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Original poster

House guests who ‘don’t eat carbohydrate’

293 replies

Littlemessymiss · 20/09/2018 10:33

The second time a particular house guest has brought a girlfriend who does not to eat ‘carbohydrates’ in the form of starch/ gluten. There is no chrohns/ coeliac. There is a limit to how many roasted cauliflowers and sweet potatos I can stomach.
We would not have evolved as a species if there was an absence of carb!
WIBU to educate these Americans of the joy of a nice rib of beef with roasties and Yorkshire’s?

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 20/09/2018 18:06

It's not about what gives the most weight loss long term, it's about what works for the individual.

And it's fine if someone wishes to eat carbs, of whatever kind, there is no law that says you can't eat them, or if one person likes them everyone should, again it's down to the individual, their tastes and method of eating suits them.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/09/2018 18:06

Surely people who are choosing not to eat certain things just leave them anyway. I hate sweet corn- I don’t feel obliged to eat it if it’s served to me, and no host would force me, surely? I also don’t eat pasta, or potatoes, or bread. It’s the same.

What’s annoying is when I say I won’t have dessert because I’m sugar free and everyone then gives this little wounded puppy look because my saying no to pudding makes them feel that they should say no to pudding too. I literally give not one single iota of a fuck whether they eat pudding or not.

MIdgebabe · 20/09/2018 18:08

So no dairy, no fruit and no vegetables? Because they all contain carbs. That is very restrictive, and expensive, so I would expect the guest to volunteer to self cater

And even in Stone Age times we would have eaten carbs from fruit and vegetables.

DianaT1969 · 20/09/2018 18:15

Fish & salad
meat & veg
Egg salad
Avocado & chicken
Full fat yoghurt
Bacon, mushrooms & eggs
Roast veg with cheese on top

It's so easy to serve a meal without carbs!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/09/2018 18:17

To be fair, some low carb dieters do this but most I know of eat dairy, and veg, and limit fruit. The key is high fibre, which counteracts the absorption of glucose, so ‘refining’ of any carb will increase its GI and the effect it has on your blood sugars. By refining that includes cooking, peeling, pureeing, as well as commercial refining such as removing the whole grain etc.

With regards to fruit- yes, our ancestors ate fruit in season. When is most fruit in season? End of summer, and autumn? And why do animals eat fruit in Autumn? To put on fat stores to see us through the winter. Fructose makes you fat. That’s it’s purpose. eating unlimited high fructose fruit year round is not the way our ancestors would have eaten fruit.

MIdgebabe · 20/09/2018 18:20

Avocado has carbs

Yoghurt has carbs

Most salad has carbs

Roast veg...cheese...all have carbs

Am I being too literal?

FrogFairy · 20/09/2018 18:25

Sweet potato has more carbs than white potato.

If they eat cookies and pudding they are not low carb, they are fussy piss takers.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 20/09/2018 18:58

I can sort of see why people who are eating low-carb for whatever reason might say that they are 'no carb'. I have been for a meal at someone's house and I was asked about what I wanted to eat and I said anything so long as it's low-carb. And what the other person served was root vegetable soup with wholemeal bread because they were 'good' carbs, which they are but it still pushed my blood sugar up too high even though I didn't eat the bread.

Bluntness100 · 20/09/2018 19:28

I think the confusion on this thread says it all. The op started it by saying she served sweet potato to someone who doesn't eat carbs.

No one is no carb. I think the issue is many people simply don't know what a carb is. Including some of those who try to eat low carb.

Isn't this taught in schools anymore ? It was in my day.

LemonysSnicket · 20/09/2018 19:52

So any meat and veg is fine?
What's hard about that?
Or make a tagine/curry/chilli and they can have it with green veg ...

A580Hojas · 20/09/2018 20:47

But all the stressing about carbs is weird. It's just a fad of it's time, like eggs and avocados were the baddies in the 70s/80s/90s. Very recently a glass of red wine a day was a good thing, now it is apparently very much a bad thing.

If you are intolerant of gluten then fine, don't eat it. No need to bang on about it.

If you have an allergy then bang on about it all you like.

If you don't want to eat carbs then bring your own food for breakfast and lunch where most people in most households do actually allow a filthy carb to pass their lips.

By carbs I mean the foods most of us understand to mean carbs from the classic food plate - bread, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta.

Nitpicking about carbs in fruit and carbs in cucumber and carbs in milk is just fucking weird obsessive eating disordery speak.

Bluelady · 20/09/2018 20:51

No it isn't. It's a perfectly reasonable way to reduce your weight or reverse type 2 diabetes.

A580Hojas · 20/09/2018 20:51

thenewaveragebear

Do you really say no to pudding "because I'm sugar free"? Do you use those words?

A580Hojas · 20/09/2018 20:54

yes of course it can help people reduce weight or reverse type 2 diabetes, although there are many other ways to lose weight which suit some people better. I'm really addressing Bluntness who seems to have herself in a lather about whether or not people know there are carbs in cucumbers. Who honestly cares?

Bluntness100 · 20/09/2018 20:56

Eh.?

Confused
BIWI · 20/09/2018 21:05

Those of us who follow a low carb diet, care, @A580Hojas.

Low curbing isn't just about weight loss. It's beneficial for a whole load of conditions, including (but not limited to) hypertension, diabetes, IBS, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

The ignorance about food and macronutrients is quite shocking, and very sad. And posts like this:

It really is only in MN land that fruit=Sugar! Bad!

... made by people who a) clearly don't know what they're talking about and b) dismiss posts from those who do, are thoroughly depressing

Fruit has a lot of good things going for it, but it's also (depending on how much you eat and which fruit, obviously) very high in sugar, so a lot of it isn't a good thing.

Just as an example

BIWI · 20/09/2018 21:06

Oh, and this gem:

But all the stressing about carbs is weird. It's just a fad of it's time

disorganisedXX · 20/09/2018 21:08

Hmm I too would serve a glass of water with an optional side order of an organic chemistry lesson. Carbohydrate free food does not exist.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/09/2018 21:23

A580hojas yes. I say ‘no thanks, I don’t eat sugar’

What’s wrong with that? It’s no different to saying ‘no thanks, I don’t eat meat’ if someone offers me a sausage roll.

A580Hojas · 20/09/2018 21:33

No, if you don't eat meat you are most likely avoiding it for ethical reasons.

"I don't eat sugar" just sounds pretentious.

I don't eat sugar either but I don't need to broadcast it.

BIWI · 20/09/2018 21:41

Why is 'I don't eat sugar' pretentious? Sugar is actually really not that good for you.

Why would you think it is?

I wouldn't, however, ever express myself like that to my hosts!

liverbird10 · 20/09/2018 21:44

Feed them a lettuce leaf each and tell 'em to do one. #perfecthostess

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/09/2018 21:46

It’s not pretentious, it’s a fact.

When I gave up sugar I found it astounding how strongly people would attempt to persuade me to eat cake, biscuits, puddings. It became really necessary to have a clear, straightforward response.

I don’t ‘broadcast it’ but obviously if someone offers me something I don’t eat then I’m going to say no aren’t I? It’s surely no different to saying ‘no thanks, I’m dieting’

IfNotNowThenWhen1 · 20/09/2018 23:14

The ignorance about food and macronutrients is quite shocking, and very sad. And posts like this:
It really is only in MN land that fruit=Sugar! Bad! ... made by people who a) clearly don't know what they're talking about and b) dismiss posts from those who do, are thoroughly depressing

No...I do know that I have never met a single person in real life who thinks fruit is bad for you. Therefore, it's only on MN that I encounter this belief.
I don't think anyone thinks you should eat loads of it-did anyone say that?
If you have particular illnesses you may have to restrict how you eat, but most people can eat fruit and be perfectly healthy, and, just as importantly, happy.
More to the point, noone really gives a shit if someone else eats a satsuma or not, so no need to get depressed about it.

Mummyoflittledragon · 21/09/2018 05:05

IfNot
I know someone, who didn’t eat any form of refined carb / sugar or fruit for about 5 years. For her health. As in to heal herself as she was incredibly ill. It did. Bloody amazing she managed to do this. If I could do the same, maybe I could be well too but I’m too ill to try. It helped that she was looked after by her family and subsequently her husband and didn’t have children.