Is it necessary to cut out bread when wanting to lose weight?
elizabethdzenitis
Posts: 63 Member
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)
7
Replies
-
This content has been removed.
-
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.9
-
Why would you think eating bread would prevent you from losing weight?3
-
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.5 -
This content has been removed.
-
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.8 -
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.13
-
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.4 -
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...8
-
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.1
-
bump0
-
This content has been removed.
-
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.
12 -
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.2 -
This content has been removed.
-
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.5
-
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.6 -
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!!!0
-
I consume about 600kcals from whole wheat flour everyday and have lost about 4-5lbs a month.3
-
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.9 -
If you like bread and if fits your calorie goal then have some. Some bread is lower calorie than others.
I don't eat a lot of bread in a day because it doesn't help me reach my protein goal so much. Protein foods fill me up more than bread. One sandwich is fine. Bread at every meal is less fine.3 -
I’m having bagels for breakfast so no0
-
I love rye bread 100cals for a tiny slice but to me it's worth it!
If you love it, count it & eat it. You may change how/what you choose as calories allow.0 -
-
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.
What they all said. Jimmy John's is trying to sell sandwiches, and if keto people want to avoid bread then Jimmy John's is happy to sell a sandwich to them with lettuce instead of bread.
If suddenly Jimmy John's discovered that Americans had become vegan, they'd offer meatless sandwiches on lettuce for vegan keto people. I don't right now doubt that I could find a meatless sandwich on the Jimmy John's web site. Jimmy John's is no more a source for valid health data than is any other retail food establishment.
And I did. https://www.jimmyjohns.com/menu/#/subs/vegetarian/ I'm highly confident they'd sell it to you with no bread.
Indeed, all sandwiches have the "unwich" option with lettuce for all. It knocks a couple hundred calories off the total.
I might have to go get one for lunch.0 -
Like so many people have said, "no'!
But, there is a whole lot behind that "no"! I am going to be really basic here - and, to be clear, not being disrespectful or speaking in a disparaging way....not to you, not to anyone.
So, you want to loose weight. Okay...cool! You need to find your maintenance TDEE. SIDENOTE: this is not the way mfp does things...I will address that in a moment as well. No idea how to figure that out? No worries. Just search for a "TDEE Calculator" on-line. There have been several different tools mentioned in the forums here. Pick one. I like the one at http://tdeecalculator.net. Put in your details and look at the results.
It will break things down for you. Now, here is the important part: THIS IS SIMPLY A STARTING POINT! So, whatever the on-line calculator tells you....DO NOT CONSIDER THAT YOUR NUMBER. Use it as a starting point and play...give it a week or two and see how your body responds.
So, if you are - based on this tool - supposed to be at 1,750 Calories then eat 1,750 Calories for a week. Weigh yourself everyday, at the same time, on the same scale and note that weight. Over the course of the week you will get your average weight....and you will see a trend (either up a little, down a little or no change). Also, since you are a woman....doing this while you are on your period is not likely a good idea. So, if you have a regular cycle wait until after this month's cycle is gone.
So, let's just say that over the next two or three weeks you are eating that 1,750 Calories every day and you are weighing yourself every morning on the same scale and you see that your weight does not really change (of course there will be daily fluctuation.....we are human beings...that happens). So, hawt dang! You are the one person in the world for whom the on-line calculator was spot-on!
So, now we know your maintenance caloric intake. At this point we are not going to change anything on your menu. So, whatever you were eating, keep on eating.
If you want to loose one pound of body fat in a week then you need to be 500 Calories/day less than your maintenance. In terms of one week (and that should be - I would suggest anyway - the 'measurable unit' when talking about nutrition and weight.....generally speaking) that would be 3,500 Calories below maintenance.
So, let's just say that is what you want to do. So, you drop down to 1,250 calories a day (I would not suggest really doing this....just to be clear.....as this is getting really low....it is not sustainable, anyway....so, could you do this? Yes, for a few weeks or so. But you would be HANGRY soon!)
So, you continue weighing yourself every day for four weeks. You notice that you have - on average - actually lost four pounds over those four weeks. Just like we thought.
This is a legit scenario - generally speaking. All we did was find out your maintenance caloric intake for one day (using a tool.....as a starting point.....and then playing with numbers for a few weeks to pinpoint your specific and unique numbers) and reduce that number by 500.
We did not change Physical Activity, N.E.A.T or anything. Just "Calories In" in the "Calories In/Calories Out" formula.
For most people, that works. Generally speaking.
Now, if you have some food intolerance then you would likely need to address each one appropriately. A food intolerance - one that is very common is a problem with milk (aka, lactose intolerance) - will lead to inflammation and that is a bad bad bad thing - well, if it is a chronic thing - for the human body.
See how no where in there did I mention anything specifically about bread? Or anything other kind of food? Nothing about "healthy" food....nothing about "clean" food. Just mentioned calories. There is a reason for that.
So, we could hypothesize about the intent of the "just cut bread out of your diet and you will be okay" comment. I mean, let's have some fun, right? Let's get creative and come up with 25 fun and crazy reasons for that statement. Maybe that person was sharing his/her experience and for him/her that worked. But, he/she left out some important details.....like he/she has a gluten intolerance and he/she was eating only wheat bread (because that is what he/she REALLY likes) and, of course, wheat bread is very likely not gluten-free! So, maybe an innocent oversight.......maybe not, though.
Who knows?
There is truly no "bad" food - assuming no food intolerance. I follow IF (well, mostly....so not really a true Intermittent Fasting regime) and I like Flexible Dieting. Essentially, as long as I have room in my 'nutritional budget' for something - and there is no 'lactose' in it (I do not respond well to lactose any longer) - then there is no need to make it disappear from my meal plan.
So, as many have said.....if you enjoy bread (I lived in Germany for a few years after graduating University here in the States and bread is a HUGE part of their meals....so, I really enjoy good bread) then by all means continue to enjoy bread.
In other words.....and, yes, I used 10,000 words when I could have stated this: there is no magic food, per se, that is going to make of break your weight loss plan.4 -
no. i love bread.
i dont eat a TON of it, but i certainly eat it and dont avoid it.0 -
I limit them because they do not satisfy me, so I overeat, which then makes me sluggish and bloated. It's a personal choice.2
-
I don't find that bread improves a meal, so for me it's an easy thing to do and not remotely difficult (same with rice). Saves calories, no loss in pleasure (for me).
But if you love bread, then eat bread. Cut out calories that you won't miss much. (For the same reason I also cut down on added oil and butter, although did not cut it out. I just found I could use less and not notice the difference. I also consume smaller portions of pasta and potatoes when I eat them.)3 -
elizabethdzenitis wrote: »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)
Nahhhh. I cut out a lot of carbs at the beginning of my weight-loss but added them back because they're delicious. Count your calories, lose the weight. Bread is good and sandwiches are so easy.1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions