Cutting carbs and refined sugar
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I am eating a balanced diet of protein carbs and fats. I weight 149 and want to get back to my best weight of 129. I eat very clean but stress and emotions cause me to derail my diet. I do weigh and measure all my foods. I am desperate to get tips weight off.
With only 20 lbs to lose you should have your goal set to lose 1 lb, or even 0.5 lb/week. You should easily be able to fit in more than a bite, but less than a pint, of ice cream on a regular basis; and still meet your weight loss goals.
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
you know there are a lot of nutritious carbs right...carbs =/= junk
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Thinking what way?? That's very negative. Have a nice night.
I think what @Orphia is saying is that you use a lot of extremes in your posts.
"You are desperate to get the weight off"
"One bite of ice cream doesn't work"
"Sugar is as addictive as cocaine"
Taking a more realistic, patient, and moderate viewpoint toward food and weight loss may lead to better long term sustainability as many people find extreme restriction to lead to falling off the wagon, followed by feelings of guilt and despair. You already commented that stress and emotional eating derail you. Stress isn't going anywhere. You need to find other ways of dealing with jt that don't result in you feeling like you have totally abandoned your eating plan.
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I eat high-carb, but cut sugary treats. It was really hard at first, but got easier. I think knowing that I could eat them if I chose to was helpful. I chose not to. So, it wasn't like, "I can't...but I want to!...but I can't..." It was just, "No, no thank you." I can now make the stuff for others and not want to cry, lol.
I can eat donuts. Nobody has a gun to my head. I choose not to.
Some people find that if they try to eliminate certain foods, they will end up losing control of themselves and binging on them. So, those people make a point of including their bingey foods in their diet and that prevents their binges. This is not a problem I've encountered.
Whatever works!
I swapped white breads and pastas out for whole wheat versions. The whole wheat is healthier and I used to have cravings after I ate the white stuff, so living without that is better.
But I eat a buttload of fruits and veggies and end up high-carb at the end of the day.0 -
Start by cutting processed sugar. Beyond the obvious sweets, read labels and choose salad dressings and other items that don't have added sugar. That may be all the carb cutting you need to do. There are a lot of hidden sugars out there! If that doesn't get you to your goal, consider cutting back processed carbs like bread and pasta. Carbs aren't always a bad thing and your body does need some to function every day. Add some good protein, cut the outright sugars, keep your veggies, and see where you are in a couple of months.
Eating low carb isn't for everyone. I started lowering my carbs 15 months ago from a daily of 100-120g. I now live in the 20-30g range with occasional forays into the wilds of 40s and 50s!. It took me 6 months of slowly cutting carbs to find the right place for me *and* to not feel like I was starving to death to do it. Not everyone can "just cut out carbs." If you can, more power to you. If you don't need to, then don't. It's a process and you can't rush it.0 -
I'm diabetic and thinking of cutting carbs I don't eat a lot of pasta or rice but cutting down bread0
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GuitarJerry wrote: »My post got lost. Boo. Anyway, in 20 years we'll all be laughing our butts off at this trend. LCHF is the low fat diet of the 80's.
The high carb low fat fad started in the 70's. Before that most people ate lower carbs. I think the current way of eating is more likely a fad (thank you Ancel Keys).0 -
I agree that it started in the 70s. I remember the women drinking Tab and using those little books to look up calories, then clicking their clickers with their daily totals.GuitarJerry wrote: »My post got lost. Boo. Anyway, in 20 years we'll all be laughing our butts off at this trend. LCHF is the low fat diet of the 80's.
The high carb low fat fad started in the 70's. Before that most people ate lower carbs. I think the current way of eating is more likely a fad (thank you Ancel Keys).
And they talked "low-fat" all the time.
It didn't begin in the 80s. People keep saying that, but it isn't so. I don't care what anyone read, this began before the 1980s.0 -
It was a big thing in the '80s, that's what people mean. Doesn't really matter when it started.
The amount of fat we eat actually has increased, not gone down though. The relative percentage seems to have decreased a little (while total calories went up), because carb calories increased more (not the kinds of carbs that were actually recommended by the experts, though). However, it's hard to tell because people think they should eat lower fat (even now, weirdly) and that affects how accurate self-reported studies are (at least from what I've read it's believed that we actually eat higher fat than we report).
So people think they should eat low fat, respond somewhat to dumb "fat free" marketing, often on things that did not have fat anyway (like processed cereal products), and may overeat some snack foods on the basis they are fat free, but continue to also eat lots of lots of high fat food, like fast foods and breakfast sausages and chips and sweet treats that also include lots of fat.
To pretend like the issue with the US diet is just carbs or eating like the experts (see, e.g., Walter Willett) recommended is just untrue. People don't eat like Willett or even like the real anti fat sorts recommend (see the vegans or Ornish or McDougall for those plans). Those that do are generally reasonably healthy, since they actually pay attention to what they eat and there's a huge range of healthy human diets for those who actually pay attention. The issue isn't people following bad expert advice too carefully, it's that most people eat pretty thoughtlessly and just based on convenience and what seems tasty.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »It was a big thing in the '80s, that's what people mean. Doesn't really matter when it started.
The amount of fat we eat actually has increased, not gone down though. The relative percentage seems to have decreased a little (while total calories went up), because carb calories increased more (not the kinds of carbs that were actually recommended by the experts, though). However, it's hard to tell because people think they should eat lower fat (even now, weirdly) and that affects how accurate self-reported studies are (at least from what I've read it's believed that we actually eat higher fat than we report).
So people think they should eat low fat, respond somewhat to dumb "fat free" marketing, often on things that did not have fat anyway (like processed cereal products), and may overeat some snack foods on the basis they are fat free, but continue to also eat lots of lots of high fat food, like fast foods and breakfast sausages and chips and sweet treats that also include lots of fat.
To pretend like the issue with the US diet is just carbs or eating like the experts (see, e.g., Walter Willett) recommended is just untrue. People don't eat like Willett or even like the real anti fat sorts recommend (see the vegans or Ornish or McDougall for those plans). Those that do are generally reasonably healthy, since they actually pay attention to what they eat and there's a huge range of healthy human diets for those who actually pay attention. The issue isn't people following bad expert advice too carefully, it's that most people eat pretty thoughtlessly and just based on convenience and what seems tasty.
In todays culture, people have to eat what tastes good, and have to eat something different all the time. Convenience is everywhere. People like convenience, they like not having to work for things. And guess what? Fast food companies, chip companies, and soda companies know it. 100% of their profits are based on that. Fast food companies come out with new products all the time, and sell them like crazy because they know you won't put in the time to make it yourself (however unhealthy it is). Hell, a carls jr burger costs about $7 nowadays, but it would cost about $3 to make at home, considering energy use.
We have all eaten fast food. I am eating fast food right now. I just downed 8 Jacks tacos. But I am not really in a position to cook (I have no kitchen) and I can get tacos for a quarter. Since they have sufficient macros for me (55% fat, 30% carbs, 15% protein), I utilize them. This will be all I eat for the next 2-3 weeks bc I need to save money for college around the corner, and to fix my van. I can eat to satiety for about $4-5 per day, as opposed to $12-14 on my typical dairy, meat and avocado diet. I do it because it is practical and functional. Yes, I understand, they arent healthy on a micro level, but I am active enough that it wont damage me in the short term.
Point is, make food serve a purpose. Educate yourself. If you find a good routine with food, stick to it, and keep things simple. Humans are naturally lazy, and if you have to keep finding new ingredients to satisfy your taste buds, you will eventually burn yourself out. Most the food I eat (when life permits) already has enough flavor: avocado, cheese, ground beef, eggs, almondmilk, spinach, butter (to name a few), and even water to drink. Yeah, call me lazy, I don't want to cook meals many would consider "good"....but it serves a purpose.
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RockstarWilson wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »It was a big thing in the '80s, that's what people mean. Doesn't really matter when it started.
The amount of fat we eat actually has increased, not gone down though. The relative percentage seems to have decreased a little (while total calories went up), because carb calories increased more (not the kinds of carbs that were actually recommended by the experts, though). However, it's hard to tell because people think they should eat lower fat (even now, weirdly) and that affects how accurate self-reported studies are (at least from what I've read it's believed that we actually eat higher fat than we report).
So people think they should eat low fat, respond somewhat to dumb "fat free" marketing, often on things that did not have fat anyway (like processed cereal products), and may overeat some snack foods on the basis they are fat free, but continue to also eat lots of lots of high fat food, like fast foods and breakfast sausages and chips and sweet treats that also include lots of fat.
To pretend like the issue with the US diet is just carbs or eating like the experts (see, e.g., Walter Willett) recommended is just untrue. People don't eat like Willett or even like the real anti fat sorts recommend (see the vegans or Ornish or McDougall for those plans). Those that do are generally reasonably healthy, since they actually pay attention to what they eat and there's a huge range of healthy human diets for those who actually pay attention. The issue isn't people following bad expert advice too carefully, it's that most people eat pretty thoughtlessly and just based on convenience and what seems tasty.
In todays culture, people have to eat what tastes good, and have to eat something different all the time. Convenience is everywhere. People like convenience, they like not having to work for things. And guess what? Fast food companies, chip companies, and soda companies know it. 100% of their profits are based on that. Fast food companies come out with new products all the time, and sell them like crazy because they know you won't put in the time to make it yourself (however unhealthy it is). Hell, a carls jr burger costs about $7 nowadays, but it would cost about $3 to make at home, considering energy use.
Right--a lot of this is that things are convenient and people like convenience. It's not that food is more tasty now. I personally think a homemade burger is tastier than fast food and there's no contest between homemade baked goods and the store-bought stuff, but it's a lot easier to buy something at the grocery store than make it.
This is why focusing on eating only foods I really love and appreciate, mindfully, as well as on health and nutrition and the fact I do like to cook most of what I eat has made it easier for me not to eat a lot of extra calories without cutting out any broad food groups.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
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Have you actually tried both to make that comparison?Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine0 -
Thank you very much!!!! What did you cut??? No sugar? Candy? Do you eat dairy?? No breads or pasta (of course). Do u eat oatmeal or sweet potatoes?? Fruit?GaleHawkins wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »
Thank you very much!!!! What did you cut??? No sugar? Candy? Do you eat dairy?? No breads or pasta (of course). Do u eat oatmeal or sweet potatoes?? Fruit?GaleHawkins wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
If you're really worried about cocaine like addictions, I hope you're aware that by cutting out foods, and thus making them more novel, you're going to increase the dopamine that comes from anticipating having them - dopamine being one of the chemicals cocaine causes to flood the brain.0 -
My doctor suggested Whole30 diet - which is kind of Paleo. Basically meat, fruit and vege (but not corn, peas or legumes). No dairy, no sweets or artificial sweeteners. It's very low carb (I average 50 - 60 per day) and I feel better and am losing weight. Google it. Lot's of free info on their web site.
The other thing I think to myself when people are "pushing" their sweets or carbs on me is "that is poison in MY system." Maybe melodramatic - but it helps me.
Good luck!!0 -
Thank you so much!! I'm gonna check it out in the morning0
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High carb on workout days and high fat on non-workout days. How about that ?0
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How can it be helpful to think of carbs or sweets as poison?
"Yeah, lets just be wrong because reasons."
You will always have problems if you think this way.
Learn moderation and you'll be laughing for life.0
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