[Thighs Be Gone]

Oh, as far as the rice, bread, pasta...well, I do have those things on occasion..HOWEVER--not the same products I used to use..

I eat Shiratake noodles--low on GI chart and 40 calories for the entire bag--it does take some experimenting in the kitchen--but I find them acceptable..

Bread--I use Ezekiel bread--a sprouted Grain food also with low GI number--it's considered a "live" food

Rice--I only use brown nowadays..usually I use Quinoa rather than rice, I prefer it and it has healthy fats in it...it is also lower in calories than rice

[mom4life]

I use an application on my iPhone similar to fitday, it does track carbs, sodium, chol. I just have to select them.
I do use wheat bread and brown rice. I did eat hard boiled eggs for protein but I always ruined them. LOL
I'm cutting red meal out of my diet. What other protein options are there? I love the info from the Zone diet, I'll try using that.
By the way, my mom was anorexic at one point in her life. :-)

[SouthernMaven]

Originally Posted by benchmarkman

IMO and my plan why bother counting anything besides calories. Weight loss is a simple formula, not sure why people don't get this, its calories in - calories burned.

My husband says this all the time, and it is true...to a point.

And frankly, it is more accurate for men. It's a fact that men have an easier time of losing weight than women, especially the older we get.

I can lose weight counting just calories, without limiting my carbohydrate intake. I know this from past experience. But I also know that if I limit my carbs, weight loss is accelerated and cravings are minimized. I happen to be insulin resistant and that exacerbates the problem, but I believe the great majority of overweight women benefit greatly from restricting their carbohydrate intake. If nothing else, they are going to experience less cravings which often lead to binging.

Over the last several years, as I slowly began putting on my menopausal weight, my diet consisted of too many carbs, too many refined sugars, too many processed foods. Except for about the first 8 months of 2005, - when I started exercising again and did Jenny Craig, and lost 25 lbs - this is how I ate. And the more of this stuff I ate, the more I wanted. August of 2005 (Katrina) took me completely off track and the stress not only stopped my exercise in its tracks but also drove me right back to the junky ways of eating. And no offense to anyone doing JC, because it is a good program, but I had not learned how to eat on my own, so I was a sitting duck for a relapse when faced with extreme stress.

Within 3 years I'd gained that 25 back plus 5 more. That's 7.5 lbs a year. And then reality hit me in the face - I'm a middle-aged female, and if I want to live a long and healthy life I simply cannot continue to eat this way.

I'm assuming you are a male, and if you are a YOUNG male it's even more true that weight loss is just that simple - more calories out than in. Period.

But for women, particularly post-menopausal women, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Take it from one who knows this from experience.

[jefferzzzz]

Originally Posted by SouthernMaven

I'm assuming you are a male, and if you are a YOUNG male it's even more true that weight loss is just that simple - more calories out than in. Period.

But for women, particularly post-menopausal women, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Take it from one who knows this from experience.

I have to totally agree with you, comparing mens weight loss to womens is a waste of time, we're totally different... I always wondered why women worried about carbs. I eat pretty much anything I want, just stay within my calorie range. Sometimes us guys forget this (and some just dont have any idea)

[Naama]

Well ... I'm a woman and I also don't track carbs. In fact I don't bother tracking anything really other than calories. However, I rarely eat junk (including white bread...) and so I simply trust my body - I mostly eat what I feel like as long as it's within my calory budget and not junk.

[Wolf Goddess]

I've never counted carbs, and I eat ALOT of them. I have bread at pretty much every meal. Insofar, I've had no issues, but I'm highly active. I'm sure it's something I'll have to cut back on as I get older. Now, I stick to whole-grains, and have always kept an eye on fats - the calories in things like butter, cheese, and alfredo sauce add up alot faster than the bread or pasta itself.

[Onederchic]

I don't count em either but according to sparkpeople, I averaged 189 grams (?) of carbs for the past 7 days.

[Onederchic]

I might have typed that up wrong. What I meant is on average 189 grams a day for the past 7 days.

[CJZee]

I think -- for some people anyway -- limiting carbs is a great idea. It's absolutely true for me.

There have been multiple studies showing that a lower-carb diet is better for weight loss, reducing cholesterol, and stabilizing insulin levels. Following is a link to a study, then you can scroll down and see a whole list of other studies (all a bit different, but comparing low carb to other types of eating) by legitimate, prestigious institutions: here is the link.

[kris2008]

When only counting calories and not watching carbs or protein, I had tremendous mood swings and needed tremendous willpower to not overeat or to not eat empty calories. I could not stay on a "diet" for long.

Now I count calories. I eat unlimited non-starchy veggies and 2-3 fruits a day. I only have one portion (l/2 cup) of other whole carbs at breakfast and lunch. I make sure to have a good portion of protein and fat at every meal and snack. This keeps my blood sugar stable, I'm never starving, and I don't have food cravings.

My success and comfort eating this way is like night and day.

[Starzmom]

I've been heavy all of my life. I first realized several years ago that I was satiated far longer if I had an egg or two for breakfast rather than a meal of complex carbohydrates but of the same calorie level. Even whole wheat toast or oatmeal left me hungry an hour or two later. A few years ago I got very serious about getting all my excess weight off. I went low carb, with my only carbs coming from non-starchy vegetables and a few fruits like strawberries. I lost 80 pounds in 8 months and another 30 over the next two years. It's really the only way that works for me to lose weight. I can maintain eating a diet which contains whole grains but I can never eat few enough calories to lose, at least not for an extended period of time..and when you have a lot of weight to lose you need to be on a plan that keeps your calories in losing range for an extended time period. We're all different. This is what works for me.

[StellarGirl]

I eat 1200 calories a day and I'm staying under 120 carbs including fruits and veggies. I usually have 1-2 servings of whole wheat starch a day. I've been losing so far! I'll let you know how it goes!