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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to eat carbs?

51 replies

droopyxmastree · 12/05/2011 23:28

I don't get the whole low carb thing. I would be lost without breakfast cereal, bread, and pasta etc. I eat plenty of the stuff. Breakfast is 2 or 3 weetabix, big baked potato and a bar of choc for lunch, pasta or summat like that for tea and perhaps more chocolate in the evening. Oh and sugar in my coffee. I am a size 10, 8 on a good day.

If I ever want to lose a few pounds (after the kids for example or an indulgent holiday, I cut down and count the calories. But NEVER cut out carbs. I love carbs.

Is it just me? I can't be the only one still eating carbs can I?

OP posts:
SardineQueen · 13/05/2011 07:32

Ha! I was going to post what jeckadeck just posted! The number of women at my old work with "food intolerances" meaning that they could only eat lettuce was amazing! Yet strangely many of them would eat all the things they were supposedly intolerant of if they really fancied them...

OP YANBU I don't get it either.

HowToLookGoodGlaikit · 13/05/2011 07:41

I dont count carbs, calories, fat, sugar or anything. I am steadily losing weight (alomost 2 stone since March). I am on the anti-diet, and it works better than any diet I have ever been on.

bruffin · 13/05/2011 07:45

YANBU
Atkins/low carbs are unhealthy, all the healthiest populations in the world with lowest heart disease ie mediterranean diets etc are high carb.
Atkins had to be rewritten so many times because it did not contain enough nutriets and you still had to take lots of supplements. People lose weight on low carb diets because they are eating less.

AngryFeet · 13/05/2011 07:50

Rice and potatoes are not processed carbs though alouise. It is fair to aviod white bread, pasta, cake etc but wholemeal bread, oats, potatoes etc should be fine.

mario91 · 13/05/2011 07:53

i didnt eat carbs and i went thin but i like carbs and so i ate them again and i put a bit weight of weight on but not all of it and i like chocolTEW

ivykaty44 · 13/05/2011 07:54

YANBU, I recently saw a dieticain and she said eat startchy foods of some kind with each meal, don't follow fad diets,

Japenses diet has a lot of fish and small portions with very simple meals - think three or possibly four ingredients for each meal

mario91 · 13/05/2011 07:55

dr atkins died from high cholesteral and he was obese

ivykaty44 · 13/05/2011 07:57

Bread that you buy in the shops regardless of colour is not "real" bread is is highly processed and extra yeast and sugar and salt added, even the wholemeal is mass produced and therefore the manufactor stuff it full of uneeded ingrediants to speed up the bread making process and get it on the shelves to sell. If you want to eat bread make it or bake it in a machine at home

HowToLookGoodGlaikit · 13/05/2011 07:57

Atkins & Dukan both sounds miserable. I've seen the people on the Dukan thread beating themselves up for eating 1 small potatoe :(

Tee2072 · 13/05/2011 07:59

I was typing the early post with a toddler on my lap and didn't get a chance to finish, so let me finish!

What most diabetics use is called the plate method. Imagine a typical sized dinner plate. Divide it in half. Then divide on the the halves in half again, so you have one half and 2 quarters.

The one half should be filled with veggies. Any kind of veggies. Salad, peas, corn, makes no difference. Fresh, frozen, no matter.

One quarter should be filled with complex carbs, i.e. whole grains, potatoes, etc

The last quarter should be filled with protein. I don't say meat as vegetarians do exist! Grin

Follow this rule of thumb and not only will you lose weight, you'll feel full and not need snacks after.

Visual Representation

LaurieFairyCake · 13/05/2011 08:05

Vegetables are carbs yet you didn't mention them in the OP Confused

Most people on diets increase their intake of vegetables and decrease their intake of processed high glycaemic carbs - and not just 'low carb' diet fans

jeckadeck · 13/05/2011 08:10

Al0uiseG eliminating carbs may temporarily help you lose weight but I'd put money on your not being able to eliminate them permanently. Much healthier to eat everything in moderation, rather than trying to purge a whole food group from your diet.

QuickLookBusy · 13/05/2011 08:15

I agree non processed carbs are essential.

I had been suffering from very bad PMT. I felt anxious and tearful for a week every month. The main thing the Dr recommended was to eat lots of non processed carbs, little and often throughout that PMT week. She also recommended to drink lots of water and to avoid alcohol. I have noticed a huge difference in my mood and so has DH.

mrsbiscuits · 13/05/2011 08:16

YANBU you can eat what you want. FWIW though I can't loose weight unless I cut out the crappy carbs ie white bread, sugar laden breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits, chocolate etc. For some reason I seem to be unable to stop once I start this stuff so I just cut it out. I still eat fruit, healthy cereals, wholemeal bread and pasta and potatoes in moderation though.

theressomethingaboutmarie · 13/05/2011 08:36

I've switched to a vegetarian low carb diet over the past two weeks. I was a complete carb addict and kept falling off the diet waggon due to hot buttered toast, jacket potatoes etc (too much of both). I have plenty of veg (low carb of course), quorn, tofu and cheese/yoghurts etc. I feel great, don't count calories and enjoy some ace dark chocolate most nights. I'm really happy with it and am losing weight too.

squeakytoy · 13/05/2011 08:43

As the others have rightly said, there are good and bad carbs. A diet of processed crap and white carbs that is sugar laden is not good for you. A diet which includes wholemeal bread/rice/pasta, potato in moderation, and more fruit and veg (which are also carbs) is good for you.

I cut out the bad carbs and increased my exercise 8 weeks ago and have lost 18lb so far.

clitorisorclitoraint · 13/05/2011 09:04

I'm veggie and have no doubt carbs keep me alive. There's only so much Quorn a person can eat you know!

magicmelons · 13/05/2011 09:11

I don't usually eat processed carbs, wheat or dairy but am pregnant at the moment so i've been troughing all the crap i don't usually eat to stop me feeling sick. I feel like shit and my skin is vile i'm dreaming of a sweet potato and salad. Next week going to try to get back on it as i'm 12 weeks. Will still eat baked potatoes and rice and have dairy.

BelleEnd · 13/05/2011 09:13

I don't get why anyone would be offended by another peson's diet, if it wasn't really unhealthy and doing them harm.

I have been low carb for 12 weeks. I don't do Atkins- I don't eat high fat- Which basically means I eat only fresh fruit, veg and fish. I feel good, have lost 2st and am no longer overweight, and, for someone who loves toast, am doing very well without it.

It's not for everyone... But live and let live, eh?

BTW... I did ask my GP about my diet and if I did need some carbs... He said that carbs are in so many veg that I didn't need to add anything to it.

blindmelon · 13/05/2011 10:22

YANBU - I don't get the whole 'low carb' thing, maybe because I'm a vegetarian so if I dropped carbs my diet would essentially be vegetables, eggs and cheese!

As a family we eat carbs at every meal - for example yesterday it was porridge for breakfast, scrambled eggs on toast for lunch, and lentil cottage pie for tea. I make sure we mostly get our 5 portions of fruit and veg in, and I don't mind the odd treat for me or the kids (BF at the mo and I definitely need my chocolate fix!). We are all a healthy weight. I also don't do low fat - butter all the way!

I have lived in France and Spain where the women are renowned for being slim and gorgeous - without exception they eat bread with every meal!

I think the key is portion size - if you weigh out a 'portion size' of pasta according to the packet it is way less than you might think! Also snacking...I never really eat in the evenings and don't buy crap like crisps, biscuits etc.

All this carb talk has made me hungry...

FreudianSlipper · 13/05/2011 10:43

my dad lives in the states, and there i believe they do diagnose pre-diabetes. if your parents have diabetes, you are from certain ethnic backgrounds you risk of getting it is considerably higher.

i know that now when i eat something with lots of hidden sugar (like white bread, pasta) i will in a few hours be craving something sweet and feel very tired. i never used to be like this. i do not think it is as cut and dry as you either have it or not as type 2 develops over time sometimes due to bad eating habits and being over weight sometimes its hereditary. the symptoms i have are very similar to what my dad (he is not overweight, i am by about 10lbs) was having for a number of years but people where less aware. perhaps my body does not produce enough insulin or less than it did so when i do eat too much sugar it has this effect.

his diet is quite restricted to what fruit he can eat, there is no pasta or white rice allowed, cereals and a whole list of off the shelf foods. he can eat some wholemeal bread and rye bread

HeavyHeidi · 13/05/2011 11:16

If you can eat a diet like this and be a size 8-10 then you are very lucky.

But many people are not so lucky. I will always struggle wigh my weight, had put on tons in the past 2 years due to some changes in my life, but just eating like a normal person (and I don't eat any sweets-cakes-crap anyway). I already do a lot of sports, didn't help. I counted my calories for months, getting totally obsessed - nothing, pound down, pound up the next week. I followed weight watchers and put ON weight. Even though I am not huge, I used to be slim and just could not get back to that.

Yes, I love a nice toast or some potatoes as much as the next person. But I have been on low-carb (Dukan) diet now for less than 2 weeks and lost 11,5 pounds. So if you don't have any issues with eating the way you do - fine, continue, no problem, you don't have to "get" it. I, on the other hand, am already a lot happier and the carbs can just sod off :o

lljkk · 13/05/2011 14:46

Tee2072: sorry, I maybe wrote that too hastily. The main advised change in my dad's diet is to completely avoid sugary foods, potatoes and white flour/white rice. And otherwise keep portions of other (wholegrain/vegetable-based starch) foods to small portions. Green light on veg + some fruit.

Interesting that the "prediabetic" diagnosis doesn't exist in USA. Dad was diagnosed as prediabetic by his American doctors/HMO, I expect, they will be giving the best practice modern advice (which admittedly might be ridiculously over-proactive, but) they won't be random quacks. Diagnosis was based on a recent trend of rising numbers in his blood tests. Also he's been told to lose some weight, and he knows from experience that low carb diets are the most successful way for him to do that, so he has an extra incentive to minimise the carbs, at least for now.

Are you Type I or II diabetic? All the Type I diabetics I know are skinny rakes. Not so the Type IIs. Dietary advice might be different for each lot?

lljkk · 13/05/2011 14:46

Urk, "doesn't exist in the UK" !!

annapolly · 13/05/2011 14:57

I was diagnosed "pre diabetic" or impaired glucose tolerance 21 years ago, in the UK.

I follow a no refined carbs diet.