Wow, you must eat a repetitive diet! Sounds boring! page 5

[Forgotmylastusername]

Actually, while CW has declared fat off limits, SAD is loaded with hidden fats and oils.

True. Many low fat foods are high in fat. If you weren't somewhat knowledgeable about nutrition didn't know what you were really looking for when looking for low fat foods you can fail pretty bad. I was looking at some 95% fat free yogurt the other day, which is the exact same fat content of regular greek yogurt with about half it's calories coming from fat.



All the people that I know that say they follow a low fat diet have a pretty terrible attempt at it. "Light" spreads which are still about as high fat as butter. Low-fat yogurt that just about as much fat as the real things, salads with "light" dressings and cheese and low-fat mayonnaise that still has over 70% of it's calories from fat. lol

[Narcolepticjenn]

One of my favorite things about Primal is how it encourages you to try new food, even food that has been there in the supermarket the whole time. I had never even heard of grass-fed butter! Imagine that. I vaguely knew that coconut milk was used in Thai food, but I'd never bought any. Still haven't ventured into organ meats and bone broth, but I'm sure if I knew how to cook them properly they'd beat the pants off a bland chicken breast and steamed broccoli. It's a whole big world out there.

[Winterbike]

So, I was having a discussion with someone who was actually totally on board with me on the tenants of paleo nutrition almost completely (minus a few minor points) so I thought to suggest that if they agreed so much, they should try it out for themselves and then got this exact reply.

"No thanks. By eliminating things like bad oils, soy, and grains you invariabley lead yourself into a pattern of min-maxing your nutrients which results invariabley in a repetitive and boring diet. I'd rather take the health consequences and be able to eat a wider range of dishes and not be forced into a small handful of very unsatisfying and limited choices."

So... Low-carb and high-carb primalites alike, how would YOU respond to an arguement like this, other than to invite them over for dinner which was summarily dismissed for the same reason as above?

The best way I woo chicks is by inviting them over for supper. What I eat every day is what other people eat to treat themselves.

Just look at an average Top Chef episode. 90% of the stuff they care about cooking with is meat and veggies. Every season when the bullshit ''healthy meal'' episode comes up the chefs bitch about having to give up the good stuff and try to cheat by sneaking butter in their meals.

In ''Jiro dreams of sushi'', the guys uses almost only rice and fish, yet people are willing to give their first born to eat at his place.

Also, don't argue with idiots.

[oxide]

"Light" spreads which are still about as high fat as butter. Low-fat yogurt that just about as much fat as the real things, salads with "light" dressings and cheese and low-fat mayonnaise that still has over 70% of it's calories from fat. lol

In the US there are very strict rules about labeling something "reduced Fat" or "low fat." Reduced fat means must be 25% less fat than average, and Low-Fat yogurt has 30% fat calories total. When processers take out the fat, they made up for the mouth feel by adding a water/cornstrach mixture and stabilizers. Cheesemakers would use skim milk and a thickener instead of whole milk.

Getting rid of fat is pretty hard to do, so companies use the "light" label to trick people into thinking it's low fat. There are no restrictions on the words "light" or "natural." I've heard that "lighter" sometimes refers to the color. Or they would say "low in saturated fat" and make up for it with cheaper unsaturated canola oil.

Labeling requirements here: 9. Appendix A: Definitions of Nutrient Content Claims

Of course only a dedicated foodie with a lot of time on their hands (ie no kids) would look at every label like this.

However, if a low-fat diet was stealthily high in fat, then why aren't all these SADs feeling satiated on lower total calories? Why are they so hungry for carbs? Is it the wheat addiction, or maybe these funny fats don't cause satiety like animal fats do?

[eKatherine]

True. Many low fat foods are high in fat. If you weren't somewhat knowledgeable about nutrition didn't know what you were really looking for when looking for low fat foods you can fail pretty bad. I was looking at some 95% fat free yogurt the other day, which is the exact same fat content of regular greek yogurt with about half it's calories coming from fat.

All the people that I know that say they follow a low fat diet have a pretty terrible attempt at it. "Light" spreads which are still about as high fat as butter. Low-fat yogurt that just about as much fat as the real things, salads with "light" dressings and cheese and low-fat mayonnaise that still has over 70% of it's calories from fat. lol

I wasn't even considering these "reduced-fat" foods. I was thinking of snack junk foods like crackers, chips, and fast foods like fried foods. One serving of breaded fried anything is easy to rationalize as an indulgence that has been earned by a day of virtuous self-denial, and can soak up so much seed oil it completely blows any intended eating plan out of the water.

[JoanieL]

Back in my calories only days, I had pretty much given up peanut butter completely because it just wasn't delicious enough for how many calories it had. One day shopping, I notice reduced fat peanut butter. I pulled the reduced fat off the shelf and also the full fat. Yep, less fat. Calories - almost identical.

So, whether they're getting it from fat or added cornstarch, or sugar, eating low fat does absolutely nothing if you don't take the time to see if the product is really an improvement.

Alton Brown once showed that if you fry at the correct temp for both the oil and the food you're preparing, you don't pick up that much oil in your food. I forget what he was frying (and of course he was using "healthy" vegetable oil), but it was a lot. He measured the oil left in the pan, and there wasn't that much gone. However, he's a food person, and most of us don't want to look up foods and temps for each meal. Also, anything one doesn't prepare with one's own hands is most likely going to have the magic salt+fat+sugar thing so you eat more of it.

I think there's an old thread here somewhere that showed that Fage yogurt is one of the few fat free or low fat prepared foods that actually doesn't add carbs when they take out the fat. So, out of the gazillion foods out there that have been re-recipe'd (not a real word) to be able to put 0% fat on the label, there's at least one that did it right. I've never seen another, but there must be some out there.

Anyway, how could Primal ever get boring? You have to watch everything. Grass fed might not be grass finished. Things with "Healthy" in the name almost never are. If you don't live in a trendy area, you have to search online for some foods. The most simple prepared foods (tomato sauces, etc.) are laden with crap. Heck, it takes time reading all those labels!

[eKatherine]

Alton Brown once showed that if you fry at the correct temp for both the oil and the food you're preparing, you don't pick up that much oil in your food. I forget what he was frying (and of course he was using "healthy" vegetable oil), but it was a lot. He measured the oil left in the pan, and there wasn't that much gone. However, he's a food person, and most of us don't want to look up foods and temps for each meal. Also, anything one doesn't prepare with one's own hands is most likely going to have the magic salt+fat+sugar thing so you eat more of it.

Deep-fry in coconut oil for the lightest, crispiest food. I have a dedicated fryer filled with coconut oil where I only fry potatoes. Haven't fried many since I started losing weight though.

[Neckhammer]

So many animals to eat.... so little time. How could you ever get bored?

[firemanswife]

The biggest problem is so many SAD eaters have never learned to truly COOK. I have always told my children cooking is art. Baking is chemistry. Be creative. I learned to cook in elementry school(latch key kid) and learned that no one else in the family wanted to be in the kitchen. It became my room, my creative space. I only started having weight issues when I started eating the way the "experts" said we were supposed to. Hahaha! Now going back to my childhood roots and primal roots, weight has disappeared and health is without question the best it has ever been. I often have family and friends ask me for a recipe and I just look at them with a blank look on my face. It is always a little different. I cook according to what is freshest not what is on the menu. I have a young lady who lives with us and she will follow me in the kitchen watching and writing down what I do. She comes from a long line of "rule followers." She is starting to find her own creative footing in the kitchen. Makes me smile.

[firemanswife]

Well said. Made me smile.

So many animals to eat.... so little time. How could you ever get bored?