Hello everyone- I am on the core program and I notice I have cut back on carbs significantly. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. After 3 weeks I am feeling tired and I think it is the low carbs. Could that be? I sometimes only get one carb serving in a day. Could someone go over the carb rules for me again, I know only one potato per day (at least I think that is right). Thank you for any help.

Are you eating plenty of vegetables? You can also get carbs from whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, black beans and refried beans, and potatoes.

Yes, I agree with Kathy. Make sure you're getting in your whole grains and beans. If you're having soup, throw in a handful of barley. If you're having salad, throw in some beans. Eat dinner entrees over whole wheat pasta, brown rice, couscous, or barley. Have shredded wheat, puffed rice or wheat, or hot cereals for breakfast.

I like to think of Core as following the new food pyramid, low-fat style.

Good luck!
Angela

Thanks for the info. I can only eat brown rice, potato or whole wheat pasta one time per day. I think I am only allowed a puffed cereal once a day as well. This is where I am getting into trouble. Can I have refried (ff?) beans as much as I want? (Not that I want to eat beans all day, I might be dangerous to be around!) Where do I buy barley in the grocery? I have never purchased it before and don't even know how to use it. Sorry for all the questions, core is less intuitive for me than the other programs

For us, at least, barley is near the rice and dry beans. It comes in a small Rice a Roni-sized box. It's basically the same to prepare as brown rice. Heat water, add barley, cover and simmer for 45 min or so. Or you can throw it in soup you're simmering too. I usually make a couple servings at a time, and keep the leftovers in the fridge so I can have it quick if I want.

Beans you can have as many times a day as you want, although, as you say, that could get dangerous! I'm not sure about refried beans - I don't usually eat those.

Angela

As long as the refried beans are FF you're good to go. No pun intended!

Potatoes/whole wheat pasta/brown rice once a day. Cold cereal with milk once a day. I have whole grains at 2-3 meals. Usually, oatmeal at breakfast and my potato/rice/pasta at dinner. Occasionally, I have Farina or polenta or barley at lunch.

pnuts, there's also oatmeal. you can have that as often as you'd like. and fruit is loaded with carbs, too.

I'm not much of a cereal eater, so I also buy 1 point bagels and english muffins to make breakfast sandwiches. Sort of like Egg McMuffins, but without all the fat.

Cous-cous is another one of the core grains. I like to keep it around because it takes a lot less time to cook than rice or barley. It would be in the rice section, too.

And don't forget about fruit.

thanks for the tips. I bought some couscous and will try that. I'm also going to track down barley and throw that in my soup (I eat a lot of soup). That should help fill me up. I usually use fruit for a snack 2x a day (small amount) and at one meal. I am having whole wheat puffed cereal for breakfast more often now, just to get the carbs in (I really wanted an egg with ff cheese today, maybe for lunch..mmmmm) I'm feeling better since I upped the carbs. I haven't tried oatmeal yet (I don't usually eat it) but I will test that out also.

Try oatmeal made with skim (you get 3/4 of a milk serving in) and cook a cut up banana in it. I usually cut the banana up and put it in the oatmeal after my oatmeal has been cooking in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. I use regular cook oatmeal and follow the microwave directions on the box. Just be sure you use a huge bowl because otherwise the oatmeal will cook up over the top. Then I cook it for another 2 minutes. The banana gets all hot and mushy and if you REALLY use your imagination it tastes like a banana muffin.