Bread vs. Other Carbs...
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callousthemind
Posts: 4 Member
Hi guys. A lot of people these days are really against processed foods like bread (even if it's whole grain/gluten free/whatever), so I'm curious to hear some opinions on how people think that whole grain bread compares to other carb sources like lentils, sweet potato, rice, quinoa, etc (OTHER than the difference in protein/nutrients, I get that -- but some bread does have protein). Say a person is more satisfied with having a piece of toast than having some quinoa (and usually the toast is lower calorie anyways)... are they better off with having the 70 calorie piece of BREAD *gasp* or having a 150 calorie serving of quinoa? What's so bad about bread? As a high level runner, I need carbs, and I like bread. But should I be trying to replace it with other carb sources, even if they're less satisfying to me? I feel like I would just end up eating more and then not being satisfied...
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There's nothing wrong with bread if it fits your calories. I like it enough that I need to ration it or I could probably eat half a loaf at one sitting, and there go (at least!) half my daily calories. But otherwise? Forget the scaremongering and enjoy.13
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estherdragonbat wrote: »There's nothing wrong with bread if it fits your calories. I like it enough that I need to ration it or I could probably eat half a loaf at one sitting, and there go (at least!) half my daily calories. But otherwise? Forget the scaremongering and enjoy.
So agree - I do not single out a specific food item just because of the macros it contains. But I have learned the hard way that bread - any bread - is my major trigger food. Give me a nice loaf of ciabatta - better two - and I can easily eat them in one sitting. Plus of course whatever else I can fit on it: butter, mayonnaise, meats, cheeses, etc. etc. I calculated such a "meal" once with over 3.500 calories. The MFP calculation gives me 1740 calories a day which I am very happy with, as long as I stay away from any form of bread. I have done so over 300 days by now and do not miss any form of bread at all.7 -
I've been maintaining at goal for almost 8 years. I eat whatever I want, as long as it's within calorie goals and mostly wholesome. Bread is not a problem for me. But if something triggers you to binge, I could see how avoiding it could be helpful.
Personally, I like to keep things simple, and I don't understand why people like to make things complicated or miserable, with strict rules and banished foods. I'm in this long term, so whatever I do needs to be sustainable. I can't/won't live without my favorite foods forever, so I just make sure I live with them, but within my calorie goals. I'm golden!
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callousthemind wrote: »Hi guys. A lot of people these days are really against processed foods like bread (even if it's whole grain/gluten free/whatever), so I'm curious to hear some opinions on how people think that whole grain bread compares to other carb sources like lentils, sweet potato, rice, quinoa, etc (OTHER than the difference in protein/nutrients, I get that -- but some bread does have protein). Say a person is more satisfied with having a piece of toast than having some quinoa (and usually the toast is lower calorie anyways)... are they better off with having the 70 calorie piece of BREAD *gasp* or having a 150 calorie serving of quinoa? What's so bad about bread? As a high level runner, I need carbs, and I like bread. But should I be trying to replace it with other carb sources, even if they're less satisfying to me? I feel like I would just end up eating more and then not being satisfied...
eat whatever carbs are most satisfying to you, that meet your calories and macros. simple.7 -
I've been maintaining at goal for almost 8 years. I eat whatever I want, as long as it's within calorie goals and mostly wholesome. Bread is not a problem for me. But if something triggers you to binge, I could see how avoiding it could be helpful.
Personally, I like to keep things simple, and I don't understand why people like to make things complicated or miserable, with strict rules and banished foods. I'm in this long term, so whatever I do needs to be sustainable. I can't/won't live without my favorite foods forever, so I just make sure I live with them, but within my calorie goals. I'm golden!
Well said Sir / Madam, that's exactly what I am aiming for. I don't know how to print out comments but your words should be hanging right above my dinner table!6 -
If you like bread, don't let whatever "diet" is trending make you think you need to give it up. I personally like all carbs and could never give them up. My favorite is oatmeal, and I feel weird if I ever go a whole day without some oatmeal. If you stay in a calorie deficit, the macros don't affect weight loss anyway. Macros are more important for satiety, and if bread is keeping you full, then it'll help you stick to your deficit.5
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Comparisons like these look at diet through a very narrow lens. That's not how nutrition works. This comparison would only work if you were trying to decide between eating nothing but quinoa or nothing but toast (which, in both cases, is not a good idea).
Nutrition is cumulative and synergetic. If you're getting the nutrients quinoa provides from other foods, it's okay not to eat it. If you're getting the nutrients bread provides from other foods, it's okay not to eat it. If your goal is to not feel hungry and bread helps you achieve that goal (that's the case for me), then eating it is a very good idea and is a very health conscious thing to do. If you like bread and don't like quinoa, then eating bread is healthier because it supports your diet's sustainability.
Food choices are made on a case by case basis. Just an example: sometimes ice cream is the healthiest choice to make for my diet because it supports my mental health and my ability to stick to my diet. Bonus points when my fat macro is low for the day and ice cream helps me hit it.
It's even okay to have more than one type of carbs (gasp!). Today I had a sandwich for breakfast and green wheat soup for lunch. It doesn't have to be either bread or grains/pulses. Mixing and matching is a perfectly valid way of getting your carbs.9 -
I personally tend to avoid breads/flour based bits like crusts only because I love them so much. I'll enjoy pizza as much for the golden crust as anything else.
That said, I'll have a sandwich or pizza or whatever I want to, I just really need to harden myself to that little, rationalizing voice that says one more slice is ok. It's actually tough sometimes lol.
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You are starting with a false premise. There’s nothing inherently wrong with processed foods.
You have likely added twenty years to your lifespan and twenty points to your IQ because of food processing. I’ll explain.
Two large vegetarian species today are the gorilla and the Panda. Because of their limited diet they must graze nearly all day, which doesn’t leave much time for inventing fire or building their first primitive computer.
If you chewed grains directly from the husk your teeth would wear down to nubs fairly quickly. Lose the ability to chew and you’ve automatically shortened your lifespan. This is what we see from the archaeological record.
Thanks to the grindstone and the blender we can take hard to chew foods and make them eminently digestible. Freeing up our time to do new things, like build the first virtual reality machine.
Our problem is likely the easy accessibility of foodstuffs. Instead of taking what is strictly needed to survive we take seconds and thirds, rather than using that time to write a brilliant response on a discussion board.29 -
I'm currently experimenting with the DASH protocol-a highly researched and medically recommended way of eating for better health markers. Grains, especially whole grains, are recommended and bread is included in this, (it's a serving based system and 1 slice equals one serving, out of several servings recommended every day).
I eat two slices of whole grains bread, toasted, every morning. 140 calories/6g of protein/4g of fiber.
I also eat other kinds of grains-from things like oats and brown rice, to wheat crackers.
It all counts.3 -
Absolutely nothing wrong with bread...6
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There's nothing wrong with bread. It's been a staple of the human diet for ages, since long before there was an obesity epidemic.
There are loaves of bread on my supermarket shelf with 0g of fiber per slice and 5g of fiber per slice. 5 ingredients and 20 ingredients. If someone takes the same ingredients I would use to make bread at home, and has a machine mix, bake, and package those same ingredients into bread it doesn't change the merits and drawbacks of the food.3 -
Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.2
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Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.
I used to make all my bread, usually a whole grains recipe, until I entered it into the recipe builder and realized how calorie dense it was. No more homemade bread for me
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I always fail to see the problem with bread. I make homemade sourdough; ingredients are flour, yeast(sourdough starter), and salt. I enjoy sandwiches, grilled bread with balsamic vinegar, French toast, and bread pudding... I managed to lose 80 pounds and I have been maintaining while enjoying said bread.
Oh, and I use that dough for pizzas as well...2 -
callousthemind wrote: »Hi guys. A lot of people these days are really against processed foods like bread (even if it's whole grain/gluten free/whatever)
Lots of people are silly about the term "processed" in general.so I'm curious to hear some opinions on how people think that whole grain bread compares to other carb sources like lentils, sweet potato, rice, quinoa, etc (OTHER than the difference in protein/nutrients, I get that -- but some bread does have protein).
I first have to note that you seem to be focusing only on starches, but there are tons of other foods that supply carbs, including fruit (mostly carbs, and have a good amount), dairy, and vegetables, among other things. And for another starch, the humble potato, which like bread often gets pointlessly slammed when it's in fact quite healthy.
For me, I'm really picky about bread (I like good bakery or home-baked bread, but don't really like any supermarket sliced breads, even the fancier ones, and even with bakery bread it's quite rare I think the calories are worth it. It's not really filling for me. So based solely on my personal preferences, for starches I tend to prioritize other grains (including oats, brown rice, corn in the summer when it's in season), potatoes and sweet potatoes, and especially beans and lentils, since they are a good protein source and fiber source too (not that the others don't have some, but beans have more). However, I love pasta (not so much the pasta itself, but how it works with the other ingredients I eat it with) and will have that -- naturally all pasta is processed (oh, the horror!), including whole wheat or bean or lentil based pasta. I use all types depending on my mood. I might have pasta about once a week.Say a person is more satisfied with having a piece of toast than having some quinoa (and usually the toast is lower calorie anyways)... are they better off with having the 70 calorie piece of BREAD *gasp* or having a 150 calorie serving of quinoa? What's so bad about bread? As a high level runner, I need carbs, and I like bread. But should I be trying to replace it with other carb sources, even if they're less satisfying to me? I feel like I would just end up eating more and then not being satisfied...
Eat the one more satisfying to you. The nutrition difference, if it exists, is not large, and you can make it up by eating other foods with more whatever it is. Anyone who tells you you must avoid bread (or get gluten-free, ick, if you aren't celiac) should be ignored.1 -
Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.
I used to make all my bread, usually a whole grains recipe, until I entered it into the recipe builder and realized how calorie dense it was. No more homemade bread for me
That's part of the reason for the wood pulp. It makes it less calories on the volume. All cheating for the labels..
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I have never noticed wood pulp on a label. I am going to run if I do lol. Something just wrong about that.Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.
I used to make all my bread, usually a whole grains recipe, until I entered it into the recipe builder and realized how calorie dense it was. No more homemade bread for me
That's part of the reason for the wood pulp. It makes it less calories on the volume. All cheating for the labels..
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I have never noticed wood pulp on a label. I am going to run if I do lol. Something just wrong about that.Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.
I used to make all my bread, usually a whole grains recipe, until I entered it into the recipe builder and realized how calorie dense it was. No more homemade bread for me
That's part of the reason for the wood pulp. It makes it less calories on the volume. All cheating for the labels..
They often call it 'cellulose powder'... I guess wood pulp/sawdust would probably be disturbing to read for customers....haha....You can also find it in grated cheese (the kind in containers, not the fresh in bags), among other things.
The stuff is cheap, and it allows the manufacturer to brag about lower calories and higher fiber content on the label. They also get away with a higher price tag in the process, because those things read 'healthy', and healthy sells..6 -
I have never noticed wood pulp on a label. I am going to run if I do lol. Something just wrong about that.Bread is awesome! I'm not too fond of the commercial versions that list 'wood pulp..cellulose' in the ingredients, though. I prefer to get my fibers elsewhere. My sourdough starters are hibernating in the fridge, and I bake my own breads, not fillers needed.
I used to make all my bread, usually a whole grains recipe, until I entered it into the recipe builder and realized how calorie dense it was. No more homemade bread for me
That's part of the reason for the wood pulp. It makes it less calories on the volume. All cheating for the labels..
They often call it 'cellulose powder'... I guess wood pulp/sawdust would probably be disturbing to read for customers....haha....You can also find it in grated cheese (the kind in containers, not the fresh in bags), among other things.
Cellulose is in plants, are you going to avoid fruit and veg as well?11
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