Switching from Butter to Marg.

WindSock

Mods please move this to an appropriate Forum, I don't know where to post this...

I am trying to lose a bit of weight for the Summer and my first step is cutting down on my butter intake. I realise I eat a lot of it with toast, so I have decided to switch to cholesterol free Low Low. Do you think it may help?
I read somewhere before that Margerine contains Trans fat and it is worse for you than ordinary butter. Is this true?

Dragan

Stick to the butter i say.

Alternately, since my holiday in florence i now use extra virgin olive oil myself.

MicraBoy

I'd also say stick to the butter. Just try and limit the quantity.

hunnymonster

why not put something more nutritious on your toast?

tribulus

why not avoid toast altogether or at least as much as possible? That's more of a culprit than the butter usually.

sudzs

Stick to butter!

Marg and a lot of the spreads are full of that terrible muck hydrogenated oil.

At least butter is more natural.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

wasabi

Butter is really not all bad, it's quite rich in fat soluble vitamins amongst other things. This is obviously not a licence to be eating loads of it, mind, but in reasonable quantities it is not a bad thing. I wouldn't dream of using any sort of replacement personally.

As trib said above, the toast is probably worse, especially if made from white bread.

rubadub

Read the ingredients on your low-low, it is mainly water, oil & gelatine. The gelatin (made from rendered horses) just holds the water together when cold. When you put it on toast it just dissolves with the heat and just soaks the water. So you could save money by spreading a thin layer of butter on the toast, then sprinkle water on it. Or for the authentic low-low taste, sprinkle veg oil on it, some water, then go down to the knackers yard and get some horse paste for the final touch

French toast on a nonstick pan with no oil would be better, and tastier, or natural peanut butter.

Hanley

Is it REALLY that important???

I think there's a lot more places on an average persons diet that coudl be refined before worrying about butter v marg.

WindSock

Hanley wrote:

Is it REALLY that important???

I think there's a lot more places on an average persons diet that coudl be refined before worrying about butter v marg.

Gee, Thanks Hanley, I was just going to have my diet based solely on what I put on my toast. As I said in my original post, this is my First step.



Thanks for the responses I can stick to nice butter, yay, but I'll just use less and wait for the toast to cool down before spreading. and try to get used to alternatives.

brianthebard

Hanley's got a point though, it may only be your first step but its not something that's going impact your diet in a major way. You are far better off looking at the bigger picture, finding out what's in the way of you losing weight and dealing with that, than taking the first step by changing spreads.

Sleepy

boreds, have you read the sticky on diet?

Hanley

boreds wrote:

Gee, Thanks Hanley, I was just going to have my diet based solely on what I put on my toast. As I said in my original post, this is my First step.

Yeah, cos I said it was a total waste of time :rolleyes:

Butter/marg isn't gonna make a huge difference any way you slice it. I'd be far more concerned with overall kcals and what % of that is carb intake before you even begin to consdier the smaller details such as that.

After you start to stall out after making the big changes, then look at the minor things.

That post wasn't aimed specifically AT you. It was more a general observation on how people seem to plan things. They spend way too long looking at the minor details and minute planning, and then get dis-heartend when they don't get where they want to go, whcih is only natural since they "were doing everything right".

Like I see people ask questions about what wrist position is betteer for dumbbell flys, and should they be doign 10 reps or 12. The important thing is, WHATEVER you're doing make sure you give yourself 100% to it. Even an imperfect program can yield great gains when you're truly dedicated to it.

t-ha

Hanley wrote:

Like I see people ask questions about what wrist position is betteer for dumbbell flys, and should they be doign 10 reps or 12. The important thing is, WHATEVER you're doing make sure you give yourself 100% to it. Even an imperfect program can yield great gains when you're truly dedicated to it.

True dat! Besides, everyone knows that 10 reps is best... :rolleyes:

WindSock

Ah Ok, I see what you mean now. I know there is a lot to take in when changing a diet, and I understand that there aren't going to be significant changes if you take a half arsed approach.
I start off my day with toast and butter (sometimes marmalade) so I thought I would begin from there, as this is the only consistency in my general food day.
After breakfast it's all over the place, and I guess thats where most of my problem is. So I thought if I started on a healthier note with lower fat spread, it might set the tone for the day ahead. Sometimes I eat toast in between meals and at night too, when I feel peckish, so I was wondering if this is the main culprit. I can't cut out the toast altogether, I'm a breadaholic so the no carbs thing is a no no for me at the moment. Maybe I'll just ween myself off of it gradually. As for counting calories...

tribulus

Sounds like you need to forget about the butter problem and get rid of or at least significantly reduce your toast intake!

Seriously though bread, with a few exceptions, is not a good source of carbs.
You certainly don't need to go no carbs - we do need some but of more importance is the sources of those carbs - bread being way down on the list.

You should probably post up your full diet for the day. I know you said its all over the place but put up whats representative of your standard daily food intake.

What you can start by changing is your breakfast - its sh1te. Toast and butter is not a good way to fuel and prepare your body for the day ahead. If you were to have something like porridge oats with some natural yoghurt and fruit thrown in it would be much better (as an example obviously).

WindSock

Okeydoke, Today (so far):

Breakfast:
-3 slices of Weight Watchers toast (just looked at pack-47kcal each)
-Coffee 1/2 sugar, drop of low fat milk

Lunch:
-Wrap with chicken,sweetcorn,onion,peppers,cheese
-1/2 bag of Mars bar planets

Linner:
-Smoothie with 1 Banana,Strawberries,Alpen,low fat milk

Dinner-TBA (looks like the Barbie is being fired up...)
Not hungry yet so may skip dinner, have toast later and the cream meringue in the fridge. And possibly more coffee, or beer.


I am taking to these fresh fruit and muesli smoothies over the last few days, so I may have a new candidate for brekkie.

mloc

boreds wrote:

Okeydoke, Today (so far):

Breakfast:
-3 slices of Weight Watchers toast (just looked at pack-47kcal each)
-Coffee 1/2 sugar, drop of low fat milk

Lunch:
-Wrap with chicken,sweetcorn,onion,peppers,cheese
-1/2 bag of Mars bar planets

Linner:
-Smoothie with 1 Banana,Strawberries,Alpen,low fat milk

Dinner-TBA (looks like the Barbie is being fired up...)
Not hungry yet so may skip dinner, have toast later and the cream meringue in the fridge. And possibly more coffee, or beer.


I am taking to these fresh fruit and muesli smoothies over the last few days, so I may have a new candidate for brekkie.

Seems very carb heavy... especially simple carbs in the toast, mars bar stuff and fruit.

Also you said I may skip dinner. I don't want to second guess you here, and I feel you might be aware of this, but having a cream meringue and toast along with beer instead of dinner is pretty much just taking the piss.

WindSock

Yeah, I suppose, the cream meringue is a bit much.
I am still full from the smoothie earlier so I cant think of food right now. It is the weekend too, so I can't be taking the piss too much by thinking of a beer. Maye I'll drink something else. JD and diet coke any better?

Edit: Are there many carbs in the smoothie? I thought this was good.

WindSock

Ok, for dinner I'll have...last nights dinner!

A stew of garlic,pepper,onion,cherrytoms,basil,+other veggies,canned chopped tomatoes, topped of with some parmesan cheese. and a single slice of bread with Butter

brianthebard

Yea there's plenty of carbs in the smoothie. I'd suggest some eggs for brekfast, more veg and no carbs after eight for a start. You obviously aren't looking for a complete overhaul of your lifestyle here, so some of the advice here might seem a bit much.

WindSock

Thanks. I absolutley cant have eggywegs without toast though. True, I'm not looking for a hard out overhaul, just a smack on the face that will send me in the right direction is a help.

brianthebard

If you can keep the toast to just brekfast then that would be something at least, you need the carbs early in the day, but not late at night.