The FastDay Forum

I have a feeling that many people say carbs and mean white bread, sugar and pizza and they forget the carbs are also wholewheat pasta, brown rice, fruit, vegetables, grains...
It would be a shame if someone encouraged us to not eat all these!!!

Carbs means carbohydrates, as per the label.

Can I ask you something? If that is the case with protein then why I am full on a fast day with 500 calories of carbs and today that I'm eating protein only I will need at least 1200 calories to feel just not very much hungry???

That's an apocryphal tale of what you feel, n=1. It doesn't seem to match the typical experience which is like Chinese Meal syndrome of being stuffed for 20 mins with carbs then starving.

You don't eat protein only, or carbs only, do you ? Most protein comes with fats, for example.

I usually don't add fat to food that already has fat. So, I don't add fat to meat, chicken, salmon etc. I do add olive oil (I rarely use any other form of fat) to veggies, pulses and pasta when my sauce doesn't have some other form of fat.
I don't add fat to the carbs that I eat when I'm fasting, if that's what you;re asking.
Is that a true story, about the Chinese? I always feel soooo full after Chinese, it's one of the occasions that I need a few Rennies but I still enjoy it!

Sugar is a carbohydrate, pizza dough is carbs, so are burger buns, soft drinks with calories are carb solutions.

I know they are carbs, I'm saying that they aren't they only carbs alive and that as long as people don't overdo it with these carbs they don't face obesity or health problems.

I have a feeling that many people say carbs and mean white bread, sugar and pizza and they forget the carbs are also wholewheat pasta, brown rice, fruit, vegetables, grains...
It would be a shame if someone encouraged us to not eat all these!!!

Carbs means carbohydrates, as per the label.

Phil, there is no need to treat me like I'm stupid, really. Either say that you think I'm stupid and stop talking to me or please at least pretend that you understand what I'm saying. My English might not be perfect but it seems that everyone else understands what I'm talking about...

On that other commercial diet SW you are doing it 'wrong' if you are EVER hungry. Loads of food is restricted, but in order not to be hungry you eat a lot of calories. I lost weight but not as quick as n 5:2 (which is not that fast!). Personally I think counting calories is better for weight loss. It doesn't matter if you eat this or don't eat that at the end of the day you just need to eat less of it! Also if you calorie count you tend to have to cut out some of the bad carbs because they take up your calorie allowance but don't fill you up!

I meant to say, when I was younger I didn't eat that well to be honest, but because I didn't eat much of it I was skinny! Of course it affects your health but not your weight that much I don't think.
Hey TML13 I am with you on the rice cakes - if I don't have those I have brown pitta bread. That's probably 'worse' but I am not full otherwise.

Oh, when I was younger I ate like a big, hungry pig and never gained weight! And I ate all sorts of cr@p too when I wasn't eating at home. But then the big 30 came and my metabolism left home with his new, younger girlfriend and I had to pay attention to what I eat and how much but mostly how much. If I ate 200 calories of pizza, I would not gain weight.

I too love brown pitta bread!!! I make pizzas with it!!!

I believe most of us on this forum understand that when we talk about bad carbs, we are referring to "Simple Carbs" that the body breaks down immediately and raises insulin levels fast, such as table sugar, white flour, white potatoes, and even fruit sugars (Fructose). Raised insulin levels cause the body to not burn fat and store it instead.

These should not be confused with "Complex Carbs" that are slow to enter the bloodstream and do not cause spikes in insulin levels. Vegetables, whole grains, dairy, yogurt, and some fruits since in addition to fructose sugar which is a simple sugar, they also include fiber which slows down absorbion into bloodstream. But not all fruits are equal - Fiberous are best.

I basically try to focus on all the foods that have a Glycemic index below 50 since that determines the effect the carb has on blood sugar, and try to limit my overall carb intake to about 100-125 grams a day to encourage fat burning.

This, along with 5:2 fasting, is a very effective program.

Yes, of course bad carbs are the naughty (and tasty) ones but when we say generally that we should not eat lots of carbs it is a bit misleading, IMO...

Let's be honest, the "bad carbs" are the "fun carbs"

Everything that's fun is bad...

Sugar is a carbohydrate, pizza dough is carbs, so are burger buns, soft drinks with calories are carb solutions.

Thanks for stating that. I'm always surprised how many people, even scientists, equate carb with starch only. Sugar is a carb. Fructose, glucose, sucrose, the lot.

I just wanted to add with regards to Atkins/low carb diets: much like 5:2/IF, it is very easy to do these diets by only purchasing the book (with the Internet, you probably don't even need that). They sell special products, but you really don't need them. I don't like to eat fake food, so I rarely go in for those things (diet coke being the exception). I'm mainly saying this because of a comment earlier about Atkins being out to make money. In the first wave of the diet in the 70s, I don't think there were any special products available. Robert Atkins, by the way, is dead so presumably he isn't making any money off his diet anymore.

I prefer to get my carbs from vegetables and find that my weight loss slows or stalls whenever I start eating starchy foods or sugar containing foods, which I find it easiest to categorize as processed. I think Atkins had the right idea about proteins and fats being satiating and I find it easy to lose weight doing it but I cannot maintain it and long to eat bread, pasta and rice etc. so my compromise is to allow myself a small amount of complex,starchy carbs such as brown rice or millet, volume size a medium potato, with my dinner. This satisfies my needs for carbs and seems to prevent me bingeing. I haven't banned pizza, white pasta and cake but only eat them rarely (maybe once in two weeks). I enjoy them and don't stint, but mentally I regard them as treats or indulgences. I love porridge for breakfast but I limit myself to twice a week with the other days being protein based, usually eggs, smoked salmon or ham. Since starting 5.2 I don't always eat breakfast now either, only if I'm hungry. I sound like some sort of food puritan reading this, but I love my food, and at the moment am enjoying asparagus, fennel and all the lovely seasonal veg. I enjoy olive oil and sauces like hollandaise and sour cream with my meals and prefer my calories like that rather than a cake or dessert. I find eating protein stops me from snacking. When I stay with my son in London we eat Italian style, milky coffee and bread or biscuits or cake for breakfast and I am very hungry 2 hours later. I aim to eat some protein with most meals but am more aware now of not overdoing the amount and compensate with extra helpings of salad or veg and a drizzle of oil or butter. I eat seeds and nuts too, usually in my lunch salad, a couple of times a week. I love cashews in stir fries as a change from meat or chicken and seafood. I eat limited amounts of fruit,an apple every other day and berries on the other days. I can control my calorie intake like this, painlessly, but as soon as I start eating the white goodies I get derailed! I feel lighter eating like this too, as opposed to bloated and full on more carbs.

Dhana, what is millet???