Realistic carb replacement/reduction suggestions?

[Smallfry79]

Hi All
This may be covered elsewhere but I couldnt see it easily. I want to lose about 10lbs to a stone but really main wish is to lose all the soft fat that has appeared on my back and tummy.
I used to exercise reguarly both Cardio and strenght but since WFH in March I dont have access to my gym and my lunch breaks are taken up by children when not in school. I have started back running and plan to do some body weight circuits myself for new year.
Anyway my main problem is carbs. I dont really like many veg/salad and not a big meat eater either. My favourite part of any meal is the carb. I like bread, potatoes, wedges, chips, pasta, rice etc. I use them to soak up and mask the other foods to an extent. I mean soup, omelette even lasagne without the carbs on the side just feel miserable (the pasta sheets in lasagne dont cut it i always have chips on the side). It's partly sensory i think and also psychological to a point. Too much meat in my mouth without some stodge to counteract it makes me feel yeuch. I do eat veg and meat with most meals but just for their nutritional value.

I keep googling carb substitutes but mostly they dont seem reslistic. I mean can you really swap a taco boat for a lettuce leaf?
I am going to try cut out white bread maybe eat one slice of brown instead of two white with my soup etc. And I can def cut back on portion size.
I will go back to porridge to breakfast instead of toast and try swap to eggs maybe somedays but i do feel im losing a lunch option if i move eggs to breakfast. I dont eat any fish so limited enough in my choices. I dont feel full/fulfilled by any meal without carbs. Im left hungry and longing.

So really i suppose im just looking for ideas from other carb lovers that have worked or hints on how to cope until i adjust to new diet. (Please tell me it's possible to adjust)

I am determined to succeed in reducing cabs and will not have any white bread for rest of Jan at least. So what has worked for you?
Thanks

I also love carbs, but I think they are a big part of my weight problem.

Everyone in my family has massive portions of carbs, I also think bread especially is addictive

I’m trying to:

• go for unprocessed carbs (eg porridge, brown rice)
• reduce carbs to more of a ‘treat’ food eg either lunch OR dinner, and stick to smaller portions (I’m veggie & eat beans 1 meal a day so there are otherwise carbs there)
• replace bread with eg wraps: I think bread is the food I most overeat

I think it’s about deciding what’s important: carby foods are v calorie dense, so you have to limit amount to lose weight and fill up on other foods

I believe slimming world allows you to have a fair portion of carbs (my carb loving sister has had huge success with it) - they do ‘slimmers chips’ which are pretty good. Sweet potato & butternut squash are also good options for a carb, or anything whole grain you like but don’t over eat (in my case, I find a tablespoon or 2 of brown rube is enough for me)

For a replacement: I made these today, quite liked them (I made them flatter like discs, and they do need herbs/garlic etc for flavour

blog.memeinge.com/cauliflower-tater-tots/

I didn’t have some of the ingredients so used chickpea flour but I think any flour at all would work

I’m trying to go easy on carbs at dinner especially- could you skip the carbs for 1 of your daily meals?

It is possible to adjust, cutting way down on bread would make a huge difference

@Smallfry79 I don't think your weight is caused by carbs but by lasagna with chips and taco boats.
In Japan, we have carbs at every meal and women are very tiny.
Carb doesn't mean anything. It can be good or bad. Rethink what you eat for real food and not processed food, otherwise the second you stop your diet you will be back to square zero

Weight gain is not caused by carbs. They are not an essential macronutrient but they do provide you with energy therefore should be eaten. Without being rude your weight gain is only caused by one thing eating more calories than you are burning. You may feel "bigger" when you eat carbs as they store glycogen in your cells therefore for every gram of carb you'll store 1-2 gram of "water" (not technical but easiest way to describe) this is why when you cut them out you drop water fast.

If you really want to lower carbs I'd highly recommend buying one of chloe Madely books and following her carb cycling routine (x3 days low carb high protein/fat then a day of high carb) this way you refuel without becoming lethargic from lack of carbs.

In all honesty though I'd count your calories (I know it's tedious!) and weigh out all your carb portions I was mortified when I started weighing my pasta to see how much I was over eating

Roasted cauliflower and butternut squash work as carb substitutes for me. Otherwise I leave the carb off initially and very often by the end of the meal I haven’t missed them as much as I thought.

Thanks for replies. Those cauliflower tots look pretty nice actually so i might give them a try.
I think you are right and i will start with having one main meal carb free and move towards healthier carbs for the other. It is probably best to approach it in stages.

I try not to eat all processed foods but i suppose maybe i underestimate how much is processed. I wouldnt have thought tacos processed as made with fresh mince beef and dried herbs but i soppose the actual boat is processed. Chips are my downfall but i lie to myself that they are just potato really with nothing added but a tiny bit of oil.
Time to rethink things and stop the denial.

I agree my overall calorie intake has crept up so needs looking at too. I am going to download mfp and give it a go. Ive never weighed my portions so maybe that might be an idea for a few weeks just to see if im way off.
I don't mind butternut squash so might try adding that to a few meals and easing back on potatoes and chips

@Smallfry79 - Everything you e written sounds really sensible

Here is the SW chip recipe, it is just potatoes & oil.
If you don’t have spray, you could also just brush the potatoes with oil (using a pastry brush). I sometimes do wedges like this... because being realistic and having healthy versions of your favourites makes things more manageable

www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/syn-free-chips

You need to understand how food and body work, why we crave some foods and how our brain is wired.
In nature, you don't have fat and salty or fat and sweet or fat+sweet+salty which is the triad in every single processed food, no matter in which quantities.
In nature, you have nuts (fat, not salty), seaweed (salty, not fat), fruit (sweet, not fat), the combination of the three as in crisps, chips, or even biscuits (they have salt) , sends your brain banana.
Have you ever tried chips without any salt. How many would you eat? Not many, they're not nice, even if greasy.
Same with boiled potatoes, without salt, chopped parsley and a bit of butter or oil, not so nice.

The good news is that what applies to chips, applies to veggies. In the same way, chips taste better with salt, rosemary, garlic, oil, a pumpkin or a roasted zucchini tastes lovely with salt, rosemary and garlic. People tend to not do anything with the veggies and then complain of them not being pleasant.
Buy a real butter lettuce, not a salad in a bag which is filled with carbon dioxide gas to prevent the spoiling but will void the taste. Real extra virgin olive oil, fresh parsley which you can chop and see in freezer, cherry vinegar, quality salt . You will be surprised how great such a salad can taste.

The reason refined grains and potatoes satisfy you is that refined flour (white flour you have in white toast, taco boat, ....) , white rice or potatoes turns into sugar in your digestive system.

Understand the chemistry and be free of them.

Try to eliminate take aways, frozen food, processed food for a month. Be careful even with your brown toast unless the first ingredient is wholemeal flour, it will be white flour+bran and it will still turn into sugar .

@Smallfry79

I agree my overall calorie intake has crept up so needs looking at too. I am going to download mfp and give it a go. Ive never weighed my portions so maybe that might be an idea for a few weeks just to see if im way off. I don't mind butternut squash so might try adding that to a few meals and easing back on potatoes and chips

Just be careful with calorie allowance on mfp, I use nutracheck and it's brilliant (U.K. based and measurements) they calculate your calories based on your weight/height. Mfp gives everyone a standard 1200 and then you are expected to eat back any exercise calories (trouble is lots don't and 1200 is a dangerous amount to live off)

Mfp gave me like 1700😂 I was massive though.

I found swapping to low carb really easy and I lost 50lbs in 5 months without much effort.

The key thing is you just don't get hungry. This was the game changer for me. I have to eat when I'm hungry, I've never been able to lose weight through willpower.

I make breakfast muffins, No-one has realised they are ultra low carb in my house.
I use a cup of almond flour, three eggs, small amount of very strong cheese, handful of chives, 30g cold butter or plant butter and a good teaspoon of baking powder.
This makes 5, and I have one each morning.
I sometimes swap this for a slice of Hovis lower carb bread and kippers or eggs in toast.

I don't then need lunch as they fill you up, but I need a early evening meal.

Most things are possible.

If we are having Bolognese I'll spoon mine into half green peppers and top with cheese and roast in the oven.

If we are having curry I'll blitz a 1/4 cauliflower into 'grains' and cover and microwave on high for 4 mins instead of rice.

If having a roast I'll have extra portion of swede cooked and roasted rather than potato, or I'll have 1 or two new potatoes that are lower in starch.

Most meals can be bulked out with extra veg and just miss off the pasta, rice, potato. If your plate of full you don't miss it. And this isn't low fat, it's sensible fat, so it's not a diet. Just a pleasant way of eating.

Puddings are delicious. But you need to be able to make your own.

Over Christmas I had sweet muffins, split open with home made sugar free lemon curd and clotted cream. They were divine.
I made truffles using double cream and 85% chocolate melted in. These were mine when the family munched through the Christmas chocolates.
Nuts dipped in the same chocolate are good.
I made a trifle with low carb sponge. Sugar free jelly with home made compote and cream.
Chocolate mousse made with eggs, cream and chocolate. And tiramisu made with home made sponge.

I don't feel I'm being deprived at any point. My issue if any would be I'm not hungry enough to eat it!

I've just made low carb wraps for breakfast. I whisk a couple of eggs and season then fry in a pan to make a thin pancake sort of thing. They're great, as I love wraps and can fill with "crunchy stuff" (which is why toast is my downfall!). This morning I had bacon salad in them. Eggs can get old really fast on low carb so it's great to have something different!

Some more good ideas threre thanks. I like the sound of the breakfast muffins and egg wraps.
Definitely going to give cauliflower rice a try too.