Whole grains - I miss my bread :(

Fit2morrow

I feel your pain!

I've tried the no-bread route and subsequently followed a juice fast regiment, losing weight quickly with both and then slowly gaining it back over time. I ended up coming back to a balanced approach of healthy foods and exercise, making sure my daily intake is less than my burn rate. I now include whole grain bread as a part of at least one or two meals a day. I look for whole grain (dense) bread with the smallest ingredient list and the least amount of sugars. The fiber does wonders for my digestive system and is filling, which helps me stay on track. For me, making sure I keep a solid burn rate each day is the biggest key to long-term success.

pinthin87

I think that it's different strokes for different folks, but for me personally I have not given up bread. I do have a couple days a week where I do not consume sugar (I suffer from problems with yeast) and on those days I do not eat anything that turns into sugar in the body except vegetables, and brown whole grain rice. On those days I do not consume any bread or other simple carbs. However, when I do eat bread it is always whole grain. I love the 100% whole wheat Nature's Own bread 50 cals a slice! I think bread is fine when trying to lose weight, unless you need to cut it out for some health purpose. :-)

jofjltncb6

Loved loved LOVED me some bread once upon a time. Stopped cold turkey in December 2011 and don't miss it at all now. Did have some wheat noodles last week which was my first substantial wheat in six months and had no immediate ill consequences, so it isn't because of intolerance that I dropped it. I just agree with what others have said, that it's not good for you, and it takes the place of other far more nutrient-dense foods.

Grains are *not* an essential carbohydrate...(as if there even is such a thing)...

Also, I do much better with all-or-none than I do with moderation. Just the way I'm wired, I guess.

Marll

My personal opinion is that all grains are garbage and wheat especially is poison. You're better off not eating them. Trust me, after about a month you will barely even notice bread, not even the smell gets my attention any more, and I loved bread as much as the next fat guy

Wow, garbage? OK might seem like poison if you are allergic but if not, this statement is nonsense.

The statement appears to be nonsense until you start reading about all the adverse reactions that people have to wheat, the fact that whole grains, especially wheat have many anti-nutrients in them that are intended for the survival of the plant to deter pests, the fact that birds are some of the only animals on the planet (including humans) that can actually biologically fully digest most grains.

Anyone can choose not to believe the research data, just like I choose to listen to it. I find that most people that are unwilling to give up grains though have addiction type responses to bread and sugar, and generally are weak willed in their diets...that's just my opinion and observations though, no offense intended.

It appears to be nonsense because it is nonsense. SOME people have problems digesting grains, gluten in particular (which is not in all grains). Just like some people have trouble digesting dairy, or many other foods. But the majority do not.

Anyone that has read all the research data, and not just what is presented in a book or blog, knows that grains are not poison. Just in reading this thread you can see that there are plenty of people eating grains and doing just fine.

Next you'll be telling us that legumes are poison too.

If you are talking about soy, then yes. I'll still eat peanuts/peanut butter, but most beans I won't due to the carb content. Soy however is a different animal and I won't touch it with a 10ft pole. If a product has soy in it (and for people that actually pay attention to what they consume, it's A LOT) it goes straight into the trash in my house. Granted part of this is necessity because my wife's thyroid condition gets thrown out of whack when she ingests soy, but also the strong evidence of estrogen issues in some people when eating soy. I believe that I'm one of those people, as even when overweight, I notice a dramatic decrease in b**ch t!ts when I don't eat soy at all. Overconsuming soy also kills my sex drive.

Grains and to a much lesser extent legumes are garbage filler food that take the place of much better, nutrient dense, more satiating foods.

Dragonwolf

My personal opinion is that all grains are garbage and wheat especially is poison. You're better off not eating them. Trust me, after about a month you will barely even notice bread, not even the smell gets my attention any more, and I loved bread as much as the next fat guy

Wow, garbage? OK might seem like poison if you are allergic but if not, this statement is nonsense.

The statement appears to be nonsense until you start reading about all the adverse reactions that people have to wheat, the fact that whole grains, especially wheat have many anti-nutrients in them that are intended for the survival of the plant to deter pests, the fact that birds are some of the only animals on the planet (including humans) that can actually biologically fully digest most grains.

Anyone can choose not to believe the research data, just like I choose to listen to it. I find that most people that are unwilling to give up grains though have addiction type responses to bread and sugar, and generally are weak willed in their diets...that's just my opinion and observations though, no offense intended.

It appears to be nonsense because it is nonsense. SOME people have problems digesting grains, gluten in particular (which is not in all grains). Just like some people have trouble digesting dairy, or many other foods. But the majority do not.

Anyone that has read all the research data, and not just what is presented in a book or blog, knows that grains are not poison. Just in reading this thread you can see that there are plenty of people eating grains and doing just fine.

Next you'll be telling us that legumes are poison too.

Actually, there's growing evidence that far more people than originally thought have some level of gluten/grain intolerance. It's considered "subclinical," because for most people, it's not full-blown anaphalaxis, leaky gut, celiac, etc., and even the ones that are, often go undiagnosed, because the current tests only test for one of twelve or so compounds in grains that cause the reactions. Even getting doctors to test for even full-blown Celiac can be difficult, as its presentation isn't obvious and is often mistaken for things like the flu, food poisoning, or simply "a bug", if it's even that obvious and isn't simply just a general feeling of sluggishness (especially after a high-carb meal) or sort of "blah" feeling. I know people personally who have gone to the doctor repeatedly before being diagnosed and keep getting told "you're just getting over a bug, that's why you're feeling tired and not so great in general. Give it a few more days," and reasonably (though wrongly) so - the autoimmune reaction to gluten is not unlike a reaction to a virus or bacteria: march of the white blood cells.

Additionally, fast burning carbs in general cause a glucose spike in your blood stream (slow burning carbs release glucose into the bloodstream, too, just at a slower rate, keeping blood sugar and insulin levels high for longer periods of time), which is then followed by an insulin spike (in healthy people, anyway). The spike itself leads you to be hungry after two hours, even after a big meal, and is what makes you feel lightheaded or dizzy if you go too long without eating. Glucose is toxic in the bloodstream at too high of levels (see: consequences of uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes and hyperglucemia), which is why insulin is released. However, chronically high levels of glucose in the system causes the pancreas to effectively "burn out" and can lead to Type 2 Diabetes, and prior to that, the muscles start becoming insulin resistant, due to the constantly high levels of insulin in the body from a high carb diet.

Dragonwolf

My personal opinion is that all grains are garbage and wheat especially is poison. You're better off not eating them. Trust me, after about a month you will barely even notice bread, not even the smell gets my attention any more, and I loved bread as much as the next fat guy

Does that mean you give up everything on bread? No sandwiches, burgers .. ??
I'm noticing I don't hit my targets and I'd like to know how to increase that without going overboard. My norm would be to eat a sandwich!

Nope, you don't have to give up anything, though you might have to get a little more creative.

Burgers are easy - wrap them in lettuce. Get a good crisp lettuce (iceburg works great, but doesn't offer much in the way of nutrients), take a big leaf and wrap your burger and toppings in it.

Deli meat sandwiches are pretty easy too - lay out a slice, stack toppings on it, roll the whole thing up kind of like a burrito.

Nut butter sandwiches are kind of nixed, but only until you find a new vehicle for it. Nut butter on fruit or veggies makes for an awesome snack. Or, you can just eat the butter.

I found on one of the Primal/Paleo forums a discussion about missing bread, and I liked one of the comments - the person found that it wasn't the bread they missed, but a vehicle for eating the butter is what they actually missed. Once they found something for that, dropping bread was quite easy.

On a side/more personal note, I was like you - I thought I'd miss bread. Peanut butter sandwiches were my go-to for something to eat before my martial arts class (which basically took place over my usual dinner time). I started out by doing the easier replacements (the burger bun, for example), and cutting out the peanut butter sandwiches was one of the last things I did in my journey to cut out grains, and for that, I simply stopped buying peanut butter. Can't eat it when it's not around.

If you really want to cut out grains, gradual is probably the most sustainable ways of doing it. The less you eat it, the less you want it, in a lot of cases. The following the 80/20 rule is a good way to start ("behaving" 80% of the time, "misbehaving" 20% of the time). Even if you eventually decide you don't want to give up your bread or cereal or whatever, it's probably worth trying for a couple of weeks, just to see how you feel and how you do. It goes for any food, really. You can go a month without something, right? Try a month, take note of how you feel (and don't just look at energy levels, or how you feel after a meal, but also take note of things like heartburn, joint pain, etc), then gradually add the food back in, being mindful of how you feel. You may find that food works better for you if it's included in your diet, or you may find it causes more trouble than it's worth.

cfloresmt

I LOVE carbs. Bread, pizza, pies, always been my weakness.

That said, dropping carbs was the best decision I ever did. V low carbs will give good results (you'd be surprised if you stick to it). I try <20gr of carbs on most days with a cheat meal or two every now and then.

I love carbs, I love losing weight more. Simple.

If losing fat is not your priority but you want to build muscle, this obv doesnt count.

Sidesteal

Bread is my weakness ..

With all the hear-say on "how to substain a proper diet" we're told to exclude breads for best results. I haven't done much research on this but I'd like to know where everyone else is at with breads!

Since my initial start of my whole life change I haven't touched a piece of bread to this day. Granted, it's only been a week and a half but if you knew me, it's a lifetime! Haha!

Is there some sort of portion control I should be careful overstepping while eating whole grains? I'd love to put bread back in my life!!

If you have an intolerance to bread or any ingredients in bread, then it would be in your best interest to eliminate or put heavy restrictions on your bread consumption.

If you do NOT have any intolerance or allergy to bread or its ingredients, then you don't need to eliminate them from your diet.

If your bread consumption is preventing you from consuming other nutrient dense carbohydrate sources, then reducing your bread consumption (to allow room for other carbohydrate sources more nutrient density) would be a good idea.

Bread, by itself, in an individual who tolerates it just fine, is not bad.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Bread is my weakness ..

With all the hear-say on "how to substain a proper diet" we're told to exclude breads for best results. I haven't done much research on this but I'd like to know where everyone else is at with breads!

Since my initial start of my whole life change I haven't touched a piece of bread to this day. Granted, it's only been a week and a half but if you knew me, it's a lifetime! Haha!

Is there some sort of portion control I should be careful overstepping while eating whole grains? I'd love to put bread back in my life!!

I try my best to not eat any grains.

When I do..............instant bloating, joint achiness, water retention, etc. I would rather stay away from them then to suffer from those effects.

HausfrauB

Bread is the reason I've gone low-carb/grain-free. Here's what I've learned in my experience:

- I could never stop with just one piece of toast.

- I miss my oatmeal*, but I don't miss feeling starving two hours after breakfast either. (*Whole grains are certainly better than refined.)

- My appetite is under control without bread and grains causing my blood sugar to jump up and down.

- Coconut flour is amazing.

All the best with however you choose to move forward.

CyberEd312

If you have a problem with grains then by all means stop but if you don't there is nothing wrong with working it into your diet.. I really like Sara Lee's Multigrain and Wheat Bread @ 45 calories a slice. I eat 6-8 slices a day between toast and sandwiches and have managed to drop a few pounds in the process... Best of Luck to you.....