How to keep away from starch

RodaRose

damariy wrote: »

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?

OP, add lots of low calorie vegetables into your days: Kale, collards, spinach, swiss chard, bok choy, brussel sprouts, Romaine., Also broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, snow peas, okra, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, asparagus, eggplant.
Also, when people reduce sugar/starches they increase protein and fats/oils such as butter, coconut oil, full fat salad dressing, nuts, salmon, dark meat chicken, bacon, cheese.
Find places to reduce bread, pasta, rice, cereal, pizza, potatoes.
Have meals that center on protein and veggies, like pork chops and two or three kinds of vegetables in a stir fry for example or cooked any way you like.

ReeseG4350

Just to try (in a very highly acidic approach) to put this into perspective:
Sex is good [Wait... let me rephrase that - Sex is gooooood] but too much of it can kill (yes, really); Water! Can't live without it. But, again, too much of it can kill you. Bacon and other meats loaded with sodium nitrates and nitrites... yep. You know the drill... they can kill you - a slow, agonizing death. But, in small doses (sorry, veggie-terrians) they are tasty and can actually be a great boost for your body on occasion.

Same thing for sugar and starches. Now... that would be REAL sugar and not artificial sweeteners (which, unless you have a health factor dictating otherwise, you probably should not be using artificial chemical sweeteners and just stick to the real thing (in moderation, of course))!

So, why would someone's doctor say to cut out sugars and starches? Well, one perspective, and a very real part of the equation, is that doctors, no matter how wonderful their bedside manner and expertise, can go to a default mode in some things. Some things fall into a "common wisdom" category and, regardless of whether they are wise or not, doctors will regurgitate this information to their patients until some other 'wisdom' comes along to take its place.

This means that many well-meaning doctors, especially those in "corporate (group) practice" and connected to one or another hospital, will opt for the easiest way to address issues and move on to their next client - er, patient. It's faster for them and they do, sadly, get paid by the number of people seen in a day.

So, should you cut sugars and starches out of your diet? Should you eliminate carbs?
The "easy" answer is...
NO.

The less simple and decidedly not easy answer is that, while most of us do need to cut back on our consumption of almost everything and most especially things like sugar and starches (and fats and...) we do not really need to totally eliminate these things from our diet. The trick, then, is to figure out the 'moderation' part of this balancing act. But, here's a hint: the less sugar you eat, the sweeter the sugars you do consume taste and, likewise, the less fats and starches you consume, the richer they taste and feel to your body and your mind and your tastebuds.

There is a "learning curve" of sorts as we adjust to new habits and that includes our food habits. Give yourself time. If you are truly worth the effort (and you are) it'll happen. And then you'll marvel at how 'easy' it was!

Good Luck!

janejellyroll

ReeseG4350 wrote: »

Just to try (in a very highly acidic approach) to put this into perspective:
Sex is good [Wait... let me rephrase that - Sex is gooooood] but too much of it can kill (yes, really); Water! Can't live without it. But, again, too much of it can kill you. Bacon and other meats loaded with sodium nitrates and nitrites... yep. You know the drill... they can kill you - a slow, agonizing death. But, in small doses (sorry, veggie-terrians) they are tasty and can actually be a great boost for your body on occasion.

Same thing for sugar and starches. Now... that would be REAL sugar and not artificial sweeteners (which, unless you have a health factor dictating otherwise, you probably should not be using artificial chemical sweeteners and just stick to the real thing (in moderation, of course))!

So, why would someone's doctor say to cut out sugars and starches? Well, one perspective, and a very real part of the equation, is that doctors, no matter how wonderful their bedside manner and expertise, can go to a default mode in some things. Some things fall into a "common wisdom" category and, regardless of whether they are wise or not, doctors will regurgitate this information to their patients until some other 'wisdom' comes along to take its place.

This means that many well-meaning doctors, especially those in "corporate (group) practice" and connected to one or another hospital, will opt for the easiest way to address issues and move on to their next client - er, patient. It's faster for them and they do, sadly, get paid by the number of people seen in a day.

So, should you cut sugars and starches out of your diet? Should you eliminate carbs?
The "easy" answer is...
NO.

The less simple and decidedly not easy answer is that, while most of us do need to cut back on our consumption of almost everything and most especially things like sugar and starches (and fats and...) we do not really need to totally eliminate these things from our diet. The trick, then, is to figure out the 'moderation' part of this balancing act. But, here's a hint: the less sugar you eat, the sweeter the sugars you do consume taste and, likewise, the less fats and starches you consume, the richer they taste and feel to your body and your mind and your tastebuds.

There is a "learning curve" of sorts as we adjust to new habits and that includes our food habits. Give yourself time. If you are truly worth the effort (and you are) it'll happen. And then you'll marvel at how 'easy' it was!

Good Luck!

What's the problem with artificial sweeteners?

nvmomketo

damariy wrote: »

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?

I can relate. If I ate sugars and starches it led to eating more, more often than not. I found cutting all carbs really reduced my carb cravings.

Try the Low Carber Daily group for more low carbers and support. Cutting carbs is sometimes not viewed in a positive light on the main forums.

Traveler120

That health educator would be horrified to see that more than half my food is from starches - Oatmeal, brown and white rice, whole wheat pasta, potatoes, quinoa, beans & lentils (yes legumes are starches), french bread, flat bread, corn/polenta, bananas etc. and real sugar (unbleached, but still), in fact, I go through a 4 lb bag/month for my juices, smoothies, oatmeal, tea, coffee etc. The rest of my calories are from other veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. I bet s/he'd also be surprised at my perfect lab work as well as continuing weight loss and maintenance.