"fat free" food

[SleepyWitch]

My hubby's just come back from the supermarket and is throwing a fit now because he bought fat free yogurt by mistake. Normally, we buy full fat yogurt and milk (3.5-4% fat) because we thought that fat free stuff doesn't taste of anything. Plus, we think it's ridiculous the way some overweight people eat fat free yogurt but then go on to gobble down fast food (or poor tons of sugar into their fat free yogurt). I checked the nutrition info and it turns out you can save 100 calories per 500 gram tub if you eat fat free yogurt instead of normal one. 100 calories is nothing, especially seeing as your not going to eat a whole tub in one go anyway.
I tasted the yogurt and actually it wasn't too bad. But I still wonder how they make it stick together, seeing as their are zero saturated fats and only a trace of non-saturates in it.
What's your opinion about fat free foods?

[OrphanPip]

Fat free food in general is a marketing scam, if you're afraid of calories you should be watching out for the processed sugar.

Also, if you take the fat out of the yogurt you're taking the best part out! I actually love the taste of unflavored/unsweetened yogurt.

[SleepyWitch]

thanks for your reply Orphan. Personally I'm not afraid of calories (right now I'm slightly underweight, anyway). But I had a house mate who would buy fat free cherry flavoured yogurt (with added sugar). Because of the sugar, it actually had the same amount of calories as plain full fat yogurt. Then she poured a heap of sugar in it.

[Virgil]

It's not a scam. It's less calories and less fat. If you have a diet with a calorie and fat limitation, then this helps that quantity.

I eat fat free yogurt and don't find that much of a difference, especially if it's mixed with fruit. Pure skim milk is tasteless, so I usually go for either 1% or 2% milk.

By the way, diet alone is not a good way to lose weight. You need exercise.

[OrphanPip]

It's not a scam. It's less calories and less fat. If you have a diet with a calorie and fat limitation, then this helps that quantity.

I eat fat free yogurt and don't find that much of a difference, especially if it's mixed with fruit. Pure skim milk is tasteless, so I usually go for either 1% or 2% milk.

By the way, diet alone is not a good way to lose weight. You need exercise.

In general though, the fat from those kinds of foods, yogurts and milk, is such a low part of a person's daily caloric intake that it makes little difference. I didn't mean it was a scam in the sense that fat has no effect, but in general sugar is the leading culprit in high calorie food. "Low Fat" and "Fat Free" labels are often applied to foods to help sell them as healthy, or low calorie, to unwary consumers who don't bother to check the amount of sugar those foods might contain.

[SleepyWitch]

In general though, the fat from those kinds of foods, yogurts and milk, is such a low part of a person's daily caloric intake that it makes little difference.

That was my point, too. E.g. some people will only eat fat free yogurt but they might have a fatty/sugary lunch or dinner and never realize how much fat/sugar there's in it because hot meals in canteens etc don't come with a label on them. The calories that you save by eating fat free yogurt won't make up for the ones you take in by eating a fatty main course.

[Lokasenna]

In true student fashion, I'll eat whatever is on special offer in the supermarket.

To be fair, with some things the taste is noticably different, and with others it's not. For example, Coke and Diet Coke, while both fairly revolting, have a different flavour. However, I'll be buggered if I can tell the difference between ordinary houmous and the fat-free variety.

So long as you eat in moderation, and are relatively active, you can really eat just about anything.

[dafydd manton]

As opposed to fat-free, fully-skimmed milk, which is milk with the milk taken out. It tastes like something extracted from a diabetic mongoose. Admittedly, I only indulge in the full-fat stuff with cereals, when I'm on holiday, so I suppose I'm making a bit of an effort.

[papayahed]

I was curious so I checked my yogurt. For 6 oz. the Fat Free, Light Yogurt has 100 calories, 0 Fat, and 15 grams of sugar; the regular has 180 calories, 1.5 grams of Fat, and 27 grams of sugar. Seems like a lot of extra sugar. I buy the fat free, the difference in texture is negligable and why waste 80 calories on yogurt?

[Delta40]

I am under the impression that fat free often equates to added sugar or salt to compensate. No fat, lots of sugar more calories. I do buy lite milk though.

[OrphanPip]

I don't have a particularly fatty yogurt in my fridge, but it's 4g of fat and 5g of sugar for 175g (a little over 6 oz.) and has 110 calories, mostly coming from the 20g of protein. Unflavored, no sugar added. I'm happy with that.

[papayahed]

I don't have a particularly fatty yogurt in my fridge, but it's 4g of fat and 5g of sugar for 175g (a little over 6 oz.) and has 110 calories, mostly coming from the 20g of protein. Unflavored, no sugar added. I'm happy with that.

I always buy a container of the plain intending to add fruit but I always just end up throwing it away when it expires.

[OrphanPip]

I always buy a container of the plain intending to add fruit but I always just end up throwing it away when it expires.

I occasionally add fruit, but I like it plain.

[papayahed]

I occasionally add fruit, but I like it plain.

Well, Somebody has to do it I guess.

[Virgil]

In general though, the fat from those kinds of foods, yogurts and milk, is such a low part of a person's daily caloric intake that it makes little difference. I didn't mean it was a scam in the sense that fat has no effect, but in general sugar is the leading culprit in high calorie food. "Low Fat" and "Fat Free" labels are often applied to foods to help sell them as healthy, or low calorie, to unwary consumers who don't bother to check the amount of sugar those foods might contain.

That was my point, too. E.g. some people will only eat fat free yogurt but they might have a fatty/sugary lunch or dinner and never realize how much fat/sugar there's in it because hot meals in canteens etc don't come with a label on them. The calories that you save by eating fat free yogurt won't make up for the ones you take in by eating a fatty main course.

Well, yes, it is a small part. Does anyone think that one low fat yogurt instead of a full fat yogurt is going to make a difference? But if you're trying to reduce your overall daily calorie intake by 10%, then a low fat yogurt is something like a 50% reduction from a full fat. That's big jump for a single item. Now if you could do that will all your meals. Look, a daily intake of 2100 calories is less than 2150 calories. Don't blame the low fat yogurt as a scam. Tell the dieter that he has to cut the calories across the board.

The low fat yogurt has less calories too, so I wasn't just referring to the fat.

To O-P's other point, I completely agree that sugar is a bigger culpret. Cut carbs first before protein and fat, and sugar carbs first among carbs.