Carbs - What do you go for?

Mikel19842013
Mikel19842013 Posts: 17
in Food and Nutrition
Im doing wholewheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes, bran flakes and wholegrain bread.

Are all these good, anything else I could add in there?

Replies

  • Abi_bug04
    Abi_bug04 Posts: 220
    Are you looking to increase your carb intake, or just looking for different ideas for healthy carbs?
    (P.S. I just saw on your profile that you are hoping to play rugby! Me too- I loved playing and want to play again, after I recover from my injury and get strong and fit enough!)
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    I'd just look up the glycemic index of foods and use that to judge if a carb is 'good' or 'bad'.

    Look up the GI of white bread versus whole wheat bread. they are basically the same. So if you consider white bread bad then whole wheat is hardly even a marginal improvement. Same is really true for cerial or pretty much anything made of grain that tastes good.

    to get a really low glycemic bread it has to be made of spelt or some other exotic grain.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Sweet potatoes are better than white potatoes.

    I use grapenuts cereal and multigrain sandwich thins. Oh, and Fiber One brownies, once in a while.
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
    none in the week - anything at the weekend. :-)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    finally some carb people!
    carb people, ADD ME!
  • Abi_bug04
    Abi_bug04 Posts: 220
    Quinoa and couscous are on the top of my list for my favorite grains!
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
    oats are good; uncooked, they're lower in gi i hear...and rice cakes. ANYTHING gluten free is good, i've been noticing a huge difference eating gluten free!
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    mostly vegetables, sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, turnip...fruit, avocado & bananas
  • jivitasa
    jivitasa Posts: 150 Member
    Quinoa, steelcut oats, couscous, occasionally brown rice (usually mixed with riced cauliflower), sweet potato and sometimes Ezekiel bread.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I don't count carbs, so I go for anything I want. Hasn't stopped me losing weight.
  • WannaDizzolve
    WannaDizzolve Posts: 270 Member
    Whole grain and minimal. i've really cut down on processed "white" foods, like potatoes and sugar. But i don't feel like any carbs are my friends, really.
  • Mikel19842013
    Mikel19842013 Posts: 17
    Looking to drop some pounds big time.
  • Mikel19842013
    Mikel19842013 Posts: 17
    I'd just look up the glycemic index of foods and use that to judge if a carb is 'good' or 'bad'.

    Look up the GI of white bread versus whole wheat bread. they are basically the same. So if you consider white bread bad then whole wheat is hardly even a marginal improvement. Same is really true for cerial or pretty much anything made of grain that tastes good.

    to get a really low glycemic bread it has to be made of spelt or some other exotic grain.

    So the lower the GI then the more healthy the carb is?
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    Im doing wholewheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes, bran flakes and wholegrain bread.

    Are all these good, anything else I could add in there?

    i see no fruit or vegetables on your list, the two lowest GI carb sources and the 'cleanest' in my opinion.
  • Mikel19842013
    Mikel19842013 Posts: 17
    Im doing wholewheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes, bran flakes and wholegrain bread.

    Are all these good, anything else I could add in there?

    i see no fruit or vegetables on your list, the two lowest GI carb sources and the 'cleanest' in my opinion.

    Nah I do eat plenty of fruit and veg. I wasn't aware that they contained carbs though. I'm not a body builder or a fitness fanatic so I have little knowledge of things like GI or anything like that. As far as I was aware, carbs came from starchy foods ie rice, taters, pasta and the like and I try eat them in balance with my meals. Just looking to drop weight to be healthier.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    So the lower the GI then the more healthy the carb is?

    GI is how likely a food is to raise your blood sugar. if your blood sugar is too high, your body relases insulin and forces the sugar in your blood to be transformed into fat and stored in fat cells.

    Thats probably an oversimplification, but thats basically what its measuring. So the lower the GI the better from a weight loss perspective. and it leads to some surprising revelations about what foods are really good for you.

    the nutritionist told me that if i wanted to lose weight i'd be better off eating a donut then a begal. the donuts GI is actually lower (fat helps reduce insulin response) and its the same or fewer calores then the bagel (typically).

    I grew up with the food pyramid with grains and cerials at the bottom. so i thought that was what you were supposed to eat the most of... turns out that food pyramid was funded by General Mills
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    Nah I do eat plenty of fruit and veg. I wasn't aware that they contained carbs though. I'm not a body builder or a fitness fanatic so I have little knowledge of things like GI or anything like that. As far as I was aware, carbs came from starchy foods ie rice, taters, pasta and the like and I try eat them in balance with my meals. Just looking to drop weight to be healthier.

    wouldn't fret to much about the finer points.

    just try to eat at the calories it tells you and log all your foods, the site will tell you if your getting to much carbs, and you'll see what foods they are in.

    honestly thats going to take you very far if your honest and accurate. if and when that stops being effective, then its time for more research. Unless its something you enjoy learning about.

    but in that case i strongly suggest you just do your own research... you'll usually get every possible answer when you ask a question on the forum, some helpful, some not, all heavily influenced by personal opinion.
  • Mikel19842013
    Mikel19842013 Posts: 17
    Nah I do eat plenty of fruit and veg. I wasn't aware that they contained carbs though. I'm not a body builder or a fitness fanatic so I have little knowledge of things like GI or anything like that. As far as I was aware, carbs came from starchy foods ie rice, taters, pasta and the like and I try eat them in balance with my meals. Just looking to drop weight to be healthier.

    wouldn't fret to much about the finer points.

    just try to eat at the calories it tells you and log all your foods, the site will tell you if your getting to much carbs, and you'll see what foods they are in.

    honestly thats going to take you very far if your honest and accurate. if and when that stops being effective, then its time for more research. Unless its something you enjoy learning about.

    but in that case i strongly suggest you just do your own research... you'll usually get every possible answer when you ask a question on the forum, some helpful, some not, all heavily influenced by personal opinion.

    Cheers, thanks for your help and everybody else that contributed to the post.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    this is also a good read, comes from a primal website but for some general knowledge on carb counting

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz2KiIz5Z4i

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