do your meals rely on carbs?
 

There was a post a week or so ago on another thread where the poster commented on the growing waistline of her DH. She attributed it to the fact that (due to budgetary constraints) all his meals contained rice. Or potatoes. Or pasta.

:shifty Um, I've been a (lacto-ovo) vegetarian for 30 years. All my meals contain these things. We're light on soy & heavy on legumes. But each dinner contains grains in some processed form or occasionally potatoes.

I know Mercola is anti-grain & I think other diets (like Paleo) are too. Am I too heavy on the carbs? Our typical dinners look something like this:

vegetarian lasagna
lentil enchilada
any soup/stew/chili & homemade bread or cornbread
polenta with veggie/bean topping
ravioli with veggie marinara
veggie pizza
any sandwich
burger
vegetarian pot pie
stir fry with rice
cheese & zucchini manicotti
burritos

See what I mean? I always assumed I was eating a balanced, typical vegetarian diet. Thoughts?

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

I would say that almost all our meals have carbs. We have spaghetti or a pasta based meal at least twice a week, usually more. Potatoes at least once a week. Rice every couple of weeks. And a lot of times, if it's a red sauce meal, we'll have bread as well. For the most part, I don't think our serving sizes are too crazy. My husband's waist is due to the snacking he does. No doubt about it. He has been working really hard though and it's coming off. IF I get regular exercise, I don't gain either. I do snack less than he does though.
I really do believe it's about moderation and exercise. I think the low carb/low protien/low whatever diet of the moment is nothing but a fad and that we need them all to be healthy

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 PM ----------

By the way...that cheese zucchini manicotti sounds awesome. Do you make it or buy it.

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

Thanks for the reply.

Here's the manicotti recipe. Not exactly low fat, but it's tasty. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/S...eese-Manicotti

This one sounds interesting, too. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/C...Stuffed-Shells

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

My meals frequently rely on rice, potatoes, beans and other whole foods. Carbohydrates are NOT evil. I know there are others that believe carb-cutting is the key to weight loss, but I disagree completely, both through my research and through my experience in weight loss. Dr. John McDougall has some great information on high starch/low fat eating.

Jen D.

---------- Post added at 05:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------

PS: His books are WAY better than his website but the web address is www.drmcdougall.com

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

You need carbs. What you are eating sounds fine to me. :shrug3 They aren't evil (unless you can't tolerate them). Right now I have to get all of my carbs from sweet potatoes, corn, rice, and quinoa. It stinks, and I'm not even a vegetarian. I say if you can eat them, go for it!!!!

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

Food isn't as simple as Carb/non Carb (unless you're relying on refined things like sugar and white flour.) Lots of carb rich foods are also rich in protein and micro nutrients.

BBL battery dying...l

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

:popcorn I'm certainly not one who thinks carbs are bad:no. I personally want to make sure I'm being balanced so that I'm not relying on them too heavily, kwim?

On that note I found this site which some might find helpful:

http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

I don't think you rely too heavily on carbs.

I haven't read the other thread/post, but I gather that the poster's dh is probably eating a LOT of those starchy carbs and not much of the other stuff(protein and veggies). Yes, that would pack on the pounds.

I do know that the year or so that I was no-grain, no-beans, and no-lots of other foods, I lost a lot of weight to begin with and stayed there (around 125) as long as I kept to the 'diet'. Once I started adding the grains back in, I started gaining it back(and am now around 135-140). I'm seriously thinking of cutting way back on the carbs again. I felt better off of them(though I admit to craving them).

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

I think basing meals on good carbs is the way to go. I'm not a vegetarian at the moment (I go back and forth) but to me meat is a condiment, not something to base a meal on. And vegetables, as great as they are, do not have enough calories to be the basis of your meal.

I second the recommendation to check out John McDougall's stuff.

You can lose weight on a low-carb diet, but it's not healthy weight loss. You get a "feeling of wellbeing" only because your body is in a crisis mode called ketosis.

I was obese in high school and got to a normal weight by eating a very high carb, low fat diet (think about 85% carbs, 10% protein, 5% fat). I kept it off, aside from pregnancy, for the last over 10 years.

Anyway, nothing wrong with basing meals on carbs. The reason people gain weight on carbs is not the high carb foods, but what you put on them (mashed potatoes, for instance, are super high in butter, and then people put gravy on them, etc). Fat is what makes people fat.

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

Actually, I believe it's excess calories that makes people fat, not the fat itself. ;) Otherwise we could all sit around and live off of soda and not get fat, right? :)

I think the human body is able to function well under many 'diet regimens'. I get so frustrated and confused reading all the different options, I don't know who to believe! LOL

I think we are all wired differently, so different things will work for different people for weight loss/not gaining too much weight. Things like ethnic background, food intolerances(that we should listen to and respect in ourselves) and allergies, all play a role.

We should go with whatever helps us to feel the best in our own body. :hug

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

While it's true that excess calories make you fat (and I would never advocate drinking soda all day), some things are easier to get fat on. Someone named Dr. Shintani has developed a scale called the "eat more index" that tells you how many pounds of food it would take to give you a day's calories for an average person. For the most part you can only eat about 4 pounds of food in a day (based on stomach volume, etc.)

For example, the eat more index for potatoes is 9.5, which means it takes 9.5 lb of potatoes to make up the average person's daily calories. You couldn't eat that much in a day, therefore if you ate only potatoes, you couldn't get fat. That's why I have a hard time believing that potatoes eaten in any amount are what is making someone fat. It just can't happen. The EMI for oranges is 15.6, green beans is 21.8. You can eat any of these foods in any combination and not get fat. The EMI for bread is 4.7, so even if you ate only bread, you wouldn't get fat.

It's foods with EMIs less than 4 that can make you fat. Butter is .76, mayo is .77, cheddar cheese is 1.37, fried chicken is 2.23. So if you only eat these foods, you will get fat because you'd want to eat more than that many pounds of food, and thus you would get more than the calories you needed.

Obviously most people eat a combination of foods with high EMIs and low EMIs. But in any case, it's impossible to get fat on just potatoes.

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

Aerynne---the soda thing I mentioned was just an extreme example. :)

I'd never heard of the EMI thing. Very interesting.


I do know that my body can go a LOT further on high protein, veggies, and healthy fats than it can on high carbs(such as a lot of brown rice and less meat and veggies). Other's mileage may vary, though. I think metabolism has a lot to do with it too.

I guess my ideal plate would be 15-25% meat(or other protein), max 25% grains and 50% or more veggies. When I was avoiding all grains and legumes due to allergies, it was more 25% meat/eggs/cheese and 75% veggies and fruits.



Edited to ask: Would you consider my 25% meat/75% veggies and fruits to be low-carb? Because, I mean, veggies and fruits DO have carbs. Just asking...not sure what you consider unhealthy low-carb. :)

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

It would depend on the veggies/fruits you were eating. Lower than 100 grams of carbs a day is, IMHO, extremely unhealthy. Eating a lower carb diet similar to the Zone diet is not one of the diets that will induce ketosis and cause you extreme health problems short-term, but it is probably a little hard on your kidneys, bones, and arteries.

I do realize that different people seem to need different amounts of protein. In that case I think substituting more beans for carbs makes sense or adding nuts would also be good. I'm not saying no one should ever eat meat, but it should be a small part of your diet.

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

I think at max I am averaging 100 carbs per day. If I go over about 40 per meal my blood sugar increases too high and I feel horrible. 90% of of it has to do with metabolism. The funny thing is...I am fine with complex vegetable carbs..but white potatoes and pasta make me soar. Oats make me soar. Most of it boils down to your body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates and if you are challenged in that area it will cause issues. Now I don't eat any type of refined anything, because that would be the majority of my carbs per meal. I would have to limit everything else and I prefer to get my carbs from the best quality that I can with the most nutrition. Oddly, I gained one lb over the last few weeks even though I am limiting my carbs. This is where I think it starts to vary from person to person. If you have high blood sugar, you would want to limit your carbs. Chalk it up to metabolism. Too much of anything refined it probably not good..but for years and years my MD's were pressing me to gain weight my loading up on carbs. Now it is a reversal of that...to manage blood sugar I can't eat them. Most people probably just need to work towards balance in their diets. Too much of anything is not good. Looking back at the OP now I am thinking that is a lot of carbs ( so I recant from earlier). If your ability to metabolize them is not affected though, it shouldn't matter so much. I'd just try to include a side veggie item :)

Re: do your meals rely on carbs?
 

Most people with high blood sugar find that after adopting a high carb/very low fat diet, they have no more blood sugar. It's the lack of fat that is the key and it works really well. Dr. John McDougall has "cured" many, many diabetics with this diet and gets people off insulin and meds.