Fat Grams etc etc

O

olexa17

Cathlete
:D

Hey Y'all,

Just curious, I've been reading some great threads on whether or not we count calories and how many meals we eat. Here's an add on ~ generally speaking, do you tend to watch or 'count' fat grams in what you eat??

I ask this because I try to just 'eat clean' which for me is no alcohol (except on a rare occasion) , no processed foods, no sugar (which I'll explain why this part led to my fat gram question)- and just trying to eat good proteins, vegies and fruits..

Now in my quest to cut out sugar, I started noticing the sugar in everything like yogurt and coffee creamers and especially in like "low calorie or low fat" salad dressings ~ if you cut calories/fat, they add sugar.

So what do you tend to think is better; going like with a natural Ranch dressing (full fat at 160 calories for 2TBS) or "Fat Free Ranch" with 30 calories for 2TBS but containing sugar??

I only use Ranch dressing as an example ~ I'm just curious as to what you all think or focus on.

I have found in my experience if I avoid sugar and eat clean, then I can usually have more fat (not that I go for it like a crazed Atkins person, eating 5 double cheeseburgers and drowning my salads in fat dressing) and not gain.

Love to hear your thoughts.

Kelly :7
 
For myself, I try to eat lean meats, keep processed foods to a minimum, and watch my calories. With all of that in mind, I don't watch fat grams as much as I do calories. For the most part I try to go the reduced fat route because with a lot of fat-free stuff there is such a drastic change in taste. I refuse to sacrife taste.

With the mention of salad dressing I'm wondering if you have tried Wishbone's Salad Spritzers. They are really good with only 1 calorie per spray. With 10 sprays there is only 1g fat & 1g carb.

Have a good day!
 
I count carbs. It makes fat grams & calories totally meaningless. I do Atkins, but I wouldn't call it crazed. I do eat red meat a few times a week (double cheeseburgers are tasty but I'm pretty sure I'd puke if I ate 5 of them)--my staple is salads. Lots & lots of salads, most of the time the dressing is plain old oil & vinegar. And a lot of green veggies (asparagus, string beans, etc), they're lower in carbs.
 
NO I haven't tried those sprays yet but I need to.
I'm pretty good about measuring out salad dressing and having it on the side. I truly don't like my salads drowning in dressing. Unless it is homemade blue cheese....
egads!!
 
> I started noticing the sugar
>in everything like yogurt and coffee creamers and especially
>in like "low calorie or low fat" salad dressings ~ if you cut
>calories/fat, they add sugar.

These are all processed foods. Many processed foods contain sugar and/or fat.

>So what do you tend to think is better; going like with a
>natural Ranch dressing (full fat at 160 calories for 2TBS) or
>"Fat Free Ranch" with 30 calories for 2TBS but containing
>sugar??

I don't think oils are particularly healthful, but if I use them, Iw would make my own dressing out of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or cider vinegar.

As an alternative to dressing, I like guacamole processed to a more dressing-type consistency (adding some tomatoes helps get this consistency).
 
Laura,

Its funny ~ once I wrote that with the Atkins reference I realized it might not sound right. I guess I was referring to the 'general public' that goes on fad diets and would go on an Atkins "diet" and like STUFF THEMSELVES on cheese and burgers and steaks and such instead of being more reasonable....

Do you eat fruit? What about dairy?

Just curious.
 
I watch calories, fat grams, and sugar. In the case of the ranch dressing, I use Kraft Free which I think only has about 2 grams of sugar per serving. I don't think that's much more (if any) than using the regular ranch dressing so I do use the fat-free rather than the full fat dressing.

However, in other cases, where the sugar seems really high, I usually choose an in-between option. For sour cream, for example, I use the lowfat or reduced fat which usually has less sugar than fat-free sour cream.
 
Olexa--since I hit my goal weight I do Atkins M-F & eat pretty much whatever I want on the weekends. Which may very well include stuffing myself with cheesburgers & steaks, if I'm in the mood. :9

That said, I do not eat fruit (other than the w/e) & I've never really eaten dairy b/c there really aren't any dairy foods I like (except ice cream, of course). I take a multivitamin, a vitamin C supplement, a calcium supplement & a fiber supplement.

I've been on the diet for about 3 1/2 years & thus far cholestoral level, enzyme levels & all other health indicators are A-OK.
 
Laura,

This WOL is obviously working for you. I guess I've been taking a deeper look into this because a 'casual' sugar-free/low carb WOE has been very beneficial for me. I was just perusing a website I remember finding way back when I first tried Atkins; www.sugarfreesheila.com which has great insight also.

My dairy 'interests' are cottage cheese (which I currently have sometimes for lunch with strawberries) or yogurt.

And the other items I know I would miss sorely if I went relatively strict on the lo-carb thing are: baked potatoes or a sweet potato, peas and corn.

I'm like 10lbs from my ideal weight but really want to see if I can reach my goal this year. Both my sister and I are in the same boat, and we both see great results when we eat clean, eliminate sugar etc.

I'm curious if you "cheat" like with bread or pasta on your weekends and if that causes bloating or weight gain???

For me right now I make homemade pizza every Friday night....although carb-y I don't consider it sugary.....but that is my usual cheat meal.

K
 
Yes, my cheating on weekends usually adds about 2-3 lbs. And pizza is ALWAYS included in my weekend cheats LOL. So is some form of chocolate (woman cannot live without chocolate). But it's mostly water weight, it's typically gone by Tuesday morning. I waver between 110-115. On Mondays I weigh 115, on Fridays I weigh 110. :+

I have to admit I do miss potatoes--baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, french fries (especially fries!). And bread, especially bagels. And fruit, especially bananas. But the diet is so darned effective & easy it's almost addicting. Ironic, huh?
 
Not to turn this thread into a salad dressing thread, but.....
I put Salsa on mine. I find it does the trick. I find the low fat dressings to be full of additives and the real ones just aren't worth the calories and fat.
Heather
 
I tried the south beach diet ranch dressing and it tasted sour to me. I thought I would get used to it, but by the 3rd time I tried it, I thought I was going to barf and couldn't even stand the smell. I eat lots of meat, including steak, chicken, fish, whatever. I have recently switched my diet to lots of brown rice, whole grain foods, whole wheat breads, lots of green beans, and fruits. I've lost about 5 lbs doing this. I've also switched to regular butter, no longer using margarine. I just recently switched to an all natural peanut butter. I cannot remember the brand. It tastes great on bread, but I no longer feel a tendency to eat it out of the jar alone as it tastes just like eating roasted peanuts with nothing added to it. I feel great eating this way. And it could be my imagination, but I've noticed my arms starting to show more definition. woo hoo

I came back to actually answer your question. :) I eat low-fat salad dressing. I figure it won't hurt anything as I do not eat salad on a daily basis and I also don't use very much. I also lost the 5 pounds without counting anything. I don't count calories, fat grams, carbs, etc. I just switched my diet around and started eating more healthy. My only snacks are Zone protein bars after my workouts and carrot sticks if I need something late in the evening.
 
I'm glad to see you switched to butter! It has lots of good stuff in it including vitamin A, medium-chain triglycerides which are burned off rather than stored as fat, and lauric acid which is anti-microbial and anti-viral. Margarine, on the other hand, is produced with toxic solvents like hexane and is deodorized and bleached to cover up the taste of rancid vegetable oils processed at high temperatures.

I have noticed no difference in my weight by increasing or decreasing my butter intake, or for that matter my fat intake, although I don't eat many polyunsaturated fats.
 
Some fats and oils are good for you and others are bad, very bad.

In general, plant based oils tend to be better, and extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin coconut oil tend to be the best.

You need a certain amount of fats/oils in your diet (as in eating habits) due to there being many fat-soluable vitamins and minerals that do not get processed in the body without the fat/oil. Also, you need fats/oils for healthy skin and hair, but, like the buzz phrase says, "everything in moderation"!

Having followed Weight Watchers for the last 20 months, it teaches you to watch total calories, total fat and total fiber. Essentially, you are watching your fat intake as well as your sugar intake, although, I tend to lean more towards lower fat items.
 
I use Maple Grove Farms of Vermont Balsamic vinagarette which has ZERO calories, and is very good.

I read nutrition labels, but watch for calories and fat grams, but don't keep a fat gram daily total. Carbs I don't count, but do stick to whole grain stuff six days a week.

"You can't win them all - but you can try." - Babe Zaharias http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/musik/music-smiley-004.gif[/img]
 
Hi Kelly,
Good question. For many years I concentrated mostly on fat grams. I made sure that nothing I ate had more than 20% of calories from fat. It worked great for me, because I don't crave rich foods at all, and prefer lots of flavor to richness. Then I went to the nutritionist and she said I was eating too many processed foods and too many simple sugars, so I cut back on those things. She told me not to bother about fat grams, but frankly, I haven't been able to ignore them. I had to work myself up to a point where I could allow myself to eat a Larabar, which gets almost half its calories from fat (nuts). I'm still afraid of nuts and measure out my peanut butter very carefully. It's hard to ignore something that has worked so well for me for so long. I still struggle with it on a daily basis!
-Nancy
 
I had never even thought of switching to butter until I was watching Oprah one day. I'm not sure it the guy was an MD or a nutritionist, but this is how he described it. He took a handful of margarine and squished it, he said the way it looked in his hand was how it looks in your arteries because of the oil in it. I had never thought of that. I immediately checked my light margarine and sure enough the first or second ingredient was vegetable oil. I immediately switched to butter. Not only does it taste great, but my oven baked chicken is a beautiful color now. :)
 
I don't count fat grams but I do read food labels and try to keep my fat grams to a minimum. When I started losing weight 7 years ago, I cut most of the fat out of my diet, because unfortunately that is what I was eating. The only thing I eat consistently that has high fat is cheese. I don't like the low-fat cheese so I just use less of the real thing. I try to stay away from fast food and highly processed food.
 
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