Do you have to cut out starches to loose weight?

CassieR6

Ok, so lately I have been struggling with working out but been trying to keep my eating under control as much as I can. I was speaking with a friend who has lost almost 100lbs just from dieting and exercising. She suggest that I try and cut out all starches (White breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, and etc.). This I have always felt could stay in ones diet if you just portion control it. I for one love all those things and eat them weekly, in fact I have a sandwich almost daily and would find it very hard to cut out especially since I have a boyfriend and a daughter to cook for as well. I don’t want to make 2 different meals every night. So basically just want to get your take on it, can you still have a healthy diet and lose weight with white starches or do you feel they need to be cut out? Thanks! :flowerforyou:

PinkyFett

You don't have to. You can eat whatever you want as long as it's in moderation. I cut starches out a lot because it's easier for me to eat more for less calories..

Like my lunch today, I had turkey, provolone cheese, spinach, mayo... everything was wrapped in the cheese x 2, half a cucumber, half an apple and it was 350 calories... if I had bread, it would have been way more.

HerbertNenenger

I know plenty of people that have lost insane amounts of weight eating things like potatoes, bread and pasta often. Personally, I don't, because it is so calorie-dense I feel I don't get a lot of bang for the buck, and it's also a trigger for me. I like it a little too much and don't indulge that often. I find I am losing my cravings for it, and I consider that a good thing. My macros are 40% carbs,/30% protein/30% fat and it is working for me. Honestly, everyone has their own formula to LOSE weight.

Francl27

No you don't, you can absolutely fit them in your calories. I don't have them much though, to be honest, I try to eat 25% of my goal in protein and I'd rather use up my carb on sweets most days. And the truth is, they don't really fill me up for the calories either, so I typically fill up on veggies instead, although I'll have a sandwich, potatoes, rice or pasta once in a while.

You don't have to make two meals though, typically we have one protein, veggies, and starch on the side, I just don't eat those most nights.

MickeyCastello

No. Other than allergies etc., you can eat anything you like. Some of everything is good, just stay within your macros and you will be fine.

CorlissaEats

I have to agree with the other poster. Cutting starches and carbs is about calorie budgetting, not so much that those types of calories are the enemy. Eat what you want, within your calorie goals.

You will get better bang for you buck increasing your veggies and decreasing your starches but thats a technique for those who rely on volume to be full and stay on target. I tend to eat very small portions of rice, pasta, potatoes, and other bread type things because I can get a fuller plate by increasing the protein and veggie portions. I pre-log and adjust the portion sizes to get the most amount of food possible. I like to eat!

Howdoyoufeeltoday

If you like starch and it fits in your calorie goal then eat it. Calorie deficit=weight loss. So eat all the pasta and potatoes!!

also

Loose= I have a loose button on my pants.
Lose= I want to lose weight because my pants don't fit.

Sorry, but I'm a literature student and that mistake really frustrates me.

cwolfman13

Most people will find that as they balance out their diet and start putting an emphasis on proper nutrition and hitting protein and fat requisites that starchy carbs and carbs in general are reduced...this given the SAD is extremely carb heavy. That doesn't mean you have to low carb it to lose weight...it just means that by eating a more balanced diet and getting proper nutrition, it is likely your starchy carb intake will decrease as well in order to hit calorie requirements.

I still eat around 300 grams of carbs per day and I don't go out of my way to avoid anything...but my intake of that kind of stuff is far less than it used to be because I put a premium on hitting nutritional requisites for fat and protein and getting plenty of fruit and veg.

Sabine_Stroehm

I have to agree with the other poster. Cutting starches and carbs is about calorie budgetting, not so much that those types of calories are the enemy. Eat what you want, within your calorie goals.

You will get better bang for you buck increasing your veggies and decreasing your starches but thats a technique for those who rely on volume to be full and stay on target. I tend to eat very small portions of rice, pasta, potatoes, and other bread type things because I can get a fuller plate by increasing the protein and veggie portions. I pre-log and adjust the portion sizes to get the most amount of food possible. I like to eat!

Agreed, and for some it's also about cravings. Some folks find that limiting starches helps them *feel* less hungry and control cravings for sweets etc.

tryett

I eat starches. Potatoes are good for you. I fit them into my macros just fine.

CassieR6

If you like starch and it fits in your calorie goal then eat it. Calorie deficit=weight loss. So eat all the pasta and potatoes!!

also

Loose= I have a loose button on my pants.
Lose= I want to lose weight because my pants don't fit.

Sorry, but I'm a literature student and that mistake really frustrates me.

Hahah I blame spell check for that one!

TiberiusClaudis

Your daily calories are like a bank account, you can draw down the money how ever you like, but you aren't suppose to go in the red at the end of the day. Starches in my view are "high maintenance" foods, they eat up a lot of your daily MACROS specifically carbs and calories. So I personally decided to get rid of most of mine and instead spend it on protein type meals.

When it comes down to it, it really is how you approach your weight loss goal. If it is REALLY important then you will be willing to make more sacrifices. For me, I gave up booze, startch, ice cream, pesto and even my favorite line of coffee. All pretty major steps, but I ended up losing 33 lbs in about 4 months. Now that I'm at the weight I want, I'm slowly starting to add them back.

But here's the thing, I didn't miss them nearly as much as I thought I would.

It's all up to you. You can fit them in and eat less of everything, or you can go whole hog, Getter' done and go back to regular programming once you accomplished your goals.

Good Luck,
TC

CassieR6

Your daily calories are like a bank account, you can draw down the money how ever you like, but you aren't suppose to go in the red at the end of the day. Starches in my view are "high maintenance" foods, they eat up a lot of your daily MACROS specifically carbs and calories. So I personally decided to get rid of most of mine and instead spend it on protein type meals.

When it comes down to it, it really is how you approach your weight loss goal. If it is REALLY important then you will be willing to make more sacrifices. For me, I gave up booze, startch, ice cream, pesto and even my favorite line of coffee. All pretty major steps, but I ended up losing 33 lbs in about 4 months. Now that I'm at the weight I want, I'm slowly starting to add them back.

But here's the thing, I didn't miss them nearly as much as I thought I would.

It's all up to you. You can fit them in and eat less of everything, or you can go whole hog, Getter' done and go back to regular programming once you accomplished your goals.

Good Luck,
TC

Thank you that is very good advice! :happy:

mustgetmuscles1

http://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/PIIS0261561411002330/abstract

Results
104 women completed the study (48.4 ± 9 years, 29.8 ± 3.5 kg/m2). Anthropometric and biochemical markers improved after the intervention without significant differences between groups. BREAD group significantly increased total cereal consumption (3.2 ± 1.3 to 3.7 ± 0.5 servings/day, P < 0.05) and the percentage of energy from carbohydrates (41.2 ± 6.4 vs. 45.9 ± 5.0% P < 0.001) and reduced fat (39.0 ± 6.6 vs. 32.7 ± 5.1% P < 0.001). In contrast, NO BREAD group increased the discrepancy with recommended consumption. NO BREAD group had the most dropouts (21.3% vs. 6.6%, P < 0.05).

Conclusion
The bread inclusion in a low-calorie diet designed for weight loss favoured a better evolution of dietetic parameters and greater compliance with the diet with fewer dropouts. Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no. NCT01223989.

natstar26

Take this from me, I cut out all starches and lost weight but I gained all and MORE BACK. DONT cut them out, just eat them in moderation, you may lose slower but you will be happier for it getting to eat yummy food and not feeling like you cant eating anything.

jdhcm2006

In 2 1/2 months, I've lost 20 pounds eating white rice, white potatoes, & wheat bread. I have switched from white potatoes to sweet potatoes, but I'm still struggling to replace white rice with brown rice.

This is just to say that it is doable. I just control my portions. There are things that I have given up (such as soda), but I'm very much in the mind frame, if I want it, I can have it, just not too much.

airbent

My first go-around I cut out ALL heavy starches and sugars. It worked, of course it will work if you're within your macros, as anything will. but I find total deprivation to not be very motivating, and it's not how I want to eat for the rest of my life, I don't want to feel guilty about eating this or that. I felt very strong and badass at the time for holding back, but it's not very sustainable to cut out EVERY starch, unless you have a health issue. Everyone's different, but there's a good chance you'll relapse eventually and it won't be pretty.

I'm trying a moderation approach now, which I find is more of a challenge than not making it available to myself at all. But for me it's more realistic and more about developing better habits that stick. My issue has always been portion control, and getting a handle on that with EVERYTHING I eat, is a victory. The only thing I cut back on is gluten products because I feel better, but rice is back in my diet in moderate amounts and I'm really glad about that.

Sabine_Stroehm

Take this from me, I cut out all starches and lost weight but I gained all and MORE BACK. DONT cut them out, just eat them in moderation, you may lose slower but you will be happier for it getting to eat yummy food and not feeling like you cant eating anything.

If it's "calories in, calories out" you didn't gain because you ate the starches. I know you know that, just checking.

hallo_spacedog

I don't think a single day has gone by where I don't eat white rice, so in short, no. (I've lost about 20 lbs this year so far.)