What to substitute with Carbs?

Berty

I decided recently to lose the pudgyness(sp) and decided sugary drinks and carbs need to go and some exercise each day will entail.

I used to be a big chip/potato man but now that I keep telling the missus that I don't want them I'm lost as to what to put on my plate. I'm not really big into veg so................

Any suggestions?

boomtown84

less potatoes?

marathonic

I'm just back from shopping and, for the first time, have bought sweet potatoes. I've yet to try them but they're supposed to be a hell of a lot healthier than normal potatoes.

Töpher

marathonic wrote: »

I'm just back from shopping and, for the first time, have bought sweet potatoes. I've yet to try them but they're supposed to be a hell of a lot healthier than normal potatoes.

They're also feckin' lovely!

El_Dangeroso

Mashed carrots and parsnips with butter are gorgeous and delicious with fish.

Berty

Berty wrote: »

I'm not really big into veg so................

The trick is to eat them anyway. Like El_Dangeroso said, mash up some veg, I'd go with carrots and turnip.

rocky

Berty wrote: »

I decided recently to lose the pudgyness(sp) and decided sugary drinks and carbs need to go and some exercise each day will entail.

I used to be a big chip/potato man but now that I keep telling the missus that I don't want them I'm lost as to what to put on my plate. I'm not really big into veg so................

Any suggestions?

More meat and eggs.

Why do you give up carbs though? It's the trendy thing around here. I hate giving up carbs

rocky

marathonic wrote: »

I'm just back from shopping and, for the first time, have bought sweet potatoes. I've yet to try them but they're supposed to be a hell of a lot healthier than normal potatoes.

That's fine if this belief helps you change your diet for the better, but the reality is sweet potatoes and normal potatoes are the same. Come at me with GI scale?

50g Cauliflower, 50g Brocolli, 20g cheese.

unbelievable Jeff!

RobAMerc

I don't think sweet potatoes are any better than ordinary ones - the thing is here in Ireland we like to have mash with a potato cake and chips and think its a healthy full of veg dinner ! People don't do that with sweet potatoes I think.

anyway - if you are having trouble getting the veg in...
try - mash cauliflower goats cheese and some cinnamon - its fantastic ( do it bit by bit till you get the flavour you like )

courgettes - split them into 1/4's, pour a little olive oil on them with a sprinkle of cayenne, grill or fry them for a minute till golden and then blast with a bit of lemon juice - fantastic !

I'm from a family of fairly adventurous eaters but married into the complete opposite. I have found that people that don't like X generally have been served it in the most bland way possible ( boiled with a nob of butter anyone ? )
and that leads them to form their lasting opinion.

Amtmann

Berty, you could try drizzling melted butter over your veg to make them more palatable. It won't cause you to gain weight, as you'd likely still be eating far less calories than you would if you were having chips/potatoes/rice (plus butter has lots of micronutrients).

careca11

Berty wrote: »

I decided recently to lose the pudgyness(sp) and decided sugary drinks and carbs need to go and some exercise each day will entail.

I used to be a big chip/potato man but now that I keep telling the missus that I don't want them I'm lost as to what to put on my plate. I'm not really big into veg so................

Any suggestions?

sorry , but Potatoes , rice , Pasta are the sort of carbs your body needs ,and really should not be cut out of your diet.

Sweet Potatoes are the business , I loves these , very nutritious

give us an example of a 5 day diet for you including snacks, drinks etc , and we'll see what could be the cause of pudginess

metamorphosis

So, you are saying that your body NEEDS pasta, rice, pototoes? Do you think it's any different to, say, getting your carbs from other fruits, dried fruits, other veggies and other root veggies, dairly etc?

mloc

careca11 wrote: »

sorry , but Potatoes , rice , Pasta are the sort of carbs your body needs ,and really should not be cut out of your diet.

a) Your body does not "need" carbs, not from external sources

b) Potatoes, rice and pasta are some of the most adipogenic forms of macronutrient out there

boomtown84

mloc wrote: »

a) Your body does not "need" carbs, not from external sources

b) Potatoes, rice and pasta are some of the most adipogenic forms of macronutrient out there

more adipogenic per gram than fat?....really?:rolleyes:

Darkginger

Even low carb diets include some carbs, although they really aren't necessary in a healthy diet. To start with, when cutting out the spuds, pasta etc., your plate may look a little empty - but I find I can use vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower to fill up the gaps - and even eat pasta sauces or curries on a bed of shredded lettuce (iceberg has finally found its niche - it holds its texture better than other lettuces when covered in a hot sauce). Spaghetti squash is also an option. It's possible to make a bread substitute using just eggs, cream cheese and seasonings - the result holds together well enough to make a sandwich! Google for 'Oopsie Rolls' to find instructions.

A site that I find incredibly useful when eating low carb is Linda's Low Carb Recipes - she has a wealth of suggestions for all sorts of food.

No-one's body 'needs' potatoes, pasta etc. (remember, potatoes only arrived on this side of the Atlantic about 400 years ago! Sweet potatoes are still 'foreign food' to my Dad, we don't grow rice in Ireland, and pasta is Italian - or Asian, if you include rice noodles!) - it's perfectly possible to exist without them, and I would suggest that anyone who still thinks that way does a little research before claiming otherwise.

TaraFoxglove

mloc wrote: »

b) Potatoes, rice and pasta are some of the most adipogenic forms of macronutrient out there

Only if you eat too much of them. I have lost a lot of weight whilst eating all these things (and eating good amounts of fat at the same time too - I don't do low-fat eating).

Darkginger wrote: »

it's perfectly possible to exist without them, and I would suggest that anyone who still thinks that way does a little research before claiming otherwise.

That's fine but does that mean they have NO benefits at all, just because we didn't always eat them?

metamorphosis

I eat a lot of carbs, i lost 6 stone. If you eat too many you will get fat, same with protein and fat.

Carbs are much easier to do the dog on though. Carbs are picked on much more and many people attack them as the guilty party without full and proper knowledge.


Lots of carbs have lots of benefits - look at your fruits, dried fruits, veggies, dairy etc

Thing with many grains is that they have anti nutrients.

TaraFoxglove

metamorphosis wrote: »

Lots of carbs have lots of benefits - look at your fruits, dried fruits, veggies, dairy etc.

And potatoes would come under this category?

metamorphosis

I dont see anything wrong with potatoes, they are given a bad wrap that they dont deserve. People can just eat far too much which is where the problem is.

But, you dont need them. But if you do want them, go ahead, Nutritious and delicious with butter or mascarpone!

TaraFoxglove

metamorphosis wrote: »

I dont see anything wrong with potatoes, they are given a bad wrap that they dont deserve. People can just eat far too much which is where the problem is.

But, you dont need them. But if you do want them, go ahead, Nutritious and delicious with butter or mascarpone!

Well, I agree. They are vilified but some people take the p with how many they eat. My parent think I'm mad just eating a medium to smallish one for dinner! :pac:

But couldn't one reason that we don't need any one food, if the nutrients are available in other foodstuffs? And I'm not convinced we need all the fibre we're told to eat, so do we really require all the veg we are encouraged to eat?

Darkginger

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

That's fine but does that mean they have NO benefits at all, just because we didn't always eat them?

What benefits do you think they have?

TaraFoxglove

Darkginger wrote: »

What benefits do you think they have?

For me, potatoes give me energy without the energy slump I would get from sugar. This is a plus, in my book. I also digest them very well, I find them very agreeable. Ditto all of that with white rice.

If I just ate protein and veg for dinner, I would not be filled. And believe me, I've tried.

Red Cortina

marathonic wrote: »

I'm just back from shopping and, for the first time, have bought sweet potatoes. I've yet to try them but they're supposed to be a hell of a lot healthier than normal potatoes.

I thought that white potato and sweet potato both had different micronutrients to offer??

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Mashed carrots and parsnips with butter are gorgeous and delicious with fish.

I eat this combo so much that my husband jokes that I smell like carrots and parsnips! Not. Good.:)

mloc wrote: »

b) Potatoes, rice and pasta are some of the most adipogenic forms of macronutrient out there

Don’t understand how pasta can be lumped in with potatoes which have a lot to offer from a nutrition pov and rice which the likes of the Jaminet’s call a safe starch???

Darkginger wrote: »

Even low carb diets include some carbs, although they really aren't necessary in a healthy diet.

I used to think that carbs weren’t necessary for health too but reading the Perfect Health Diet blog which discussed carbohydrate deficiency changed my mind. They reckon that safe starches are required for healthy mucus production.

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

And I'm not convinced we need all the fibre we're told to eat, so do we really require all the veg we are encouraged to eat?

Did you read the article written by Zoe Harcombe regarding the 5-a-day recommendation, as a matter of interest?

TaraFoxglove

Red Cortina wrote: »

Did you read the article written by Zoe Harcombe regarding the 5-a-day recommendation, as a matter of interest?

No, just going on the fact that I get more bunged up the more fibre I eat.

Red Cortina

Darkginger wrote: »

No-one's body 'needs' potatoes, pasta etc. (remember, potatoes only arrived on this side of the Atlantic about 400 years ago! Sweet potatoes are still 'foreign food' to my Dad, we don't grow rice in Ireland, and pasta is Italian - or Asian, if you include rice noodles!) - it's perfectly possible to exist without them, and I would suggest that anyone who still thinks that way does a little research before claiming otherwise.

This is interesting. Does anyone know what our ancestors used to eat before the arrival of potatoes? I presume their diet consists of stuff like meat, fish and eggs but also other starchy tubers, maybe turnips or something???

Transform

the carbs mentioned are activity dependent - did you do the work, no?

Then refrain and eat more of the above ground veg

TaraFoxglove

Transform wrote: »

the carbs mentioned are activity dependent - did you do the work, no?

Then refrain and eat more of the above ground veg

I really have to question some of the advice given on this site. I eat complex carbs every day and have gone through sedentary periods and STILL lost weight. Not advocating not exercising of course.

Red Cortina

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

No, just going on the fact that I get more bunged up the more fibre I eat.

When I used to eat wholemeal bread it would have the opposed effect actually....

Davei141

TaraFoxglove wrote: »

I really have to question some of the advice given on this site. I eat complex carbs every day and have gone through sedentary periods and STILL lost weight. Not advocating not exercising of course.

If you are on a deficit of course you will lose weight. I take it you consciously decided to keep your calories in a deficit. But will you keep that weight off eating high carb and being sedentary for say a period of a year? That's going to be pretty tough.

Majority of people never exercise and eat too many carbs, Transforms advice will work and is spot on for the majority of them.

metamorphosis

Just though id throw it out there that for lunch i had a baked potatoe with a mix of greek yogurt and cottage cheese in the middle. It was yum

Anyway, grain fiber is not always the answer. It's like a brillo pad to our insides really, and longterm that is not good and leads to more problems with the gut. Best to get fiber from other sources like veggies etc

El_Dangeroso

Potatoes are great. This comes from someone who lost their weight with a low carb diet. I wish I'd figured out I could still eat potatoes and lose weight a lot sooner, they are so filling, more so than their calories would suggest, they're actually not that high carb either 22g only for a regular potato.

Potatoes are packed with potassium, which is a nutrient that is so essential, hard to get enough of and you cannot supplement it.

Potatoes have 10% complete protein and if you cook them and let them cool you get something lovely called resistant starch with feeds your good bacteria.