I want to Cut Carbs and go Gluten Free but I don't Know what to Eat Instead?

[Jake]

Any ideas, tips or advance would be greatly appreciated!

 

Over the past year I've tried to eat healthier. So far I've stopped eating fast food and soda and I've done well thus far (had fast food twice this year and soda a handful of times). However, the breads, the pizza, crackers, cookies, the annoying carbohydrates basically, are still a big problem. I don't know what to sub them out with because I eat a lot of simple carbs....

 

I should also note, that my family has a history of gluten intolerance on my mom's side so there's a big plus if I start cutting out wheat entirely (I highly suspect I'm moderately intolerant). I've been avoiding cutting out the bread but my mom and 2 sisters have gone completely gluten free and they've been trying to get me to switch for the past 6 months. I can see the difference for them in that they have more energy and have lost weight so I'm willing to let go of the pizza box now lol!

 

I also really need to cut the carbs because in the Summer I was doing fine weight wise (I was working out 3 times a week). But now with a heavy college load I pretty much don't move (studying a lot, lacking sleep, ect.) and I feel like a whiny hormonal school boy... utter crap (gained 3 pounds *sigh*).

 

I guess my question is, what do I eat instead? Raw fruits and veggies?

I'm currently 6ft 1in and 186lbs. I know it'd be hard to lose weight without physically working out but at the moment I want to at least maintain my weight and not get worse.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

-Jake

[Crazyaboutdogs]

Just because there is gluten intolerance on your mother's side doesn't mean you will develop it. You still have genetic makeup from your father's side. What is important is having a well-balanced diet. That means including carbohydrates. If you don't have a gluten problem then what is the point of going on a gluten-free diet. There are healthy carbohydrates you can eat...whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice etc. These fad diets may help people lose weight quickly, but they result in people lacking certain important food groups.

[wildchild1]

First thing is it sounds like you are at a good weight for your height already. Then it seems lime you already know to eat fruits and veggies instead of bread and the like so all that is lacking right now is actually applying it.

[oceandream]

I agree with Crazyaboutdogs switch to low GI carbs, your body still needs energy to function properly. Maybe just try switching your portion sizes, like eating one piece of brown bread instead of two pieces of white bread. Raw nuts are also good for a healthy snack as well as fruit and veg. Just google low GI foods and you can get a list of healthy alternatives.

[rocio]

I never understand what people mean when they say they want to cut carbs. They usually also want to cut fats. All calories consist of either carbs, fats or proteins. So if you want to cut back on carbs and fats, the mathematical solution is to increase proteins.

 

Instead of aiming to eliminate (or drastically reduce) any one, why not figure out what the right balance is and aim for that?

 

What you should eat instead:

 

whole grains - brown rice, quinoa, hulled barley, old fashioned or large flake oatmeal (not all oatmeal is whole grain), whole grain couscous (the quinoa, barley and couscous take about 5 minutes to cook and they're super cheap when you buy them from the bulk bins)

 

Low fat dairy or dairy substitutes - low-fat yogurt, skim milk, 1% cottage cheese, low fat feta, unsweetened soy or almond milk

 

Low fat meat (unless you're vegetarian) - turkey, chicken breast, the occasional steak is fine too, and fish/seafood at least twice a week

 

Legumes - technically a "meat substitute", but these aren't the nutritionally the same as meat. Meat is high fat and protein. Legumes are high carbs and protein. But very, very healthy. So switch between meat and legumes to balance your carbs vs. your fat. Lentils, black beans, etc.

 

Veggies - Try to have a large serving of steamed veggies and a large serving of raw veggies at each meal. Fill half your plate with veggies, 1/4 with grains and 1/4 with meat or legumes. (not a huge plate) If you're still hungry, have more veggies. If you're still hungry after that, have fruit for dessert.

 

Fruit - Have 2-3 servings each day. Juice can count, but don't have more than 1 cup of juice in a day.

[Jake]

Crazyaboutdogs: I apologize if I didn't explain myself well enough. It's not just my mom that was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, both my sisters were also and I display all the symptoms as well. I know it may come accross as just another fad diet but the weight lose is a side benefit to what it'll do for my overall health in general. I agree that I shouldn't cut the food group out entirely however. My plan is to eat gluten free carbohydrates but my question was which carbohydrates are considered "healthy." You've answered that question so thank you!

 

wildchild1: I know the numbers look okayish on paper but I can assure you, my weight would be perfect....if it were all muscle (it's not). I have a gut believe it or not and it must go! Nothing significant mind you (probably 8 pounds I need gone?). My main concern overall though is just getting healthier, I really need more energy.

 

oceandream:

 

I have never heard the term "low GI" carbohydrates and I'm guessing Crazyaboutdogs suggestions are considered as such? I will for sure be looking into this more because it's pretty much exactly what I need/want.

[Jake]

I never understand what people mean when they say they want to cut carbs. They usually also want to cut fats. All calories consist of either carbs, fats or proteins. So if you want to cut back on carbs and fats, the mathematical solution is to increase proteins.

 

Again I apologize for the confusion, what I meant by I want to "cut" out the carbs is, I want to cut out bad carbohydrates and eat good ones instead. No more cookies basically.

 

 

Instead of aiming to eliminate (or drastically reduce) any one, why not figure out what the right balance is and aim for that?

 

What you should eat instead:

 

whole grains - brown rice, quinoa, hulled barley, old fashioned or large flake oatmeal (not all oatmeal is whole grain), whole grain couscous (the quinoa, barley and couscous take about 5 minutes to cook and they're super cheap when you buy them from the bulk bins)

 

Low fat dairy or dairy substitutes - low-fat yogurt, skim milk, 1% cottage cheese, low fat feta, unsweetened soy or almond milk

 

Low fat meat (unless you're vegetarian) - turkey, chicken breast, the occasional steak is fine too, and fish/seafood at least twice a week

 

Legumes - technically a "meat substitute", but these aren't the nutritionally the same as meat. Meat is high fat and protein. Legumes are high carbs and protein. But very, very healthy. So switch between meat and legumes to balance your carbs vs. your fat. Lentils, black beans, etc.

 

Veggies - Try to have a large serving of steamed veggies and a large serving of raw veggies at each meal. Fill half your plate with veggies, 1/4 with grains and 1/4 with meat or legumes. (not a huge plate) If you're still hungry, have more veggies. If you're still hungry after that, have fruit for dessert.

 

Fruit - Have 2-3 servings each day. Juice can count, but don't have more than 1 cup of juice in a day.

 

You are awesome! LoL! This is perfect, Thank you!

[sidehop]

Rice. Even if it's white. So much healthier than eating processed carbs anyway. Quinoa looks like bird seeds (as they are seeds) but goes well with oatmeal. Has a bit of a bite to it but it's bland so you can always mix it with other carbs.

 

My wife does gluten free, not 100% but she responds not-so-great with a lot of gluten so we buy a lot of rice-based gluten free products from companies like Bob's Red Mill, Tinkyada, and Annie's. They sell them in many grocery stores. They are pricier but taste wise they're great. We use the Tinkyada pasta all the time and it's amazing. Amazon sells them in bulk so it maybe cheaper to buy from them. Gluten free flour especially.

 

Some say you don't need gluten anyway. I do feel less weighed down when I avoid gluten.

[pinkelephant]

lol carbohydrates are essential to us. we need it. i also don't understand why people say they "need to cut it out". sure, you can eat protein and they can in turn turn into carb when your body needs them, but that's really hard on your kidneys and liver. carbs aren't bad. too much of carbs is. all you have to do is replace simple carbs with complex carbs. make a conscious choice to instead of having pasta, eat whole wheat pasta. instead of normal cereal, eat whole wheat with nuts instead of the rice crispy stuff.

 

you don't have to go on a diet, only to fail a month later because it's too big of a change in your life. just make healthier choices. i don't know why people don't do that. it makes a huge difference with very little effort.

 

as someone else said earlier, rice is good too. make that your side instead of potatoes. if you wanted potatoes, go for sweet potatoes, they're slightly better for you.

 

and what's with the gluten thing? you can get tested, so go do that. because if you're actually intolerant, you should commit more to it. if you're not, you don't have to waste money on gluten-free products and go through the hassle. gluten isnt' inherently bad for you. it's just some people are intolerant. if you're not intolerant, avoiding it is a waste of time and money.

[rocio]

That's funny, I don't mind the taste of quinoa. I know some people eat it as porridge, with milk and sugar. I just eat it in the place of rice and I almost prefer it to rice because I like the texture.

 

If you dislike the taste, maybe try putting it in salads instead, like tabouleh:

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[MakeItCount]

low GI = glycemic index. Think of cookie cravings for instance. You eat a cookie..it spikes your blood glucose levels quickly, so the body releases insulin to take that glucose to muscles. This causes a crash because you went from high to low blood glucose levels really fast. So what do you? You have another cookie to feel good.

 

Low GI foods raise your blood sugar slowly. It helps with controlling insulin release and avoids a high and then a crash.

 

All suggestions so far have been great. Don't listen to the "CUT OUR CARBS COMPLETELY!! RAWR" bullcrap. Just eat healthier!

[Mercurial Girl]

btw, RE: couscous - it's really just tiny pasta balls. So if you're going to try out going GF exclude that one from that list. I respond to oats as if it were gluten laden, and there are mixed opinions on it regarding that. Nothing about it is superior to pasta. And personally, while I love pasta, it never EVER seems to fill me up. I can eat a few whole big platefuls of it and hardly be filled - whole wheat included. Maybe whole wheat couscous tastes better than whole wheat pasta at least?

 

Edit to add: going GF has been a complete freakin' miracle lifesaver for me. I am not considered "intolerant" by any MD's standards, but removing gluten rich foods from my diet (I don't scour every single ingredient, more like remove the more obvious things) has cured me of nearly daily headaches, at least weekly migraines, incredible premenstrual pain and lack of energy. God knows how much money I spent on chiros, physios, massage therapy, supplements and vitamins. It wont hurt you to cut gluten, you can try it and see how/if it affects you.

 

Going GF you might want to increase your fat intake *GASP!* (avocados, olive oil, darker cuts of meat) if you are having a hard time getting enough energy from GF carbs and protein. And LOTS of veggies of course!

 

Quinoa is so so so delicious cooked in chicken broth...mmmm...