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 support this

I've cut out white carbs and am the slimmest I've ever been. It started with cutting out supermarket bread, to avoid UPFs, and went from there when I realised that I quickly had a flat stomach and had lost my small paunch.

I eat:

• BREAKFAST: full fat Greek yoghurt with blueberries, raspberries and proper honey
• LUNCH: a 3-egg spinach and cheese omelette, or a tuna nicoise salad with egg, or a roast butternut squash and goats cheese salad (I have a whole goats cheese per serving) with walnuts
• DINNER: burnt aubergine chilli with cheddar cheese, full fat soured cream, jalapenos and a whole avocado, or a homemade vegetable madras with a small serving of brown rice, or half a block of halloumi fried with 2 eggs and served with a whole avocado and chilli sauce.

My diet basically comprises full fat dairy, eggs, avocado, nuts and veg/salad/fruit.

A slice of bread would make me feel hungry and give me cravings, same for rice. Cauliflower, nuts, butter and cheese dont do that to me, so this is how I personally balance my foods.

It depends on your insulin response etc - DH has family history of diabetes and when we were both doing Zoë it was noticeable he'd get significantly bigger peaks and then troughs than me if he ate carbs. He'd eat breakfast before we drove to go for a walk then get desperately hungry - he did better either eating protein or else not eating anything till after he'd started walking.
Managing hunger can involve not only what you eat but when, and what you're doing and in what combinations. Eating a salad or veg before carbs can help for instance. Not eating carbs when sedentary... carbs are good for fuel but if you're not active when you eat them then your body has nothing else to do but store them as fat.

The whole point about low carbing surely is that you don't count calories, you just cut out starchy and very sugary foods. And it's much simpler to understand and institute.

This.

I wouldn't have a clue how many calories I eat in a day.

There is talk up the thread of low fat salad dressings. No no no! It's ultra processed, unsatisfying crap.

I pour a gallon of good quality extra virgin olive oil over every salad that I make.

My husband uses cauliflower rice in place of real rice and butternut squash instead of potatoes. He does occasionally have (homemade) bread but rarely.

I am with you, need to lose 5 stone but simply can't cut carbs (not a veg fan)

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I’m another one who needs a balanced diet and cannot go completely low carb.
I exercise a lot and I run regularly (currently 5 and 12K, twice a week) so I need carbs to fuel my body efficiently.

Many “low carb” meals mentioned here actually have pretty solid sources of carbohydrates, for instance beetroot, carrots, tomatoes and fruit are mainly carbs.
I count all these types of veg and fruit towards the carbs part of my macros and all leafy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, all sorts of cabbage, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, spring onions, chives, cavolo nero, kale, very young sprout beans and so on as the “proper” veg.

There's a few low carb pastas available, made from green pea, chick pea, yellow pea.

Also you can cook sliced cabbage leaves for spaghetti alternate for mixing with sauces.

I made bread using almond flour and seeds, fine for spreads etc and quite filling

Have a look at recipes suitable for diabetes for ideas.

You just eat more of the protein and veg elements and then you don't miss carbs.

I think what this thread and the various responses prove is that there is no one way which suits everyone.

We are all different and react differently to things. I can’t do pure low carb. I feel constantly queasy.

I can’t do porridge or smoothies for breakfast - am hungry all day.

Cutting out ultra processed carbs like white bread, cakes, biscuits etc is best for everyone. Avoiding low fat or low calorie yogurts etc. Increasing your intake of vegetables with all your meals. Drinking lots of water.

It’s just a matter of finding things that work for your lifestyle and can fit in with your family life and what you like to eat.

I love the sound of the bolognaise in roast peppers that someone mentioned. And the bean and veg traybake with a protein.

I think even with processed white carbs it has to be cutting down not out for me. Though it's not a regular part of my diet, sometimes I do want a bit of home made cake or a couple of biscuits to dunk in my tea, or a croissant.

Me too. I will have cake if I'm somewhere out with friends and it looks nice. But I'm not going to buy a processed cake from somewhere to mindlessly stuff my gob with because I'm bored (is the theory).

Equally sometimes a buttered crumpet or teacake is just the job.

But I'm trying to stop myself eating a whole 6 pack.

So generally eating more fibre, more protein and more veg, not drinking (much) means I'm less inclined to chow on down on some toast, butter and marmite.

Have a look at the recipes on The Doctors Kitchen website. They are filling and taste good.He uses a lot of beans/lentils and filling veg like mushrooms and aubergine.

I’m very overweight and I’ve recently started doing low carb (so a very small amount of complex carbs such as brown rice or porridge oats etc) but actually I rarely have any. I’m shocked that I don’t miss carbs at all. I have fish/meat with a sauce and then pile my meat high on my plate and pour it over the top. I don’t feel hungry at all.

for breakfast k have a big bowl of berries and yoghurt, or sometimes banana bread, meat/fish and salad for lunch and then meat/fish and sauce for dinner.

Today I’ve roasted a chicken which I had with salad for lunch and will have roast tonight, made a chicken chasseur filled with veg (but will have more), a chicken chilli, a beef chilli and I made some roasted Mediterranean veg which o will put over sausages and loads of veg. I feel so much better for it.

I've just ordered myself some nuts and seeds for my breakfast to have with yogurt and fruit

I've also been googling lentil recipes and cooked a huge chilli to have with veggies.

It's when I'm in a rush that I struggle so other than fruit I need to make sure I've got some quick non-carb snacks to hand

For snacks small cubes of cheese, olives or nuts work for me as does a slice of ham.

One word of warning - replacing the simpler carbs with more lentils, beans, veg etc can significantly increase the amount of fibre in your diet. Which is a good thing but may take a bit of time to adjust to. Make sure you drink plenty.

This!!! Carbs make me feel sluggish but without no carbs, I do feel hungry. So I always eat veg first, then proteins and fats, and finally carbs. Today was spaghetti bol, and so when I got to the pasta, I literally had a small amount (palm of hand size), and it was more than enough, as I was full.

My DD is similar to me. This would not work for DH though, who is a carb monster.

We are all different!