Feel Like Buttah? Have Some Buttah!

February 4, 2009     Posted in Body

d802c03ccfb23f03_m.jpgSome “buttah” is exactly what dietician Edith Blum recommends in her new book, Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous, which claims that eating full-fat foods instead of fat-free foods can help you lose weight!


By Brithny

So what does this mean?

Chocolate every day? Check.

Cocktails? Check.

Cheese, chocolate cake, biscuits, avocado, whole milk, chips, and sorbets? Check, check, and check.

This “no-diet diet” allows you to enjoy the foods you love that are usually condemned by the common fad diets that we occassionally follow. Or try to follow, at least. But lemon water, cabbage soup, and a crate full of bananas just aren’t realistic methods of losing weight in the long run. Blum advises us to forget our traditional beliefs of what good foods and bad foods are, and focus on the nutritional qualities of each food instead.

On food:

Fat is good; we need cholesterol and certain saturated fats to make and regulate our hormones, so we can avoid depression and even cancer. Quality trumps quantity in importance, Blum stresses, so certain “fabulous fats” found in nuts, seeds, and olive oil should be ingested at every meal, while “frankenfats” such as those in low-fat, low-cholesterol spreads and margarines should be banned from your diet to ward off headaches and and joint aches. Eat egg yolks in conjunction with egg whites, and don’t say no to that little voice in your head that screams for a smear of hot butter on warm toast. Starchy foods like rice, beans, and corn are also good for you, as well as the occasional cocktail, as long as there’s no sugar.

On exercise:

Like most nutritionists, Blum says skipping meals is a big no, and exercising is a definite yes. But exercise should be considered “an opportunity, not a punishment,” so only do the things you really enjoy doing, like gardening, walking, or even pole dancing (for those of us who are a bit more risqué).

On sun:

You should also make sure you get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure at least three times a week for the vitamin D benefits, without sunscreen. This may alarm those who slather SPF 90 on themselves like   Martha Stewart slathers icing on a cake (and my dermatologist, to be sure), but Blum argues that most cancers are caused by lack of vitamin D.

On other stuff:

Other important nutrients include calcium, magnesium, primrose oil, borage oil, and milk thistle, all of which can be purchased as supplements to help suppress appetite and maintain healthy organ function (not to mention relieve those nasty PMS cramps).

Some foods are banned from the diet, however, including pasteurized milk, soy, white flour, and water drunk from plastic bottles.

So…will you try the no-diet diet? Or is it a no-go for you?

10 Comments on "Feel Like Buttah? Have Some Buttah!"

  1. LucyInTheSky says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20091:42 pm 

    I'd be really interested to know why milk and bottled water are banned on this diet… white flour, I get, but milk does a body good!

  2. Candie says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20092:07 pm 

    I've always been on the no-diet diet, without even being aware of it. Figures.

  3. Darcy says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20092:20 pm 

    I was nodding along to this article until the last bit about soy and pasteurized milk being banned…that's just strange

  4. haley says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20094:19 pm 

    I dont understand why drinking water out of a plastic bottle would be bad????

  5. beth says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20095:20 pm 

    I think she's banning plastic bottles because of the bisephenol-A deal… something about toxins leeching into your water and you ingesting them. I however, will take my chances, plastic is convenient and affordable.

    And no way would I ever drink unpasteurized milk. The rest, I agree with :) Everything in moderation works for me.

  6. Mari says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20095:21 pm 

    The no drinking water from plastic bottles is likely due to the type of plastic those bottle are made out of. Certain type of plastics (# 1 and 2 I believe) can be dangerous to your health.

  7. Christy says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 20096:08 pm 

    unpasteurized milk isn't as strange as you may think…it's consumed a lot in Europe and actually is more convenient because it doesn't have to be refrigerated until the packaging has been open. It tastes the same as well!

    Think of the book "Why French Women Don't Get Fat"

    (source: just got back from living in France for 4 months)…

  8. Alice says:
    Wed, 4th Feb 200911:16 pm 

    I'm sorry, but this is such a crock of sh*t.

    We ALL know what we should and shouldn't eat, and in what amounts, to lose weight and/or stay healthy. You will not lose weight just because you drink/don't drink soy milk or eat/don't eat egg yolks.

    What exactly are this woman's credentials? Oh that's right, she's "an expert". Which is marketing code for "nobody with opinions".

  9. Lisa says:
    Thu, 5th Feb 20093:34 am 

    Is it really necessary to misspell "butter" in the title? Twice??

  10. Cookie says:
    Thu, 5th Feb 20099:10 am 

    On plastic bottles: Check the bottom of the bottle/container for a little triangle with a number in it. Good containers usually have a 5. All Mount Franklin bottles have a 1 (they’re owned by Coca Cola, so no surprise there). This isn’t about recycling, this is about what grade of plastic it is. 1 is the lowest grade, and 7 is the highest. Containers with a 1 on it should be avoided wherever possible. If you can, buy a polycarb water bottle (they’re about $5 or $6) with a grade of 7 and just use that instead, filling up at home, work, school, wherever. Much better (and cheaper!) in the long run.

    (Also, if you can’t find the triangle and number combination, you can usually tell the grade of plastic from how squishy it is. Firm plastic is better; the more squishy, the lower the grade, thus the higher risk of toxins seeping into whatever you’re consuming.)

    On soy: People really have to stop touting soy as this miracle food. It’s not. Eaten correctly (eg. edamame), or in small amounts (eg. a dash of soy sauce) it’s beneficial, but soy cheese? Soy yoghurt? Soy /meat/? Baaaad. That stuff is processed to the extreme, and the more processed, the harder it is for your body to digest (it’s also obviously not a natural food that your body would even /enjoy/ digesting). Swap soy milk for nut milks such as almond or hazelnut instead. Of all plants, soy is the most mucoid producing. Not a pleasant thought :S

    On pasteurized milk: Milk is fairly unnecessary anyway, we could get so much more calcium from vegetables like Kale instead. But I disgress. Pasteurizing heats the milk (making it ‘safe’ to consume – if the cows were treated better and the conditions more hygenic then they wouldn’t need to heat it) and kills the enzyme, making it harder for us digest again. If you’re going to drink milk in large quantities, I really would recommend goat milk instead, simply because it is soooo much better for you. Google it :P

    My one and only real “weight loss tip” is simply to not eat until you’re full. Walk away from your meal wanting a bit more. This isn’t to say order lots and waste food, just have smaller portions and don’t go for seconds. You don’t have to eat until you gorge yourself to be satisfied. Also, consume fresh fruit and vegetables /before/ cooked foods, so your body can digest them easily first!

    Then again, I’m just a nobody with opinions :P

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