Conference rocks::weight_control

One gram of fat has 9 calories, whether the source of the fat is butter
or margarine.

One tsp of butter or (regular) margarine has about 5 grams of fat, that
is, 45 calories (all of which come from fat.)

One pat of butter = 1 tsp = 5 grams = 45 calories.

Some low calorie spreads have fewer calories/grams per tsp, because they
"fill" the margarine with water or other fillers.  Whipped butter or
marg also has fewer calories per tsp because air is used as a filler.
Country Crock is one example of that.  

Up here at ZK, in addition to the standard 1 tsp pat of butter they 
also have tiny tubs of Promise, which I believe is regular margarine.
A tub is, I think, 1/2 tsp, ie: 2.5 grams of fat.

D!

    Thanks D!  That is exactly what I wanted to know, and more!!
    

    In my opinion, anyone on a diet should avoid:
    
    Butter
    peanut butter
    oil
    cereals with sugar and high fat
    saccarin or/and aspartame
    sauces
    mayonnaise (unless it's nonfat)
    
    Substitute with:
    
    apple sauce
    no sugar jam spreads
    rice cakes with frozen yogurt is an excellent snack
    Eye of round steak (fat cut off) has the least amount of fat/ounce
    

    I count fat grams, and try to stay between 20 and 40 on a given day (40
    if I feel like splurging a bit, but mostly I try not to go above 20
    --I'm trying to lose the last 10-15 pounds, and it is tough!).
    
    I see no reason why I can't enjoy a teaspoon of butter on my bagel if I
    count it toward my total fat intake for the day.  Plus, by eating it
    first thing in the morning, it will probably burn off faster than if I
    ate it at night.  I exercise regularly, at least 6 days/week.
    

    >    In my opinion, anyone on a diet should avoid:
    
    In my opinion, people shouldn't diet.  People should try to lose weight
    by modifying their eating habits, which means eating *less* fat, not
    *no* fat.  A non-fat diet is virtually unmaintainable.  A lo-fat diet
    is something I, at least, can live with for the rest of my life.
    
    I eat aprx 30-45 grams of fat a day.  If I want to have those fats as
    butter, peanut butter, oil, nuts, mayonnaise or salad dressing, I will.
    
    As for avoiding sacharinne or asparatame, I do so, for my own reasons,
    but I see no reason why you should be advocating it to *others* - it
    certainly doesn't inhibit weight loss.
    
    In my opinion, people should not advocate extreme measures for other
    people, because what works for one person won't necessarily work for
    others.
    
    D!, unrepentent fat-eater
    
    PS: "Sauces"?!?!  Why "sauces"?  Anyone who thinks sauces are fattening
    hasn't tried my wonderful fat-free Marinara or Tandoori/Masala sauce...

    BTW: a good way to reduce the fat in cakes or biscuits is to use banana
    instead.
    
    First saw this in Runners World and it's great.

    I do that with muffins all the time.  Do you mean "biscuits" in the
    English (cookies) or American (bread-like pastries for serving with
    red-eye gravy)?  If the latter, can you post a recipe?  I'd love to
    make fat free biscuits.
    
    Diana

    Sorry, I'm talking shortbreak and other english-style biccies here.

    To each his own I guess.  I'll stick to my eating habits.  Everyone
    is different, as you say.
    
    B

    I have a question that is kind of related to this topic...

    I was curious about fat free mayo.  It appears to me that they
    replaced the hydrogenated soybean oil with something called
    cellulose gum.  Is fat free mayo actually fat free?

    My reason for asking is, that in the past, I noticed on the 
    so-called fat free salad dressings they contained hydrogenated
    soybean oil and still claimed fat=0gm.  Soybean oil is not fat 
    free no matter how you slice it!  Today, at the store, I noticed 
    the fat free dressing contains cellulose gum too?

    thanks for the info,
    michael

    re .10
    
    Are you sure the dressings that contained oil were said to be *fat*
    free -- or was it cholesterol free?  Many fats contain no cholesterol.
    
    -ellie

    re .11

    Hi Ellie,

    Funny you should mention that.  I tried calling Kraft on their 800#
    to ask how they could say there dressing had zero grams of fat when
    it contained soybean oil, and they said they were actually stating 
    that the dressing had no "cholesterol fat grams" in the product.  I
    found that misleading, but it is still true...sorta.

    I have now noticed that most of the fat free products I use have no 
    oil but rather cellulose gum instead.

    michael

.10> My reason for asking is, that in the past, I noticed on the 
.10> so-called fat free salad dressings they contained hydrogenated
.10> soybean oil and still claimed fat=0gm.  Soybean oil is not fat 
    
    I think you're confusing cholesterol-free with fat-free.
    
    Hydrogenated soybean oil is digestible fat, but because it's a
    plant fat, it has no cholesterol, and that's probably what was 
    advertised on the label (and on the back as 0gm).

    And by the way, cellulose gum is not a fat.

    
    Kraft non-fat dressing does not contain soybean oil.
    Not good either.

    What *is* cellulose gum?  Is it digestible, and if so, are the calories
    carbo or protein?
    
    D!

    re: the "fat free salad dressing"
    
    I see that some salad dressings are advertised as "saturated fat free."
    
    That's probably what you saw, not "fat free."

    I have rice cake here that are "fat free" eventhough soybean oil is
    listed in the ingredients.  I think that is because the term "fat free"
    means less than a certain amount of fat - maybe less than .5g per
    serving? - and that if it has less than that amount of oil they can use
    that term.  So perhaps there is so little oil in the product that it
    qualifies as "fat free".
    
    Diana

    re: all
    
    Thanks for the responses.  I guess the best way to know it is "fat
    free" is to make it yourself.  I have managed to get used to using
    rice vineger as a dressing for salad, and really do not use the
    fat free mayo often enough to worry a whole lot...I just get tired
    of dry tuna and the fat free mayo was a nice way to snap it up to
    tuna salad.
    
    michael

    You could always look at the nutrition label...
    
    BTW, nothing is totally, 100% completely fat free.  All living
    organisms require fat to survive.  If it was once alive, it has fat. 
    But some things (like, say, lettuce) contain SO LITTLE fat as to be
    "fat free" reasonably speaking.  Read carefully - if something really
    claims to be "fat free" then it has so little fat as to be negligible
    (such as fat free mayo, and fat free rice cakes.)
    
    As for salad topping, try balsamic vinegar - richer flavor than rice
    vinegar.  Mix it with some herbs and fat-free [ :-) ] yogurt for a
    creamier sort of dressing.
    
    Diana

    re .19
    
    Michael,
    
    I eat a lot of tuna sandwiches for lunch (weight watchers) and
    also try to stay away from mayo.  I usually use a small pita
    bread, split it open, spread on a little mustard on one side 
    (there are lots of different kinds!), spread a little relish
    on the other, and the dry tuna goes in the middle.  It sounds 
    weird - mustard/relish/tuna - but it's really quite good and
    you can vary it many ways with different mustards and relishes.
    
    Conni

    Thanks Conni,

    I think your idea sounds great!  I have rolled tuna up in a
    flour tortilla with mustard, but the pita sounds better.

    Here is one:

    		1 can tuna (drained)
    	      	apprx. 1 cup corn flakes (more if you like)
    		1 or 2 egg whites (more whites = more moist)
    		squirt of lemon juice
    		salt/pepper to taste

    		mix all, form into thin patties, fry till crispy 
    		brown with spray-on oil or just enough margarine 
    		to keep the things from sticking to the pan...I 
    		like them with ketchup!
    
    michael

    
    
    Could anyone tell me what's cal/fat count in syrian/armenian string 
    cheese? Those imported kinds of cheese as a rule don't have
    info on the back of the package.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Liza

    If it's a whole milk cheese, between 8 and 10 grams of fat per ounce.
    
    And about 50% of the calories from fat.