Basmati Rice/Bread

I was trying to get my carbs down by replacing the rice I have with meals (such as curry etc) with things like cauliflower rice. I do like these taste wise, but none of them fill me up and I'm ravenous only an hour or so later. But if I eat the portion of rice (weighed out), it fills me up for hours. This is the same as if I have a giant salad instead of a sandwich for lunch, the first doesn't fill me up and the second does.

Is it really a bad thing to eat rice and bread most days to lose weight? I've been told that I need to not eat these things because I have PCOS, but I find it so hard to eat to calorie goal without them.

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you've cut your carbs, have you increased fat ?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I was trying to get my carbs down by replacing the rice I have with meals (such as curry etc) with things like cauliflower rice. I do like these taste wise, but none of them fill me up and I'm ravenous only an hour or so later. But if I eat the portion of rice (weighed out), it fills me up for hours. This is the same as if I have a giant salad instead of a sandwich for lunch, the first doesn't fill me up and the second does.

    Is it really a bad thing to eat rice and bread most days to lose weight? I've been told that I need to not eat these things because I have PCOS, but I find it so hard to eat to calorie goal without them.

    To meet your calorie goal after decreasing carbs, increase the other macros. Make sure you are going to hit your protein goal first, and then fill the rest with fat.

    Many women do find decreasing carbs helps with PCOS, but this is not universally true. You could also try reducing carbs by having half rice and have cauliflower. Here's a recent thread on veggie/starches combos: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10735491/veggie-bulk-to-rice-pasta/p1
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    One interesting thing I learned from a trainer about carbs is only eat them if you need fuel. If you are going to be sitting at your desk or on the couch watching tv right after, then that’s not a good time to eat them. Their purpose is for energy and if you don’t se that energy then they are stored.

    The thing with trainers is they are experts (hopefully) in the mechanical body but nutrition not necessarily. This sounds like some fuzzy understanding of glycogen stores.

    OP - you should eat what makes you feel good and feel full while staying within you calorie goal. Just because some PCOS cases are aggravated by some foods doesn't mean you will be. Cut back if you have an adverse reaction, until then, enjoy.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I was trying to get my carbs down by replacing the rice I have with meals (such as curry etc) with things like cauliflower rice. I do like these taste wise, but none of them fill me up and I'm ravenous only an hour or so later. But if I eat the portion of rice (weighed out), it fills me up for hours. This is the same as if I have a giant salad instead of a sandwich for lunch, the first doesn't fill me up and the second does.

    Is it really a bad thing to eat rice and bread most days to lose weight? I've been told that I need to not eat these things because I have PCOS, but I find it so hard to eat to calorie goal without them.

    To meet your calorie goal after decreasing carbs, increase the other macros. Make sure you are going to hit your protein goal first, and then fill the rest with fat.

    Many women do find decreasing carbs helps with PCOS, but this is not universally true. You could also try reducing carbs by having half rice and have cauliflower. Here's a recent thread on veggie/starches combos: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10735491/veggie-bulk-to-rice-pasta/p1

    Maybe I misread, but I took "so hard to eat to calorie goal without them" to mean that without eating these things, she has trouble keeping within her calorie goal. Otherwise she will overeat it. I'm going off of her saying that rice and bread help her feel a lot more full than eating other things. That would indicate that they help control cravings and restrict calorie consumption.

    I agree the wording is a bit ambiguous though. OP - do you mean that eating carbs helps prevent you from over eating your goal, or do you mean that without eating carbs, you do not eat enough calories?
  • lyssamahrie59
    lyssamahrie59 Posts: 1 Member
    I'm right there with you. When I cut out carbs I have seriously intense cravings and end up binging. I have found that with PCOS I have to lower my calorie goal below the recommended as I'm simply maintaining weight on the recommended weight loss goal. If I lower it even 100 or 200 below that I start seeing weight loss, even with keeping sugar and carbs (in moderate portions) in my diet on a regular basis. I'm working on finding a daily diet that I can stick with even once I've reached my goal weight so cutting any kind of food is strictly a no go. Switch to smarter carbs (basmati rice is a great choice and whole wheat/grain breads, natural sugars from fruit that comes with other nutrients etc...).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    One interesting thing I learned from a trainer about carbs is only eat them if you need fuel. If you are going to be sitting at your desk or on the couch watching tv right after, then that’s not a good time to eat them. Their purpose is for energy and if you don’t se that energy then they are stored.

    One interesting thing I learned is that trainers may (or may not) know something about exercise but very few know much about nutrition as it's not part of their education as a rule.
    But there's a sizeable proportion of trainers that spout the most awful garbage - just like the advice above. Sorry but it's totally ridiculous.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    I also have PCOS and was told that I'm insulin resistant, even placed on metformin at one point.

    I have tried low carb diets in the past and learned that those diets are not sustainable for me. Today I eat a diet that is 60% carbs. My diet is mainly vegetables, fruit and grains along with some dairy and a bit of fish. I am losing weight as expected and actually have the best energy levels of possibly my lifetime.

    I guess my point is that some trial and error worked well for me and that it isn't always necessary to cut out the foods that you love.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    One interesting thing I learned from a trainer about carbs is only eat them if you need fuel. If you are going to be sitting at your desk or on the couch watching tv right after, then that’s not a good time to eat them. Their purpose is for energy and if you don’t se that energy then they are stored.

    On Friday I will eat lots of carbs and my calories to maintenance... Friday is a rest day. I deliberately want to store those carbs for Saturday's long run.

    If you're eating at a deficit, it doesn't matter when you're eating carbs.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    One interesting thing I learned from a trainer about carbs is only eat them if you need fuel. If you are going to be sitting at your desk or on the couch watching tv right after, then that’s not a good time to eat them. Their purpose is for energy and if you don’t se that energy then they are stored.

    Carbs aren't readily stored as fat. Beyond that, you're not going to store fat unless you are in a calorie surplus. Your body is also using energy all of the time, even when sitting. My BMR is around 1800 calories...I burn that in a day in a coma.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Any time you’re eating more calories than your body needs, that energy can be stored as fat. This is true regardless of what macros the calories came from. There’s nothing magical about carbs that makes their energy get stored as fat more readily than energy from other sources.
  • thelandkraken
    thelandkraken Posts: 91 Member
    Hi all thanks for your advice so far.

    I’m sorry for the ambiguous wording, I did mean that if I eat less carbs then I tend to binge and go way over calorie goal, whereas eating rice and bread controls cravings.

    I have tried increasing various other macros (protein, fat, etc) but it doesn’t seem to make a difference to satiety. For example, I can eat a whole cauliflower and be hungry in 30 mins. But 40g of rice will keep me fill for a few hours.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Hi all thanks for your advice so far.

    I’m sorry for the ambiguous wording, I did mean that if I eat less carbs then I tend to binge and go way over calorie goal, whereas eating rice and bread controls cravings.

    I have tried increasing various other macros (protein, fat, etc) but it doesn’t seem to make a difference to satiety. For example, I can eat a whole cauliflower and be hungry in 30 mins. But 40g of rice will keep me fill for a few hours.

    Then you should eat the rice unless you have been diagnosed with diabetes or have another medical reason not to eat it. You can lose weight perfectly well with PCOS while eating carbs. I lost 100 pounds, have maintained for over a year and a half, and my macros are on average near the MFP defaults (50% carbs).