Support for low-fat high-fiber diet

roseg · November 2005

Theresa - Does you Mom cook with butter? The basics of T-day are low fat but by the time it all gets cooked and seasoned forget it!

My tact is: one helping, absolutely avoid stuffing which is good but loaded with fat, only eat stuff you really like, and go for a walk before you start eatting.

You get presented with so much food, if you've got to eat mindlessly then do it with celery or carrots. Everybody puts cheese and crackers out beforehand, which is really high-fat. I don't even like cheese that much, why should I waste my allocation on that? Desserts are another matter. If I'm going to over-do I'd rather it was sweet, but not store-bought cookies. It needs to be good.

CG - I'm printing those soups off to try!

wilsontp · November 2005

My Mom ended up in a study with the Women's Health Initiative after she retired 5-10 years ago. They had her go onto a low-fat diet. (Mind you, she doesn't watch calories, fiber or anything else, except fat including her weight. Yet they limited her to 15-20 grams of fat a day. This could be her take, though.)

So, she uses strange things, but since I'll be there she'll try to avoid soy and EVERYTHING she substitutes for butter/margarine is loaded with soy.

Plus my sisters will be there, so they'll try to liven her food up a bit. Should be interesting, to say the least.

I'll have to try some of those soups. I'm not normally a big soup eater, but keep thinking I should try.

--Theresa

Anonymous · November 2005

getting down to grams...
are we taking about total fat or saturated fat?

shhesh i don't think i could do 15 to 20 total fat...doing okay at 30 to 36 but...ouch!

wonderful dinner theresa, congrats on getting the low fat party started again!

rosemary read your outline on another thread and hats off to you...

i love the technicolor angle to a good diet. how many colors can you get on a plate each meal?

after chemo, i said i was going to have five colors at every meal...well, i don't make that every meal for sure...but can always get in at least three...
green, yellow, red, blue orange, purple...

laura

wilsontp · November 2005

Total fat. Yeah. So, she removes the fat and much of the flavor.

--Theresa

Rosemary44 · November 2005

Laura,

It's total fats, we aren't eating any saturated fats.. heaven forbid. Actually, we are keeping the saturated fats to under 7% and no trans fats. It's suppose to be a percentage of our calories. I've read that we can do either 20 or 30% fats. I had to re-read that a few times, 20% of our calories can come from fats!?! Isn't that a awful lot of fats??? I know we need to eat the right fats or we'll go brain dead, but that seems like a lot. Maybe I'm still reading it wrong. Thanks for the hats off.

AldenRose · November 2005

This is my first time reading this thread and I didn't see my breakfast cereal mentioned. It's called "Uncle Sam" cereal. It's a whole grain wheat cereal w/ flax seeds and it has 10g dietary fiber and <1g sugar. I eat it almost every morning w/ organic skim milk & a banana. I think it's great!

roseg · November 2005

I've never seen that cereal. Is it a national brand?

I find it way easier to hit close to the 30g of fiber than the 20g of fat. It's too bad one doesn't compensate for the other.

AldenRose · November 2005

I don't know if it is now that I'm looking at the box. It's made by U.S. Mills distributed from Needham, MA. I live in Maine so maybe it's a New England thing? My local grocery store has a "nature section" and that's where I find it. The box says Uncle Sam cereal since 1908 -- you'd think it would be national after all that time!

I agree with you that it is much easier to get in the fiber than to do w/ out the fat. I tend to eat better throughout the day though if I start off w/ a high fiber breakfast. Keeping the fat grams low still remains a challenge.

prayer · November 2005

does anyone know how many grams of fat we should have in a day?

Sphynx · November 2005

I had to look up their web site and they give a store locater:
http://www.usmillsinc.com/usmills/store_locator.php It says it is at Kroger and Meijer's. I'll have to look for it.

I saw Linda's post above about Earth Balance butter and looked that up also:
http://www.earthbalance.net/

It has soy oil. Damn.

If you are looking for a sugar substitute, try Stevia. It is good to sprinkle on fruit but I have never cooked with it. It is expensive so, I can't see opening up all these little packets to get a 1/4 cup or whatever. I get it at General Nutrition in Michigan.

Double Damn, I just looked up Stevia and it has all sorts of health cautions.

Ok - never mind.

Anonymous · November 2005

r -
this is the study
that i am basing my fat grams on...
...For their study, he and his colleagues recruited nearly 2,500 postmenopausal women (ages 48-79) who had been treated for early-stage breast cancer with surgery and standard follow-up care (such as radiation, tamoxifen, or chemotherapy). Of this group, they randomly assigned 975 women to eat a low-fat diet -- about 33 grams of fat daily...."
i bet your stellar diet fits in just fine...

laura

Anonymous · November 2005

from dr. love's site...
excellent read on low fat diet and exercise
Low-Fat Diet and Exercise May Reduce Risk of a Breast Cancer Recurrence

I agree the fiber part is easier than giving up the fat grams...

But all in all, with the exercise, low fat/high fiber diet, sitting here one year and one day away from dx, and the bilat mast w/recon, ac/t chemo that followed...

I feel better now than at dx...There is a lot to be said for quality in life:)

Keep on keepin on!

Laura

roseg · November 2005

I'll look for it next time I'm at the store. I'm always looking for better 'cardboard' to eat.

I have a baked goods weakness. There are incrediable amounts of fat in seemingly healthy things you buy. I try to pack lunch and that helps me limit my portions. I only eat what I bring.

cowgirl · November 2005

Yummm Cardboard! I ate my life cereal this morning and cheered you all! So glad more have read this thread! We need more to suffer with.

I am fine if I have olive oil, somehow that satisfies me. I still crave avocados though!

Once you read labels I am so surprised how much salt, sugar and the serving sizes are. I never paid attention before.

Stevia I have heard of, but have never tried.

Laura I was so healthy before dx, I am trying to get back there. I do think fiber is the key and then somehow the fat becomes acheivable. I think if you start with the fat alone you will be very hard to satisfy. Fiber is the filler, and at first I needed a lot of filler. That is what we keep tell the goats you only need filler not real food. They think the idea stinks!

cowgirl · November 2005

Theresa you don't have to eat soup! I just do it because I cook one pot and get all my veggies in a meal I need. I am super lazy at times!

wilsontp · November 2005

Prayer,

I don't know if your question got answered. The average American eats about 50 g a day. For a low-fat diet, you should be eating about 17-20% of your calories in fat. (Each fat gram is 9 calories.) You are also supposed to watch the saturated fat. That should be as low as possible.

--Theresa

cowgirl · November 2005

Thanks Theresa for answering that! I think it is important to note we all need fat, it makes our body burn fuel so you never eat a no fat diet, you will not lose at all.

roseg · November 2005

All right - CONFESS.

I had pumpkin and apple pie with pumpkin and lemon/ginger ice cream.

However I also had carrots, green beans, pearl onions, and sweet potatoes - with nary a cream sauce.

cowgirl · November 2005

I would like to confess my sugar intake for yesterday but it was way over the point limit. I remember 4 cookies and a piece of pie, which is really bad because I had a full meal before it!

Sawen · November 2005

HELP! I am having a colonoskapy (sp?) and need to drink only clear liquids two days before! I can't even go a couple of hours without eating something. How can I fight off the hungry gremlins?

Sawen

cowgirl · November 2005

Sawen, you just have to do it! Once you get started you will get very full and a bit sick so food won't seem important!

roseg · November 2005

When I had a D&C two weeks ago I couldn't eat until late in the day and I thought that was the hardest part. Be thankful you get liquids!

Can you drink coffee during this time? I can go a long time on caffeine. Otherwise I think I'd try heated liquids. They're comforting.

I thought they gave you some evil stuff for the prep that keeps you close to the commode?

ginger2345 · November 2005

Sawan,

I wonder if your colonoscopy is scheduled late in the second day. Usually you don't have to go without that long. I was able to drink clear liquid or even colored liquids as long as they weren't a shade of red until just before the procedure. Also I remember eating non-red jellos (not great, but something) for a while. I could have had my colonoscopy scheduled for early in the morning, but to fit it in when I wanted it, I had a 1pm procedure, so didn't get to eat until later than I could have if scheduled earlier.

I did mine without any sedative and went back to my desk and snacked all afterrnoon. Lots of people do this and you can too! Hang in there! And the more you adhere to the instructions, the cleaner your colon and the more thorough the test and results. Good luck. Ginger

cowgirl · November 2005

I think you can have coffee but I can't remember if you can creamer in it! I know you can have all the soda you want, so that helps to fill you up.

ginger2345 · November 2005

Sawen,

I think the sodas had to be clear like 7up and I don't know that I could have coffee either. You should check the instructions you're given for the details and if nothing is specified call the GI office and talk to a nurse about exactly what they want you to have. Different GI guysgals might have different instructions, check with yours. Ginger

wilsontp · November 2005

Rose,

I blew the whole low-fat high fiber thing for Thanksgiving. However, I figure it only happens once per year. The turtle pie and pumpkin cheese cake were probably the worse sins!

--Theresa

cowgirl · November 2005

Theresa you can get right back into it! It is only one day, which in the long run won't matter!

Really glad someone else ate naughty food!

roseg · November 2005

Theresa - at least you blew it for something good. Turtle pie and pumpkin cheese cake ring my bells. Any choclate sauce on that cheese cake?

I'd reheated the stuffing twice over the weekend and decided I'd had it with that so out it went.

My skin is so nice and smooth from all the sweet potatoes and pumpkin. I can really tell a difference when I eat a lot of orange stuff.

We'll all be good until Christmas!

Anonymous · November 2005

like a good friend...that's how i thought about the lowfat/fiber diet this morning as i climbed back on...

had surgery wednesday with new implant (to replace infection removal one, five weeks ago) and replacement of other one...

stayed off diet for the rest of the week, enjoying the holiday and a little vacation...

but, back to it now...

hoping everyone is enjoying the holiday season with good diet and minimal guilt when those goodies are just too good to pass up...
quality of life??

enjoy lots of good food!
laura

wilsontp · November 2005

Laura,

Did the surgery go smoothly? How are you feeling?

I'm not going to give up life for the diet, but ...

I have to admit it did feel good to return to it today. I'll go off it again closer to Christmas.

Rose - no chocolate sauce, but the turtle pie was sooo rich and chocolately that it wasn't needed on the cheesecake. I didn't even eat the pies I made!

--Theresa

Support for low-fat high-fiber diet

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