Love my carbs but dont know how to manage them
 

I love carbohydrates. I am from a very italian family where I was teething on bread crusts before solid foods. I have a hard time limiting carbs. Ive moved to whole wheat or whole grain only depending on the food but I still feel I need carbs with every meal to help feel full. Ive started doing small portions of carbs...like one cup of.brown rice or half of a whole wheat bagel with one tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter. How do you do carbs and how often?

Because of your upbringing this could be a mental reliance on carbs rather than your body actually needing them. Adding more protein into your diet should help you feel full. It's ok to eat carbs, I tend to eat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and carbs are on my plate for dinner. It's supposed to be a quarter of your plate after all! Whole meal/grain carbs are a lot better, so you're doing well there. Carbs aren't as evil as they once were made out to be. They're a part of your recommended daily intake. It doesn't mean you should just eat carbs, but it's ok to have them present as long as you've got veg, fruit and protein at the party too!

thanks! Yeah Ive started to realize that or do it in small portions! I made tuna casserole last night with whole wheat rotini which I calculated cut calories in half! I dont even taste the difference. I was even able to bring a cup serving for lunch today and still be on plan. :) Im just learning to do much smaller portions. Half a bagel...one slice of bread whiches and salad instead of a whole...etc

I didn't realize I was a carbaholic till I started this weightloss journey and 1-week into an ultra-low carb WOE, I nearly ripped the plate of rice out of my boss' little hands. It was then I realized low carb was not sustainable for me. I don't ever really feel like I've really eaten if I don't have a cooked carb.

So some little carbaholic tricks that help me:

- I may only have half a cup of rice or pasta, but I'll have like 2 cups of stirfried veggies and mix them altogether and suddenly it's a huge plate of rice or pasta which I can have with tomato sauce and it's huge and filling but I still have the chew feeling of boiled carbs.

- I always weigh/measure my carbs. I have to be mindful about that. Once the serving is gone, I have to consciously weigh/measure another serving which at least makes me consider if that's really what I want to do.

- I eat a huge plain salad (with light dressing) before my meal, so that I'm a little full before I hit the the carbs.

- Bread is a little tough because I don't know about you but half a roll and 1 triangle of toast don't really do it for me. And it's hard to turn 1 slice of bread into more than it is. For bread, if I'm going to indulge I work it into my calorie allowance for the day. A really good ciabatta sandwich, may be worth only having one other light meal that day for. I remember though that when I lived in America, there were breads that were only 40 calories/slice and sure they didn't taste like much, but they were adequate to give the sensation of eating a sandwich.

And finally, eating protein definitely helps with the carb frenzy a purely simple carb meal may trigger.

I am a crazy carb addict, and I also need to get it under control. For more than a year I didn't allow myself to buy any bread, pasta or rice to keep at home because I knew that once I started eating it I couldn't stop. Since moving back to America, I've been indulging in lots of these things, but they're not helping me at all. I don't do well on a low-carb diet, but I think I have to at least stop making these foods so available to myself.

Great tips, toastedsmoke. I LOVE salad, so I think I'll indulge in a protein-packed one before I touch anything carb-y!