Do you eat a low fat diet? Are you a healthy weight?

[sewaneecook]

I'm curious.  I've been reading more about fat and health and I wanted to see what kind of correlation there might be from this highly scientific poll! 

[Alyantavid]

I don't eat low fat or fat free.  I believe that fat is a very important part of nutrition that people don't enough of (I'm talking good fats here).

I'm 5'6 and fluctuate between 115-120 lbs.

[sewaneecook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alyantavid 

 (I'm talking good fats here).

Could you specify what you mean by good fats?  In some of the reading I've been doing there are varying opinions on this!  Thanks!
 

[SpuglyRoo]

I don't know what the previous poster considers healthy fats, but I think that healthy fats are the ones we find in nature.  Nuts for example are high in fat but so is a stick of margarine.  One I'll eat, the other I won't.  Corn oil in a piece of corn- yes.  Corn oil in a muffin- no.  This is all ideally of course.  Sometimes I eat things I wouldn't normally either because it is what is available or to satisfy an occasional craving.  Really I try not to though.

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by SpuglyRoo 

I don't know what the previous poster considers healthy fats, but I think that healthy fats are the ones we find in nature.  Nuts for example are high in fat but so is a stick of margarine.  One I'll eat, the other I won't.  Corn oil in a piece of corn- yes.  Corn oil in a muffin- no.  This is all ideally of course.  Sometimes I eat things I wouldn't normally either because it is what is available or to satisfy an occasional craving.  Really I try not to though.

Yep.  Natural fats, not processed. 

I completely admit to eating the occassional fast food french fry, but it isn't a common thing.
 

[ambereva]

My diet is actually pretty high in fat, ~40% of my calories, 100+ grams a day. Almost totally plant based fats from whole foods. I get ample saturated fats from nuts, chocolate and coconut. I'm at a healthy weight, and more importantly, a healthy body fat %age (18%).

[amma_mama]

I eat a relatively low (but healthy) fat diet - around 25% of my calories are from fat. I am a healthy weight - 5'3" and just under 120lbs. I was on a higher fat diet and was not at a healthy weight and relied on lower-fat (not fat-free), higher protein diet to lose over 20 lbs to date.

[laohaire]

Here are the fats that I can think of that I regularly eat - and I eat as much as I want (I won't hesitate to slather it on):

- Coconut oil

- Bacon grease (and bacon, in general)

- Butter

- Full fat dairy products (cream, sour cream, yoghurt)

- Avocado

- Nuts

- Flax seeds

- Olive oil

- Olives

I am 136 pounds, and I have excess weight to lose, but I'm going in the right direction. I was at a high of 152 a while ago.

Honestly, adding fat did nothing (positive or negative) to my weight. Nothing at all. It did taste great and feel good though. I started losing weight when I also eliminated sugar and then wheat. I saw my MIL last weekend for Easter and she was almost shocked by how trim I am starting to look, but believe me, I do not restrict fats at all, in fact I indulge as much as I want. If I ever want a spoonful of coconut oil or olive oil or even a bit of butter, I'll do it.

[physmom]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Here are the fats that I can think of that I regularly eat - and I eat as much as I want (I won't hesitate to slather it on):

- Coconut oil

- Bacon grease (and bacon, in general)

- Butter

- Full fat dairy products (cream, sour cream, yoghurt)

- Avocado

- Nuts

- Flax seeds

- Olive oil

- Olives

I am 136 pounds, and I have excess weight to lose, but I'm going in the right direction. I was at a high of 152 a while ago.

Honestly, adding fat did nothing (positive or negative) to my weight. Nothing at all. It did taste great and feel good though. I started losing weight when I also eliminated sugar and then wheat. I saw my MIL last weekend for Easter and she was almost shocked by how trim I am starting to look, but believe me, I do not restrict fats at all, in fact I indulge as much as I want. If I ever want a spoonful of coconut oil or olive oil or even a bit of butter, I'll do it.

That sounds a lot like my diet (and I'm also not at a healthy weight yet but have lost quite a bit so I'm getting there).  If you're looking for something to kick out of your diet start with sugar. Foods high in natural fats actually make you feel much more satisfied and will help control your hunger and maintain your weight in the long run.  Eating too much sugar, however, will make your blood sugar spike and give you more cravings.  I try and eat a diet high in fat/protein while not going crazy with carbs (I'm not carb free but use only whole wheat flour and natural sweeteners to cook with).

ETA: I voted other in your poll because I didn't feel that saying I ate a diet high in fat and was overweight correctly reflected what you were getting at (since I've changed my diet significantly and have been losing weight for awhile now).

[kristandthekids]

I don't think it's as easy as that. What kind of fat is it? Do we mean low fat as in lower than recommended healthy amounts of fat? Or low fat as in not a you eat every last junky thing you want as you want it no self control high fat diet? Are you taking in large amounts of sugar with that fat? What is your activity level? ect...
Edited by kristandthekids - 4/26/11 at 5:30pm

[Maela]

This almost exactly.  I am pretty much a healthy weight, but would like to lose some fat around my belly and gain a little more muscle.  I quit sugar (except some fruit and dark chocolate occasionally) and all grains.

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Here are the fats that I can think of that I regularly eat - and I eat as much as I want (I won't hesitate to slather it on):

- Coconut oil

- Bacon grease (and bacon, in general)

- Butter

- Full fat dairy products (cream, sour cream, yoghurt)

- Avocado

- Nuts

- Flax seeds

- Olive oil

- Olives

I am 136 pounds, and I have excess weight to lose, but I'm going in the right direction. I was at a high of 152 a while ago.

Honestly, adding fat did nothing (positive or negative) to my weight. Nothing at all. It did taste great and feel good though. I started losing weight when I also eliminated sugar and then wheat. I saw my MIL last weekend for Easter and she was almost shocked by how trim I am starting to look, but believe me, I do not restrict fats at all, in fact I indulge as much as I want. If I ever want a spoonful of coconut oil or olive oil or even a bit of butter, I'll do it.

[Chamomile Girl]

I do not have a low fat diet in any way, shape or form. Most of my fat intake is dairy; butter is pretty much a foodgroup here and we also eat lots of meals made with heavy whipping cream and cheese. We also have a very low sugar diet because I am the main cook and sugar makes me feel sick. We mostly drink water for the most part (ok, and lots of coffee). We don't eat much meat because I don't know how to cook it :P and we eat lots of grains (I write this as I snack on bread slathered with butter...bread is another staple we go through a ton of).

I'm a healthy weight and my husband is skinny. As another poster mentioned though I think that health and weight to not always correlate as our culture would have us believe. So its a touchy question to begin with, laden with lots of assumptions I think.

[lab]

I need to clarify

I do not eat anything that says Low Fat on it.

But I do refrain from eating foods that have fat in them.  Unless it is a healthy fat.   So I'm not sure how to answer to poll.  I answered that I don't eat Low Fat.  But that's because I think of foods in the store with a label that states low fat.