How to keep away from starch
damariy
Posts: 2 Member
So I joined My Fitness Pal again after my first visit with a health educator and she is the best and my recommendations are to cut down on the sugar and starch in my diet to keep healthy and since I have been living with little to no control of my diet lately and when I do succeed at keeping to a good healthy eating plan something always throws me back to the unhealthy can anyone relate?
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So I joined My Fitness Pal again after my first visit with a health educator and she is the best and my recommendations are to cut down on the sugar and starch in my diet to keep healthy and since I have been living with little to no control of my diet lately and when I do succeed at keeping to a good healthy eating plan something always throws me back to the unhealthy can anyone relate?
In order to keep away from starch you would need to keep a bottle of iodine in your kitchen and test every single food stuff
do you have any reason why you would cut down on starch - the only condition I've ever seen this advised as a possible dietary help for symptoms is Ankylosing Spondilitis - any otherwise healthy person would be well advised to consign this advice to the dumpster of quackery death where it clearly belongs
I would say the same for her sugar recommendations - unless you have a medical condition here too
Eat at a calorie defecit, aim for a wide range of nutritious foods, lean proteins, carbs to person taste. Eat protein at a minimum of 0.64g per lb bodyweight. Move more. Lift heavy things and put them down again
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iodine will turn foods containing starch black
it works for bananas, yogurts, anything with starch in it (90% of processed foods) etc
like this
You can buy iodine in the pharmacy
It's still ridiculous0 -
Are you pre-diabetic? I am and have consciously tried to lower my starch and sugar intake. This time of the year is tough, but there is an end in sight. The first 2 weeks is the hardest (your body will crave the sugar and starches that you always had put into it), but you just have to stick to your guns and not buckle for TWO weeks.
My way of dealing with it was to concentrate on getting enough proteins and healthy fats throughout the day. I am WAY less hungry that way especially if I drink lots of water as well. This brings me to the next thing that I do, after eating my cold cuts, or grilled chicken, or eggs, I guzzle a glass of water or two. Overall, I drink about a gallon a day (if I'm not working out). If I work out, I'm drinking close to a gallon and a half.
Hitting your protein goals (I've set it up to be 35% of my calorie allotment), you shouldn't be very hungry. I let myself indulge occasionally, but it isn't for the whole day and I try not to overdo it. This would mean that I allow myself dark chocolate squares if I need something sweet, not a gallon of ice cream or anything. I try and go as long as I am able to without indulging, and then if I can't go without, I let myself have a little bit and moderate.
Know what triggers the overindulgence reaction and just avoid those all together. There has to be treats that you factor in because no one can be a saint 100% of the time, but not "cheat days", that will just sabotage your diet if you do that. Good luck!
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So I joined My Fitness Pal again after my first visit with a health educator and she is the best and my recommendations are to cut down on the sugar and starch in my diet to keep healthy and since I have been living with little to no control of my diet lately and when I do succeed at keeping to a good healthy eating plan something always throws me back to the unhealthy can anyone relate?
Unless you have a specific medical condition that you've not mentioned, this seems to be standard doctor advice when they advise patients to lose weight. I'd guess because counting calories is seen as "too complicated" so they tell you to cut down on something that will cause you to decrease your calories without keeping track. If you want to do it, it's a valid way to achieve a deficit (assuming you don't still eat too much). But just know that it's not absolutely necessary.0 -
You mean starches? Like grains and potatoes and such? It's not hard, just eat less carbs other than fruits and veg.
But as others have said if it's about losing weight just eat fewer calories and maybe look over your diet first to see where you can cut easiest.0 -
So people are using starch to mean carbohydrates now?0
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A healthy eating plan should be defined by calories and meeting your minimum protein (~0.8 grams per pound body weight), fat (~0.4 grams per pound body weight), and micro nutrient intake. Do that and eat all the starches that fit your healthy eating plan.0
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So people are using starch to mean carbohydrates now?
Yes, some do... it shows what level the doctor is at, when it comes to nutrition.
Use a food scale, log accurately, and the weight will come off. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside#latest0 -
What is a health educator? I've not heard the term before.0
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I think the whole 'avoiding starch' thing is an old school mentality. If you eat at a healthy deficit you'll lose.
If something is always throwing you back to unhealthy eating, maybe you were restricting yourself too much in the past? You can eat at a good deficit and still manage to have your favorite things.0 -
In the 'old days' if you were put on a diet by a doctor you were told to cut out potatoes, bread, rice etc and just eat non-starchy veggies, fish and lean meat with a little bit of dairy. The upshot of this is that it works in that you lose weight initially but sooner or later the cravings kick in and that leads to bingeing. Now we are told to eat a 'balanced' diet but restrict your portions - this is working a treat for me. I've lost 21lbs in 14 weeks.0
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I will add that I do reduce my serving size of some 'starches' though, just like I reduce the serving size of other foods that give me less bang for my buck, and increase the serving size of my veggies (I never get enough) and protein (again, never get enough). That is just an issue of switching to a more normal, healthy serving, than a restriction though.0
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They are closely related:
from dictionary.com
"noun
1.
a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C 6 H 1 0 O 5) n, occurring in the form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable foods."0 -
In my opinion....
The "educator" (used loosely) gave you the easiest recommendation. Cut out starches! Cut out sugar! Then when you lose weight, you will believe it's cause sugar/starch is the devil and the educator said so. All the while, the educator didn't actually teach you anything...
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In my opinion....
The "educator" (used loosely) gave you the easiest recommendation. Cut out starches! Cut out sugar! Then when you lose weight, you will believe it's cause sugar/starch is the devil and the educator said so. All the while, the educator didn't actually teach you anything...
2 thumbs up!0 -
suziecue20 wrote: »In the 'old days' if you were put on a diet by a doctor you were told to cut out potatoes, bread, rice etc and just eat non-starchy veggies, fish and lean meat with a little bit of dairy. The upshot of this is that it works in that you lose weight initially but sooner or later the cravings kick in and that leads to bingeing. Now we are told to eat a 'balanced' diet but restrict your portions - this is working a treat for me. I've lost 21lbs in 14 weeks.
Yup! I was overweight as a pre-teen (the year was 1980 something...) and my pediatrician told my mom I should 'avoid starches'. I remember her giving me plain hamburger on a plate for dinner one night. So depressing!
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So I joined My Fitness Pal again after my first visit with a health educator and she is the best and my recommendations are to cut down on the sugar and starch in my diet to keep healthy and since I have been living with little to no control of my diet lately and when I do succeed at keeping to a good healthy eating plan something always throws me back to the unhealthy can anyone relate?
Welcome to MFP!
Did she also tell you to make sure to "get your roughage"? Did she refer to people with diabetes as "having Sugar" as in "My mom has to watch how often she eats sweets, because she has Sugar."
My suggestion is to put your information into the MFP ap, and just follow the suggestions for a couple weeks. Get used to logging. Then after that time, come back and ask for more help then when you run into trouble. You may want to change the automatic settings for "carbohydrates" that the app gives you. But starting with the defaults the app gives you really is a good start to get used to the idea of eating at a deficit and logging.0 -
Here's how you can use MFP to track your eating habits. The carbohydrate column roughly counts your sugar and starches. You won't cut them completely but you'll be eating less of them. The other foods you want to add to your diet are fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, and fish.
Eat like you usually do for a few days, and see how many carbohydrates you are normally eating. Check to see which foods are high carbohydrate and switch them out for foods that are higher protein.
For instance, if you are used to starting your morning with cereal and toast, and you want to change to more protein, perhaps you switch out the cereal for an egg instead. See how that changes your numbers.0 -
So I joined My Fitness Pal again after my first visit with a health educator and she is the best and my recommendations are to cut down on the sugar and starch in my diet to keep healthy and since I have been living with little to no control of my diet lately and when I do succeed at keeping to a good healthy eating plan something always throws me back to the unhealthy can anyone relate?
for me its just too complicated. That would have made me quit before i even had started. i would say just log your intake and see where you can make some changes to cut down on a little. Build in treats to your intake so you do not feel like you are missing out on anything.0 -
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kshama2001 wrote: »
But in that graphic, fruit and veggies are carbs. All starches are carbs, but not all carbs are considered "starchy" according to My Plate.
Starch is simply carbohydrate content in foods that is not sugar or fiber. Not all carbs have loads of starch or are considered starchy.0 -
I am not sure why you don't have control of your diet. Are you incarcerated? Some people have family and living sitautions that they think prevent them from eating a balanced diet. Most adults have the ability to choose and make changes to improve their health. Take a look at where you want to be with your diet and be willing to make the changes to make it happen.0
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Actually I spent almost 2 years supporting someone through a starch-free diet complete with iodine in the kitchen and I can tell you that it is not the same as low carb ...at all0
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PeachyCarol wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »
But in that graphic, fruit and veggies are carbs. All starches are carbs, but not all carbs are considered "starchy" according to My Plate.
Starch is simply carbohydrate content in foods that is not sugar or fiber. Not all carbs have loads of starch or are considered starchy.
Yes. People such as the OP's health coach oversimplify things by saying to "reduce starch."0
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