The Pasta Question

Mars Bar

Over the summer, I lost weight by cutting out bread, pasta, rice and potatoes and doing exercise.

Now I'm doing a full time soccer course and we train 2 hours every day. We're also expected to be in the gym twice a week. That's quite a lot of energy expelled in a week.

I'm wondering would it be better to bring pasta back into the equation for energy? I suppose wholemeal pasta would be best?

Scanlas The 2nd

I'd go with sweet potatoes. Avoid gluten.

Khannie

Add the pasta back in if you like it IMO. Personally I'd rather eat some yummy biscuits. I don't think there's much in it, nutritionally speaking. They're both pretty rubbish.

Certainly if you're exercising for 2 hours you need carbs if you don't want to feel like you're going to fall over.

jam_mac_jam

Potatoes or rice, stay away from pasta nothing but energy in it.

Khannie

I don't think it'll really make any difference, sweating it to that level. Some carbs before exercise is fine and in fact generally a good thing. Whatever you enjoy most is fine. I like ripe bananas and biscuits (though not usually together ). Sometimes I'll have an isotonic drink for convenience. Maybe it's not 100% ideal, but I'm not sure if the difference in sporting performance between rice and pasta has ever been measured or is measurable.

El_Dangeroso

Khannie wrote: »

I'm not sure if the difference in sporting performance between rice and pasta has ever been measured or is measurable.

Lots of athletes swapping gluten for other carbs and report having success with it:

http://www.mensjournal.com/winning-without-wheat

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576327624238594818.html

I suspect it's not the gluten per-se, more likely that the wheat that athletes do eat is total junk, and I include commercial pasta in that. Freshly baked home-made sour-dough would be a different story maybe but I don't think the OP is gonna go to all that faff.:D

But OP, give it a try and report back to us. My preferred control would be white rice, incredibly easy to digest and pretty much pure glucose.

Mack_1111

If you wana eat pasta eat pasta but just be aware that a portion of pasta is about the size of a small cup.

Khannie

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Lots of athletes swapping gluten for other carbs and report having success with it:

The second guy's a coeliac so I'd expect him to improve with it (also talks about how he cut out pizza and other crap too as an interesting side effect - it would be difficult for most people to cut out wheat without it generally improving their diet). The garmin one is interesting stuff though. Food for thought (badum-tish).

We're talking about an average punter who wants a bit of pasta here mind you. I think it's over-thinking things to say that sweet potato or rice is going to make a noticeable difference versus a bit of pasta unless there's an allergy involved (not that you said that, but it's the general point being made in the thread).

Khannie

Actually, having given it some thought, I've decided to have a gluten free lunch.


Note: It may include crisps.

Oryx

Khannie wrote: »

it would be difficult for most people to cut out wheat without it generally improving their diet). .

Having cut out wheat, I can say it is easy to fall into a bad diet if you dont meticulously plan. If you dont think of bringing your food with you to work or on trips, sometimes you are at the mercy of delis and shops with all the crud they offer. You cant eat the sambos and rolls so you end up eating wedges or something worse. Or at least I do. My problem is compounded by hating bananas, which would be a good filler-upper

Khannie

Oryx wrote: »

My problem is compounded by hating bananas

You need to see a mental health professional. You are clearly crazy in the face.

Mars Bar

Thanks for the replies.

My culinary skills leave a bit to be desired and I really don't want to just fall into the pasta diet coz it's convenient to make.

Yesterday I had pasta with green pesto, red peppers and some chicken.

I made lunch today with the left over pasta, some chicken, red peppers, cucumber, lettuce and carrot. I ate this right after training.
Usually I'd get whatever soup and bread is on the canteen menu.

I'm gonna guess pasta maybe every second day would be ok and then the other days make some meat and veg. I'm not a potato fan at all and wouldn't buy them.

It's pasta again for me tonight coz I have no other food in the house.

El_Dangeroso

Khannie wrote: »

The second guy's a coeliac so I'd expect him to improve with it (also talks about how he cut out pizza and other crap too as an interesting side effect - it would be difficult for most people to cut out wheat without it generally improving their diet). The garmin one is interesting stuff though. Food for thought (badum-tish).

Just for the record, Djokovic is not coeliac, his 'nutritionist' 'diagnosed' him after all.

Oh and I'm not saying the OP should banish wheat forever, just try different things and see if they notice a difference, no harm in that at all.