Diet and Sugar Free Foods

[x4achange 3]

I was just wondering, if anyone preferr to use regular mayo instead of lite. Regular ice tea instead of diet. sugar instead of the fake stuff. Is the only difference is in the calories and carbs? Are diet and low fat products "overly" sweet to anyone. Has any of the more experienced sleevers stop using diet products and found they are maintaining or loosing weight?

This is all new to me and I've never been a diet or low fat eater. This is a little challenging.

[Roseib 13]

I use real mayo since I use so little of it. I'm more afraid of sugar than of fat. I do use stevia not sugar to sweeten herbal tea, when I need a sweetener. I don't usually eat anything that calls for sugar, so can't help you there.

[Adri 40]

I use regular mayo and low fat dairy products. I stay away from sugar like the plague. Carbs are my enemy and also because I am diabetic. Sugar is high in calories and has NO nutritional value. At least good fats like olive oils can actually help your cholesterol.

My go-to sweetener is splenda. I have been trying agave nectar as well because it is low glycemic, but I use it rarely.

[RickM 1,747]

I guess that, other than dairy, I would say that I don't use much of them, but then I don't use a lot of products that have SF or low fat alternatives. My basic essentials are skim milk and nonfat greek yogurt. I avoid things that are intensely artificially sweetened since they tend to have too much of the fake sugar quality about them. I don't drink much tea anymore since we're not drinking with meals, but when I did, I usually used the Equal or Splenda provided; if only saccarin was available then I used regular sugar, but I was never sweetening to the extent of most of the pre-packaged sweetened teas. The yogurt use is a blend of real and fake sweetener - I'm not fond of plain yogurt, but most of the commercially flavored yogurts are too sweet for my taste, and other than Trader Joes, the only nonfat flavored yogurts I find at the markets are all artificially sweetened, and too intensely fake sweetened at that. I make a blend of plain and (real) sweetened vanilla nonfat greek yogurts (3 to 1 ratio these days, down from 2 to 1) with some vanilla extract and Splenda or stevia added to taste, and that works well for me.

I think that the mayo, or miracle whip or whatever we have is the light version, but I haven't used any of it since surgery. I do use the lower fat salad dressings generally, but don't agonize over it at restaurants - I generally get what I prefer rather than forcing myself into their token lowcal offering (unless that one is to my liking to start with) and get it served on the side since I prefer my salads on the drier side, at least relative to the places the glop on lots of dressing.

The only other place where I use a marketed SF version is with the SF puddings - that knocks about 2/3 of the calories out of the mix, and leaves lots of room to boost the nutritional value of it by adding some Protein powder and greek yogurt to the mix. This brings the Protein count up into the 11-12g per half cup serving with about 100 calories, which is a pretty good trade off, and has enough complexity to its flavor blend that the SF aspect of it isn't noticed, but the missing 70 calories is useful at the end of the day, either by keeping the daily caloric total in check or by adding some other essential nutrition to the daily score.

In short, I seek high nutritional density while minimizing energy (caloric) density within the bounds of sane taste. I have been adapting/evolving my tastes and preferences for several years to this end, and the surgery has now helped drop the volume to the point where I can actually lose again. I want to continue to keep the fats (saturated fats in particular) and simple carbs under control for the long term and not get into the "I'm having so little that it doesn't matter" mindset as overall calories and good dietary (and exercise) habits are essential in the long run to keeping the weight off once it has been lost. As with the bands and RNY, weight regain is going to be the major long term challenge for many of us VSGers, even if most are still in the honeymoon phase and don't realize it yet.

[RickM 1,747]

deleted (wrong button again...)

[Caliblonde 25]

I honestly haven't worried at all about using regular versus sugar free/low fat/fat free. I actually switched from skim milk to 1% because when I looked at the Protein 1% has more Protein than skim. I use regular mayo/miracle whip just not much of it. I eat whatever cheese I happen to buy - sometimes regular sometimes 2%. I try to stay away from sugar in general, and I use equal mostly. I will eat sweets on very rare occasions.

I don't really pay too much attention to my caloric intake at all because I know I'm not eating anywhere close to 1000 calories per day. Once my food intake starts creeping up I'll pay a little more attention just to make sure I'm not overdoing it.

[Disney 20]

Actually, a lot of the 'low/no fat' foods are higher in calories to make up for the lack of flavor when they cut out the fat. As far as sugar goes, that is the only way I can tolerate food/drinks is with real sugar. I just can't stomach the taste of artificial anything and have been that way my whole life, not just since surgery. Carbs do trip up some people's weight loss and can cause cravings, but studies have also been done (just google it) about splenda, and other sweeteners triggering cravings also. Just do what works for you. You can try it and see if it affects your weight loss. It has not hurt my weight loss at all, but everyone is different and it's a trial and error thing. Good luck to you!

[RickM 1,747]

Actually, a lot of the 'low/no fat' foods are higher in calories to make up for the lack of flavor when they cut out the fat. As far as sugar goes, that is the only way I can tolerate food/drinks is with real sugar. I just can't stomach the taste of artificial anything and have been that way my whole life, not just since surgery. Carbs do trip up some people's weight loss and can cause cravings, but studies have also been done (just google it) about splenda, and other sweeteners triggering cravings also. Just do what works for you. You can try it and see if it affects your weight loss. It has not hurt my weight loss at all, but everyone is different and it's a trial and error thing. Good luck to you!

Yeah, that's right. The findings, IIRC, are that the fake sugars trigger the same insulin response as the real stuff, so they may cut some of the calories, but they aren't necessarily an effective substitute for diabetic issues. They're one of those things that I use selectively - they work in some things that aren't overly dependent on added sweetness, or I blend them with the real thing where appropriate. The whole grain waffles I used to make (off the menu since surgery, but will probably be back on once in maintenance mode since they do have a useful nutritional contribution) used agave nectar because it worked well in the recipe that I had evolved and the caloric impact was negligible with the amount used.

And, indeed, you have to look at the labels and any other info you can - some of the "lighter" fare has some positive impact on the caloric count while some aren't worth the trouble. I usually use the lower fat cheeses because they often have an extra gram of Protein in them along with the moderatly reduced fat/calorie count; however cooking with them doesn't work as well so I tend to use regular versions for those applications. On the milk front, I evolved into using skim milk years ago, but will use the higher fat milks sometimes if they're appropriate for the use. The fuller milks do have a bit more Protein in them, but not enough to make up for thier higher fat/calories on a nutritional basis - I can add a couple extra ounces to the cup of skim milk to even out the protein if needed (which it rarely is in my case,) and still be down 30 calories vs. the 2% variety, but that's just me (sorry, my brain has been in optimization mode for too long!)

[emily_0192010 168]

When I started my PSWL I was told I had to go low-carb (under 30 g per day). When I went to the store I realized that all of the "light" or "free" type of products had MORE carbs in them then the regular. So I go with the regular products. As for artificial sweeteners, I never really used regular sugar either, but when I do need to add sugar to something I always go for the regular sugar and just take the carb hit. Pretty much the only time this is the case is when I have coffee, which isn't often. I can definitely taste the difference and I just don't like the artificial stuff.