sugar in it not a substitute.
Basically, I have found that it just isn't necessary for me to sacrifice the flavor/joy of the real thing, and I don't want the fillers and other "fake" food in my diet. Since I view the changes in the way I eat as changes for the rest of my life, I eat food I want to eat for the rest of my life -- just in reasonable quantities. Besides, if I don't get enough healthy fats my skin gets all screwed up -- dry and patchy in some areas and breaking out in others.
Like everyone else, I rarely eat low-fat. If you compare labels, the trade offs are not worth it. With cheese there is a huge difference in sodium.
If you are filling up on fruits and vegetables and watching how you prepare your foods, there is plenty of room to include healthy fats from EVOO, Nuts, Salmon etc and still stay under 30%.
i eat lowfat cheese, but i finally ditched the fat free, the caloric difference is not that much and it just tastes...funky. I eat lite yogurt and soymilk, but only because i actually like the taste better. When it comes to peanut butter though, i have tried every kind of lower fat version out there (better n pb, pb2, etc) but when it comes down to it, i'm a peter pan girl at heart. hydrogenated oils and all.
I choose regular fat cheese because I`m all about the taste I do use it in moderation though. Never more than one serving a day.
I choose butter, extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil, full fat yogurt. I use it all in moderation. I do however use skim milk, low fat cottage cheese because I don`t care about the difference enough to use regular fat versions.
Moderation is key. I mostly stick to reduced fat (2%) but there are always exceptions. I have a hard time controlling my portions when I really love something- and I really love cheese!! If it's good cheese I don't even look at the label, but that's rare. I no longer waste my time with the fat free "plastic" food. Most of that stuff is part sugar, part chemical, and all funky. Also I do mostly drink skim milk, after all these years I've grown to prefer it. But I track calories and fat. They are both my downfall so I need to keep an eye on both of them.
I try to eat low-fat foods, but when it comes to cheese, the only kind of light cheese i have is the light laughing cow cheese wedges. I have full fat cheddar, brie, etc. I do use low-fat mayo and reduced fat sour cream. I personally don't see anything wrong with using low or reduced fat items if it's in moderation just like full-fat items.
I will eat most dairy(cottage cheese, milk, yogurt) in the lower fat varieties, except cheese. I will do part skim mozzarella, or swiss, but the others no way. I enjoy them in moderation though, and count them toward my daily calories. I like the laughing cow cheese too, but it is not the same as full fat cheese. In my opinion, most of the fat free stuff tastes like plastic, and it doesn't melt like cheese is supposed to. I find if i shred cheddar on my sandwiches, i can use less but still taste it.
I think in moderation it is ok, but if you replace it sometimes with lower fat stuff, than that is good too.
I'm the same as most of you. I don't eat many low-fat foods, I just have full fat in moderation.
The only foods I eat that are low-fat are milk, low-fat yogurt (it still tastes awesome to me) and sometimes a light balsamic salad dressing that is delicious.
However, I really do not like the taste of fat-free creamy dressings so on the rare occassion that I have that type of dressing I get the full fat version and do the fork dip.
I feel that I'm a lot more conscious about what I'm eating now than I ever was before. I know how to enjoy food in moderation and that includes full-fat versions of my old favorites.
I get the low fat versions whenever possible, but I try to avoid fat-free, especially with things like dairy. I'd rather be getting my fat from decent things like yogurt.
Low fat or not
