[Doodess]

The food list for phase 2 says we can have whole wheat bread and rye bread. I was just looking at the glycemic index and the index for whole wheat bread is 69 (white bread is 70) and rye is 76. Why are they on the list if the index is high?

Also isn't pasta out? The index for egg fettucine is only 32 and spaghetti 43. The SBD list says to stick with whole wheat pasta. What dif does it make if it only has a glycemic index of 32?

I've had been on phase 2 for about 5 months (am currently back on phase 1 after a rough december) and I ate whole wheat and rye bread (not to mention wheat pitas and tortillas) regularly. Was I wrong to do so?

[LucyGoosy]

What list are you using? My SBD book and the list on this website state that in Phase 1 all starchy foods are to be avoided, It states "Bread all types" in the list of things to AVOID for Phase 1.

Perhaps you misstated and meant phase 2. Whole wheat products are allowed in phase 2. But only in the amounts that you can tolerate and still keep losing weight. I would try to limit them to 1 or 2 servings a day.

It also depends on what you mean by "regularly" You were not wrong to eat them, but perhaps you just ate too many. For example if you started your day with whole wheat cereal, for lunch had a sandwich on whole wheat bread, and for dinner ate whole wheat pasta, I would expect that you may have trouble continuing to lose weight.

As for the Glycemic index this is a quote directly from the SBD book

"However still follow other rules on the diet. Even though low-fat milk and penut M&M's have the same glycemic index, the milk is a much better nutritional choice."

The glycemic index doesn't take into account the fat content either. In fact, fat slows absorbtion of the starch, so foods high in fat actually have a lower GI than those same foods low in fat (i.e. whole milk 39 and skim milk 46.) Whole milk has a lower GI but is much higher in calories.

My guess for the egg pasta vs the spaghetti is that if you looked while it has a lower GI it is probably higher in fat and calories.

So in Phase 2 and beyond, the whole wheat products are still the best choice when you are eating grains (higher in fiber, vitamins, and protien), but you can't eat them in unlimited amounts.

Hope that helps

[Ruthxxx]

Doodess, could you clarify, please. I'm confused.

[Doodess]

I guess I wasn't that clear

I meant to say on phase 2 I regularly ate whole wheat bread and other similar products. By regularly I mean several times per week.

The list of what we are allowed to eat on phase 2 includes whole wheat bread and rye bread. But the glycemic index for whole wheat bread is only one point less than the GI for white bread and rye bread has a GI that is even higher than white bread. So my question was, is whole wheat and rye bread really ok to eat on phase 2? If it is, why does the GI not matter for that?

As a secondary question I was pointing out that most regular pasta is low in GI so why are we not supposed to eat it?

[Schatzi]

good Questions Doodness.. GI is part of it. And like you noticed there isn't much difference between a WW pasta and a Enriched one... Cept one is a whole food and one is processed.. And MM peanuts is lower than having a low fat fruit Yogurt. South Beach is part education on how a Glycemic Index of a food can effect your eating; effect your hunger patterns each day; effect your body chemisty, your moods and weight gains and losses - . Part of it is introducing you to Whole unprocessed foods and thinking about healthy eating choices. Same GI , maybe Same Calories..but which calories and nutrients were the ones that our body used to help build it and maintain it --and which ones went to fat and cholesterol and crap?

You were not wrong eating a Whole grain bread - not at all -like anything else moderation... and while I'm a south beach babe, I still believe in calories in and calories out. My 2 cents darlin.

[Doodess]

I think what it is boiling down to is that I'm losing my faith in the GI - at least when it comes to products like bread and pasta. There are a lot of inconsistancies with the GI; it isn't a perfect science yet. I think for me, when it comes to products like pasta and bread I'm going to go by the nutrition label (fiber & sugar in particular) rather than the GI, and for other things like fruits and veggies I'll consider the GI. Consider, if there is a difference in the GI between baked potato and boiled potato, then I'd imagine there are differences between different brands of bread and pasta. We can't look at the label and see which has the best GI, but we can see which is the most nutritious.

Thanks replying. I'll check back to see if anyone has any further insights on this. But for now, I think I have worked out how I'm going to deal with the bread/pasta issue.