Living the Lifestyle, Friday 31 March

Jimb376mfp

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday -- 88olds (George)
Tuesday -- spospo1 (Steve)
Wednesday -- minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday -- imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday --Jim376 (Jim)


Today's Topic: BREAD! How Carb Conscience are you?

With Oprah shouting how much she LOVES BREAD! I asked myself does that even come into my thinking? There are some things I "miss" but bread is not one of them. I buy "healthier" bread now, I eat dark bread and have not bought a loaf of white bread in years.

What is your relationship with Bread? Do you have a favorite type? Is it an essential part of your diet? Or do you avoid it like the plague?

As related to BREAD you may also want to comment on how you handle the whole Carb aspect of dieting. I still eat the occasional baked potato and the 90 second microwaveable packages of Uncle Ben's rice are a regular part of my chicken dinners. Carbs aren't bad per se just a little more SPs IMHO.

myallforjcbill

I hate that commercial....alot. But I don't let it impact my relationship with bread. I also like bread, I just don't screech about it. We buy good bread from a bakery at the farmers market. Usually a sourdough or a German farm bread. Both by their nature are low fat/low sugar and have wonderful chewy texture and flavor and the slices are long ovals. So one slice halved is usually sufficient for a sandwich. They usually run 50-70cal and 15-18gms of carbs.

However I also have gotten into baking, mostly muffins and "breakfast breads". I have some almost everyday. Yesterday I baked some Morning Glory Muffins. Last week it was Blueberry Lemon. That is a matter of planning and portion control to make it work. Like most things we like but provide challenges to reaching our health goals.

Rachel0778

I. LOVE. BREAD. lol

But seriously, bread and carbs are a big part of my diet. I'm highly active and I need carbohydrates to properly fuel my workouts. I also really enjoy eating carbs, and I refuse to give them up for the rest of my life so I'm certainly not going to cut them while I lose weight.

spospo1

Living & working in the NJ/NYC area, there are many outstanding places to get great bread. I'm not sure why but they say that it is the water. The good thing about WW is that you can fit in any type of food. I really have to be careful because good bread compliments any meal and it is easy for me to go overboard.

goldenfrisbee

Since I'm just counting calories, if I want bread, I eat bread. Just have to stay within my daily budget (some days more successfully than others) I have cut down on the quantity considerably. A good breakfast for me used to be 5 pieces of bacon, 4 pieces of toast and 3 eggs. I still eat 3 eggs most morning but only have one piece of toast.

gadgetgirlIL

I miss real bread - the kind baked with wheat flour. Especially the homemade breads my mother used to make.

After learning of my gluten intolerance in 2006, I went a long time without eating bread because the substitutes were so dreadful. UDI's came out with a sandwich bread several years ago that is decent so I'm back to eating sandwiches from time to time now.

As for carbs, they are my friends for long endurance activities. I'm doing a 1/2 marathon tomorrow following by some biking/hiking. There will be carbs for sure.

Al_Howard

Yeah, the "I love bread" is just a distraction.
I eat some "real" breads, some nice flat breads, and we're enjoying Narures Own Sugar Free bread at 1 SP per slice. Nice toasted, and great for grilled cheese and tuna melts.

I LOVE BEER! And can drink some on plan.

88olds

I just had 2 pieces of rye toast with my ham & eggs for lunch. My own observation about WW is if you need baked goods to make your heart go pitter patter, WW can be rough. Hence the search for the 4 point chocolate layer cake. Let's face it, people willing to try to say that black beans are an ingredient for brownies are desperate people.

And another thing. I don't go around telling myself I love food of any kind any more. It's an exaggeration. It adds an emotional element that is not helpful.

goldenfrisbee

My wife and I were binge watching a tv series some months back, and they kept looping the Oprah "I love bread" commercials. Now it is forever burned in my memory.

imastar2

I eat bread but it's usually one of two or three types. I currently just bought some Sara Lee Multigrain 45 cal per slice bread. I usually have two pieces toasted with breakfast. I alternate between that and Healthy Life 100 % wheat 35 calories per slice. The latter is what I make my sandwiches out of.

With my new program from my Hospital's dietitian I am prescribed lack of a better term 6-8 servings of Carbs per day which represents 50% of my daily caloric intake. A carb serving represents 15 grams.

I like bread and am a real sap for fresh hot baked bread of any type.

88olds

The more I think about this Oprah thing the goofier it sounds.

Why don't they just make the new WW slogan something like "Fight emotional eating with the foods you love."

Jimb376mfp

@gadgetgirllL
"As for carbs, they are my friends for long endurance activities. I'm doing a 1/2 marathon tomorrow following by some biking/hiking. There will be carbs for sure."

So it's true?
Pasta Pasta makes you run fasta!

imastar2

I have a friend and he says all the time I never met a carb I didn't like.

podkey

èñdurance events = beaucoup càrbs. Wouldn't do a century ride without them let alone a double ( which I have done). Reg days I have 1 piece toasted dry for bkt and 1 piece cut in half for lunch sandwich. occasional bread w butter snack.

minimyzeme

Bread (and carbs) made me fat!

No, not entirely true, but partially. I was a big bread and carb eater (and drinker) in my previous life. Bread, rolls, pastries, etc. were prominent in most meals growing up and I just carried that through to adulthood. I found my way to really flavorful / hearty types of breads and that made it even better! Of course, it was even better slathered with butter!

I joined WW on the Points Plus (PP) program and am now on the Smart Points (SP) program. By necessity to lose weight on PP, I started cutting back on bread and carbs (and butter, pastries and beer). The gradual reduction eventually cut me back to maybe 1/3 or less of them compared to pre-WW. Of course, I noticed the results and considered it one of the trade-offs. Eating less bread and carbs has definitely helped with the weight loss.

My experience has been that it's been as much or moreso my mind that needs tweaking to lose weight as changes to the actual food itself. In this case, the food is obviously part of it but I think forcing myself to re-program old patterns--to cut back on bread and carbs--has been the key.

It's a good example of 'just because I grew up eating a lot of this stuff doesn't mean I have to keep doing it'. However, it took deliberate intervention to change my old habits. I haven't given any of it up entirely but have chosen to be much more selective about what, how much and how frequently I eat it. Tradeoffs, always tradeoffs...