To ask why carbs are The Enemy?

[MitchyInge]

Isn't it just a portion control thing? Or are they actual Evil Doers?

I always feel that I need huge amounts of carbs, because I'm so physically active (that sounds smug, but it's my commute and my job that do it). I am just living in a permanent state of carb desperation, and I can't see that protein would do it. How does this eating lots of protein thing work? Do you actually have to eat as much meat as you would potatoes / rice / bread etc, or does less protein fill you up quicker?

No carbs are not the enemy. Everything in moderation and all that.

As for bread having no real flavour - have you no taste buds?!!

Not sure how cutting out carbs cuts out fat either.

it's 'refined carbs' that are pretty bad for you - white flour and very processed rice, bread, pasta.

refined carbs break down into sugar in your body very quickly and are almost like eating sugar.

natural carbs - wholegrains, brown rice, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta - break down slower and are better for you.

oats break down the slowest and release energy slowly over the course of a few hours.

potatoes vary - some are more starchy than others and then cooking also affects how quickly they break down in the body - baked potatoes are broken down in cooking so are a quick energy release, best to eat them with protein mixed in to get a balanced release.

actually, i'll moderate that - refined carbs are 'good for you' if you are looking for a quick energy boost.. they're just bad for most of us with indoor-based sedentary 21st century lifestyles.

i often have a bagel after a run, but i know that it's a quick sugar boost.. and i put peanut butter on it for protein.

GrendelsMum - it's not just eating lots of protein, it's also increasing the amount of fats. Protein and especially fats are hugely satiating and are a fantastic 'off' switch for hunger. It's almost impossible to overeat on fats and protein; you'd just feel sick if you did. Whereas it's incredibly easy to repeatedly stick your hand in a bumper bag of tortilla chips or munch (delicious whole grain) plain bread until you're so physically full you're uncomfortable. Of course fats and protein have a lot more calories per square inch, but you simply can't eat as much of them.

An example low carb meal is like the one I'm currently cooking: a piece of quite thin steak about 2/3rds the size of my hand, cooked in butter and lemon juice, alongside a huge mound of leafy salad with a generous glug of an olive oil-based dressing. The rest of the family are having salad as a garnish, and a pile of chips. We had lasagne yesterday - I made mine with thin layers of courgette instead of pasta sheets.

This is a perfectly healthy lifestyle, just cutting out the starchy bits that have only been in the human diet since 'yesterday' in evolutionary terms, and not to be confused with the hardcore stuff where people are excluding veg and fruit and existing on cheese, nuts and pork scratchings before giving up in despair and scarfing a pizza.

Its white refined carbs that are the enemy eg sugar - empty calories and bad for teeth.

In terms of unrefined carbs eg flour, pasta, rice, potatoes (complex carbs better than white) etc its about portion control.

Kodokan - that's very interesting. Would you mind telling me what an entire low carb day might be? I can see that if you're not very hungry, having a steak and salad might be fine in the evening, but what have you eaten up to that point?

I might amuse myself by giving up carbs for a week and seeing what it's like at some point.

All carbs are treated like sugar, some just take longer. Fluffles how much running do you do? A bagel has about 300 cals and a higher GI than table sugar. The fat in the pb will slow down the insulin response but it's still nearly 400 cals. A Krispey Kreme doughnut is about 200. I don't eat doughnuts but I would eat one before I'd eat a boiled lump of tasteless dough.

"Whereas it's incredibly easy to repeatedly stick your hand in a bumper bag of tortilla chips or munch (delicious whole grain) plain bread until you're so physically full you're uncomfortable."

ahhhhh. I see. I don't do that. If you have an unhealthy relationship with food, then I can understand how this would be a problem kodokan.

GrendelsMum if you give up high carb food in the long term your appetite goes down hugely. Plus you don't get low blood sugar so no cravings. I have struggled with my weight all my life until I paid attention to what was making me fat, sleepy and cranky. My typical day is coffee in the morning with full fat milk (3.25% isn't actually high in fat). Around 3 pm I have a big bowl of soup with loads of veg, always made with fat and a little meat. Dinner is what kodokan said although at this time of year I'd eat loads of cooked veg. Or else meat stew in a bowl . There's loads of yummy stuff. Protein and fat are very filling. Our grannies were right about not eating between meals and avoiding starch.

I cut out most carbs earlier this year and lost a stone. I'm sticking with it as I feel a million times better - no bloating, no puffiness, no cravings, no blood sugar crashes or binging on crap.

I love food and eat frequently, the difference is that I don't suffer hunger in the same way.

Grendelsmum do give it a go. Positives:

1. Increased energy levels throughout day, no dips

1. You can eat as much as you like and you won't get fat

1. You will help your blood sugar levels remain steady, thus preventing risk of diabetes and mid-afternoon

headaches

1. You will eat better food! What's lovelier than steak, chicken, chorizo, nuts and seeds, cheese, eggs, cream, all served with mounds of green veg and tasty sauces?! It's not a diet that feels like a diet except for all the judginess

Only negatives for me are that it's expensive to eat lots of meat, and it's a pain to cook carbs you're not eating for your family.

It can be unhealthy if you either don't eat enough fibre in the form of veggies, nuts and seeds, or if you don't drink enough water. With these done properly though, it is the future.

Carbs = useless puff to bulk out a diet.

When will people learn.

NO FOOD IS BAD - it is only the way in which you eat food that can have a detrimental effect on you. Cut out or reduce the highly processed stuff, learn to cook with real ingredients, enjoy.

Unless you have a food intolerance or allergy of course.

BTW - I was offered a place on a very sought after Uni course on the basis that one of the main problems with society today is that most people would have no idea what do do with a pound of raw minced beef and a load of raw veg.

Most days unless it's a family breakfast for a special occasion but then I feel sleepy in the afternoon.

too many complex carbs are bad.

Broccoli is effectively a carb, a good carb.

but Slimming world is the best, because you can have a little bit of something 'bad' every day :)

"It's almost impossible to overeat on fats and protein; you'd just feel sick if you did. Whereas it's incredibly easy to repeatedly stick your hand in a bumper bag of tortilla chips or munch (delicious whole grain) plain bread until you're so physically full you're uncomfortable"

I'm sorry I don't see the difference between eating too much protein/fat and too much carb. If you eat too much protein you feel sick and if you eat too much carbs you feel uncomfortable. Really there is no difference is there?

Everything in moderation. Entirely agree with ModreB.

I think low carb diets are best for people who have an unhealthy relationship with food. I did - still do I suppose -but low-carbing definitely helps loads.

It's all very easy to tell people 'all in moderation' but obesity isn't because people don't know what they should be eating, it's because they have cravings, blood sugar problems and are pretty much in a state of addiction to sugar rushes. Atkins and the like are perfect as a cure for this. I love the knowledge that I can eat to my heart's content without ever being
tempted to overeat - this is only possible due to low-carbing.

I don't understand how 'I prefer layers of courgette to pasta in my lasagne' translates as 'carbs are bad for you', though.

Carbs aren't bad for you. Fact.

Carbs are the enemy because they are so addictive more-ish.

Yes they can be a useful source of vitamins and if you can eat them sensibly as part of a balanced diet, bully for you. But I evangelise about low-carbing because it is an easy, healthy, enjoyable route to a better relationship with food for many people, with weight loss as the cherry on top.

How is it encouraging 'a better relationship with food'? To cut out or severely limit one perfectly healthy food group?

It's faddy, like all diets.

so agree with ITigress, the only time I feel 'free' is when I'm low carbing, when I succumb, I spend my whole life obsessing about food/trying not to overeat.