I play for team butter

Byrdie asked for my 2 cents on butter. The writer said, “I know you’re team butter” but will you answer these questions? “Team butter”, could there be a better team-ever? The full butter article can be found here but thought I’d add a few factoids Byrdie didn’t focus on.

So it’s outdated thinking that saturated fat in butter leads to heart disease.
The butter tide is turning or should I say “churning” (ha). There’s a hierarchy in every food group and hallelujah butter is a good guy. Please skip butter alternatives or alternatives/substitutes for any whole food. Do you want to see the understudy or the lead? I hadn’t even contemplated margarine in eons until I was asked about it.

But butter isn’t only better than “alternatives” it’s good for you. Grass fed butter contains omega 3’s but also a vitamin called K2 you might recall K2 from my brie post. K2 and vit D in butter make it a key pregnancy food too, should you be expecting. Grass-fed butter also contains CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). I will be honest some studies show CLA helps metabolism, some do not. Regardless, CLA has strong anti cancer properties. Grass fed butter is also higher in certain vitamins than basic butter. Grass-fed is key not just because grass feeding is good but corn and soy and GMO ingredients in conventional dairy are not so good. I can’t green light all butter; I have high standards. So organic/grass-fed butter and ghee are A+ choices, I adore Kerrygold which is grass-fed but not certified organic.

In terms of how much? The article said “everything in moderation” which isn’t a phrase I favor, what’s moderation? We work with 1 Tbs added fat per meal and suggest mix of butter, ghee (butter with lactose removed, OMGhee amazing brand, swoon) coconut oil and we’re also not in the anti olive oil camp.
Thankfully we’re distancing ourselves from calorie counting and looking at foods that leave us feeling satiated, whole foods that taste good. And even a little good-quality butter tastes so freakin’ good.


Are you on team butter? What butter do you use? Or are you still fat phobic? How can I recruit you to the other (better) side?

With food (and only food), guy-like is the way to go

While I like to think my messaging and posts are unisex, weight loss advice tends to be female-centric. Male clients who read LBT give me a hard time  “the book is great but did you need to have a dress on the cover?” Or “I’m not wearing a bikini any time soon.” With Father’s Day approaching our plan was to focus on Dude Foods for our June Newsletter. Then, as we dove into the research on this dietary gender divide something occurred to me…when it comes to weight loss, should we all be more manly with our methodology?

More savory

Women tend to have more overall cravings than men. Ninety-seven percent of women report food cravings (no surprise) while for men it’s under seventy percent. Women also tend to crave sweet foods more often (and chocolate is the number one craving, yup) while men crave savory. So, what should you do? I love chocolate (good, dark, 70% chocolate) but after three days quitting sugar I am not looking for it. You can quit sugar with us for the remainder of the month or add non-sweet foods to your diet.  Start with breakfast I’m loving eggs with hot sauce, paleo bread with coconut butter and plain yogurt with cinnamon and cardamom.

Fewer Snacks

 It was interesting to see research supporting the fact that men snack less. Men, on average, have about two snacks a day whereas women have over three. Two is indeed the magic number We have some of our favorite savory snacks in our Dude Food Kit. Brussels sprout chips and the most amazing nuts in the world are not to be missed.

Less Fat Phobic- this is a big one. I still see clients who are petrified to skip their “skim” or look at me as though I secretly want them to gain weight when I suggest nuts or coconut oil. Men are not afraid of fat in their diet (and do not necessarily eat the good ones) but the right fats will make you thin. Think fish, avocado, seeds and coconut.

Eat Less Fruit- I am not anti fruit. I know many people were surprised that I suggested one fruit per day in the book. Nothing is going to happen if that one becomes two some days. Something is going to happen if you love summer fruit a little too much and have four a day, every day justifying it by saying “I eat only healthy, clean foods.”

Booze is OK but not girly booze

 Men drink more alcohol than women, men also metabolize alcohol differently than women (a topic for another day). I’m not here to tell you to booze it up. I am saying to be less “girly” in your drink choices. “On the rocks” will do much more for you than tonic ever has.

If I’m going to be totally honest, when you look at all the studies men are not necessarily eating healthier than women. The stereotypical dude foods they are far from a nutritionist’s dream however, while women may know where it’s at with so, so many things (this goes without saying) men’s overall approach to food that’s more fuel oriented and less guilt-ridden, less snacky and less sweet is probably the way to go.

From the criteria above are you more manly or girly in your food choices? Do you believe men and women fall into these catergories when it comes to food? If you’re quitting sugar with us how’s it going?