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Old 08-03-2008, 03:11 PM   #1  
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She is the southern cook on the Food Network who likes to put a stick of butter in basically everything she makes. Her response to someone who asked her about the wisdom of this was "I'm your chef, not your doctor. Don't put that responsibility on me". She cracks me up.

The show started a good conversation last night, when a friend commented on how unhealthy and fattening butter is. I said "nah, butter is good for you. Dietary fat doesn't make you fat, calories make you fat". Their reaction suprised me. Of course fat makes you fat. Isn't that what fat is?

We are all of that generation raised on margerine and pasta. When I was a kid I thought that fat = death but you can have as much of anything else that you want. The spagetti plate piled high with plenty of bread to go with it (have some starch with your starch). As long as the fat content was low. Except I'm fairly sure there were meatballs in the sauce and bacon on the weekends.

I'm no scientist, but it seems to me that if Atkins is so effective for weight loss, dietary fat doesn't = body fat. Or we can always look to the French, healthier by all measures and unafraid of any natural fat.

Fats (and the proteins that normally come along with them) are just more filling and satisfying than carbs and sugar. That old joke about Chinese food, and how no matter how much you eat you are hungry again 1/2 an hour later, may have a ring of truth when you consider the american way of putting it on a huge pile of white rice. White rice and other refined carbs have been shown to cause big spikes in blood sugars, which just leads to more hunger and less satisfaction after a meal.

This post was inspired after reading http://www.gyorgyscrinis.com/GS-Sorry-Marge.pdf
There has been so much credible research on how wrong the governments old dietary guidelines that we grew up with were, especially on the subject of dietary fat. These have been publicized but after three decades of contradictory and confusing advice, I think alot of people like my friend last night just tune it out.

Of course there are a ton of calories in fat. You can look at Paula Dean or the statistics of the south in general to see that throwing a stick of butter in your recipie and then finishing the food in a fryer is probably not the way to go in your every day life. Unless you are superhuman and can put that tasty food down after eating maybe 2 ounces of it.

As a chef I probably wouldn't want to consult her more than a few times a year. But I will throw my veggies in the pan with a pat of butter ... It tastes fantastic and makes for a more filling dinner. The trick while dieting is knowing the calorie content and just eating less of it! This is easy when your meal is nutritious, filling, and not full of refined carbs/sugars that will cause blood sugar spikes.

I made crock pot coq au vin last weekend. I felt a little guilty looking at that big pot of chicken soaking in merlot and bacon fat (hey cmon, 3 slices of bacon for 4 servings of chicken breast and veggies can't be THAT bad right?). At the first taste I thought uh-oh ... this is the best thing I have ever eaten and seconds are going to be impossible to resist. As it was I barely made it through the small plate I had. I felt so satisfied and came in well under 2k calories for that Sunday, my splurge day.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/reci..._coqauvin.html

to lower calorie content I used 3 slices of bacon, and just enough butter to do the job instead of 3 TBSP. I used breasts instead of theighs and served alone instead of with the recommended bread or pasta.
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Old 08-03-2008, 04:16 PM   #2  
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Well everything is basically OK in moderation. That's the French way of life.... eat to enjoy yourself and don't eat a lot.

Atkins is bad, very, very, bad because it isn't a balanced diet and almost everyone who stops it after a weight loss gains back.

<<"You can look at Paula Dean or the statistics of the south in general to see that throwing a stick of butter in your recipie and then finishing the food in a fryer is probably not the way to go in your every day life.">>

There is a reason why Mississippi has a 30% obesity rate in adults....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20476824/

It's scary.

Anyways, you're right in that you should simply eat less. But the problem with high-fat foods is that it's hard to limit yourself because it tastes so good. I also don't use butter, I use this non-dairy buttery spread.
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Old 08-03-2008, 08:23 PM   #3  
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I agree that moderation is important for anything. A little butter is not bad for me, stacks of white bread toast with butter probably is not a good choice.

Sunflowergirl, many members on 3FC have found lasting success with Atkins. 3FCs support policy can be found here:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111599

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Old 08-03-2008, 10:19 PM   #4  
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The key is that you've found a middle ground. Other people go extreme, can't last, then say, see, I can't do it, and go back to Paula Deen every day. I definitely agree that in the end, your food has to be good. Really, really good. This is life after all. And the lovely thing is, that as you stick with changes for a while, your tastes change and prefer the better stuff.
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Old 08-04-2008, 07:15 PM   #5  
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Originally Posted by sunflowergirl68 View Post
I also don't use butter, I use this non-dairy buttery spread.
What's in that? I try to avoid Canola/rapeseed oil.

Last edited by ginny; 08-06-2008 at 09:30 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 08-06-2008, 12:53 PM   #6  
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Originally Posted by sunflowergirl68 View Post
Atkins is bad, very, very, bad because it isn't a balanced diet and almost everyone who stops it after a weight loss gains back.
Atkins when done correctly is a very healthy way to eat, lean meats and veggies. People who have never read the book tend to think that Atkins is all butter and bacon.. not true. My DH is living proof it works, and he's been doing it for YEARS (maintenance). Please don't knock it until you try it or at least have read the book.

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Old 08-06-2008, 02:30 PM   #7  
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Originally Posted by sunflowergirl68 View Post
Atkins is bad, very, very, bad because it isn't a balanced diet and almost everyone who stops it after a weight loss gains back.
This is unfortunately the misconception & attitude a lot of people have where Atkins is concerned. I would like to quickly say, if you stop ANY weight loss plan, you will gain the weight back because weight loss plans are only a tool to help you lose the weight, successful & permanant weight loss requires changing your eating habits for the rest of your life!

As far as Atkins not being a balanced diet...I'm afraid I can't agree with that misconception either. The Induction phase of Atkins (the first 2 weeks) is primarily meant to rev your metabolism & start fat burning by reducing your carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day. On this phase of the program, you are only permitted to eat foods on the accpetable foods list: http://www.atkins.com/Program/FourPh...FoodsList.aspx
Induction, done correctly means 12-15 of your 20 carbs for the day need to be coming from the veggies & salads on the acceptable foods list. After the initial 2 weeks of Induction, you progress to the OWL (On Going Weight Loss) phase of Atkins and slowly add foods such as 1% cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, various nuts & seeds, as well as fruit...YES, I did say FRUIT Despite what you may have heard...you ARE permitted to eat fruit on Atkins! These foods are added in 5 carb increments during this phase. The next phase is Pre-Maintenance where you add starchy veggies such as carrots, acorn squash, yams and even potatoes (YES, potatoes!), legumes such as black beans, chickpeas, lentils & kidney beans, additional fruits like apples, bananas, grapes & plums, and lastly grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat pasta & brown rice. All are added in 10 carb increments. The last phase of Atkins is Lifetime Maintenance which is how you will eat the rest of your life. I do not see where any of this is "not a balanced diet"

Here's an interesting article regarding butter you may want to have a look at: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/butter.html

I am living proof Atkins, as Leenie stated "done correctly" works

EDIT: You may want to read Gary Taubes Good Calories Bad Calories for an excellent explanation on this subject.


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Old 08-06-2008, 10:19 PM   #8  
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Thanks Jersey, for that butter article. This popped out at me:
"Arab groups also put a high value on butter, especially deep yellow-orange butter from livestock feeding on green grass in the spring and fall."
Butter from animals feeding on natural ripe greens contains a decent dose of Omega-3's, green plants are actually the source of this fat (fish get it from eating green algae at the bottom of their food chain and concetrating it on up).

Organic butter is the way to go ... I've noticed it being sold in both of my city's major chain groceries.

My paranoia about Canola oil and most vegtable oils comes from newer theories about America's diet and why it's so ... well, deadly. "Refined vegtable oils" and meat from animals fed seeds (read - corn) contain high levels of Omega 6. Once upon a time humans ate a ratio close to 1:1 omega's 3:6, but now it's anywhere from 1:15 - 1:20 (depending on who you read). 3's have been shown to protect against dietary diseases and cancers. 6 is an essential fatty acid but 6 and 3 can't exist in the same space (cell?) so our heavy omega 6 diet pushes the other fat out.

OK that's my 6th grade level biology understanding of the issue (not a strong subject for me). But really, read about it. The research you'll find is all over the place but it reinforces one major theme ... avoid novel fats! That's basically anything they learned to make edible in the last 100 years or so.

So I say yay butter. There's a reason people have been eating it since Mesopotamia. Not because they lacked the technology to hydrogenate, but because it was nutritious and kept them healthy.

-eek I sound like I'm from the dairy council. I swear I work at a specialty office supply company.

Last edited by ginny; 08-06-2008 at 10:56 PM. Reason: grammar
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Old 08-06-2008, 10:42 PM   #9  
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Oh! And I keep meaning to pick up Good Calories Bad Calories. I haven't been able to find an audio version so I guess I'll just have to READ.

I think the reaction to Atkin's that is still going around is more a result of how it flipped the idea of fat = death on it's head. The research that Atkin's based his diet on has been around since the 50's, but dietary fat converting to body fat just made so much intuitive sense!

From the president on down they told us to switch to hydrogenated vegtable fats and to avoid animal fats. It made sense at the time to go towards the new and technologically superior foods. SCIENCE. Sadly we forgot that our bodies were not new and technologicaly advanced. Medicine makes great strides but at the core of it, we are just human. As God or evolution made us, our bodies have not fared well under the scientific/processed food chain.

Atkin's stresses more fresh vegtables than most of the people I know are used to eating. He warned against processed meats like bacon and deli cuts. Although it isn't for me I don't see a problem with this diet at all. Most importantly he gave America the slap in the face it needed about our carb intake. R.I.P. Dr. Atkins.

Last edited by ginny; 08-06-2008 at 10:55 PM. Reason: grammar
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Old 08-07-2008, 08:44 AM   #10  
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Cool It ain't the butter, sugar...

As a G.R.I.T.S. (Girl Raised in the South) and loyal Rebel, I can tell you, Sunflower, it ain't the butter that makes Southerners fat...It is:

The biscuits eaten three times a day
The breaded and fried everything
The white bread and buns
The mashed potatoes and potato salad
The macaroni and pasta
The raging sweet tooth we're cursed with
Dessert EVERY night and two on Sundays
The love of fast-food - the Southern chains are outrageous!
Restaurants where fries are a vegetable
A deep and abiding aversion to exercise
Sugar and more sugar...Tea so sweet it's cloudy
And worst: The Sundrop and Honey-bun for breakfast!

God, help me, I love it all! (I'm doing the Atkins thing and feel so much better - and a little lighter - on day 16)
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Old 08-07-2008, 09:11 PM   #11  
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God, help me, I love it all! (I'm doing the Atkins thing and feel so much better - and a little lighter - on day 16)
Day 16! Congradulations on your first 2 weeks! It's so hard to change your diet completely.
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