Wholewheat, 50/50 and white confusion! Please help

[Uberly]

DP and I are looking again at our diets in an aim to lose weight. Problem is that we enjoy the foods that we shouldn't....pasta, rice, bread, potatoes...lots of carbs!

So we're thinking of cutting that down and going towards wholewheat pasta/rice/bread. However, we don't like the taste of wholewheat and we're leaning towards these 50/50 alternatives.

Are they really better for you? What about even going for the "free from" range, e.g. free from gluten, etc....would they have any health/dieting benefits?

I'm just generally confused about the whole thing and trying to work out the best way to lose weight.

Thanks for reading :)

The advantage of wholegrain and wholewheat products is that they contain more fibre and other nutrition. The calories are the same per 100g normally. 50/50 options should contain a little more fibre than straight 'white' options - so relatively a better choice. 'Free from' is really aimed at people with intolerances and allergies and are often very highly processed in an effort to look and taste like the original foods they replace. Most people won't benefit from using these products.

Bottom line is eat better food... less processed, mostly plants, freshly cooked.... eat less of it, drink water in preference to anything else and put in some daily exercise. Easy peasy :)

Wholewheat foods won't make much difference if you're trying to lose weight, you need to reduce the carbohydrate portion size I'm afraid and replace it with vegetables. Wholewheat usually has a slightly lower number of carbs but not significantly lower, it is a healthier option in that it usually has a lower GI value and is less processed. Carbohydrates when digested are broken down into glucose, glucose that is not immediately used for energy by the body will be converted to fat and stored for later use. If you imagine a dinner plate divide it into quarters, serve a quarter of lean meat, a quarter of carbohydrates and two quarters of fresh vegetables. Don't snack on processed foods, try to reduce snacking but if you must then have a handful of nuts or a piece of fresh fruit. Get regular exercise and drink plenty of water. Be careful of fresh fruit juices and breakfast cereals as they are high in carbohydrates. Be careful of "low fat" foods, they often contain lower amounts of fat but to compensate for flavour they have more carbohydrate/sugar.

Thanks Cogito. So as far as the "eat less carbs" goes, switching to wholewheat won't make much difference?

Won't bother at looking any further at "free from" either then.

Have been looking at GI which seems interesting.

And yes, have decided to eat better. Although we don't eat too much processed food. But we have been drinking a lot of fizzy drink so that will go and be replaced with water. And defo got to do more exercise! Hardest part is tackling DP fussy eating habits!

Thanks again :)

Wholewheat means that if you're eating smaller portions to lose weight, it's likely to be a little more filling and satisfying because of the fibre and protein content. 'Carbs' don't make you fat by themselves... 'too much food' makes you fat. :) I can personally recommend looking at low-GI type diets. They were originally designed with Type II diabetics in mind in order to keep blood sugar levels relatively stable. Hunger pangs and energy droops happen when blood-sugars dip too low so, by choosing foods that keep blood-sugars more level, you're less likely to be reaching for snacks. If you don't eat much processed food anyway you'd probably find it quite pleasant. Quantities still have to be managed for weight-loss, of course, and exercise keeps the digestion healthy and metabolism lively.

Rick Gallop has written a few books on Low-GI eating. Worth checking.