WHICH CARB!?

donniemonk
donniemonk Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
very new to dieting, i used to eat whatever i wanted, but now its time to get healthy.
im irish, so potatoes are a big deal, but which carbs are the worst

im trying to cut down on my flour(bread and pasta)intake, but what other carbs are ok to eat
Rice!?
Whole grain bread!?
cereal
potatoes!?

Replies

  • chimp517
    chimp517 Posts: 185 Member
    I eat many varieties of rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal.... at the end of the day a carb is a carb, its all about your macros
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    I mostly get my carbs from oatmeal, sweet potato and fruits. Things like brown/wild rice, quinoa and cous cous are good options and low GI
  • donniemonk
    donniemonk Posts: 7
    just stay away from flour is what im hearing alot of
  • ClaireTrev
    ClaireTrev Posts: 25
    How about swapping to healthier choices? By healthier, I mean ones which contain more other nutrients, or will burn more slowly and keep you full.

    Potatoes -> sweet potatoes/carrots
    Pasta -> konjac noodles/vegetable pasta
    Flour -> besan flour/sorghum flour/coconut flour
    Couscous -> Quinoa
    If you eat bread ->grainy/wholemeal breads
    Cereal ->natural oats/amaranth/quinoa

    Basically, when you look at nutrional values you will often see "carbohydrates...X amount
    of which sugars.. X amount
    fibre... x amount"

    if you look for ones that are high fibre you will be heading in the right direction.

    I hope that made sense! Let me know if not :)
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Need more info. Like what are your health goals? Do you have any known intolerance to gluten? Immune system issues/rheumatoid arthritis? Binge eating tendencies?

    Actually, who am I kidding? The only one I'm on firm territory with in spite of struggling to learn about and understand the rest is the binge eating and that's from personal experience. Bread and cereal makes me ravenous. And guess what? It might not bother you at all.

    Haven't had rice or potatoes in isolation from other foods so I have no idea what they do.
  • mkanak
    mkanak Posts: 38 Member
    The less processed the food-carb he better!

    That is boiled potato or oats > brown rice > brown pasta, well you get the idea.
  • shinkalork
    shinkalork Posts: 815 Member
    Best carbs....

    whole wheat bread
    brown rice
    oatmeal
    sweet potato (not too many, lots of sugar)

    If you're like me and cannot stand whole wheat bread... I use multi-cereals bread... they are pretty healthy and taste amazing.
  • mkanak
    mkanak Posts: 38 Member
    Best carbs....

    whole wheat bread
    brown rice
    oatmeal
    sweet potato (not too many, lots of sugar)

    If you're like me and cannot stand whole wheat bread... I use multi-cereals bread... they are pretty healthy and taste amazing.

    Whole wheat bread is nowhere near the rest you mention, any bread is not a good carb at least compared to the others yo say...
  • Donners185
    Donners185 Posts: 329 Member
    I suppose it just depends on each individual person and their goals. IMO start off easy and switch to healthier versions of your favourites Ie wholemal bread, brown rice/pasta, etc. Personally I eat boiled potatoes most days (also from Ireland, couldn't cut them out) and 2 slices of Hovis nimble bread most days. I still watch my carb intake but as long as i stay with in my macros and it isn't processed junk I don't worry too much. I've tried to cut my carbs before but after a week or so I just get really groggy and tired and end up binging for days. Find what works for you. Trial and error. :smile:
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
    i've never met a potato that i didn't love! sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes, so your body burns them slowly & keeps you full longer. however, regular potatoes get a bad wrap-they have lots of fiber & potassium (skin on for max nutrients), just make sure to keep your eye on portions. one serving of carbs is about the size of your fist (provided you don't have incredible hulk sized hands)
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    In general, whole grains are better for you than refined grains because they have more fiber and nutrients. Said that person who is going to eat a whole bunch of refined grains today. :)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Personally I have no carb-related issues. Some people find that carbs make them get hungry again faster or trigger binge eating so they limit them with good reason. I only limit them in the sense that I try to get more protein/fat than MFP generally recommends so that pushes the carbs out. But I don't believe carbs are inherently bad. If you enjoy them and can eat them in moderation, then I say have whatever kind of carbs you want.

    Personally I do try (most of the time) to do whole grain bread/pasta, and I avoid eating potatoes strictly because of the calorie load. But sometimes a girl just needs some roasted red potatoes. :)
  • MrsBikiniBound
    MrsBikiniBound Posts: 120
    whatever you can fit into your macros will work, however whenever whole grain or more organic options are available i would go with those. The more organic, the easier your body can process it an get energy. White breads and things like it are higher on the glycemic index and get converted into sugar faster. I usually stick with getting my carbs from whole grains, fruits, lots of vegtables and stay away from processed food.
  • donniemonk
    donniemonk Posts: 7
    made perfect sense, thanks for the reply
  • donniemonk
    donniemonk Posts: 7
    i've never met a potato that i didn't love! sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes, so your body burns them slowly & keeps you full longer. however, regular potatoes get a bad wrap-they have lots of fiber & potassium (skin on for max nutrients), just make sure to keep your eye on portions. one serving of carbs is about the size of your fist (provided you don't have incredible hulk sized hands)

    ive got hulk sizedhands, im gonna go 3/4 fists on this on form now on thatnks alot

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