Is a carb a carb??
missismonty
Posts: 41 Member
Hi folks,
Apologies if this is a daft question....
Ive just made a stir fry with a large chicken breast and onions and red, yellow and green peppers for lunch (was yummy!).
Just put it into myfitnesspal and the carbs are pretty high from the veggies.
BUT Im guessing that carbs from veggies are better than from say bread or rice or pasta??
Thank you
Missismonty xxx
Apologies if this is a daft question....
Ive just made a stir fry with a large chicken breast and onions and red, yellow and green peppers for lunch (was yummy!).
Just put it into myfitnesspal and the carbs are pretty high from the veggies.
BUT Im guessing that carbs from veggies are better than from say bread or rice or pasta??
Thank you
Missismonty xxx
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Replies
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I first response is soooooo yes. Most low carbers have gone low carb because of those simple things. Bread, Pasta, Rice and Potatoes. If I eat pasta even at 1/2 cup serving I will gain at least 1-2 pounds that week I am not kidding you. With those 4 things my body just explosed. I am doing south beach and I am in phase 2 where you start to add back some carbs. However I tried a sandwhich the first day and had two slices of bread (sandwhich right) and I gained weight that week. If I stay at one slice of bread for the whole week I am ok but nothing else in those four listed can I have in that week. Pasta maybe I will have 1 time in a year. I know I can never again have it on a regular basis same with rice. Potatoes are a thing of the past.
What was your total for your meal. Are you trying to keep it under 30 gram or less a meal or for the day?0 -
Thanks thats really useful (yes a sandwich lol!).
The last week Ive been around 40 carbs a day, not weighed myself since the weekend but clothes feel a bit looser!
You are doing really well! I think low carbing just means you have to be a bit more organised dont you with food shopping and preparation.
I calorie counted eating ryvita, sugary cereal, ready meals from weight watchers etc lots of exercise and and lost nothing...0 -
As far as I know a carb is a carb (unless fibre). They all break down to become the same thing. The difference is though that with veggies you are gaining lots of nutrients, vitamins alongside those carbs.
Thats def where you want most of your carb intake to be coming from.0 -
Some carby foods (which I will just refer to as carbs from here) have more impact on the body than others (the whole Glycemic Index/Load thing).
Some carbs will break down quickly in the body raising glucose excessively, too much glucose is toxic so the body raises insulin to bring the glucose down by moving it into storage or burning it.
Keep doing this repeatedly over time (like on a carb heavy low fat diet) and you become insulin resistant, then pre-diabetic, the diabetic.
Carbs from veggies in general have less impact than grains or sugar, say, but even something starchy like carrot should be avoided if you have serious issues with processing carbs (due to metabolic issues).
Complicating this is that we don't eat carbs on their own and combining them with a fat source will slow their impact on the body.
So a dry slice of toast is worse, impact-wise, than one covered in butter ...
But, combine fats and excess carbs in the same meal and the insulin raised will push the dietary fat into storage instead of using it for fuel.
For this reason if I am going heavy carb (doesn't happen often but beer ...
) then I'll minimise fat intake and run on carbs.
The key is to keep blood sugar relatively stable, otherwise we go back to energy crashes and cravings for carbs to get the blood sugar back up.
Loose clothes good, ignore the scale
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Thanks a lot folks, really useful.
Im off to work out whether there are less carbs in wine or gin and tonic lol! x0 -
Thanks a lot folks, really useful.
Im off to work out whether there are less carbs in wine or gin and tonic lol! x
A worthy pursuit, I stick to the dry red myself.0 -
Lol, one that's probably worth experimenting with a few times to see how your body reacts to each. For a true idea of course. ;-)0
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Noooo not at all. Carbs from veggies and whole grains like veggies, quinoa, whole wheats, etc. break down differently than refined carbs in white flour, pasta, white rice, etc. I hugely recommend looking through http://nutritiondata.self.com. It will tell you the Glycemic Index (GI) for each food. The higher the GI, the more your blood sugar will spike, which is what we are wanting to avoid. It can help you make healthier carb choices.
Good luck!
Kat0 -
Those peppers are also loaded with fibre (keep the skins on) and Vitamin C.
Make sure you get diet tonic, oddly enough, tonic water is usually loaded with carbs. You can also get lower carb wine, which is also often lower in alcohol. In Australia we have wine called Early Harvest and the grapes are picked early, to reduce the sugar.
You can also water down wine with soda water or plain water. Good if you like multiple drinks.
Beware what you eat with alcohol, it'll get burned up before your food does. I tend to avoid drinking as it messes with my blood sugar.0 -
Since you brought it up, here are some interesting diet tips on alcoholic drinks from Oprah's site. It's oriented more toward reduced calories than carbs but it's still good to read I think. I'm neither fer nor agin any of it. (That's how I talk after two of them) :drinker: I'm just putting it out there.Thanks a lot folks, really useful.
Im off to work out whether there are less carbs in wine or gin and tonic lol! x
Example:
What You Want: A Gin and Tonic (120 to 166 Calories)
A better choice: Equal parts gin and soda water and a splash of tonic (100 to 140 calories)
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Best-Drinks-for-Dieters-Low-Calorie-Cocktails/3#ixzz27gLAYXPW0
