New "Swanker" - need some help

[LibbyA]

Hello All: I am newly (and officially) diagnosed, 01/02/14. Nice start to a new year But, I knew it was coming; two weeks before Christmas I was admitted to the hospital with double-vision and after several MRI's and a spinal tap, it all unraveled after that. So the shock has diminished a little bit

Anyhow, for the last several weeks, I've been doing a lot of research. I want to start the Swank Diet but I have a question

It says that you're allowed to have 15 grams of saturated fat daily...so for example, if I know I'm going out to a restaurant and want to have a dessert, and the dessert has 2.5 grams of saturated fat, is that allowable? The reason I ask is because the diet says that "pastry, cakes, pies or any other product made with hydrogenated palm or coconut oil, lard, butter, ..." should be avoided. So, is it allowed if it's within the 15 grams or is it not allowed because of simply what it is composed of??

Same questions (sort of), a slice of cheese pizza has 6 grams of saturated fat, is this ok as long as it's within my daily limit? or not ok because the cheese is not fat-free?

Thanks for the help.

Libby

[jimmylegs]

hi welcome to the forum

personally, i prioritize sat fat grams from whole unprocessed or minimally processed foods. not because I am on the swank diet (I'm not specifically on any diet, but I do have dietary habits). I occasionally tally up fat intake out of curiosity.

re baked goods. again personally, I definitely avoid, but do not exclude. my preference for health in general is to keep commercial baked goods off the grocery list and out of the house. and I rarely bake from scratch (although I would consider that highly preferable). baked good exceptions of note: the every-couple-months-or-so pizza delivery also I am also not the only shopper stocking the shelves so naughty stuff does creep in.

as for desserts at restaurants. if they are special occasion items a couple times a year, go for it. if regular occurrences, perhaps not. (for myself I just can't recall the last time I ordered a dessert at a restaurant. I'm usually too full after even shared mains!)

[LibbyA]

Thanks jimmylegs! That sounds like excellent advice. I'm starting to process all of this and from what it sounds like having a customized approach to some of these MS diets might be the best way to handle it . And you're right..I can't remember the last time I ordered a dessert at a restaurant either (but somehow now I'm worried about that-hehehe..go figure!)

[jimmylegs]

no probs