What's the deal with pasta?
maddduo
Posts: 10 Member
Ok. So, I know regular pasta is supposed to be a no go....but, I plugged in two of my pasta recipes and the serving size still fit into my counts, including trying to be around 1200 calories. So, is it ok to eat pasta if everything else aligns for the day? Thanks, Lynne
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Replies
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Of course! I eat pasta a couple times per week.
It's
About
Calories.20 -
I tend to bulk up my pasta recipes with lots of vegetables and I usually use 40 grams instead of 56 grams of pasta.
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Regular pasta is not a "no go" unless you have a gluten allergy or a medical reason to limit your carb intake.
Weight loss is about calories, and ONLY calories. If pasta fits into your day, there is no reason you shouldn't enjoy it. I eat pasta all the time, so do many people here who have successfully lost weight.18 -
I would be skeptical about anyone telling me that pasta is a "no go." It's just a grain-based food.
Yeah, the calories will add up fast if you're eating big portions. But there are lots of people here (including me) who ate pasta while they were losing weight and did just fine. Just make sure it fits in your calorie goals (like you would with any food, not just pasta).12 -
I really wish people would stop needlessly eliminating "bad" food from their diets.....
Losing weight is already hard enough ..... EAT. THE. FOODS. YOU LIKE.24 -
We switched to whole grain pasta and are used to it so it tastes great to us!! You get a lot more fiber this way and it also slows the blood sugar hits from regular pasta. I typically eat three servings so I get about 9-12 extra grams of fiber and about 6 grams extra protein- both things I’m focused on.
As with everything, portion size is key.6 -
Pasta is fine. Once a week for me. I usually get by with 56g but push it to 83 when I don't have a lot of lobster to go in the dish. If its just red sauce, skip the olive oil and it has about no calories. If its shrimp or crab I just double or triple up on it. Its pretty hard to eat 150 calories of shrimp in a pasta dish. Each jumbo shrimp weighs about 4 grams and has about 4 calories1
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Pasta, a no-go?? I'm going to speak to everyone in Italy right away and let them know
If it satisfies you, doesn't make you extra hungry, and you can fit it into your day, it's absolutely ok!21 -
Isn't there some diet plan that brags about you getting to eat plates of pasta on it?
To be clear, I agree with everyone above that weight loss is about calories, and between Atkins, keto, etc. I think carbs have been very unfairly demonized. That said, I think there's a reason why pasta, bread, and other starches tend to be very limited while you're eating in a calorie deficit. To break it down:
You need a certain amount of protein to support your muscle. It's going to vary based on your stats, but 100g/400 calories of protein per day is a good ballpark for the average woman. You need a certain amount of fat to keep all your body processes functioning correctly, so let's once again estimate 40g/360 calories. On a 1200 calorie diet, that leaves you 440 calories for carbs. If you're eating a varied diet with enough fruit and veg to get your micronutrients in, you might only have ~200 calories left over for other carbs, which is about one serving of pasta or 2 slices of lower-cal bread. How have you felt the rest of your day? Is pasta the best thing for you to eat, or do you need higher-fiber grains or more veg so you don't feel hungry?
It's not that pasta is bad, it's just that 1200 calories is not a lot, and many people find they need to choose foods that are more nutrient-dense and satiating. Also diet plans gain traction if they have a "magic bullet," and eliminating starches is a popular magic bullet. But if you have the calories for it and you feel full enough to not overeat later, go for it and enjoy.7 -
How do you get to 1200 calories? Is it 600 calories of olive oil + pasta?3
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Just like you don't need to eat special foods to gain weight you also don't need to eat special diet foods or exclude foods you enjoy to lose weight.
Learning to eat food you enjoy in the appropriate quantities is a great life lesson for losing weight and also long term maintenance at goal weight.7 -
Pasta is fine, just don't eat huge amounts with high cal sauces on the regular. I ate plenty of pasta when losing.
Also, I read the title in my Jerry Seinfeld voice. I am old.9 -
Pasta is one the best vehicles in the whole world. It goes with almost everything.
Italians have a 3-4 oz serving and it's the first course. When I was out of high school, I lived with an Italian family in Venice during the summer. They showed me how to live and eat. I traveled all around but those people had a beautiful way of living and eating. Talk about a relationship with food. I should've stayed there.
Find the best quality you can afford and just love the smithereens right out of it.5 -
wilson10102018 wrote: »How do you get to 1200 calories? Is it 600 calories of olive oil + pasta?
I'm talking for OP now, but I'm fairly sure she was meaning 1200 calories/ day....not a 1200 calorie pasta meal...lol
If it (pasta) fits into your calorie limit for the day and your daily macros (if you track those too) then mangia e divertiti2 -
The best pasta sauce in the world only contains 3 ingredients.
Canned plum tomatoes
Butter
Onion
Marcella Hazan, Mar-chella Huh-zahn, was on born on April 15, 1924. She grew up in the village of Censenatico, Italy, 120 miles south of Venice, Italy.
In 1969, she began teaching Italian cooking classes, wrote best selling books, The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating. She had a doctorate in natural sciences and biology.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
2 cups canned plum preferably Italian tomatoes, cut up with their juice
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion cut in half
salt to taste
Put canned tomatoes in saucepan, add the butter, and onion
Cook uncovered at a very slow steady simmer for 45 minutes
Stir from time to time, mash larger pieces tomatoes with wooden spoon
Gently stir butter fat back into the sauce
Taste for salt
Before you add to your pasta, throw the onion halves away
Serve with meatballs or not. Add freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Marcella was a genius when it came to taste. She said, why chop or saute an onion. 'I'm going to put the onion, tomatoes and butter together and forget about it
Written by me.
I used to have a blog.
Who cares.
Blogging went by the way of the dodo.
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Pasta is fine, just don't eat huge amounts with high cal sauces on the regular. I ate plenty of pasta when losing.
Also, I read the title in my Jerry Seinfeld voice. I am old.
That's not old. If you see pasta and think of these, you're old.
Of course, it's very hard to read anything in your Buster Keaton voice.
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Eat what you want as long as you meet your goals.4
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Yes!
The 'problem' with pasta is that it can be easy to eat large quantities of it, and with lots of added oils and heavy sauces.
There is no actual problem with eating pasta (or anything else) as long as you are aware of calorie content and how it fits into your day.
Made home made mac & cheese over the weekend. Recipe included 16 oz elbow pasta, 21 ounces shredded cheddar 2.5 cups heavy cream, 1.5 cups 1% milk, butter, salt, pepper, flour. After it was all accounted for, the reasonable sized scoop that I put on my plate was about 500 calories. It was good, and I enjoyed it. And I fit it in my calorie needs for the day.Ok. So, I know regular pasta is supposed to be a no go....but, I plugged in two of my pasta recipes and the serving size still fit into my counts, including trying to be around 1200 calories. So, is it ok to eat pasta if everything else aligns for the day? Thanks, Lynne
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Anything goes if it fits into your calorie deficit. Any, and all food, is diet food, ir you stay in a deficit.
Watch your numbers for proper nutrition.2 -
cmriverside wrote: »I tend to bulk up my pasta recipes with lots of vegetables and I usually use 40 grams instead of 56 grams of pasta.
Another vote for bulking up pasta with veggies (and protein.)
I can eat an insane amount of just pasta, butter, and salt, but with the veggies and protein I have portions that fit in my calorie goals.2 -
Pasta is not a "no-go." Getting a family-sized baked ziti chicken alfredo with extra cheese and mushrooms from my favorite place and eating it in one sitting is a "no-go." Instead, I get one of their delicious wraps. I can still eat a whole take-out item without going so far over on calories. I just change what I order. That's not to say I will never get the baked ziti again. Some day I will. And I will eat all of it in one sitting. And I will have a bump of weight gain in my report but it will go back down again because I won't do it a time or two a week interspersed with lots of crackers and dip.
The equation for making choices has changed for me. At first, choosing to order a wrap instead of a calzone or pasta was an unmitigated sacrifice. I like the wraps but in the past I always ordered for maximum fullness and greasy satisfaction since the prices were not far apart. Now, ordering the heavier food feels a bit more sacrificial because I know I will feel uncomfortably full and I'll back track on weight loss. Yeah, I ate a whole chicken Cordon Bleu calzone with all the honey mustard sauce last week and paid the price in immediate over-full-ness, a bump on the scale, and a few days of increased appetite. But my new discipline and habits kicked back in and I will remember the calculations of the zero sum game I sometimes need to play.5 -
When I have pasta it has to be with something really delicious like a combination of shrimp and lobster or crab. Then I don't really notice that 200 calories of pasta is less than I might choose. If I add three chopped shallots, sauteed, a dozen raw frozen shrimp and a teaspoon of lobster base I am still under 400 calories. Or, a cup of really good canned red sauce. I recommend this one (180 calories per cup)
https://stanislaus.com/ready-to-serve/al-dente-ultra-premium-pasta-sauce/1 -
Ok. So, I know regular pasta is supposed to be a no go....but, I plugged in two of my pasta recipes and the serving size still fit into my counts, including trying to be around 1200 calories. So, is it ok to eat pasta if everything else aligns for the day? Thanks, Lynne
Why would pasta be a "no go"?
Really, the only thing with pasta is that it is fairly calorie dense for a small amount...but there are plenty of foods like that. Nothing wrong with pasta.2 -
I agree with all of the above, but first make sure you know your trigger foods. If I measure pasta and whatever goes on top of it and it's all within my limits, it will nevertheless have the effect of making me hungrier and more inclined to eat pretty much anything that comes my way at any time. This is basically true for me personally of everything that's "white" - refined flour and sugar products. Whole grain pasta is more filling for me, sticks longer, and doesn't seem to trigger that need-to-eat-everything response. So for me, that would be the problem - not the little bit of pasta I might eat and log for a meal, but the temptation thereafter.1
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I have pasta now and then but i find about 35 g dry weight is plenty when bulked up with mushrooms, zuccini or any veg realy. A dietician got me to always have a salad on the side with it and that keeps me from having too much !!!0
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Italy weighing in here (couldn't resist). I've lived here 35 yrs and make pasta almost every. single. day. Italians on the whole don't have problems with obesity. Why do you think that is? I just got back from the beach, and oh the bods I saw. These people are eating carbs, just in moderation. The traditional pasta sauce is tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and basil. There are hundreds of ways to make it so you can adjust to your tastes. I too, am tired of the demonization of carbs. You can get or stay thinner and still eat well and enjoy life.
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i think im one of the rare ones who generally doesnt CARE for pasta.
i will make it occasionally, as my husband likes it, but im far more likely to sop of spaghetti sauce with a few pieces of garlic bread than eat the noodles i dish up LOLOL2 -
callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »i think im one of the rare ones who generally doesnt CARE for pasta.
i will make it occasionally, as my husband likes it, but im far more likely to sop of spaghetti sauce with a few pieces of garlic bread than eat the noodles i dish up LOLOL
Whether you eat pasta or not doesn't matter. Bread and sauce, or rice and sauce are about the same calories as pasta and sauce. That's what most people don't understand. If you eat bread with your pasta you're doubling your carbs and probably calories too. If you're trying to lose it's a good idea to either eat pasta or bread, not both.5 -
wilson10102018 wrote: »How do you get to 1200 calories? Is it 600 calories of olive oil + pasta?
1,200 calories is my goal for the day, not one huge pasta meal.0 -
I am another who eats pasta several times each week, either at lunch time (generally 50-60 g with some veggies and maybe an egg or some tuna fish) or in the evening (70-80g with some form of meat). I keep an eye out for the pasta with additional egg which is higher protein. (It's worth looking at the nurtritional values on different makes, i have found; sometimes they are identical form one make to another, but sometimes they really aren't.)3
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