Confused about carbs...

baseballelmo

I've just started this about a week ago. I'm over forty, menopausal, and understand the insulin triggers and not eating simple carbs. But, I'm kind of confused as to what exactly simple carbs are... I know that I shouldn't have potatoes, white rice, white bread, white pasta, etc. But, can I have wheat products (pasta, bread) with my dinner? Or should I be completely taking them out of my diet, and only get my carbs from my veggies, which is what I've been doing for the past week.

Thanks!

sbwood888

carbs in whole wheat items are ok. Like you said, just stay away from the really processed stuff--ie "white" stuff.

missy1970eb

i wouldnt cut them completely and just get them from veg as i know someone who has done that and has lost a dramatic weightloss over a short period, even though they r a diabetic but was advised by the doctor u still have 2 have it from things like bread and potato, otherwise u will be starving ur other organs

AlwaysWanderer

as posted above, wholegrain bread, wholmeal pastas, brown rice etc are ok, but in moderation. The ones from veggies are the best.

cnjbarry

MY rule is I dont eat anything white. sugar, bread, pasta so on

peytjalmom

Googe "resistant carbs." Some research has shown some good carbs actually help burn fat.

redefiningmyself

I think this would be a good thing to talk to your doctor or your nutritionist about.

I've had that conversation with my doctor and this is what she said: Whole wheat is almost the exact same as "white" flour concerning how your body processes it. She says that whole wheat doesn't have any more health benefits to it and in fact most people cannot digest it properly anyway. We find wheat in so many products in north america because its a cheap easy filler for the food industry. But really the "healthy eating" aspect of wheat is just very effective marketing campaign of the food industry.

I've recently been stuck on a plateau for 2 months and even though I've been eating under my calorie allottments, I hadn't been able to drop any weight. (This is why I went to the doctor and had this conversation)
She said that wheat products/ flour products -all types, potatoes, white rice etc will keep the fat on even if you are under calories. So she told me to keep those products to only 20% of my daily carb count, and the other 80% needs to come from fruit and veggies.

I hope that helps.

TrainingWithTonya

It depends. If you are doing a lot of high intensity exercise, you actually want some of the high glycemic carbs to quickly replace lost glycogen. If you have issues with blood sugar or insulin resistance then you need to avoid the high glycemic carbs and stick to lower glycemic carbs. Simple vs. Complex is kind of a misnomer. Potatoes for example are actually a complex carb because they are mostly starch which is a polysaccaride. But for some reason the body can break down that polysaccaride faster then it can others which is why potatoes are high glycemic. The glycemic response is what most people are referring to when referring to carbs because the higher the glycemic index the faster the blood sugar and therefore insulin levels are raised. Bodybuilders want that insulin response because the insulin drives the carbs into the muscle to be stored as glycogen so they have better workouts and their muscles look bigger, stronger, firmer, etc. People who aren't doing heavy weight work to train the body to store the carbs as glycogen, though, end up with them being stored as fat faster from that insulin response. Unfortunately, the whole picture gets muddied when looking at glycemic response in the body though, because high GI foods don't have the same high glycemic response when they are consumed with protein or fat because they slow the digestion process and therefore the availability of those carbs to the blood. So, if you are concerned about the glycemic response in the body (IE: don't want the insulin spike because you don't do heavy weight training for example), then combine any high glycemic carbs with protein and fat to slow that response and you can still eat your high glycemic carbs. All things in moderation.