real cream vs. fat-free half and half

[Poohbear5]

At a gathering recently, over a cup of coffee there was a discussion about real cream being healthier than fat-free half and half for coffee.

They read the ingredients off the fat-free 1/2 and 1/2 (which I use in my morning coffee) and most were in agreement that real cream is ultimately better for someone on a weight loss program because the 1/2 and 1/2 had sweetners in it.

Any thoughts?

Is the fat better than the sugar??
I def. use more FF to get the right color in the coffee, so the amount of calories is probably about the same.

 

[ohMom]

there is definately a school of thought that sweetners ultimately will make you crave more sweetness. that said, i still like my splenda but i'm a sugar-addict too. i used to buy FF flavored creamers than I realized that I use less if I use the regular-flavored b/c it's richer and the fat contents of a tablespoon or so, I decided was insignificant. that just my opinion thought

 

[Poohbear5]

Thanks.
I stood in front of the ice cream section this weekend at the grocery, agonizing over Sugar free or fat free ice cream!

 

[ohMom]

what did you decide? ice cream is a different matter for me b/c i have a very hard time with portion control! i'll get the light varities.

 

[Poohbear5]

I went with the low-fat pumpkin. It was yummy! A 1/2 cup is a serving size so I double it and put it in an 8 ounce coffee cup.

 

[Dancind]

Depends if you are low fat or low carb. Atkins dieters eat more fat, but avoid sugar like the plague. Low fat dieters don't worry about sugar, but obviously worry about fat grams. You kind of have to decide which way you're going, because combining the two is a very bad idea!

 

[goodeats]

Fat free half and half (which is just an oxy moron - how can half and half be fat free?) has a lot of chemicals and is way processed. I've recently lost 10 stubborn pounds by moving to whole unprocessed foods - preferably organic. It doesn't have to be cream either, why not skim milk or even whole milk or even real half and half?

Your body doesn't know what to do with all those chemicals and frankenfoods. It works much better (and will drop weight more easily) by eating real foods.

 

[bicker]

I think all the paranoia that some media outlets and some physicians foster, with regard to natural versus artificial, is bunk - most of it I suspect falls into one of three categories: Someone making money off of one perspective versus the other; someone making money off of having a perspective; and someone repeating someone else's perspective that they decided to believe.

By the same token, there are things we actually do have reason to know, such as the fact that sweetness, beside the calories it may or may not have, does have a psychological effect on people, causing them to eat more than they would have.

We also know that there is another relevant psychological effect: People using low-fat products tend to consume more than their full-fat counter-parts - the "it's low-fat so it's healthy" rationalization.

While a lot of what you hear and read with regard to "real" versus "low-fat" is just someone's religion (and not necessarily coming first-hand from the definitive, unequivocal scientific research of the person telling you what they're telling you), there are some good, solid reasons to consider making the switch away from low-fat foods.

 

[rubato]

In my opinion, it's all about the calories. Since calories are what our bodies use for fuel, this is what we should be measuring. So, if the fat free is higher in calories, which can be the case due to sweeteners, I would go for the sugar free or low sugar option in anything. I will take a lower calorie, higher fat food anyday.

 

[Poohbear5]

I ended up switching to real cream instead of the fat free half and half. I've been using a fraction of what I used for FF, there fore using less calories.

Trying to get geared up for the annual new year's resolution! This WILL be the year!!