Is it necessary to cut out bread when wanting to lose weight?

elizabethdzenitis

I love bread. I'm basically the pinnacle of Opera in that one commercial. I just can't help myself with bread. And im wondering if by eating it, if it's hindering my weight loss? Are there any other foods that I could eat that would replace bread and still make food taste good? (And don't hit me with using lettuce as bread cause we all know lettuce is plain and sad. At least I think so. I've tried it and it makes me sad)

sardelsa

I eat bread everyday.. whether I'm losing, maintaining or gaining. It comes down to calories. If bread fits into your calorie goal and satiates you (and doesn't leave you hungry or cravings more) then go for it, no need to cut it out.

WinoGelato

Why would you think eating bread would prevent you from losing weight?

elizabethdzenitis

WinoGelato wrote: »

Why would you think eating bread would prevent you from losing weight?

Maybe I'm losing it but I swear I've heard a million times that bread just goes to people's legs and crap. And when I go to Jimmy Johns they have the "healthier option" of a sandwich wrapped in lettuce. I've never heard anyone tell me that it's healthy.

WinoGelato

elizabethdzenitis wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

Why would you think eating bread would prevent you from losing weight?

Maybe I'm losing it but I swear I've heard a million times that bread just goes to people's legs and crap. And when I go to Jimmy Johns they have the "healthier option" of a sandwich wrapped in lettuce. I've never heard anyone tell me that it's healthy.

Whatever site you're reading this on, or whoever you're talking to - stop visiting that site and stop talking to that person about weight loss. It's nothing but woo.

Any food can be part of an overall balanced diet that, in a calorie deficit, will result in weight loss. Including bread, fast food, pizza, ice cream and wine.

Bread, sugar and carbs are often demonized but with no medical reason to restrict them (gluten sensitivity, insulin resistance, etc) then for weight loss you simply need to focus on a calorie deficit.

Eating a balanced nutrient dense diet is important but if you enjoy bread, it can be a part of it.

BarneyRubbleMD

I eat a sandwich everyday & stay within my target calories for weight loss and since I like bread & sandwiches, it helps me stick to my diet long term to lose weight. It's a meaty sandwich with 4 oz of meat (my choice of chicken, ham or turkey with a slice of cheese) in it so it's filling and for the bread I use those round Arnolds Sandwich Thins, which I like for a sandwich (& enjoy the various "flavors" of them) & because they are "safe" for me to keep around the house since I really don't like how they taste by themselves right out of the package but in a sandwich I like them. I've been having a sandwich like this almost everyday since New Year's for 1 of my meals so I get my daily "bread fix" and have lost 94 lbs with about 65 more lbs to go.

JustRobby1

I eat bread daily. Don't let the carb cultists lie to you. As has been pointed out, calories are what matter to weight loss, and on that front you have plenty of options to keep this under control. There are several good low calorie breads out there in the 30 to 50 calorie a slice range that do nicely. Probably my favorite, and if you have it in your area a bread you should check out, is the 35 calorie Aunt Millie's breads. Its by far the most bang for your calorie buck with a particular tip of the hat to the Potato variety. It's yummy and toasts like a boss.

Another solid option is from the company Healthy Life. They are pretty much the Gestapo of the low calorie bread market and operate market wide throughout North America. They have also diversified their operations into other areas like bagels, muffins, etc. It's not as good as AM's in my opinion, but still a solid choice and you can pretty much find it anywhere they sell groceries.

For tortillas and wraps, a company called Ole makes their "Xtreme Wellness" line that are 50 calories a pop and they taste delicious. There are times I prefer this to bread.

livingleanlivingclean

I've increased my cals (and carbs) this week, but still in a small deficit. I added bread to my diet every day because I also wanted to reduce volume a bit... It hasn't stopped me losing this week...

Sid_Mishra

No, follow CiCO. It will help if you eat bread with complex carbs e.g. whole grains. In the end your intake is the most important factor.

ninerbuff

bump

kisaiyuki

YepItsKriss wrote: »

Thats because most of the world has no idea what they are talking about.

It happens when people use ignorance to try and sell a product, they make up things like bread being an evil demon to weight loss and sell it to you

That's because of the Atkins Diet that basically told people to throw away bread and buns and eat just the protein. When you consume too much Protein, it becomes fat too.

All diets are fad diets, don't think otherwise. The basic goal is to eat less, but not cut out so much you end up destroying your liver and kidneys from omitting the vitamins and minerals. When you crave junk food, that is your body telling you that you're not consuming enough of something and the body associates that food with it. Most cravings for potato chips point to low electrolytes(salt) as an example.

I'll give you a quick example of what happens when you don't eat or exercise. My dad has been in the hospital for two months (oncology wing) and hasn't been allowed to eat real food. He lost all his muscle tone and can now barely walk. His butt looks like a deflated balloon. Yet he still has something of a pot-belly. They've been feeding him via TPN (IV-based.)
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007239.htm , and then later switched to G-tube (bypasses the stomach/surgical area.) The kind of thing fed through the G-tube looks a lot like the TPN stuff, but is actually exposable to air to fill the pump bag. Anyway, if you look at the ingredient lists of these you'll notice two things:

- A fixed amount of calories in the form of carbohydrates (the pumps are configured to push X mL per minute, so a "feeding" might take several hours)

- Vitamins and Minerals in the form of their chemical name, Fat (Lipids), Protein (derived from Milk or Soy,) Fiber and Water. There's no "real food" in these G-tube ingredients. If anything it resembles a flavorless "carnation instant breakfast" or "ensure" product.

What that tells me, is that the amount of "food" you need in a day is so much less than the amount of food eaten in a typical meal. Sure the TPN and G-Tube are likely dense versions of a pure nutritional product, but your regular food typically has more calories in it than nutritional value.

Hence, you'd likely want to cut out "junk" food, snacks, childrens cereals and certain kinds of food items that are empty calories by themselves.

Properly made bread has Protein, Fiber, Fat, Vitamins and Minerals... just like the G-tube feeding.

paperpudding

I can see that fillings wrapped in lettuce would be a lower calorie option than same fillings between 2 pieces of bread aka a sandwich.
Which might be a tasty alternative for some people and way to reduce calories.

But no need to avoid bread altogether if you like it - like all foods it has to fit into your calorie allowance though.

aeloine

That's the "healthier option" because it cuts calories. I've lost 40 pounds already and eat bread basically every day. Just count calories and be patient.

amusedmonkey

The only issue with bread is that some people don't feel it's worth the calories and feel like it's stealing valuable calories from other items they like (or have certain goal macros which bread makes harder to stay within). Because bread is usually used as a vehicle for other things not as a thing in itself, some people would rather give up the accessories to save calories (which is what "healthier" options do to reduce calories, remove or replace the accessories and calorific bulkers like rice because they deem them inessential to the eating experience).

I don't consider bread an accessory. The only reason I like a burger is because of how meat makes the bread taste, not the other way around. I would never in a million years eat a naked burger, for example. I hate the meat on its own. To me bread is worth the calories, so I spend some calories on it and eat it daily. You have to decide what foods are worth the calories and what foods you don't mind cutting down on. Since you are reducing your calories some things need to be reduced or eaten less frequently whether you like it or not. Decide what the easiest things to cut back on so you don't have to cut back too much on things you love. In my case, gradually cutting back on oil felt like the easiest change to make.

sksk1026

Ditto. Weight loss depends on you eating fewer calories than the amount you use up. So you can eat bread as long as it is part of your calorie allowance. I eat low calorie bread just because it's half the calories of regular bread. I also make open sandwiches so I use less bread. This is so I have calories left for a fierce snack habit!!!

misnomer1

I consume about 600kcals from whole wheat flour everyday and have lost about 4-5lbs a month.

AnvilHead

Is it necessary to cut out bread when wanting to lose weight?

I sure hope not. I'd hate to have to take back the 72 pounds I've lost while eating bread pretty much every day.