Cutting all flour based products for 2012

agthorn

I was hoping to try Paleo for the entire month of January I know many people that have done it and now it is their lifestyle. They still eat pancakes and waffles but they make them out of almond or coconut flour.

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

Also, nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Capellini di Mare and two breadsticks are 950 calories. Hardly requires anyone to workout for two hours.

agthorn

I snt rice fattening? It is white? What about potatoes?

Anything is "fattening" if you eat it beyond your calorie needs. It has nothing to do with what color it is.

Owning2012

I am as well! I don't see why our bodies NEED refined sugars and carbs. I'm still going to be eating low-carb fruits, vegetables,, meats, cheeses, etc. Once I get closer to goal, I will incorporate products such as almond flour instead of regular flour.

When I was low-carbing, I stayed in the high 120's to low 130's and felt very in control and didn't crave the bad stuff. Stop low-carbing, and I lost all self control over food and over the course of a year I gained over 40 pounds.

When I allow myself to eat the "bad" carbs, I spin out of control. I have no self-discipline when it comes to this stuff. It's like being a drug addict or something, lol. Also, when I strictly calorie count, somehow I end up starving b/c I've allowed myself to eat high-calorie, "carby" foods. It just doesn't work for me. Somehow, doing low-carb typically ends up being low calorie for me. Yesterday, I ate 1290 calories with low-carb foods, and by the end of the night I couldn't even think about eating anything else b/c I was NOT hungry at ALL and I had no cravings. The day before, I had 1,200 calories in foods containing carbs and I was STARVING by the end of the night.

It's really simple. I am a slave to bad carbs. I will either eat them with no stopping myself, or I'll be sensible and I starve b/c they don't keep me full. Eating low carb doesn't make me have those cravings. Plain and simple. Personal preference, and it works for me.

Once I get near my goal, I'll probably be able to have about 100g a day and maintain just fine!

HonkyTonks

Things like bread, pasta, rices, cake, cinnamon rolls- all the good stuff.
What are some good things I can eat to fill the hole in my heart? :]

Do you have some sort of metabolic disorder that is causing you to cut all these things out? If not, there is no reason you can't lose weight eating all the above

I agree with this. I am a pretty firm believer in a diet that is basically sustainable for your entire life, and personally I couldn't give up bread/pasta etc entirely. I just eat smaller portions, one slice instead of two, a cup of cooked rice or pasta instead of 5 cups and so on

MaximalLife

NOPE!
All foods are OK but in moderation.

That is provided that one can eat them in moderation. Some foods like sugar and white flour are highly addictive to some people, in which case it's better to just stay away from it altogether. There is no nutritional benefit to sugar and white startch.

True but taste is reason enough.
Life is to be lived, and not every food's purpose is to nourish like not every sexual encounter is for making a baby.

It's a personal choice, and I always choose what's fun.
But in moderation.

weaverfit

You sound pretty convicted about your decision, so I wish you luck. But, have you thought about replacement items for some of your trouble items. How about amaranth, millet congee, or dark rye pumpernickel, wild rice, etc... quinoa has already been mentioned. There are some really good amino acids in the husks of these foods. And maybe if you thought of these whole grains as the complex carbohydrates that they are, rather than "starch," it might help.

skateboardstef

I cut my grain servings down to 1-3 a day and I feel like my body is functioning great right now, and I'm not craving bread like I used to! I eat mostly whole grains

shakybabe

No metabolic disorder. I had a conversation with a gentleman who has one, and according to him, weight literally fell off. To me, there is nothing wrong with substituting a hamburger bun with a leaf of lettuce, or just fighting to let go of the delicious carbs in mac and cheese. I like to try new things, and I feel like this is something I can do.

You need some grains, even people with gluten intollerances need grains. Cut out refined grains (white rice, white bread, etc). If you want to go gluten free then just make sure you eat a lot of brown rice & quinoa. Quinoa is amazing, lots of protein too!

what does Quinoa taste like by the way? .. I'm a bit nervous of buying a bag of it.. like did brown rice then not liking it and it getting thrown away.. I don't have a big budget to be able to afford throwing away food frequently if I don't like it.

Quinoa is kind of like grits, if you just cook up a big pot of it, but it has lots of uses and is very mild and easily spiced to suit different dishes.

I'm in UK so never had the grits either so none the wiser I'm afraid..lol..sorry! :blushing:

pdworkman

No, you don't require grains. You require complex carbs and vitamins and minerals commonly found in grains. Potatoes and other root vegetables, pseudocereals, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, fruits and veggies; if you are eating a variety, there is no specific dietary requirement for seeds of the grass family that cannot be filled by foods from other families.

Quinoa, by the way, is not a grain. It is a member of the beet family, not the grass family. Buckwheat and amaranth are also not members of the grass family.

Pam

You need some grains, even people with gluten intollerances need grains. Cut out refined grains (white rice, white bread, etc). If you want to go gluten free then just make sure you eat a lot of brown rice & quinoa. Quinoa is amazing, lots of protein too!

pdworkman

I use it in the place of rice. It is often described as nutty tasting, but I don't know if I would call it that. My son doesn't like it unless it is well-spiced and mixed with other things. If you are worried about not liking it, why don't you buy half a cup or so at a bulk place?

Pam

what does Quinoa taste like by the way? .. I'm a bit nervous of buying a bag of it.. like did brown rice then not liking it and it getting thrown away.. I don't have a big budget to be able to afford throwing away food frequently if I don't like it.

em9371

My sister is coeliac which prevents her from eating these things and it hasn't made her lose tons of weight, it is really hard to do and lots of products contain flour that you would not expect, I don't see why anyone would do this of not medically necessary!
Cutting out flour could help with weight loss as it stops you from eating foods such as cakes which are generally higher in calorie, but the same can be achieved by just making more healthy choices, cooking from scratch rather than using convenience foods, and having everything in moderation.

fitJoce

True but taste is reason enough.
Life is to be lived, and not every food's purpose is to nourish like not every sexual encounter is for making a baby.

It's a personal choice, and I always choose what's fun.
But in moderation.

I choose fun too, but I have more fun when I drink my calories

rico1923

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

Also, nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Capellini di Mare and two breadsticks are 950 calories. Hardly requires anyone to workout for two hours.

This could be exactly what the original poster wants to avoid. If you estimate your daily caloric load at 1500 cal. then this meal will allow you 550 cal FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. That translates into:
3 slices white bread w/1tbl. butter/margarine on each;
2 bagels without a smear from Einstein Bagels(their 'bagel thin' slices are thin because its 1/2 the weight of the regular);
1 large order of french fries from most fast food restaurants;
1/2 stuffed baked potato from Jason's Deli;
1 order of either Fried Rice or Chow Mein from Panda Express w/no entree;
1 44 oz.Coke from your local gas station...

for the rest of the day's calories if you do not exercise. I prefer eating 3 solid meals a day w/snacks (about 1500 cal) instead of 1 meal w/2 snacks or 2 meals and cutting down (not necessarily out) on the 'white' stuff will definitely allow you to eat more food as you cut calories. Besides the benefit of extra vitamins/minerals/fiber your new way of eating will bring.

agthorn

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

Also, nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Capellini di Mare and two breadsticks are 950 calories. Hardly requires anyone to workout for two hours.

This could be exactly what the original poster wants to avoid. If you estimate your daily caloric load at 1500 cal. then this meal will allow you 550 cal FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. That translates into:
3 slices white bread w/1tbl. butter/margarine on each;
2 bagels without a smear from Einstein Bagels(their 'bagel thin' slices are thin because its 1/2 the weight of the regular);
1 large order of french fries from most fast food restaurants;
1/2 stuffed baked potato from Jason's Deli;
1 order of either Fried Rice or Chow Mein from Panda Express w/no entree;
1 44 oz.Coke from your local gas station...

for the rest of the day's calories if you do not exercise. I prefer eating 3 solid meals a day w/snacks (about 1500 cal) instead of 1 meal w/2 snacks or 2 meals and cutting down (not necessarily out) on the 'white' stuff will definitely allow you to eat more food as you cut calories. Besides the benefit of extra vitamins/minerals/fiber your new way of eating will bring.

Um, or you could work out moderately for like 30-45 minutes (200-300 calories), have some oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (200 cals), have a huge salad with grilled chicken for lunch (maybe 500 cals), still go to olive garden for dinner and have room left for 150 cals of snacks (a yogurt, small piece of chocolate, more fruit, handful of nuts). My point is obviously not "eat at Olive Garden every day and starve yourself on a couple hundred calories of processed carbs for the rest of the day" as your examples suggested - it was that anything, including "white carbs" can be part of a normal, balanced, and yes HEALTHY overall diet, without the need to kill yourself in the gym.

maryjay51

i dont eat white flour based foods . i will eat whole grains though. a whole wheat/grain sandwhich thin by Arnolds is a staple and also the whole grain bagel things.. lost a ton of weight doing it that way.. pasta i measure out and only buy something like Super Pasta which is high in protein and fibre. nothing wrong with a toasted bagel thin with almond butter and sugarfree jam on it.. its a good snack that makes you feel like you are cheating!

shakybabe

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

Also, nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Capellini di Mare and two breadsticks are 950 calories. Hardly requires anyone to workout for two hours.

This could be exactly what the original poster wants to avoid. If you estimate your daily caloric load at 1500 cal. then this meal will allow you 550 cal FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. That translates into:
3 slices white bread w/1tbl. butter/margarine on each;
2 bagels without a smear from Einstein Bagels(their 'bagel thin' slices are thin because its 1/2 the weight of the regular);
1 large order of french fries from most fast food restaurants;
1/2 stuffed baked potato from Jason's Deli;
1 order of either Fried Rice or Chow Mein from Panda Express w/no entree;
1 44 oz.Coke from your local gas station...

for the rest of the day's calories if you do not exercise. I prefer eating 3 solid meals a day w/snacks (about 1500 cal) instead of 1 meal w/2 snacks or 2 meals and cutting down (not necessarily out) on the 'white' stuff will definitely allow you to eat more food as you cut calories. Besides the benefit of extra vitamins/minerals/fiber your new way of eating will bring.

950 cals is way too much for one meal!... and there were no vegetables listed in foods for rest of day just bread, chips, coke, chow mein contains egg noodles... all carbs and sugar???

agthorn

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

Also, nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Capellini di Mare and two breadsticks are 950 calories. Hardly requires anyone to workout for two hours.

This could be exactly what the original poster wants to avoid. If you estimate your daily caloric load at 1500 cal. then this meal will allow you 550 cal FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. That translates into:
3 slices white bread w/1tbl. butter/margarine on each;
2 bagels without a smear from Einstein Bagels(their 'bagel thin' slices are thin because its 1/2 the weight of the regular);
1 large order of french fries from most fast food restaurants;
1/2 stuffed baked potato from Jason's Deli;
1 order of either Fried Rice or Chow Mein from Panda Express w/no entree;
1 44 oz.Coke from your local gas station...

for the rest of the day's calories if you do not exercise. I prefer eating 3 solid meals a day w/snacks (about 1500 cal) instead of 1 meal w/2 snacks or 2 meals and cutting down (not necessarily out) on the 'white' stuff will definitely allow you to eat more food as you cut calories. Besides the benefit of extra vitamins/minerals/fiber your new way of eating will bring.

950 cals is way too much for one meal!... and there were no vegetables listed in foods for rest of day just bread, chips, coke, chow mein contains egg noodles... all carbs and sugar???

950 cals is an arbitrary number. It's not "too much for one meal". Some people even prefer to eat most of their calories in one sitting. *I* didn't list the bread, chips, coke, and chow mein for the rest of the day either.

pdworkman

I don't get that either. I go to paleo sites and see recipes for chocolate covered bacon. Hmm. Can't picture the cave man whipping that up. I figure my diet is probably a lot more paleo than the people who claim to be. Fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, root veggies, and beans.

Pam

This is one of the things I don't understand about the paleo/primal diets. The whole "science" behind them is to eat what we've "evolved" to eat but I'm pretty sure our ancient ancestors weren't making almond flour waffles.

2Bgoddess

No metabolic disorder. I had a conversation with a gentleman who has one, and according to him, weight literally fell off. To me, there is nothing wrong with substituting a hamburger bun with a leaf of lettuce, or just fighting to let go of the delicious carbs in mac and cheese. I like to try new things, and I feel like this is something I can do.

Just to enlighten you, low carb diets have no metabolic advantage, any greater weightloss seen in low carb diets is water weight

I don't think I have managed to lose 67 pounds of water, dude.

jplucheck

I have certain neverending downfalls. I could probably sit and shove Olive Garden bread sticks down my throat all day, lol. Mac and cheese is seriously one of my favorite foods of all time. Even when full, these are examples of things I WILL NOT stop eating when they're in my presence. In my household, there is always something tempting, staring right at me saying "Amy...eat me, you know you want to." Usually, it is a delicious cupcake. I learned to tell it no, however, with an increasing amount of stress in my life, carbs are the perfect sort of therapy. I'm not looking for a specific type of substitute, it is only that breads and pastas were a big part of my life, and now that they're gone, I need some new things to try out.

I use speghetti squash in place of my pasta