collegefbfan8898

Nah. That's not really how it happened. I just started eating right and exercising three weeks ago. So, the 5 pounds came off then, and I just weighed again yesterday and I was down to 237 (lost 2 more pounds). This happened with eating oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast.

Also, I always thought more calories burned than taken in was the key to weight loss. Doesn't matter if it is carbs or not. If we don't eat whole grains, where does the great fiber come in in our diet? There are guys on here and elsewhere that have carbs making up 30%-50% of their daily diet and they have lost weight.

I can't go very low carb. And 8 pounds lost in 3-4 weeks ain't too bad.

tandoorichicken

You can get plenty of fiber from beans, fruits and vegetables. Bean do have a lot of carbs, but at least you get a ton of protein along with all that fiber. Grains just have a lot of starch and not too much protein, whole or not. Plus, you can get really creative with the numerous types of vegetables out there. And you can substitute cauliflower for most of the things grains are used for in other recipes. IMHO it's best to stay away from grains as much as possible. I save my grain "points" for the odd slice of cheesecake, but other than that I don't touch them much.

xo_liana

Now, I could be wrong here, but the fibre found in fruits & veggies and the fibre found in grains are completely different, and the way your body digests these kinds of fibre differs as well. I know, speaking from personal experience, if I cut out all types of high-fibre grains and relied solely on the fibre from my daily fresh produce intake, I would be constipated. I've tried this before and I felt terrible. I eat way less grains than I used to, but even when I was eating bread several times a day, I was still losing a tonne of weight. I guess my point here is, everybody's different and just because you have had to cut out most grains to achieve your goals, doesn't necessarily mean everyone else has to.

zorba1331

That's great, just think where you could be if you weren't eating nearly 70 grams of carbs for breakfast every day!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-g...are-unhealthy/

Not all carbs are created equal and not all calories are created equal either.

Carbs from things like whole wheat bread, oatmeal get broken down into the same thing-sugar. This causes a spike in your insulin level and if your insulin has no place to put the sugar (the muscle stores are all occupied) it just goes straight to your fat cells.

I don't know what guys you are referring to, but you don't know what their diet consisted of before and how they have trimmed down--perhaps they used to eat boatloads of garbage, and now are eating less garbage and in a nicer package (ie. whole wheat bread instead of a bag of chips--ultimately not much difference here). Plus, they will likely get to a place where they can't seem to get past, and eating a calorie restricted diet will likely drive them to fall off the wagon over time.

Where will you get fiber from? All the wonderful vegetables that you eat. Why do you believe fiber is so important anyway? The little bit of fiber that you would get from eating whole grains/flour is far outweighed by the other issues grains bring with them.

Have a look at this:

Fun With Fiber: The Real Scoop | Mark's Daily Apple

Why can't you go low carb? Plus, eating between 50-100 grams of the right carbs isn't limiting at all. Eating that amount of carbs while continuing to eat grains, however, would be very difficult considering you eat 70 grams at breakfast.

I was/am a bread LOVER. I could eat 5 slices of rye bread with just olive oil and balsalmic vinegar while standing in the kitchen at the counter! I loved pizza and toast in the morning was heavenly. It was an effort to cut it out, but now that I don't eat any grains, sugars or processed food I feel 100x better and am finally starting to see some definition in my abs that I have NEVER seen before.

A man of your size should be able to drop 2-3 lbs per week. Also by cutting out grains you will have more consistent energy levels, you won't have the swings in your appetite--going from fine to suddenly a huge need to eat. Your moods will be more consistent. You won't have that tired, bloated feeling after dinner. The benefits are endless. Other than convenience and taste, there is no real health benefit to eating grains.

It seems like a daunting task and the world is not set up for non-grain eaters, but I have come to enjoy the challenge of it. As a result I am making more variety when I cook, I have learned about new yummy foods like cauliflower crust pizza and cauliflower rice. Lasagna with zucchini 'noodles'.

If you REALLY want to make a lasting change in your world and with your health and body, you ought to look into it. After the first two weeks, cutting out grains has been a snap. Sure, I still love the smell of bread, but the more you know about how awful the stuff is for you, the less you want to eat it.

zorba1331

Nope, you don't have to, but you ought to.

There is a detox that your body goes through when you don't eat grains. Essentially what you are addicted to is the sugar. It takes a few days, but it goes away. Endure that process and you will feel better than you ever thought possible.

Conventional wisdom has everyone convinced that we need them...but we don't. The food industry makes a LOT of money out of selling people grains and processed foods so they are going to do everything they can to convince you that you need them. You really don't. It is hard to not eat grains. They taste good and they are everywhere, but if you want something different, you have to do something different.

G7 Stories - Veronica Garza on Vimeo

xo_liana

For example, though, I used to eat bread, cereal, or oatmeal at every meal. No, I'm not joking. I still lost weight.

Now, I eat one serving of grains a day. Granted, I've already far surpassed my initial goal weight, but cutting down the grains didn't do a dang thing. I cut the grains down only very recently. If I were to add more in again, I wouldn't gain any weight.

Just saying.

zorba1331

What other things did you cut out? Oreos? Chips? Candies? Did you start moving more? You are only sharing a small fraction of the story that is supporting your stance. There is a difference between being a proper weight and healthy--the two don't go hand in hand.

Why did you cut down then? They are delicious and you used to eat about 100 grams of them for every meal and you still lost weight.

Just askin'.

xo_liana

Losing the first, say, twenty or thirty pounds, I was just walking and I didn't eat any junk food on a regular basis. I had to ease my way into exercise, a) because I was out of shape and overweight, and b) I've had chronic illnesses all of my life which cause severe pain in my legs. I wasn't sure how hard I'd be able to push myself. As far as dieting, though, the only major difference was switching from white bread to whole grain, and everything stayed the same for awhile.

After that, I had to up the intensity of my workouts, because not only were they too easy and I wasn't losing weight, but my legs were feeling much better and I felt like I could tackle more. I started doing circuit training with the help of an at-home program and some free weights, so I was then incorporating both weights and more intense cardio at the same time. At this particular time, I was having severe stomach problems (they've since stopped), and I was only eating around 600-800 calories a day. That's basically a starvation diet, I know, but I really couldn't help it. I relied a lot on the complex carbs to get me through, since they seemed to be the easiest for me to handle. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of muscle mass by not eating enough protein, and by just not eating enough calories period.

After the stomach problems ceased, I switched my workout program yet again, and I'm basically where I am now. I'm eating a lot, and eating a very balanced diet. I used to hate vegetables, but now I'm eating about 8 servings a day, as well as a couple servings of fruit. Cutting out most of the grains is both a conscious and unconscious decision. After I found out that I really, really love vegetables, my need for grains subsided, so I really didn't find myself wanting as many; also, I wanted to see what effect it would have on my body if I stuck to having just one serving in the morning a couple of hours before I work out. So far, it's going well. I have days when my body tells me I need more of this or more of that, and I always listen and try to accommodate.

If anything, my doctor doesn't want me losing any more weight, but it just keeps coming off. I have no idea where it's coming from, though, seeing as how certain muscles are getting bigger, but the only fatty area I have is staying the same.

collegefbfan8898

Nah, I ain't trying to cause a fuss here. Believe me, I would love to eat way fewer carbs. The thing is how much more good, healthy proteins sources would cost. Processed sandwich meat is not a good source of protein. When we went to the grocery store today, I did purchase a lot of tuna and eggs. But I doubt I can take eating tuna for breakfast. I also eat cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. for protein.

By the way is there a good yogurt with plenty of protein and lower carbs for decent price?

Thanks.

zorba1331

Good for you. It sounds like you are mostly on your way to a healthy lifestyle. The low grade cardio (between 55-75% of max heart rate) is ideal. I know you felt like you needed/could handle more, but keep that level up and start lifting heavy things. If you can, chuck in some sprints once every two weeks or so.

If you really want to lose the excess fatty bits and lean out, cutting out grains will really help. When people get constipated after they cut out their grains it is because the homeostasis in their gut was always off, but cutting out the grains no longer masks that issue. It just takes time. I wasn't 'going' for awhile after I cut out grains, but now all is well.

You are eating more vegetables and getting good quality carbs from those micronutrient rich sources, you don't need/want the carbs from the grains. There is virtually no health benefit from eating them and you are nearly there so go for it!