Eating Low Fat without a huge amount of preservatives...is this possible?!

[Angel]

Well, my blood work came back yesterday. I am still borderline on my cholesterol. I figured I would be. It has been two years since I was checked and these last 6/7 months I haven't been very careful and have gained weight. The doc wrote down to exercise (which I have been trying to do with Leslie Sansone), loose weight and a low fat diet.

 

I have one aspie dd and I have been trying to cut down or cut out dyes & preservatives as much as possible. I am doing better with the dyes than preservatives. However, when I look at all the low-fat, no-fat foods, they seem to be filled with stuff that would be bad for you. Ugh!

 

So am I stuck with all veggies and fruits?! What kind of foods do you all eat that are doing a low fat diet? I think I'm going to have to do some research here. Yuck! I'd much rather be researching curriculum.

 

I guess I can thank my dad. I think it's his genes that's helping me along here:glare:

 

Thanks,

Angel

[Quiver0f10]

I eat a very low fat diet and rarely eat processed foods. I eat veggies, fruits, whole grains and beans which all contain nearly zero fat. The only processed things I eat are whole grain bread and bagels and ocassional piece of dark chocolate :D I do use good fats sparingly such as olive oil, natural peanutbutter, coconut oil, nuts, seeds and avocados.

[abbeyej]

Oh, yes, it's *very* possible!

 

Yes, fruits and veggies can make up the major part of your diet with no fat or preservatives. Beans (cook your own from dry beans if you're trying to avoid *all* preservatives), whole grains (cook brown rice, quinoa, steel cut oats)... Really good whole grain breads without junk in them are sometimes hard to find at standard grocery stores. If you're stuck with only a Kroger or Ralphs or something, check the frozen healthfood section for sprouted grain "Ezekiel bread" (or, of course, you could make your own).

 

If you want to include meats and dairy, just go for fresh, (preferably free range / grass fed) lean cuts of meat. For dairy, use cheese very sparingly, use low fat plain yogurt in lieu of sour cream... And use eggs sparingly (or stick to whites only).

 

I've praised the "Eat to Live" diet over and over, but it sounds like you may not be ready to go that "extreme" yet. That said, after the first couple of days of adjustment, dh and I both really enjoyed it. We even convinced my parents and sister to try it. My dad loves it, and my mom grew to like it after the first few days. I lost weight very quickly on the diet, my dh lost less (but had very little to comfortably lose), my parents and sister have all lost quickly given their ages and starting weights... And we've all felt healthier and more vibrant on the diet.

 

If you're not ready for so radical a change, consider WW Core diet -- it focuses on whole foods, but is less restrictive than Eat to Live. (But I don't lose as much weight on a Core type diet compared to Eat to Live.)

 

But yes, it's *very* possible to eat zero or nearly zero processed foods on a low-fat, low-cal diet.

[Tammy]

nt

[Angel]

Ok, this helps. I have just recently started adding a little brown rice to my diet along with black beans. However, I DO like it with cheese...I guess I'm going to have to get over that. Or use it very little.

 

When you use good fats sparingly, how sparingly is sparingly?? A little each day, or each week. What is a good fat gram count to stay under for low fat? I know Spark People gave me a number to stay within to lose weight, I wonder if I need to reduce that even more for cholesterol. The funny thing is, when I was actually counting my food intake over there, I rarely ever went near my cholesterol intake for the day. Weird.

 

Is their a good fat? I eat fiber cereal with nuts and grains and the fat content is higher than I thought (I checked this morning). I also noticed my Fiber One granola bar is higher in fat than I thought.

 

Ooo, this is hard. I think the word diet and I want to go make chocolate chip cookie dough and eat it. That's why I've always done limiting portions and not taking away any foods, just eating them within reason, when I've lost weight. I guess at 36 I need to change.

 

Thanks for the help and answering all my questions. This is going to take more thought than I first had figured.

[Tracy in Ky]

Here are some books that you may find helpful:

 

Real Food by Nina Planck

 

Nouishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

 

The Cholesterol Myth (by ??)

 

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

 

Lots of info in the above books to educate yourself about nutrition, fats, food ingredients, etc.

[Angel]

Thanks, Tracy. I will have to check some of those out. I did finally google some info on cholesterol and a low fat diet. I did some quick reading and then bookmarked a couple places. The thought of changing to a "diet" is so overwhelming. I keep telling myself that I had wanted to make healthy food changes to our diet anyway. Now I just have a reason. Yes, I keep telling myself that :glare:

 

Well, I have been praying for help in losing weight. God certainly picks his own way to get us going tongue_smilie:

 

Angel

[Angel]

Tracy, I just took a look to see which of these the library had. Which one is your favorite or the one you would start out with?

 

Thanks!

[Julie in CA]

I DO like it with cheese...I guess I'm going to have to get over that. Or use it very little.

 

I'm a cheese addict :D but I've been trying to limit fat/calories. One thing I've done is switch to 2% sharp cheddar. It's lower fat, still melts, and because it's sharp cheddar over mild or medium, a little bit has a lot of flavor.

[GailV]

My dh has eaten lowfat with few preservatives for years and years. He loves Mexican food -- beans and tortillas.

 

Tracy, I just took a look to see which of these the library had. Which one is your favorite or the one you would start out with?

 

Thanks!

 

Not Tracy, but answering anyway. Nourishing Traditions did the most to change my thinking, but it isn't the easiest to read -- it's a cookbook with boatloads of info in the margins. Really, if I hadn't purchased it sight-unseen I never ever would've bought it. As it was, I felt like I was stuck with it so I might as well make the best of it. I happen to like Nourishing Traditions (and the later Eat Fat Lose Fat, which is vastly easier to read and implement), but plenty of people really really dislike the author, Sally Fallon. She has a tendency to be ... strident.

 

I think Planck and Kingsolver have a better writing style.

 

I just gave The Cholesterol Myth (or something similar -- maybe it was The Cholesterol Con) to my dad for Father's Day. I didn't have a chance to read it. I love stuff like that -- stuff that challenges popular opinion, and does it with scientific backing.

 

VEERING OFF TOPIC HERE:

 

From what I've been able to find, there are no studies that show that women are healthier with lower cholesterol. Most studies on lowering cholesterol are on men. Actually, as I recall, there ARE studies that show that women with high cholesterol have a longer lifespan. Outside of the U.S., medical views on cholesterol are radically than what we hear here. Personally, I probably have "borderline" cholesterol (the border keeps changing, by the way) due to genetics, and, frankly, I don't care. Which isn't at all what you asked, but it's something I'm on a soapbox about.

[yslek]

Here are some books that you may find helpful:

 

Real Food by Nina Planck

 

Nouishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

 

The Cholesterol Myth (by ??)

 

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

 

Lots of info in the above books to educate yourself about nutrition, fats, food ingredients, etc.

 

:iagree:

 

I haven't read all of the above books, but I've at least heard of most of them, and have some of them on hold at the library.

 

I'm currently reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, which is sort of a follow-up to The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's more about the practical nuts & bolts of eating rather than the food industry. The size of the book is managable compared to Sally Fallon's book, for instance, and has (it seems so far) a good, succint compilation of info I've gathered from reading various books.

 

One section I just finished reading discussed the "lipid hypothesis" and how the idea of that diets low in fat are healthy is really not based on sound science. Very interesting. He sums up the theme of his book as: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

 

My focus (food-wise) is on whole foods. The less it's been tampered with/the more recognizable it is as FOOD, the better, IMO. :001_smile:

 

Kelsy

[Angel]

I just wanted to thank you all for your encouragement and your book suggestions. I am definitely going to check some of these out. I have been looking over my food today and over some internet sites and I'm feeling less like hyperventilating :001_smile: I figure that I can't change overnight and that it'll take some time to incorporate all this new stuff into my diet and that each change will help, even if it is a little one.

 

Thanks all!

 

Angel