I'm currently on a low fat diet

I have a site on this, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it :S (it is a record of EVERYTHING that I have eaten, and done for exercise since I started it last tuesday - including my whopping 101 grams of fat intake last monday - eating what I thought was moderate meals)

I started off at 235 lbs this weekend. With plenty of exercise and sticking to a low fat diet (no cheating!) it is now Thursday and I'm 232!! (awesome :D)

Breakfast: Bowl of fruit

Lunch: 1 peanut butter sandwich (1 tbsp pb) and Grape jam on whole wheat (Sobey's High Fibre/Low fat - tastes GREAT!!) - 1 "Cup-a-Soup": (Lipton, beef noodle) - 18 baked corn chips with salsa - 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese

Dinner: 1 chicken breast - 2 skewers of shrimp (both grilled on bbq) - 1/2 cup cottage cheese & small salad with 1/2calorie dressing (1 tbsp French Kraft Dressing)

Believe it or not, your body burns between 30 - 40 grams of fat naturally during the day (with moderate exercise - walking...)

My entire daily fat intake was less that 15 grams of fat.

It seems like a LOT of food, it's high in protein and low in fat. If you feel you're hungry in between, munch on some fruit and drink PLENTY of water. (I drink 2000ml a day - 8 cups).

It took about 2 weeks for my body to get used to this diet... If you feel EXTREMELY hungry, try drinking tea sweetened with honey, nibble on fruit. Your body is going to HATE you for the first week. If you STILL don't like the feeling: Start with 30 grams of fat a day and work your way down.

When I first started I was eating ALL DAY LONG... tons of fruit/veggies.

(sorry if I've posted this in a few threads, I just figured it was worthy of a new thread by itself... might be able to inspire some ppl)


Is exercise your enemy? Start walking around the block after dinner? Even just that much can help. Once you're used to the one block... go two. :D

My entire family is now taking part with me. :D


Watch for those Fatty culprits!! Like those little "low in fat" snacks, condements, treats...
(e.g.) Read the Nutritional label! Just because it says low in fat doesn't mean you can gobble down a whole bag of Crispy Mini's... an entire bag contains approximagely 10 grams of fat!! The Nutritional value says that for 8 chips, you're getting 1.5 grams of fat. Eat 8 chips... if you're still hungry go hunt down some fruit/veggies.

Treats are a treat for a reason... they're to reward yourself for doign well, not to consume as a meal. :D

Low Fat Mayonaise (Hellmans). Just because it's low fat doesn't mean it's not going to hurt you if you GLOB it onto your sandwiches... 1 tbsp of Low Fat Hellmans Mayonaise is 5.1 grams of fat. :D Like Mayo with your Chicken; don't want the fat but all the taste? Try Salsa!You could eat an entire jar of salsa and not gain weight!

Fish: Fish fats are hard to count, because this kind of fat is actually good for you. Stick with 1 fillet.. add some grilled or boiled shrimp (fat free... GRILLED not fried)

Substitute Fried foods for grilled. Grilled Chicken breast is excellent! Don't have a bbq? Try saving up for a George Forman grill, I even have a George Forman Rotissary! (Can be any kind of grill that will allow the fat to drip out when cooking). Grilled fish is good, Grilled shrimp is AWESOME!

BBQ'ed Garlic and Herb Shrimp ... peel 1 lb of raw shrimp. Rinse it out in cold water and blot dry with paper towel. Now put it into a sealable dish, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and sprinkle some garlic and herb seasoning on it... seal and shake. Let it sit covered for 30minutes to an hour on the counter... if longer than keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Put them on skewers *soak wooden skewers for at least 30 min prior* and bbq). NO FAT!!! NONE! you can eat as much of this as you like!! Olive oil has GOOD fat. :D

I think its great that you are motivated to do well on your plan. I don't necessarily agree that "low fat" is the most effective plan. You have to remember that if you reduce any macronutrient (whether it be fat, carbs, or protein) you are by default increasing the others. So when you reduce fat intake too drastically, you typically consume too much protein and too many carbs. That's not good either.

It is perfectly acceptable to consume up to 30% of your daily calories as fat, although I typically recommend 25%. A diet like this, combined with other strategies will still result in weight loss. Of course it is important to consume the "good fats" - these are the poly- and mono-unsaturated fats, and limit the saturated fats as much as possible. Omit tranfats from the diet entirely. It is okay to consume real butter, cheese, and lean meat in moderation. Also, Olive and Canola oils are excellent to cook with and use on salads.

One of the biggest mistakes dieters make is eating a carb-heavy breakfast without approprate amounts of protein and fat. The body cannot function properly on a bowl of fruit or some cereal with milk. A more balanced breakfast that includes 25-30% of calories from protein would help sustain you until the next meal or snack and help to reduce hunger and cravings.

I also recommend omitting all chemical additives and preservatives. Believe it or not, this will have a greater impact on your blood cholesterol levels and fat burning ability than reducing fat from your diet. It really will. The reason? The liver is the body's control center for fat metabolism. But the liver is also responsible for detoxification, in other words excreting all of garbage you consume that you cannot metabolize (including chemical additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, medications, alcohol, etc). When the liver is burdened with detox, it becomes less efficient with fat metabolism.

I guarantee that cleaning up your diet by omiiting all unnatural ingredients will naturally lower lipids and lead to more efficient fat burning. I know its hard to believe, but its true.

So you're saying that I'm still eating too much??


If you read through my information properly, you would see that what I had was perfectly acceptable. I'm saying NOT to eat the bad fats but stick with the good ones. I'm not talking about a NO fat diet, but a LOW fat diet.

This was given to me from a body builder/personal trainer who is also a Nutritional expert (she has had 4 years of schooling in this).

The reason why I cut out milk/butter etc... is because I don't particularly like milk products... I'll drink a glass of skim milk or eat other items high in calcium

I agree though that you could cut out all unnatural stuff (100% juices instead of "diet" sodas... etc)

I work full time, so it's hard to have a varied diet... I stick to things that will be easy to prepare/eat at work. People at home can have a more varied diet.

tamaralynn, All I am saying is that its better to eat a balanced diet - this leads to a more efficient metabolism. It doesn't matter if you work, travel, or stay at home - it IS possible to balance your ratios of carbs, fat, and protein.

I typically recommend a diet that consists of 50% carbs, 25% fat, and 25% protein (although some people do better with slightly different ratios) - but these ratios should be maintained at the meal level, and actual calorie consumption should be based on your body's specific fuel needs. It is also recommended to eat more often than 3 meals per day - adding 2 snacks helps, but some people do better with 5 equal meals or 3 meals and 3 snacks. Your body greatly benefits by eating at least every 3 hours that you are awake, regardless of how late it gets.

I did not, nor could I possibly tell you that you are eating too much or too little - because I do not know what your caloric needs are, but I am saying that in your menu I see a breakfast that is carb-heavy (not in volume, but in percentage of calories), and a dinner that is protein-heavy.

There are some people who believe that you should eat carbs early in the day and taper them off as the day progresses. It sounds like your trainer incorporated this strategy into your plan. I am not criticizing her, it's simply a different approach. There really is no evidence that this is an effective strategy or that your body benefits from this in any way. On the other hand, there is evidence that eating balanced meals and snacks throughout the day helps to strengthen metabolism and restore overall health. By this I mean that reasonable quanities of all macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat) should be included in each meal and snack.

Its probably also important to point out that body building strategies are quite different from weight loss strategies. Body building strategies are designed to increase weight by increasing lean muscle mass... it is NOT technically possible to do this while losing weight. Weight loss is an erosive process - you burn fat and mucle mass to accomplish the goal. The most effective weight loss strategy attempts to burn more fat than muscle, but loss of both is ultimately inevitable.

I am not criticizing you, I am simply offering suggestions that will help you and many others. After all, that's why we are here, right?

Thanks :D (sorry didn't mean to come off sounding rude)