'Reduced calorie or fat' only if you enjoy it just as much without needing to use more of it.
I don't eat a lot of yogurt anyway but that's often a low fat version (organic natural), I prefer skimmed milk for drinks and in cooking, and half fat halloumi I like, but I've been using full fat cheese, I just buy a tasty organic mature cheddar and a little goes a long way.
I have given up on low calorie/fat as low calorie has artificial sweeteners and low fat has more sugar usually. I prefer to just eat less of the real thing as I think this is healthier. Just read yesterday that a glass of wine a day is very good for you so more guilt!!
Hi GoogleMe,
I think it's not alway easy to know where to draw the line with our own "wants" versus our body's actual needs. One problem is that our "wants" are, in fact, trained by us over time and can be part and parcel of the 'bad' eating habits we're trying to turn our back on.
And that informal 'training' - from family, experience, social pressure, etc. - is often how so many of us get into bad eating habits in the first place and then end up overweight.
Having said that, we all probably do want to eat tasty (and in some way fun or interesting) food.
I do buy lowest fat soft cheese (in those mini-tubs) for some purposes, e.g. on crispbread and similar, but I'm very fond indeed of a nice mature cheese with a bit of a 'bite' to it. Perhaps you can use a half-fat version - but you'll still need to be pretty careful with the quantities. I mean cheese is a bit like alcohol - you're not going to have lots of it and drop the weight easily.
Of course another way might be to add spices (pepper / chilli etc) to food to give it a bite.
I think this is where being aware of the calorie content of food and weighing and measuring comes in.
Recently I was shocked by a fitness/weight loss coach I respect who suggests restricting dessert to once a week. Fair enough. But it then became clear that 'dessert' for him had a very specific definition and he was suggesting people follow his example of eating a well known very processed sweetened (I don't know if it is sugar or artificial or both) yogurt brand every night!
Hi GoogleMe,
There are often ways to 'spin' food. For example, I don't often do desserts as such nowadays, because I've kind of lost my taste for them. But when I was weight reducing, I went through a phase of fresh fruit (e.g. raspberries) with 'zero-fat' yoghurt and a little grated dark chocolate - literally just a few grammes.
That was a million miles away from how I would have approached the idea of 'dessert' before my weight reduction efforts. (Raspberries would probably have been swimming in full-fat double cream and maybe sugar sprinkled on top!)
But one of the things that people forget is as they do dare to change their eating habits, their tastes change too.
So what was a "Oh no - I couldn't possibly" before the process can become a "that's really nice" after two or three months of changed eating habits.
Habit is a powerful thing. One of the main reasons people eat fatty, sweet, creamy, high-calorie foods is just because that's what they're in the habit of eating.
The interesting thing is how few calories a teaspoon of sugar actually is... although I always taste fruit first to see if it needs anything. The other interesting thing is how terrifyingly high in calories good double cream is. I don't like to be niggardly with it, so leave it (and the sugar) off most of the time. It's a different experience - and for me, both are nice but 'naked raspberries' is something I could enjoy as a weekly treat whilst losing weight whereas raspberries with cream and sugar is bloomin' hard to accommodate!
The negative health effects of sugar are not related to their calories but to the effect they have on the body. Sugar is unfortunately added to many basic foods.
authoritynutrition.com/6-he...
Not all calories are the same.
I know some folk are on low carbs but seeing Olsbean's lunch the other week with crispbread got me a hankering for them. Also Dr Kargs. They have 2x calories of Ryvita but 2x the crunch & flavour so 1 is enough.
I am very happy on skimmed milk - now cannot bear full cream in drinks, have discovered Quark for spreading and prefer Total 0 fat Greek yoghurt to any other.
But I use butter and olive oil in cooking and a wee sprinkle of parmesan on pasta as well and will be having a selection of full fat Scottish cheeses in over Christmas.
7lbs left to do in 4 weeks
Cous Cous ideas!!
