So, I've been hearing how eating grains is actually not that helpful in losing weight. Don't get me wrong, I know there's nutritional value, but so do many other foods that I don't eat as regularly as them wheats.
I'm wondering if cutting them out completely will help me a little bit. Right now I've been taking a break I guess you could say. Not losing, not gaining, not trying too hard. I've also heard that diet is the greatest factor in weight loss. I've been getting pretty good at not scarfing food like I used to, but I'm admittedly not eating any better. Do you think cutting out grain will help?

I say keep the grains. Obviously white bread is not nutritious so get rid of it but keep the good grains. Complex carbs are a good fuel source for your body. Try and buy the bread with the highest amount of grains and seeds with smaller slices. Read the nutritional info on several different types and buy the one with the most protein, least carbs. Quinoa is a good substitute for rice or couscous and has a pretty high protein count given its still considered a grain.
If you are like me and you like bread and pasta and foresee yourself eating them in the future then don't give them up for weightloss, instead use this time to learn how to eat them in moderation for life. Then you won't need to fear going back to eating grains when you arrive at your weightloss goal. Go whole grain as much as you can and watch your portion sizes but grains are a good source of energy for your body.

Different things work for different people. It MAY be a beneficial thing for you, you won't know until you try.

For me, I can do it short term, but anything past a week or 2 it just causes cravings and grouchiness because, well, I love grains! It's probably all psychological when I get the cravings for them past the week mark, but anyway it goes I get fixated. I don't find any issue with them as some people do, as far as it hindering my weight loss.

It might be worth a shot to cut out grains (you know that corn is a grain right? just checking.), just to see how you react. Heck, sometimes I cut stuff out just because I'm bored with whatever I'm doing at the moment. I usually add it back it. I don't have any foods that I NEVER eat, except ones I just don't like of course, lol.

I have switched to a "no grain" philosophy, both for scientific and for personal reasons. Scientific is that grains offer no benefit in nutrients or fiber that you cannot get from a balanced diet of meat, fruit and vegetables. Grains do, however, have things that are bad for you including gluten and GMO. Many, many people are finding that even if they aren't "gluten intolerant" they find that conditions like IBS, flatulence, acne, migraines, rosacea, bloating, obesity, etc. all clear up merely by eliminating grains from their diet. My personal reasons are that I already have proof in my own personal life that eliminating wheat and rice from my diet resulted in a nearly effortless 20 lb weight loss. Then I started eating them again, and plateau'd for a year. Now I am back to a no-grain diet and I'm effortlessly losing weight again.

I recommend a website called Marksdailyapple if you want to learn more. His version of paleo is called primal blueprint but he explains everything there on why it works. And if you really want some motivation to try it, read the success stories. There's bunches of them.

What I like best about it is there is nothing gimmicky to buy. No shakes, no bars, no pre-packaged meals. Just healthy whole foods. And if you're like me, you'll feel lighter and less bloated within just a week of doing this diet.

Alright then, seems to be worth a shot, but I'm still open to more replies. I know I grew up on whole grain everything, but when I think about it, there are really a lot of grains I eat! I know there's somethings I'm not gonna be able to resist (pizza... oh God) but I think if I can at least narrow down the stuff I'm not too worried about, slowly, then I'll be able to handle most everything else, and be mostly grain-free.

Edit: Nice link, EagleRiverDee.

Grains are not essential. If you want to cut them - do it. If you're gluten intollerant - definately cut them.

Otherwise - calories matter.

Grains are something that I refuse to give up, but they haven't affected my health in the slightest, so for me it isn't a problem. However, it might help you to cut them out, so the best thing to do is just trial and error to see if you do better without them and/or can stand not eating them. I can't stand not eating them; I love bagels!

There are certain vitamins that you can only get from grains but if you cut them out, a multivitamin would cover you. I see no problem with grains myself.

That's not true. There is no vitamin, no nutrient, present in grains that isn't present in other vegetables, fruit, or meat. A balanced diet that doesn't include grains will have everything a balanced diet that does include grains has. It's a personal decision on whether to include or exclude grains from the diet, but it's simply untrue that grains have anything you can't find in other food sources.

I feel best when I don't eat grains. Every time I convince myself that I "need" grains, I end up indulging in them and having problems. I was very skeptical when I read all the autoimmune books, paleo diet books, and low-carb diet books that argued that humans don't need grains, and never ate much if any of them until we invented agriculture.

It all sounded "fishy" to me, and so it took me decades after reading these arguments to give grain-free living a try. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the autoimmune literature linking grains with autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed with a potentially lethal autoimmune disease, and started reading everything I could on autoimmune disease. Surprisingly, a lot of autoimmune disease literature implicated carbs, grains, and a vitamin D deficiency to autoimmune disease.

The low-carb books had presented the argument that autoimmune disease and grains were linked, but I didn't give the argument much credence until I read it also in the autoimmune books. I assumed that the low-carb authors were overstating the link, because of their own prejudices. I didn't expect the autoimmune disease experts to also implicate grains (my prejudice there).

Out of fear and desperation, I decided to give the grain-free diet a chance, and my autoimmune disease went into almost complete remission. The difference is almost miraculous.

And when I eat high-carb foods, especially grains, and MOST especially gluten grains, the autoimmune symptoms return.

I'm not going to conclude that everyone needs to avoid grains, but from reading many, many stories like mine, I've concluded that high-carb grains and high-carb diets are not very good for many of us (Maybe most of us, maybe even all of us, but I only KNOW it's not good for me).

I can't believe how wonderful I feel off grains, and I also can't believe how addictive the darned things are, and how even knowing that they could kill me, doesn't make them any easier to avoid. I fight my cravings for wheat and sugar every day, and sometimes I lose the battle - and then I have to deal with the autoimmune consequences, the ones I can see (like the itchy, flaky, scaley, swollen, red rash on my face, hands and feet) and the ones I can't see (such as damage to my joints and lungs).

The scar tissue on my lungs from the autoimmune disease is starting to heal (the same scar tissue I was told would be permanent and in fact would probably get progressively worse if the autoimmune disease wasn't treated with periodic bouts of steroids, probably for the rest of my life).

I haven't been prescribed a course of prednisone in over a year, and I haven't had bronchitis in over a year as well (and for the ten years prior to my giving up wheat and grains - mostly I would get bronchitis and pneumonia several times a year and be sick 90 days or more per year from chronic respiratory problems.

I haven't used my asthma inhaler in about 18 months and I've only had two mild asthma attacks in all that time (One the day after a very off-plan day after eating a significant amount of sugar and wheat in the form of a piece of birthday cake, and the second a day after a mildy-off plan day during a visit to my family in central Illinois. My allergies are always worse there, so a combination of allergens and off-plan eating were the likely trigger).

When going no-grain (or for anyone actually) I would advise a multivitamin, because modern foods aren't as nutritious as ancestral ones. So unless you're eating organ meats and insects, and a ton of veggies, you may be missing out on some vital nutrients. A good multi-vitamin can fill in the gaps. However, in terms of grain consumption, some of the "nutrients" that are found so heavily in grains, are there because grain products are fortified with those nutrients and the reason they are, is to compensate for the natural "antinutrients" found in grains.

I do wonderfully on no grains. And low carb. The less sugar/starch I have the better I look and feel. I'm not allergic to grains, but I am sensitive to them. I defy anyone to tell me eating a sandwich is really a healthier lunch than a salad and fish. And that one doesn't illicit any cravings is a big bonus.

I lost half my weight with just calorie counting. But for ease of use, adherence, and results, I'm now clean low carb and never going back. The difference is just too remarkable. The ability to eat more calories each day and continue losing at the same rate hasn't been too shabby, either

Grains have never stopped my weight loss. I would be lost without them. I love my tuna sandwiches.

I wanted to cut out grains but they give me a lot of energy and make my meals seem more filling and satisfying. I just try to cut them back, and I try to avoid the white processed stuff that just turns into sugar in the body. I've learned that I don't need both mashed potatoes and a roll with dinner. Or if I have cereal for breakfast then I'll try not to have a sandwich for lunch. I get most of my calcium and iron from Cheerios, and I'm with Candeka on the tuna sandwiches! They're the only way I get any fish in my diet. Also, since vegetables are a daily struggle, they're the only real source of fiber I get. So while it personally wouldn't work for me to cut them out, it works wonders for others, giving them lots of energy and other benefits because everyone's body is different. Rice is a staple food in many thin countries without weight problems, so I don't think grains are bad in moderation if they work for you.

Well LOL it looks as if you will have to weigh everything and then just decide for yourself as there certainly is a variety of opinion here. I chime in with those who say keep the grains. But I would also add to make sure they are organic and GMO free, since so many of the grain in US are GMO. Also, most of the grain "products" in the stores are loaded with chemicals, salt, sugar, etc., so I would add stick with whole, natural grains.

I'll have to look up what I was thinking but I thought I wrote up something here previously. There have been at least one disease in the past linked to vitamin deficiencies where grains were cut out. Now it might be that the other sources are less available but taking a multivitamin is a good idea just to be safe.