Pasta (should I limit my intake)

I am following the ketogenic diet. Haven't had bread, pasta, rice or sugar since march 6. I have indulged in butter, bacon, mayo and as much ranch dressing as i want. I actually have killed 3 jars of mayo since march ... I've lost 26lbs. My fibro symptoms are gone, hormones regulated (for the first time in a decade) blood pressure normalized, acne cleared up, joint pain gone, depression and anxiety GONE!! IMHO yes. You should watch pasta intake. In fact you should nix it altogether

Hi I've limited my pasta to one small portion a night and I've lost 21 lbs in 2 months. So I use wholemeal . I stick to a medium carb low fat high protein thanks

Weight loss is about calories not type of food. If the pasta fits in your calorie goal it is fine to eat it.
However, you should aim to get enough protein, fats and fiber. If pasta takes up a lot of calories but doesn't provide many nutrients you may want to reduce the amount of pasta and eat more of other foods.

UncaToddly wrote: »

SugarySweetheart wrote: »

emmadonaldson95 wrote: »

hayleyogden25 wrote: »

I'm unsure whether to limit my pasta intake. Having followed slimming world previously, the advice there was to eat as much as you want but looking at the calorific value, I can't see this being correct. Any advice would be helpful :-)

I've pretty much ditched pasta because to get a portion size I want the calories just arent worth it with my goal I'd rather 'spend' them elsewhere.
I'm seriously considering a spiralizer though to make vegetti because pasta and easy sauces could be super low calorie like that and fast.

An excellent replacement because most of us enjoy the marinara sauce and cheese put upon the pasta and you get all the flavor without the pasta.

We have tried the Vegetti (pencil sharpener type) on zucchini and weren't crazy about it. Not enough body to the zoodle. Using cauliflower riced as a substitute for rice or mashed in substitute of potatoes has worked well though.

We have recently found a spaghetti at Costco (Explore Asian) that is made just from edamame that is great for those of us on low carb/high protein diets. A 2oz (dry wt.) portion is 204 cal, 21g carbs, 11g Fiber and 24g Protein. Best part is that it is no different than any other dry pasta you buy to me. Online, you can also buy other ones they make from different beans as well, such as black beans, mung beans and adzuki beans that are similar in nutritional makeup.

I ordered the black bean spaghetti off Amazon and felt the serving size was very generous. The other pasta I ordered is made from lentils (rotini and penne) and I only eat 57 grams of it to stay in the 200 calorie range, and it's a small portion but I bulk it up with vegetables. The actual serving size on the box is around 300 calories and the protein/fiber amounts are really good.

I stayed away from pasta at the beginning thinking it was what I needed to do to lose weight. I'm so glad I dismissed that reasoning. After this realization, I would eat 1 to 1.5 serving of pasta with meatballs along with a salad. This always fit so nicely into may day. Carbs, protein, fat

lorrpb wrote: »

I've limited pasta because it has been a BIG help in limiting cals and keeping a proper macro balance. I have it a couple times a month at most. I rarely order it when eating out. When I do, I puck off the protein & any veggies and eat a small amount of pasta. I usually save at least half to take home & work into 2 more meals. I imagine that a plate of pasta & sauce would use all my cals for the day & screw up my macros.

I make pasta a lot. No more calories than any other meal, and I eat it with lots of vegetables and lean meat.

I eat a serving size (57 g) or less of pasta.

Don't know why it would use up all my calories or mess up my macros. It's just a starch course.

57 grams is a very small portion of pasta. I probably wouldn't even bother with that.

I was slimming world too! Ended up I couldn't lose weight on it anymore but starting this it was an eye opener! I've cut my pasta way down compared to what I used to have! But you'd still feel depressed at the portions of pasta you can have

Limit it. Calorie in, calorie out, always.

I always limit my pasta intake. I try not to eat more than half a tonne at one sitting (except for special occasions).

I agree with "if it fits your goals". I think the question of which foods 'aid weight loss' is very individual, because it's all about what foods fill you up, and that varies from person to person. Foods which fill you up will help you to stay within your calorie limit. I find pasta quite filling. Do you?

It's all a journey in finding out how you react to different foods, which ones fill you up, which ones leave you hungry.

emmycantbemeeko wrote: »

Bariatric surgeons are advising bariatric surgery patients, who have a severely restricted stomach size, can only eat a certain volume of total food, and therefore must prioritize nutrient-dense foods to get the nutrition they need and not become deficient. Pasta is a bulky, not particularly nutritionally dense food, and probably not a great choices for those patients.

This is not generally applicable nutrition advice. Unless you are a bariatric patient under their care, probably don't take nutrition advice from bariatric surgeons.

Not all people who go to bariatric clinics end up going the surgical route. Most of us who do go to them though, are there because we are morbidly obese even if we aren't 600+ pounds. As a result, we typically have other issues like pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, etc. and for most of us, a low carb, high protein diet is recommended even if we DIDN'T go the surgical route.

When I finally followed up on the recommendation to go to the bariatric clinic at the hospital my PCP is a part of, it was specifically for the non-surgical plan. I didn't need to have my stomach shrunk, I needed to get my diet realistic and sustainable.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

2 oz, standard serving size on US packages. Dry weight. Makes quite a lot, especially if you have a substantial sauce with it.

Come to Canada. Serving size is 85 grams approximately 3 ounces.

I always stick to ---as long as I'm getting my nutrient intake and I'm staying under my carb and calorie intake I'll eat pasta! I do limit it though, since I have a sedentary job. Carbs are the enemy if you're sedentary, and while I do get out and do cardio, I don't feel like it's enough to carb load haha.

cecsav1 wrote: »

Here's my concern with the strict interpretation of calories in vs calories out... you could eat 1200 (or whatever your goal is) calories of pasta per day. Would you still lose weight? Yes, if you burn more than 1200 calories a day. Would you get enough nutrients? No. Period. So... short answer, you don't necessarily have to "limit your pasta intake," just make sure you're eating within your calorie goal AND not eating so much pasta that you can't fit protein, veggies, etc in there too.

Not sure where anyone said to eat 1,200 calories of pasta a day. Up till your comment, the remarks were along the lines of "as long as you can fit it in with your calories" - and one example was about 167 calories. Nobody said eat 1200 calories of pasta in a day?? Why do people always feel compelled to bring up these ridiculous arguments? Nobody assumes they can eat 1200 calories of pasta a day and nothing else. Nobody assumes that it would be smart to eat 1200 calories of oreos, ice cream, or potato chips a day either.