Trying to give up bread

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 9:05am #1

Been off the sauce a month and plan on quitting completely.

Next step is giving up bread. No weight problems, in fact I'm probably about a stone under weight (12st 5, 6ft 2)

Any tips or suggestions on replacing it? I love a couple of slices of toast in the morning or maybe a brown bread roll/couple of slices of wholemeal or wholwheat with a bowl of stew.

I'm actually finding this harder to quit than the booze!

Any advice greatly appreciated

Stench Blossoms · 16-01-2014 9:22am

I gave it up a few years ago and tbh I didn't replace it with anything. Well actually I kinda did, I started adding in more veg to my meals.

Are you only having the toast in the mornings? If so, try something more substantial like porridge or eggs.

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 9:28am

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I gave it up a few years ago and tbh I didn't replace it with anything. Well actually I kinda did, I started adding in more veg to my meals.

Are you only having the toast in the mornings? If so, try something more substantial like porridge or eggs.

Aye, toast and a coffee. I AM partial to scrambled eggs so might try replace it with that

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 10:51am

when you take an objective look you realise that bread has very little function in a meal.

Most people include it out of habit, I grew up with a slice of white bread on the side of every plate and most of the time it is redundant and nothing more than extra calories.

Nutritionally bread gives you nothing you cant get elsewhere.

Functionally it forms the base of a sandwich but when you realise that if you ditch the bread and use the ingredients of the sarnie in a salad instead you notice you can get more of the good stuff.

When you notice that it is doing nothing more than keeping your fingers clean youll be happy enough to drop it.

I eliminate all those habitual thoughts forcing me to eat 4/5+ slices of white bread, eating sandwiches and having it with meals or as a snack. I noticed that I didnt even like it. It was tasteless and unpleasant.

Now I only eat bread on occasion and it is a treat when I do, much better all round for it.

change the way you think about bread from "give us this daily bread" to "give me bread on occasion that I may enjoy it more and it doesnt screw my insides up as easily"

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 11:20am

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

Been off the sauce a month and plan on quitting completely.

Next step is giving up bread. No weight problems, in fact I'm probably about a stone under weight (12st 5, 6ft 2)

Any tips or suggestions on replacing it? I love a couple of slices of toast in the morning or maybe a brown bread roll/couple of slices of wholemeal or wholwheat with a bowl of stew.

I'm actually finding this harder to quit than the booze!

Any advice greatly appreciated

Why are you giving it up in the first place?

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 11:23am

runawaybishop wrote: »

Why are you giving it up in the first place?

Tiny tiny gut, really small but bothers me. Not sure whether it was caused by booze or 'wheat belly' but it has decreased substabtially and I can now fit into my old 30 waist jeans.

Still though - I'm worried about continuing to eat bread in case it develops again.

On a side night, would Jacobs Cream Crackers with low fat butter be a suitable, lower calorie alternative?

cullenswood · 16-01-2014 11:29am

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

On a side night, would Jacobs Cream Crackers with low fat butter be a suitable, lower calorie alternative?

Don't be bothering with low fat butter, normal butter is better for you. It is good fat.

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 11:30am

cullenswood wrote: »

Don't be bothering with low fat butter, normal butter is better for you. It is good fat.

So Dairy Gold is ok?

jacksie66 · 16-01-2014 11:31am

This post has been deleted.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 11:31am

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

Tiny tiny gut, really small but bothers me. Not sure whether it was caused by booze or 'wheat belly' but it has decreased substabtially and I can now fit into my old 30 waist jeans.

Still though - I'm worried about continuing to eat bread in case it develops again.

On a side night, would Jacobs Cream Crackers with low fat butter be a suitable, lower calorie alternative?

Avoid low fat butter, use the real stuff. A small bit of bread won't make any real difference. You could make your own bread (irish soda is stupidly easy) if you want to avoid shop bought crap. For breakfast i guess you want something quick and easy, try instant porridge or scrambled eggs.

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 11:32am

just get real butter, not spreads or margerine. Irish butter is pretty good butter, shame not to use it.

yosser hughes · 16-01-2014 11:33am

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

So Dairy Gold is ok?

Dairy Gold isn't butter.

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 11:35am

runawaybishop wrote: »

Avoid low fat butter, use the real stuff. A small bit of bread won't make any real difference. You could make your own bread (irish soda is stupidly easy) if you want to avoid shop bought crap. For breakfast i guess you want something quick and easy, try instant porridge or scrambled eggs.

If you wanted to you could make your own butter and use the butter milk to make the soda bread.

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 11:44am

yosser hughes wrote: »

Dairy Gold isn't butter.

So what exactly do I buy in the Supermarket? Any brands in particular? How do I distinguish real from not real?

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 11:45am

thegreatiam wrote: »

If you wanted to you could make your own butter and use the butter milk to make the soda bread.

I have access to a butter churn, but lidl do buttermilk now \:D/

yosser hughes wrote: »

Dairy Gold isn't butter.

Dairygold make many products, one of which is real butter. They also do a salt free version but i dont think its easy to find.

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 11:49am

runawaybishop wrote: »

I have access to a butter churn, but lidl do buttermilk now \:D/

defeats the point of making it your self if you give up and buy from lidl.

I had no churn tho i just used a mixer, 5 minutes of noise and done.

turned out to be pointless tho as I spent as much on cream as I would've on butter, but it was a fun exercise.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 11:51am

thegreatiam wrote: »

defeats the point of making it your self if you give up and buy from lidl.

I had no churn tho i just used a mixer, 5 minutes of noise and done.

turned out to be pointless tho as I spent as much on cream as I would've on butter, but it was a fun exercise.

I don't see how using store bought buttermilk defeats the purpose of making your own bread?

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 11:52am

runawaybishop wrote: »

Dairygold make many products, one of which is real butter. They also do a salt free version but i dont think its easy to find.

I don't think Dairygold to unsalted butter.

Kerrygold and Avonmore do. Not sure about Dairygold though.

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 11:56am

runawaybishop wrote: »

I don't see how using store bought buttermilk defeats the purpose of making your own bread?

defeats the purpose of making your own butter for your own bread. To cook in your home made oven and eat off homemade plates

clappyhappy · 16-01-2014 11:57am

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

So what exactly do I buy in the Supermarket? Any brands in particular? How do I distinguish real from not real?

The traditional Kerrygold butter in the foil packaging, is probably the most recognisable.

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 11:57am

clappyhappy wrote: »

The traditional Kerrygold butter in the foil packaging, is probably the most recognisable.

I'll pick it up today and give it a try!

siochain · 16-01-2014 12:00pm

Aldi stock a brand of real butter salted and and unsalted can't remember the brand.

If you’re going to give up bread there’s no point in replacing it with crackers or other wheat sources. Best thing would be to give the wheat up for two weeks and track how you’re feeling. Giving it up totally for two weeks will give you a good indication on how your body handles wheat

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 12:01pm

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

So what exactly do I buy in the Supermarket? Any brands in particular? How do I distinguish real from not real?

They're usually in a block with foil packaging. More often than not what is in a tub is a spread and not butter.

Not a hard and fast rule but a good rule of thumb.

Just make sure it's not margarine...

Shedite27 · 16-01-2014 12:05pm

jacksie66 wrote: »

I've cut out bread and lost nearly a stone in 2 weeks..

Fair play.

Although at the accepted rate of 3,500cals = 1lb, you had a net decrease of 49,000 calories in those two weeks.

There's about 1750 calories in a slice pan (brennans white), so unless you were eating two slice pans in a day, I'd say the bread was only a part of your weight loss

rubadub · 16-01-2014 12:11pm

thegreatiam wrote: »

It was tasteless and unpleasant.

Now I only eat bread on occasion and it is a treat when I do, much better all round for it.

as you say its fairly tasteless, so I don't even regard it as a treat (I know what you probably meant though, maybe a burger with a bun, not bread alone). If I want a wheat laden treat its going to be a donut. I view them as similar products now, which also helps me resist it. I don't buy bread so its not in the house. I would be a restaurant and see a basket of bread when I sit down and be grabbing for one, but then think to myself "wait a minute, this is really no different to a basket of donuts, would I really eat a donut before sitting down to what is likely to be a high portion meal -no, its pure junk food"

runawaybishop wrote: »

Dairygold make many products, one of which is real butter. They also do a salt free version but i dont think its easy to find.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I don't think Dairygold to unsalted butter.

Kerrygold and Avonmore do. Not sure about Dairygold though.

Looking it up it seems Dairygold was a product by the kerry group, and over 30 years old. Now there are more products under that banner, none seem to be butter. http://www.butteritwithdairygold.ie/about-dairygold/our-story.aspx

There is also a co-op called dairygold
http://www.dairygold.ie/
So it could be some company involved with the co-op who makes butter, so you might see the word "dairygold" on some blocks of real butter, but its not the same kerrygroup range.

rubadub · 16-01-2014 12:15pm

Shedite27 wrote: »

Although at the accepted rate of 3,500cals = 1lb, you had a net decrease of 49,000 calories in those two weeks.

Thats the theory for fat loss, he just said he lost weight, not necessarily fat. He could have lost retained excess water weight too.

The 3500kcal / 1lb thing is by no means an exact science, certainly not for alcohol.

siochain · 16-01-2014 12:16pm

Shedite27 wrote: »

Fair play.

Although at the accepted rate of 3,500cals = 1lb, you had a net decrease of 49,000 calories in those two weeks.

There's about 1750 calories in a slice pan (brennans white), so unless you were eating two slice pans in a day, I'd say the bread was only a part of your weight loss

Not really an exact science.
Giving up the bread could have resulted in less water retention and improved intestinal motility. This is not uncommon.

yosser hughes · 16-01-2014 12:20pm

siochain wrote: »

Aldi stock a brand of real butter salted and and unsalted can't remember the brand.

If you’re going to give up bread there’s no point in replacing it with crackers or other wheat sources. Best thing would be to give the wheat up for two weeks and track how you’re feeling. Giving it up totally for two weeks will give you a good indication on how your body handles wheat

Yep I get the unsalted butter in Aldi, or is it Lidl? I can't remember, at least one of them do it anyway.

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 12:23pm

rubadub wrote: »

as you say its fairly tasteless, so I don't even regard it as a treat (I know what you probably meant though, maybe a burger with a bun, not bread alone).

nah, like soup with a artisan fresh warm artisan loaf, that sort of treat.

Im not really that bothered by bread. Ill eat a burger with the bun if Im in a burger place no worries.

Happily eat doughnuts every now and then, or some pancakes of a sunday.

I did stop buying bread for the house tho as it was just getting eaten through routine and habit. Once I did that I found i dont miss bread on a daily basis.

I used to be a sammich king. I would be able to eat a 3 course meal with just sammiches. swedish style for a starter, toasted ham and cheese for mains and a PB&J for dessert.

Subway on a daily basis, sometimes twice. If I was bored and hungry it was 4 slices of toast. I could happily eat a loaf a day.

If I had a meal i would have 4+ slices of bread with it. I noticed that if I was cooking and I didnt have bread I would just spend ages staring into the cupboard for something to replace the bread with.

Id be looking at a fridge full of meat and veg and not be able to cook it cos I couldn't get the idea out of my head that the bread had to be there.

When i noticed I was only really eating bread because id been conditioned that bread was a staple I squashed the urges and started to stop buying it. Then it was a small step from thinking what do i replace it with to knowing i dont want it at all.

Best advice i can give is to not replace it with anything just stop using it.
just like when i stopped the heroin.

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 12:30pm

thegreatiam wrote: »

Best advice i can give is to not replace it with anything just stop using it.
just like when i stopped the heroin.

Did you switch to crackerbread?

thegreatiam · 16-01-2014 12:32pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Did you switch to crackerbread?

Nah, cold turkey rolls

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 12:40pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

You could trey making your own Paleo bread. I eat a paleo diet 80% of the time which means no dairy, no bread, no pasta, rice etc..basically just fruit, veg, meat, fish, nuts, and eggs. Paleo bread is made from almond / coconut flour and is completely carb free - google it youll get all the info!

How is that Paleo? We had surplus coconuts back in the day did we? Whats wrong with carbs?

siochain · 16-01-2014 12:53pm

runawaybishop wrote: »

How is that Paleo? We had surplus coconuts back in the day did we? Whats wrong with carbs?

coco-'nuts'

don't get too hung up on was it exactly what a Neanderthal ate, most are eating modified form of paleo. Some people function better and are healthier without processed carbs others function fine and others just get fat, unhealthy and couldn’t give a s**t.

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 12:54pm

siochain wrote: »

coco-'nuts'

don't get too hung up on was it exactly what a Neanderthal ate, most are eating modified form of paleo. Some people function better and are healthier without processed carbs others function fine and others just get fat, unhealthy and couldn’t give a s**t.

Coco-'pops'.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 12:55pm

siochain wrote: »

coco-'nuts'

don't get too hung up on was it exactly what a Neanderthal ate, most are eating modified form of paleo. Some people function better and are healthier without processed carbs others function fine and others just get fat, unhealthy and couldn’t give a s**t.

The term "paleo" should be banned :pac:

pwurple · 16-01-2014 12:59pm

I'm not a huge fan of reducing variety in a diet in general. Little bits of a lot of different stuff... keep it fresh, and keep it to 'real food' rather than xanthem gums, or malodextrins (which are about the equivalent of eating a pack of non-toxic crayons in my mind).

I know eliminating things until you have a tiny allowed diet of safe foods is fashionable, but I think people can take the wrong message from 'eat less white bread'.

So sure, if you eat white mass produced bread every single day, no harm to ease off on it. But one or two bits of homemade wholegrain bread once a week should give you something useful in your diet. Or even breads made from different grains. Or add more pulses, different types of veg.

HeeBeeGeeBee · 16-01-2014 1:01pm

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

Tiny tiny gut, really small but bothers me. Not sure whether it was caused by booze or 'wheat belly' but it has decreased substabtially and I can now fit into my old 30 waist jeans.

Still though - I'm worried about continuing to eat bread in case it develops again.

On a side night, would Jacobs Cream Crackers with low fat butter be a suitable, lower calorie alternative?

Hi mate,

I have the same problem. Workout regularly, don't drink anymore and still find it hard to get rid of that small amount of fat on the gut. I definitely notice it pretty much disappears once I havent eaten any bread and as soon as I have any it returns and makes me feel bloated. Think I'm going to join you in giving it up. Perhaps we can keep each other posted. Best of luck. PS I find water biscuits are great as an alternative.

RacoonQueen · 16-01-2014 1:22pm

runawaybishop wrote: »

How is that Paleo? We had surplus coconuts back in the day did we? Whats wrong with carbs?

Plenty of carbs in your fruit and veg.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 1:32pm

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Plenty of carbs in your fruit and veg.

I don't see how that is relevant.

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 1:36pm

runawaybishop wrote: »

I don't see how that is relevant.

It is if you're a greengrocer with a bakery next door.

RacoonQueen · 16-01-2014 1:54pm

runawaybishop wrote: »

I don't see how that is relevant.

You asked what is wrong with carbs, presumably because there are no 'carbs' like bread, potatoes etc. There are carbs in the fruit and veg so there is no particular avoidance of carbs.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 2:05pm

RacoonQueen wrote: »

You asked what is wrong with carbs, presumably because there are no 'carbs' like bread, potatoes etc. There are carbs in the fruit and veg so there is no particular avoidance of carbs.

I'm not sure why you are speaking for somone else, i guess its a slow day? I was referring specifically to the posters statement that "Paleo bread is made from almond / coconut flour and is completely carb free" and asking what was wrong with carbs.

rubadub · 16-01-2014 2:19pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Paleo bread is made from almond / coconut flour and is completely carb free

coconut flour & almond flour do have carbs.

There are 2 types of coconut flour, one is finely ground coconut, the other is a fat reduced product intended as a wheat flour substitute for baking. Since they take some fat out the other stuff increases in %.

This "baking coconut flour" is 21.7% carbs

http://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=4445

This dessicated cocount is 6.4% carbs which would be similar to finely ground coconut flour
http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=253227765

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 2:44pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Fruits and veg have "simple carbs" that are easy for the body to digest. Bread and other starches on the other hand have "complex carbohydrates" that most people's digestive systems find it very hard to break down hence the bloated feeling and stodginess that comes with eating a diet full of complex carbs in bread for example. Paleo bread is free from complex carbs. And too much complex carbs in your diet is bad for you.

You are very broadly linking all bread as being the same, which it isn't. Claiming that "most people" find them hard to digest is not correct and requires substantiation via a link please. I may be incorrect here but it seems that you are actually referring to gluten intolerance or coeliac disease.

Too much of anything in your diet is probably bad for you, we can agree on that.

FYI - coconut isn't the best thing to swap to if you have digestive issues.

The Wild Bunch · 16-01-2014 3:05pm

HeeBeeGeeBee wrote: »

Hi mate,

I have the same problem. Workout regularly, don't drink anymore and still find it hard to get rid of that small amount of fat on the gut. I definitely notice it pretty much disappears once I havent eaten any bread and as soon as I have any it returns and makes me feel bloated. Think I'm going to join you in giving it up. Perhaps we can keep each other posted. Best of luck. PS I find water biscuits are great as an alternative.

Hi mate, thanks for your reply

Definitely keep each other posted! Had 3 slices of toast this morning and hoping they're my last now for the rest of January, gonna quit for the rest of the month and see how I fair- will be hard going but worth it!

HeeBeeGeeBee · 16-01-2014 3:11pm

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

Hi mate, thanks for your reply

Definitely keep each other posted! Had 3 slices of toast this morning and hoping they're my last now for the rest of January, gonna quit for the rest of the month and see how I fair- will be hard going but worth it!

I just brought a sandwich in there for my lunch and Im going to attempt to do the same - Keep me posted

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 3:12pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Substantiation? Really! Think about it. Agriculture (ie bread and other cultivated products) has been in existence for approx 10,000 years. People have been in existence for approx 2million. Our bodies were not designed to digest the types of food produced by agriculture. Whether you feel unwell after eating or not is not the issue, you may have no symptoms even though your body can't digest it however the majority of people, like everyone has said above, experience some form of bloating. And yes this does include all bread unless you can find a grain free bread such as paleo bread. Wholewheat bread is also bad.

Many people eat paleo then reintroduce foods slowly to see what does and doesn't agree with their body.

http://www.limitless365.com/2012/11/04/paleo-why-no-grains-dairy-and-legumes/
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/the-caveman-diet?utm_source=Daily+Ideafeed+Newsletter&utm_campaign=aa50a7552e-Daily_Ideafeed_May_14_2011&utm_medium=email
http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/

There's all the info if you would like to educate yourself further.

You are posting broscience - links or gtfo

A blogpost with 0 reference to scientific papers is NOT a valid reference.

Here's one link and a good example of why substantiation with scientific data is important.

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/44/18815

Note that it shows that grain processing was around 30000 years ago, not 10000 as you suggest.

You cant just claim "the majority" of people have issues.

runawaybishop · 16-01-2014 3:17pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Ok then let's do it this way!

Honestly, how much do you weigh?

What's that got to do with anything?

Oregano_State · 16-01-2014 3:18pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Substantiation? Really!

Yes, really. You stated that most people struggle to digest bread, which is factually incorrect.

If you want to stand by your claim, and continue a logical discussion then you need to provide some scientific, peer-reviewed evidence to support it, instead of links to blog articles and websites whose aim is to promote the paleo lifestyle.

There is a derogatory tone to some of your posts, I'm sure many would appreciate if you left that out.

Alf Veedersane · 16-01-2014 3:21pm

Bubbles12345 wrote: »

Substantiation? Really!.

It's like transubstantiation but without the trans fats.

Bubbles12345 · 16-01-2014 3:22pm

lol! Because I would put any money on it you're overweight and in denial!

I came on this to give this guy an alternative option to bread not to try and persuade a bunch of people that are in denial and convince themselves stuffing your body with crap and processed food is good for you.

Leaving this post now and going for a slad - try it sometime.

Happy heart attack.

Trying to give up bread

Comments