How to Eat Less Carbs??

whmscll wrote: »

One thing I think people do is lump all carbs together. But there is a HUGE difference between carbs from cookies, cakes, ice cream, white bread, etc., and whole grain, whole fruit and vegetable carbs that also contain protein, vitamins/minerals, and less fat. I often see people refer to “carbs/sugary stuff.” But there is a difference between empty sugary carbs and carbs that actually contain a lot of nutrition.

It's still going to be pretty individualized though. I'm transitioning from a mostly whole foods plant focused, high carb/low fat diet to a mostly whole foods, low carb/high fat diet, and I now realize that higher carb whole foods-things like whole grains, beans, fruit etc do nothing for me, in terms of making me feel full.

Cutting down on those types of whole foods and replacing them with high fat foods, that are also nutrient dense whole foods, has had a pretty significant impact on my hunger cues and I no longer have a constant nagging hunger and have had a major reduction in appetite, which has led to me taking in less calories etc.

Different foods/different macros is so individualized, what clicks with one person will be another person's failure.

eta: edit grammar stuff

whmscll wrote: »

One thing I think people do is lump all carbs together. But there is a HUGE difference between carbs from cookies, cakes, ice cream, white bread, etc., and whole grain, whole fruit and vegetable carbs that also contain protein, vitamins/minerals, and less fat. I often see people refer to “carbs/sugary stuff.” But there is a difference between empty sugary carbs and carbs that actually contain a lot of nutrition.

You make an important point. I do think OP might have good reason to limit (to some degree) even nutrient dense carbs, but to me "carbs" (used casually) tends to mean starches (beans, lentils, corn, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, barley, rice (brown or white), pasta (which is typically eaten with veg and protein and fat IMO), so on), plus fruit. Veg are of course primarily carbs too, but are low enough cal that they don't have a lot until you eat a lot. I don't really think of sweet treats as "carbs" since I dislike pretty much all sweet treats that don't also include fat (with the exception of these popsicles made from fruit juice only that I sometimes get a craving for when it's hot).

I think it's interesting when people call "cakes, cookies, muffins" and even pizza (which has all three macros) carbs when really for many people the issue is likely that they are carbs + fat, and get lots of cals from both (often more from fat), so are high cal and for many tend to be harder to control than plain carbs would be, especially if they have higher fiber and are eaten in the context of a meal. As others have said, I like some dessert foods (ice cream! pie! coffee cake!) and used to enjoy muffins (muffins are just never worth the cals for me anymore), but they are tons of cals, not great in terms of nutrients, and not filling for me in a lasting way (and too easy to eat when I'm not hungry), so even though I don't limit carbs, I tend to limit cals for them and eat them only with extra cals that have been designated (I usually don't log now, but basically follow the same pattern).

Also (and I may be repeating myself), many of the foods mentioned are dessert items, so they likely are eaten on their own. As others have said, I think it gets easier to make good food choices and not overeat when you make sure your diet is full of balanced (include protein, healthy fat, fiber, vegetables, maybe fruit) meals and don't automatically reach for treats when hungry. If you have had a nourishing meal and aren't hungry it's easier to have a bit of something high cal and not go overboard.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

whmscll wrote: »

One thing I think people do is lump all carbs together. But there is a HUGE difference between carbs from cookies, cakes, ice cream, white bread, etc., and whole grain, whole fruit and vegetable carbs that also contain protein, vitamins/minerals, and less fat. I often see people refer to “carbs/sugary stuff.” But there is a difference between empty sugary carbs and carbs that actually contain a lot of nutrition.

You make an important point. I do think OP might have good reason to limit (to some degree) even nutrient dense carbs, but to me "carbs" (used casually) tends to mean starches (beans, lentils, corn, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, barley, rice (brown or white), pasta (which is typically eaten with veg and protein and fat IMO), so on), plus fruit. Veg are of course primarily carbs too, but are low enough cal that they don't have a lot until you eat a lot. I don't really think of sweet treats as "carbs" since I dislike pretty much all sweet treats that don't also include fat (with the exception of these popsicles made from fruit juice only that I sometimes get a craving for when it's hot).

I think it's interesting when people call "cakes, cookies, muffins" and even pizza (which has all three macros) carbs when really for many people the issue is likely that they are carbs + fat, and get lots of cals from both (often more from fat), so are high cal and for many tend to be harder to control than plain carbs would be, especially if they have higher fiber and are eaten in the context of a meal. As others have said, I like some dessert foods (ice cream! pie! coffee cake!) and used to enjoy muffins (muffins are just never worth the cals for me anymore), but they are tons of cals, not great in terms of nutrients, and not filling for me in a lasting way (and too easy to eat when I'm not hungry), so even though I don't limit carbs, I tend to limit cals for them and eat them only with extra cals that have been designated (I usually don't log now, but basically follow the same pattern).

Also (and I may be repeating myself), many of the foods mentioned are dessert items, so they likely are eaten on their own. As others have said, I think it gets easier to make good food choices and not overeat when you make sure your diet is full of balanced (include protein, healthy fat, fiber, vegetables, maybe fruit) meals and don't automatically reach for treats when hungry. If you have had a nourishing meal and aren't hungry it's easier to have a bit of something high cal and not go overboard.

TeaBea wrote: »

Google blue zones. The world is full of people who eat high carb diets and aren't obese.

Cookies aren't just carbs anyway. Cookies, pizza, and candy generally include a high portion of fat also. Fat and carbs are often a yummy combination. Eliminating them for a diet (temporarily) is a strategy.....for dieting.

Look for forever strategies. I like to focus on meeting protein and fiber. This helps me choose foods that are more filling to me. I allow a treat everyday. I think it forces me to be more choosy.

This is important. A lot of times I see foods that get lumped into the "carbs are bad" category that are not actually that carb heavy. I've even seen it in other threads where posters will use fast food as carbs being an example of being bad. But if you look at a lot of fast food, it's actually pretty low overall in carbs (minus obviously like a 40oz big gulp). For instance at Wendy's, the Dave's Triple Classic (a favorite of mine), is practically Keto. 26 grams of carbs, which is only 10% of the total. A lot of fast food is very high in fat and low in carbs. So it's weird how carbs gets singled out of some of these foods.