Almond butter bad for fat loss? page 2

[emmie]

I was buying top-quality, organic almond butter--but I've had to stop buying it, as I have learned that it's too dangerous for me to keep in the house. It's much too easy to consume far too much.

I find raw, unsalted nuts far easier to control--my basic 'portion' is 5 walnut halves or 10 almonds. But the nuts don't 'call my name,' as the almond butter does, and I can keep them stored in the fridge or freezer for a long time without any tendency to overeat. In fact, I indulge in nuts rarely, usually just if I'm having an evening glass of wine (since I don't eat any dairy, so wine and cheese is out).

[JudyCr]

When I have to have a snack because I didn't eat enough at mealtime, org walnut butter is so great on org apple slices, trick is just put 2 TBS on plate w/apple, then put the jar way in back of fridge. Another delish snack is org celery w/walnut butter and a little bit of Eden's apple butter. As a kid, my mom would fix us toast with apple butter and 2 slices of bacon on top.

[solstice]

I think we all probably underestimate how little a Tablespoon of almond butter equates to! YUM

[magnolia1973]

2 Jars is a lot of almond butter to eat in a week. Maybe if you enjoy almond butter, eat 1 jar a month.

I restrict calories to lose weight and like to ask myself why I eat certain things. If I truly enjoy something- chocolate, sugar and cream in my coffee, I find a way to limit it, but enjoy it. If I can't come up with a good reason to eat it, (I like it, it's good for me, I need the nutrition) then I eliminate it. If you eat almond butter for no reason, hell yeah, eliminate it. But if not, just find a way to eat a lot less of it.

[noodletoy]

i cannot control myself around almond butter. once it's open, i am at it with a spoon and the jar will be gone in a few days. i don't buy it anymore.

nuts as a snack? well, i've stopped snacking, lol, and really is an ounce of nuts all that sating? not for me anyway. i use them chopped up as garnish on a salad or some sauteed veggies once or twice per week, that's it.

as mentioned upthread there are way better foods you could be consuming for 5000+ kcals per week.

[PrimalHunter]

Time for an update. I was 183 pounds when I started this thread on 7/22. I cut out almond butter, and weighed 167 pounds today - a 16 pound loss in 7 weeks. (For a total loss of 30 pounds since December, and people at work still haven't noticed. Go figure.)

I think this was largely a matter of cutting calories. Eliminating almond butter helped me cut my daily calories from the high 3000s to the mid/high 2000s. I don't know where I got the idea that calories don't matter - whether I read it somewhere or just assumed it - but clearly they do.

However, it took some time for me to be satisfied on fewer calories. When I started doing squats and deadlifts, I was hungry all the time. I'd come back from dinner, everyone else would be full, but I'd have to scramble up six eggs in butter for a post-dinner snack. Today, I can sometimes get through the workday with only one lunch. (Yes, that's progress for me!)

The only thing is, I can't tell where on my body the weight loss came from. I think I look almost the same as I did at 183 - not fat, but certainly not like the better "after" pictures. But as I continue cutting calories, we'll see what happens.

[Paleobird]

Well done! That's some very significant progress. Congrats.

[gopintos]

a 16 pound loss in 7 weeks.

wow, that is fantastic!! I still have 1 - 2 TBL daily. Funny, I never much ate the stuff before Primal. Now my day isn't complete w/o it. But it is one place I could cut some calories if I need to.

Thanks for sharing!

[palebluedots]

I try to limit nuts and especially nut butters, but I do keep around some of the single serving size packs of Artisana nut butters. They make fabulous raw nut butters (that you can usually find in the vegetarian or raw vegan section of your store), in several different flavors. My favorite is pecan, but they also do walnut, cashew, almond, etc.

The best part is that they come in single serving size, in little pouches. Each pouch is about 200 calories. I keep one in my purse just in case I get hungry and there's no primal food around. The hubby and I also keep some in our hiking backpacks. They're perfect for when you crap out on a trail.