Eliminating White Bread and White Sugar

124

Replies

  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    I prefer to stay sane and energetic, there is absolutely no reason to go on crazy diets that wear your body down. If you establish a healthy fat range to keep your hormones in check and other associated functions, enough protein to maintain lean body mass, and simply adjust your carbs accordingly you will have plenty of energy and not destroy your body. If you want your body to completely melt your muscle mass and do praise Allahs to some false low carb Deity, go nuts.

    I don't think you understand LBM retention or low carb diets in general as well as you think you do. Your muscles do not just melt away in the absence of carbs, nor do you lack energy when a low carb diet is done properly. Not saying people need to eliminate white bread or white sugar - those foods are fine for the majority of people when consumed in moderation. But perpetuating old myths about low carb diets really gets old.
    :drinker:
  • SandraJN
    SandraJN Posts: 305 Member
    As for pasta etc? Good luck. It's the one thing I haven't been able to substitute yet. Not having a buttload of money to try different things instead doesn't help, either.

    I eat pasta once or twice a week. I buy whole grain and I've found pasta from Italy to be the best, so there goes the small carbon footprint. I have a short pasta with 35 grams of complex carbs and 6 grams of fiber, leaving 29 grams carbs. A long pasta with 41 carbs and 8 fiber, 33 grams actually complex carbs. Joseph's bakery makes really good whole meal pitas and lavash. When I make pasta I use whole wheat pastry flour, it works well. Farro is a wonderful complex grain, high in protein and fiber. I make gnocchi with sweet potato and it is good. Instead of potato latkes I use carrots and zucchini.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    For me, eliminating most refined sugar was the best thing I ever did because sugar is truly empty calories, in the sense that it does absolutely nothing to fill me up.

    And when you are cutting calories, you want to eat foods that fill you up, otherwise you will fail at weight loss.

    A two egg ommelette with a little cheese, sautéed onions and mushrooms for breakfast keeps me full for a long time. Two donuts or a pastry with orange juice (OJ is loaded with sugar) does nothing to keep me full. Calorically, they are about the same.

    But maybe that's just me.

    I'd agree with you that eggs are more filling. But every now and then, I just want a donut. Now, I fully understand that I cannot have a donut every day. But conversely, I don't want to think I can never have one again, either.

    I said MOST refined sugar. :)

    I think that's what many people are telling her, though. Sure make different choices most of the time, but there's no reason to subject yourself to an arbitrary "no white foods" rule. I am fine mostly not eating certain things because I know that I can eat them. If I had told myself at the beginning of the ride that I couldn't have something, I guarantee you, I would have got off a long time ago. Because the taboo would make me want it and then when I had it I'd feel like I "failed."

    Self control.

    Which I have in spades when I don't make unnecessary rules for myself.

    You will fail in any diet in that case. going over cals, carbs or what ever.

    Counting calories is a necessary rule, I understand why I need that one and have been managing it just fine, thanks.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I'm a little disappointed in a lot of these responses. I've also eliminated all of the things in your list, replaced them with whole wheat versions. To me, health is more than calorie intake. I'd rather go over my calorie limit with healthy foods, high in fiber, etc than be under my calorie full of sugar and refined, manufactured food.

    It's all personal choice so take all of our opinions with a grain of salt and listen to your body. I totally support what you're doing though, because I've done the same thing and feel so much better.

    Just so I understand.

    You'd rather gain weight as long as it's "healthy" food?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?

    The assertion wasn't limited to "super market" breads, even if there were some difference of note (there's a lot of bread of various kinds at the super market, after all). Some members of my mom's family (going back some generations) had the first mill in their Iowa county, so I'm guessing they ate more bread than I do, and there are some pretty long-lived people in that family. My great grandparents and many of their children were farmers and just from my memory from family visits and so on they ate MUCH more butter and potatoes than I do (and I certainly haven't eliminated either) and seem to have been perfectly healthy and long-lived. They weren't fat, either. I'm assuming this has more to do with activity than magical properties of potatoes and butter (yummy as they are), but the idea that these are foods that are inconsistent with health in any amount is odd.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.

    My grandmother was the same way, although not Italian. She was always incredibly thin, yet supermarket bread and potatoes were a staple in her kitchen. Not everyone has a voracious appetite and struggles with portion control on foods like white bread and potatoes.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    why do you hate happiness?
    Oh, my gosh.

    First, we hear repeatedly that it's impossible to replace bad habits with healthy ones. Can't be done. Unsustainable. It's IMPOSSIBLE to make healthy lifestyle changes.

    Now, we hear that if you even try to give yourself better eating habits, you cannot be happy...No, sorry it is that you HATE HAPPINESS.

    There really needs to be a website where people who want to get healthier - not just thinner - can discuss it without all this "It's unsustainable! It can't be done!" silliness.
  • hmroebuck
    hmroebuck Posts: 64 Member
    Arg, I typed a huge response and lost it.

    I have found that breads, potatoes, and rice, are almost always sides and I don't need them if I focus on eating enough protein and veggies. If it's a sandwich or burger I immediately toss the top. If it's pizza I don't eat the crust.

    I try to replace snacks with a protein drink. If I'm hungry I go for greek yogurt, light cheese stick, nuts, beef jerky, pork rinds, or veggies.

    Fruits satisfy my sweet tooth. If desserts are present I have a bite or two and then get away from it quickly!

    Water helps tremendously. I drink water before I put anything in my mouth. Fills the belly up. Sometimes it ends up being enough itself.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    There really needs to be a website where people who want to get healthier - not just thinner - can discuss it without all this "It's unsustainable! It can't be done!" silliness.

    Obviously, getting healthy through diet is perfectly sustainable.

    Cutting out "white" potatoes and eating only brown sugar also is perfectly sustainable, I'm sure. I just think the claim that it has anything to do with health is incredibly silly.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
    with enriched bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup and a 30 item ingredient list?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?

    The assertion wasn't limited to "super market" breads, even if there were some difference of note (there's a lot of bread of various kinds at the super market, after all). Some members of my mom's family (going back some generations) had the first mill in their Iowa county, so I'm guessing they ate more bread than I do, and there are some pretty long-lived people in that family. My great grandparents and many of their children were farmers and just from my memory from family visits and so on they ate MUCH more butter and potatoes than I do (and I certainly haven't eliminated either) and seem to have been perfectly healthy and long-lived. They weren't fat, either. I'm assuming this has more to do with activity than magical properties of potatoes and butter (yummy as they are), but the idea that these are foods that are inconsistent with health in any amount is odd.
    I didn't mention anything about butter (yummy as it is).
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
    with enriched bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup and a 30 item ingredient list?
    Didn't count the number of ingredients, but it was a small paragraph like most breads I have seen. Definetly had enriched flour as a main ingredient
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
    with enriched bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup and a 30 item ingredient list?
    Didn't count the number of ingredients, but it was a small paragraph like most breads I have seen. Definetly had enriched flour as a main ingredient
    Boy, not my grandma's bread.
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
    Unless you have a condition white bread isn't necessarily bad.

    But when I track my calories and try to organise my day's food to be under my calorie goals I do notice that I eat less bread, pasta and rice. These food are fine but they do have more calories than you think. So you end up naturally eating less of them because you get so many extra calories from not so much volume.

    If you feel as though you can't have "just a little bit" of white bread and refined sugar then sure, go ahead and don't eat them altogether. But if you can fit them in to your diet and still be under your calorie goal then you're fine.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
    with enriched bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup and a 30 item ingredient list?
    Didn't count the number of ingredients, but it was a small paragraph like most breads I have seen. Definetly had enriched flour as a main ingredient
    Boy, not my grandma's bread.

    You may be older then. My grandmother was alive up until the 1990's and I don't really think bread has become much more "processed" since then. Villifying particular foods isn't really the answer. You may choose not to eat them in large amounts or even at all as a personal decision, but that doesn't mean other people can't eat them and remain rail thin. The whole concept of blaming foods for your woes is a bit silly to me, because you can find ample evidence of some of the leanest societies on this planet eating "white" carbs as a staple of their diet. That doesn't mean you have to eat those foods; it just means those foods are almost certainly not the reason peopled gained weight in the first place.
  • Sora4ever
    Sora4ever Posts: 98 Member
    There was a time in my life where I was so dirt poor and broke off my *kitten*, that I couldn't afford anything else other than spaghetti and rice. So for a few months, I LITERALLY lived off of spaghetti and rice. Occasionally I would be able to afford eggs and sausage, so that's what i ate for breakfast, but lunch and dinner was comprised of rationing rice for one meal, and spaghetti for the next. You'd think someone who was living off of nothing but simple carbs would gain all sorts of weight, right?

    No. If anything I lost weight. Maybe it was due to stress and lack of nutrients, but maybe not. I was walking a lot during that time because I didn't even have a car, nor wasn't to pay for gas. So I'd walk everywhere, everyday, back and forth.

    While yes, simple carbs eventually turn to sugar or fat or something like that, cutting them completely out isn't always the solution. My secret has always been portions, moderation, and exercise.

    Good luck.
  • michseddon
    michseddon Posts: 253
    all I can say is for the past 4 days I have felt like Im gonna die??? I had given up white bread and all the rest,, my lower stomach area has been in agony and I took so many painkillers I lost count. so I think I hit this diet thing too hard and fast that I am now back on bread, for now.. cos I did like how my belly didn't feel bloated, but I think my whole body went into shock. so maybe don't do it all at once is all I can say. Michele. really hope this helps you.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?
    Yes, it was just white bread that was labeled "vienna" or "italian" bread.
    with enriched bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup and a 30 item ingredient list?
    Didn't count the number of ingredients, but it was a small paragraph like most breads I have seen. Definetly had enriched flour as a main ingredient
    Boy, not my grandma's bread.

    You may be older then. My grandmother was alive up until the 1990's and I don't really think bread has become much more "processed" since then. Villifying particular foods isn't really the answer. You may choose not to eat them in large amounts or even at all as a personal decision, but that doesn't mean other people can't eat them and remain rail thin. The whole concept of blaming foods for your woes is a bit silly to me, because you can find ample evidence of some of the leanest societies on this planet eating "white" carbs as a staple of their diet. That doesn't mean you have to eat those foods; it just means those foods are almost certainly not the reason peopled gained weight in the first place.
    My grandmother passed in 1983. The most "commercial" bread she ate was probably Roman Meal.
    I don't believe in "vilifying" or "blaming", and if you review my earliest post, I suggested that rather than focusing on "eliminating" the OP could focus her attention toward how she chooses to build her diet. For me, that means building a diet with many nutrient dense vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains and fruit. No vilifying there, just good eats. :drinker:
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    I treasure and love my 100 caloire bagle in the morning. It makes me happy…and is fewer calories than the healthy sprouted breads people swiitch to when dieting.

    I say..why not just limit yourself to one or two helpings of those foods a day…and keep them under 100 calories. so you can enjoy them and lean portion control.

    it is all about balance..in my opinion.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I treasure and love my 100 caloire bagle in the morning. It makes me happy…and is fewer calories than the healthy sprouted breads people swiitch to when dieting.

    I say..why not just limit yourself to one or two helpings of those foods a day…and keep them under 100 calories. so you can enjoy them and lean portion control.

    it is all about balance..in my opinion.
    This wouldn't quite work, for me. When I have bread, I have two slices of a good, hearty, whole grain bread. More than 100 calories for sure. But not a worse choice...
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?

    The assertion wasn't limited to "super market" breads, even if there were some difference of note (there's a lot of bread of various kinds at the super market, after all). Some members of my mom's family (going back some generations) had the first mill in their Iowa county, so I'm guessing they ate more bread than I do, and there are some pretty long-lived people in that family. My great grandparents and many of their children were farmers and just from my memory from family visits and so on they ate MUCH more butter and potatoes than I do (and I certainly haven't eliminated either) and seem to have been perfectly healthy and long-lived. They weren't fat, either. I'm assuming this has more to do with activity than magical properties of potatoes and butter (yummy as they are), but the idea that these are foods that are inconsistent with health in any amount is odd.
    I didn't mention anything about butter (yummy as it is).

    No, but the post that people were objecting to did. The poster asserted that it was self-evident, based on the habits of some dieters he or she knows, that eating butter, potatoes, and white bread (unspecified what kind, so I assume the homemade kind is included) is bad for your health. Period.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.
    Was she eating "super market" bought enriched breads?

    The assertion wasn't limited to "super market" breads, even if there were some difference of note (there's a lot of bread of various kinds at the super market, after all). Some members of my mom's family (going back some generations) had the first mill in their Iowa county, so I'm guessing they ate more bread than I do, and there are some pretty long-lived people in that family. My great grandparents and many of their children were farmers and just from my memory from family visits and so on they ate MUCH more butter and potatoes than I do (and I certainly haven't eliminated either) and seem to have been perfectly healthy and long-lived. They weren't fat, either. I'm assuming this has more to do with activity than magical properties of potatoes and butter (yummy as they are), but the idea that these are foods that are inconsistent with health in any amount is odd.
    I didn't mention anything about butter (yummy as it is).

    No, but the post that people were objecting to did. It asserted that it was self-evident, based on the habits of some dieters he or she knows, that eating butter, potatoes, and white bread is bad for your health. Period.
    Yup. It did. I see that sort of "it works for me/my friend/my trainer therefore it's 'the way'" assertion on here quite a bit. Even on this thread. cheers
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    The majority of people that i know who have lost a lot of weight gave up white bread , butter and potatoes completley so that probably gives you an idea of the harm to your health that those foods do.
    Tell that to my 90 year old italian grandmother who never got over 100 lbs and was a size 1 her entire life eating all white carbs every single day.

    Same here.... My grandma had Archway sugar cookies at all times on the kitchen table and ate braunschweiger on white bread for lunch just about daily and I can't remember a meal coming off her table at dinner time that did not include some form of White Potatoes that was fried in lard (yes a straight up bucket of lard use to sit right by the stove she cooked everything with it, lady made some of the best homemade pies with lard in the crust) Both my grandparents were rail thin (grandpa was 6ft. 2in and weight 170lbs. and she was 5ft. 4in. and weighed 120 lbs, and both lived into there 90's) Both ate ice cream every night before bed... I lost over 300 pounds with white bread, pasta and potatoes as a staple in my diet along with pure cane sugar... When it comes right down to it, no foods can be single out as the reason any of us ever got fat, over weight, obese... It had everything to do with the copious amounts of any foods that was consumed was the reason and it is that plain and simple... Are there more nutritious food than other? Yes but lets not alienate White bread and sugar.... There is no need too, if you prefer whole grains over white breads and pasta than that comes down to personal choice.....
  • Nikkisfitblog
    Nikkisfitblog Posts: 149 Member
    I have nothing against what people choose to fill their macros with... white, brown, purple...whatever. I do however, have a issue with the words "i believe" this worked because I ate this. Science is not a faith... just because you "believe" in something doesn't make it right. In fact science is right whether you believe in it or not...

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