dairy - full-fat vs low-fat?

[Osaid]

8 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

@Osaid thank you for sharing your perspective:)

Welcome

[PsychedelicEagle]

@Judy2 Regarding body image: Have you tried gaining muscle? It has the benefit of allowing one's body shape to look better with the same amount of fat. If you're trying to balance too-low body fat vs health, you can maybe achieve the looks you want with higher body fat and higher muscle mass.

Not to mention all the other benefits of muscle mass such as glucose control, burning more calories, etc.

[Judy2]

@PsychedelicEagle yes i've gained a lot of muscle mass since last year but i've also gained body fat. if i just went on a cut, i'd look alright, but idk how to go on a cut without harming my mental health and i wouldn't know how to eat sustainably after that, either. i am not sure if counting calories works for me. i know exactly how to do it but things could tip over very quickly and feel more harmful than helpful and make me very anxious around food.

Edited 1 hour ago by Judy2

[PsychedelicEagle]

I see. Quick tips I can give, as someone who maintains 12-13% BF year-round as a male:

1. Increase fiber intake — from whole foods, not supplements. Try to go as high as you can. Fiber will fill you up as well as slow down digestion and feed the gut microbes, improving mood, wellbeing, etc. Ramp up fiber slowly over days & weeks.
2. Increase unprocessed foods. This is adjacent to fiber, because unprocessed foods will be as satiating while having less available calories. E.g., eat 100g of nut butter and you absorb 100% of the caloric intake. Eat 100g of nuts and you absorb 70-80% of it. The key is to eat as much whole as possible.
3. Increase fruit intake. Avoid as much as possible protein bars and most of these processed crap. The labels are often significantly misleading. Use fruits as snacks.

Edited 58 minutes ago by PsychedelicEagle

[PsychedelicEagle]

My average fiber intake is 108g/day. Here is the breakdown of the top sources. Of course, each person is different, but just to give you an idea of foods you could incorporate in your diet.

[Judy2]

1 minute ago, PsychedelicEagle said:

I see. Quick tips I can give, as someone who maintains around 12-13% BF year round as a male:

1. Increase fiber intake — from whole foods, not supplements. Try to go as high as you can. Fiber will fill you up as well as slow down digestion and feed the gut microbes, improving mood, wellbeing, etc. Ramp up fiber slowly over days & weeks.
2. Increase unprocessed foods. This is adjacent to fiber, because unprocessed foods will be as satiating while having less available calories. E.g., eat 100g of nut butter and you absorb 100% of the caloric intake. Eat 100g of nuts and you absorb 70-80% of it. The key is to eat as much whole as possible.
3. Increase fruit intake. Avoid as much as possible protein bars and most of these processed crap. The labels are often significantly misleading. Use fruits as snacks.

yes, i actually made a commitment to cut out protein bars a couple days ago:)

i already eat a lot of fibre and fruit, maybe even too much. 

[Judy2]

1 minute ago, PsychedelicEagle said:

My average fiber intake is 108g/day. Here is the breakdown of the top sources. Of course, each person is different, but just to give you an idea of foods you could incorporate in your diet.

that is crazy. aren't you super bloated? 

 

do you live in Germany? Alnatura's the best:)

[PsychedelicEagle]

 

4 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

that is crazy. aren't you super bloated? 

Not at all. The body gets used to it. There is evidence that humans historically consumed 50-150g fiber/day. Our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees, consume ~200g/day. Take this number and compare to the average western intake of under 20g and you'll that what's crazy is what people do nowaways.

4 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

do you live in Germany? Alnatura's the best:)

I live in Switzerland. Wbu? Yea, Alnatura rocks! 

[Judy2]

4 minutes ago, PsychedelicEagle said:

 

Not at all. The body gets used to it. There is evidence that humans historically consumed 50-150g fiber/day. Our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees, consume ~200g/day. Take this number and compare to the average western intake of under 20g and you'll that what's crazy is what people do nowaways.

I live in Switzerland. Wbu? Yea, Alnatura rocks! 

i do experience a lot of bloating, though. any guesses why this could be, aside from the sucralose lol?

Germany:)

[PsychedelicEagle]

I don't have a lot of experience with modifying bloating symptoms TBH. When I started eating the diet that I currently do, I would sometimes feel quite bloated. I pushed through it and it eventually went away — not necessarily suggesting this will work for everyone.

It could be the composition of your gut microbiota. As you start increasing fiber intake, the microbes will have more food, and if you have too-much of a given type of microbes that can translate to bloating. However, as you maintain a high fiber intake with minimally processed foods and minimal additives, that should help restore equilibrium over weeks.

There seems to be evidence that sucralose can affect the gut microbiome. I would try to avoid it.

[PsychedelicEagle]

9 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

Germany:)

Nice! Neighbor

[PsychedelicEagle]

Btw, one thing you can do to increase your fiber intake is to make your own, whole soymilk. I use a machine named DOMO DO716BL. You can buy dried soybeans, soak for 12h, then put in the machine and boom — ready to drink, whole soymilk. No need to strain as that will remove fiber.