What can I replace carbs with?

[WoodBurningStov]

I've put on 5 stone in the last 8 years, mostly due to lifestyle change, menopause and illness.

I saw my GP last week and she's suggested cutting out carbs. I have a fairly healthy, varied diet, so lots of veggies, fish, meat etc, but I do eat a lot of carbs, pasta, rice, bread, potatoes etc

What can I use that isn't a carb? Things to replace pasta in a spag bol for instance, or rice in a curry, whole meal pitta for lunch with a salad, baked potatoe with tuna.

Plus what do you have for breakfast? I have a smoothie now (home made, with fat free yogurt and fruit), or maybe eggs and bacon (no hash browns or toast), but by 10 am I'm ravenous. The same with lunch and tea. I've tried the protein with veggies, but again, 2 hours later I could gnaw my own arm off

I eat a LOT of green veggies 😂 The hunger only lasts for a few days as your body gets used to a new way of eating - have a handful of nuts or a protein shake and push on through. It’s worth it! (I’m 2 1/2 stone down since Xmas)

I lost a lot of weight cutting carbs last year. I was only hungry for the first two weeks then I found it easy.

I turned my thinking around, instead of what can’t I have, I thought what can I have? The answer is plenty of delicious food.

B- home made smoothie with lots of different fruits and yogurt, or eggs and smoked salmon.

I decided to continue eating fruit despite the sugar content.

L- a truly massive salad with any lean protein , think chicken, tuna, occasionally ham with a little cheese. Or an omelette with veg inside.

D- normal dinner such as meatballs with ragu sauce then a dish of mushrooms, peppers, onions. Or a roast dinner without the potatoes but extra carrots etc. Fish with peas, sweetcorn and a salad. I found dinners easy.

Snacks were a few nuts, slice of ham, low calorie hot chocolate and litres of decaf tea.

I eat low carb-ish and typically replace carbs with vegetables. For example, if I have bolognese I tend to serve it with green beans or tenderstem broccoli. I also like shredded white cabbage that's been fried (to soften) in butter. I have tried a couple of lower carb pastas but prefer veg.

I often skip breakfast as I'm not hungry but when I do have it, it's generally full fat greek yogurt with a small handful of berries and some chopped nuts. Lunch is often an omelette or a chicken salad and dinner is something like chicken, salmon or steak with veg.

The key (in my experience) is to increase the amount of fat you eat. Forget low fat - you'll just be hungry. Go for full fat products so, for example, if you want a smoothie have a smaller smoothie made from full fat greek yogurt and a handful of berries. It will fill you up more than a larger fat free one. I eat a lot of avocado, nuts as well as butter / olive oil and cream. I don't go completely mad but let's say I have steak for dinner. Instead of chips I'll steam some tenderstem broccoli and then fry it in garlic butter and some flaked almonds. It's delicious and because fat is filling, keeps me from getting hungry.

I also have some dark chocolate every day - just a square or two - this way I don't feel like I'm missing out if the rest of the family has pudding / treats after dinner.

Good Luck - I've been eating this way since early January and it's the first time in many years that I've been able to maintain a way of eating without "falling off the wagon".

The idea is you replace them with meat and vegetables but in reality it’s quite hard (in my own experience can I caveat please). I just eat less carbs so they aren’t the main part of any meal. I would say I am a moderate carb consumer. When I did low carb I just ate a lot more meat and veg and now I replace most of the carbs with meat and veg but not all. I do not eat pasta though it bloats me.

you Can find a balance of what works for you not all carbs are ‘bad’ in fact potatoes are one of the most satiating foods and whole grain bread has lots of fibre and other nutrients. The problem with how I used to eat carbs is that they would be 70% or more of my meal and I would combine them with a lot of butter/cheese but I don’t do that now and eat my fat in different ways like avocado, Greek yoghurt and cheese in moderate portions.

I have stopped eating pork completely as it’s so salty, I’ve just gone off it. You can replace your pork bacon with turkey rashers for a good amount of protein and more volume for same calories

Your appetite will adjust in a couple of weeks. I am in my 50s and can’t even look at bread. I cook pasta/rice/potatoes every day for the family but just give myself extra roast cauliflower/courgettes. I don’t eat breakfast anymore but when I did I ate scrambled eggs with a portobello mushroom (v filling) and spinach. Tinned sardines, smoked mackerel fillets are an inexpensive way to get fish. Nuts in small amounts (8 almonds) are also a filling snack. Like @Madickenxx I have steak once a week with lots of green veg. I cook with butter and lots of olive oil and have lost 2 stone. I now have potatoes once a week as they are so nutritious but I feel perfectly strong and healthy without the pasta/bread/rice.

I think you're all right, veggies are the way to go. I think I'll leave potatoes in the plan, but try to moderate them, maybe just cut out the processed carbs.

It is for weight loss, but I need something I can maintain rather than a fad that I then fall off the wagon with.

I need to sit down and do a proper eating plan for the week and be big more organised

Have a look at the low carb boot camp threads on here. Don’t know if there is one running at the moment but you will get lots of ideas from them.

I find smoothies make me hungry. They spike my blood sugar too much. So for breakfast I usually have full fat Greek yoghurt with some blueberries and a teaspoon each of flaxseeds and hemp seeds for extra protein and fibre. Or one slice of seeded sourdough with two boiled eggs. I quite like cottage cheese now too with blueberries and a teaspoon of peanut butter.

Lunches are salads with protein or homemade soup. I add a tin of canellini beans to the soup for protein. I might have a couple of Ryvita with it too. Or I make up a bowl of tuna mayonnaise with chopped red onion, peppers, cucumber and kidney beans.

Evening meals are normal family type meals and if I have carbs it’s a very small portion and I have more veg.

Spiralised courgette can be a good base for bolognaise. You can make lasagna and use leeks sliced lengthwise instead of pasta sheets.

Yes you will be hungry quickly after eating a lie carb breakfast because your body wants carbs currently. The only way to get rid of that hunger is to significantly reduce carbs ideally with ketosis which would mean less the 50g a day or for some, less then 20g.

It's difficult to make the adjustment when we are so used to carbs making up the bulk of our diet and especially as carbs are so bloody convenient. Almost impossible to avoid if eating out sometimes.

Just get used to eating the protein and veg component with without the carbs but. Some modifications or changing meal choices helps.

Eg fajita without the wrap is easy enough, just eat it as a salad with plenty of cream cheese and salsa.

For meatballs or spaghetti bol, I just have them with fried broccoli, shredded sauted cabbage or courgette.

Have meat/veg/dairy based soup without the bread.

Chicken with coleslaw.

I caution you to avoid too many processed 'low carb' food as many arn't great for you or can be misleading with nutrition. I have used seriously low carb bread rolls before. Their the closest I have found and great if you are travelling or need a work lunch and need something convenient.

Cauliflower "rice" spiralised courgette and carrot, mashed swede are good options. Also lots of crunchy vegetables in salads as you feed full from al the munching. Lean protein (so no chicken skin) helps

Fruits and veg are carbs I think that’s important to remember here. Cutting those out is keto. You are all still eating carbs it’s just you aren’t eating processed or as many starchy carbs like bread. Beans are also carbs. Some carbs are starchy, some are not. Beans are starchy carbs. The reason people want to avoid some starchy carbs is that it’s been linked with spiking blood sugar but if you are not diabetic it’s not such a deal breaker and some are higher in resistant starchy so these have a lot of health benefits and can help you regulate blood sugars. They did a study which showed if you toast brown bread then put it into the fridge then warm it up, it increases the resistant starch. Food is complex and not black and white, good/bad.

the word carbs just gets throw around like it’s just bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. It’s a lot of things and humans need some of them as part of their diet.

OP I would do research as the low carb stuff can be very confusing. It’s good to learn about different nutrition and what you think will work for you. Potatoes for the win 😉

Not exactly what you're asking, but have you thought about going high fat? When I had gestational diabetes, I was always pretty full even tho I wasn't having much carbs - so full fat yoghurt, avocado, plenty of protein. The fat is really satiating and definitely made me feel fuller for longer. I think if you just cut carbs but don't pick up more protein and healthy fats, you're going to feel like you're missing out
For example, after a lighter carb dinner, I would have a sugar free instant hot chocolate, made with milk and cream. It really made me feel full.

In terms of reducing carbs, I would have one potato waffle instead of jacket potato/chips

You can make a naan type bread with full fat yogurt and flour - if you use lentil/gram flour, it's even less carbs and have they instead of rice.

With a chili, have a small bit of rice, but have plenty of beans, guacamole and yoghurt to fill it up.

Instead of pasta you can get those 0 noodles, can't remember what they're called, but they have zero calories. But you'd need plenty of protein based sauce on them otherwise I think you'd just feel empty

All carb replacement things like cauli rice, cauli mash, courgette pasta, slim rice / noodles taste like sadness.
I think reducing the portion of carbs and adding more veg to reduce the overall calories is your best bet.

I tried using cauli rice and courgette noodles for a while but it's a faff so I just have pasta sauce with salad (although thinly sliced steamed cabbage is actually nice in place of pasta) and curry, stir fry etc with steamed or stir fried veg.

Lunch is either soup or salad with feta, boiled egg, chicken etc, or sometimes yoghurt, fruit and nuts.

The zero calorie rice and noodle substitutes are not nice.

@AhBiscuits - I love cauliflower mash! With some cream and lots of black pepper it’s yummy! I agree about some of the others though. Especially those weird noodle things.

OMG those skinny noodles are the weirdest consistency I find them so creepy. They are slimy wet and spongy and give me the ick. Cauli rice is only edible if mixed with a ton of other flavours for me 😂

Just cut down and not out, and have more high fibre and less processed sugary carbs. Wholewheat pasta and rice, potatoes with skin but weighed to check your portion size. What I thought was a medium jacket potato was a super giant one according to Nutracheck! Filling your plate with two to three portions of veg helps too.

I'm rarely satisfied with just protein unless there is some starchy fibre content to the meal. So I find a bacon and egg butty more filling and satisfying for longer than bacon and eggs on their own, even if I had a vastly bigger portion calories wise of the bacon and eggs.

I don't recognise ever getting the crash and burn effect from eating whole carbs.

The only time I get a blood sugar crash is if I consume something very sugary - including smoothies. The only time I have a shake or smoothie (even home made) is if I need some thing easy to consume before a very active morning. Some people really have to watch any carbs due to insulin resistance but it's not one size fits all. It's like saying "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Hmm, well, not for me. I think eating when you are actually hungry is more important and not feeling you need to have breakfast with 30g protein because a nutritionist says so. I find brunch a better time to eat, and a more interesting range of savoury foods tend to be generally acceptable or even waiting until after midday. If I eat a big breakfast before 10am I feel hungrier all day and consume more calories.

Food is about texture, smell, how it looks and enjoyment, in order to feel satisfaction. If it were only about nutrition/fuelling we could all just eat Huel or something.

I use Nutracheck to log my food and check the nutritional balance of my diet. I try and get at least 90g protein (but often up to 120g), around 30g fibre and 100-150g carbs a day. Five or six+ portions of veg and up to two of fruit.

The optimal nutrition plate below is a reasonable guide, though I would have a slice more of protein personally.

Pears are fantastic for fibre - when they are a little on the hard side I chop and put them in a savoury salad like a veg.

Some ideas:

• Have one meal a day without a starchy carb element, or just eat twice a day (I sometimes just have brunch and dinner)
• Swap thin bagels for normal (I quite like the Warburtons and Fitzgerald ones)
• Wholewheat for regular pasta, brown Basmati for white
• Potatoes with their skins when you can (though there has to be room in my diet for buttery mashed potato)
• Plenty of veg especially green - I plan what veg I'm having before anything else.
• Pulses and beans have protein, fat, fibre and carbs- amazing.
• Incorporate things you really enjoy into your diet, even if they are not optimal nutritionally. For me this is alcohol and caffeine in moderation, chocolate and crisps at the weekend (when I'm on my feet for far more of the day anyway)
• Watch portion sizes, particularly with anything calorific. Small digital scales make checking your portion sizes as easy as possible. Or do it visually with a quick check in for the weight every now and then.
• Don't be afraid of oil, nuts, butter, cream, cheese, avocado etc- just be careful on portions

Salad or roasted veg. You get used to it.

When I did super low carb made 'chaffles'. Waffles made from cheese, egg and almond flour. You can flavour them in different ways but my favourite was with garlic to taste more like garlic bread and served with bolognese. Or cheddar ones to go with chilli, etc. if you Google you'll find lots of recipes. They were delicious and I didn't feel deprived not having the pasta or rice.

Cauliflower cheese instead of mash. Cooked veg instead of pasta. I don't eat rice, I have 1 wholemeal roll every day and will stick to whole potatoes for jackets or wedges.

Roasted stuffed pepper - stuffed with spaghetti Bol, veg chilli etc - top with cheese

Iceberg lettuce or little gem leaves as wraps - fill with tuna, cheese and ham etc

Cauliflower rice

There are some pastas made without wheat eg Aldi black bean pasta and edamame pasta

Avoid those horrible noodles

I don’t eat gluten so it’s kind of natural for me to avoid “bad” carbs because the majority of them are made with white wheat flour. I also don’t eat gluten-free products, mostly made with processed crap tasting like sand-soaked sponge.

Replacements: potatoes, they can be eaten in many different ways, some super healthy. If you cook jacked potatoes a day before, pop them in the fridge overnight and then use them in a potato salad or salad nicoise the next day the GI of the potatoes drops a lot and you’ll get some resistant starches that are great for gut flora. These can be done with any starchy vegetables: carrots, swede, etc. Cook, cool for 8h, eat, repeat.

Quinoa, buckwheat, lentils, millet, beans, sweet potato noodles, bean noodles, brown rice - obvious. The resistant starches trick works with rice too. Cook rice in advance, make sushi at home.

Cauliflower rice: it can look sad and taste gross. It can be also made at home from a fresh cauliflower. I use our Assistent to make some at least once a week. It’s great in side salads, I love it with diced onion, cucumber, broad beans, some lentils cilantro and homemade vinaigrette sauce as a side dish instead of potatoes or pasta for dinner.

Have a look at the 'low carb bootcamp' threads here on Mumsnet, loads of information, support and interesting recipes.

With their support, it's become second nature to me now, to eat loads of leafy green veg, plus good quality meat and plenty of fat.

So easy, so accommodating of eating out.

There will be places there just won't be anything to eat, such as fuel stations, coffee shops, cheap chain stores but then there isn't much nutrition there anyways.

My body just doesn't react well to simple carbs and works much better with this way of eating. Cutting them all out works much better for me than trying to moderate my eating around toast, bread, potatoes, rice

If we have spag bol we have a small amount of wholemeal pasta and a lot of green veg (cavalero Nero, brocolli etc).

Pulses are good - we do a 'traybake' with a can of butter or cannellini beans for two portions and lots of cherry toms (can add other veg eg red peppers) tossed in a bit of olive oil, with salmon or chicken coated in yogurt and harissa baked for however long the protein needs. That's served with spinach and/ or other green veg.

@SpaSpa Can I ask what you put in a massive salad please?
I am lacking in inspiration and get stuck after lettuce/tomatoes/cucumber.