This was me when I went vegetarian and realized that it wasn't the meat making me fat, it was all the carbs and bread that I'm still addicted to
this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2023
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Same... turns out, milkshakes and pizza (with the right toppings) are vegetarian, and eating them multiple times a week will, in fact, expand your waistline.
Why avoid carbs though?
Genuine question.
If we're talking bad carbs like sugar, that only make you crave more bad carbs, thus pushing you into a calorie surplus, then yes, avoid those.
But carbs in general? Why avoid them?
In the end carbs are just sugars of different complexity. For example add some saliva to starch and you got glucose. Hence white bread, pasta and even potatoes are really bad for your blood sugar.
You don't have to avoid them, but carbs are not necessarily part of a healthy and balanced diet. Their only benefit is that they are cheap sources of energy. If you don't eat carbs the body has to use fat to metabolize sugar which works just as well.
It is useful to avoid carbs for a diet, because you can remove a lot of calories from any meal by replacing them with mostly vegetables without reducing the portion size at all. Also it helps with cravings a lot.
I think they are super useful as sources of energy for an active lifestyle that includes strenght and hypertrophy training.
Which in turn is something you should do anyway if you want to lose weight. Well, bodyfat specifically.
That's a tough one. Proteins are a much more useful source of energy and nutrients here. There are limits though and then it doesn't really matter how you get your calories.
So obviously carbs are cheap food and pack a lot of calories which might be beneficial in this scenario.
You are right. I can't argue with that, but I would be careful with this as general advice.
It's just that too many people don't know enough about nutrition and think cutting carbs is magic.
No, the human body doesn't need carbs. But I'd rather focus on increasing high quality protein intake than cutting carbs altogether.
Ideally paired with some form of resistance training, so the body burns fat instead of muscle.
But at the end of the day, every person should choose a diet that is sustainable for them in the long term. If cutting carbs is what makes someone succeed, then that's great.
You just don't need to avoid them to have a perfectly healthy diet.
You are right with everything you say.
Still the consumption of carbs is too normalized. Many people believe that you should have carbs with every meal which is insane. Just look at any restaurant food, fast food and everywhere. Unless you are dieting you for sure don't have to avoid carbs, but don't seek them out either.
I believe this is the single biggest reason for the obesity problem. Most meals really shouldn't have any added carbs, yet they do.
May I ask what continent you're on? That could explain our perspectives on this.
Different environments create different problems, after all
Ohh, that's an interesting take! I guess for large parts of Asia it is a bit different. It is a problem in north America as far as I can tell and in Europe where I am from.
Huh. I'm from Europe too, but I'm not really seeing it as such a big problem here
Over 50% of all adults are overweight here.
Every single meal has some form of pasta, potato or rice as a side unless you pick a salad and even then you get some complementary white bread when you eat out.
I always get weird looks when I am asking for more salad or vegetables and no frites.
Just check the menu of any random restaurant around you and look for any low carb option which is not a salad. It is really difficult where I live unless it is a tapas bar.
I'm more worried to overdo in the fat departement when eating in a restaurant. Fries, greasy salads, when I and my digestion would much prefer rice/boiled potatoes and green beans with the fat steak. Calories per volume would be lower, too.
Avoid, no.
Cut down, yes. We overeat carbohydrates, especially empty carbohydrates. It's a cheap source of energy sure, but if we are inputting more than we are outputting, the excess is stored as fat, which can lead to inflammation and other health issues.
I did keto for a couple years and yes, cutting out most carbs that weren't nutrient dense did wonders. Only reason I've been moving off of it is because it's honestly difficult to eat that way in a world of excess carbohydrates. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, has added sugars or fillers added in that increase the carb count for cheap. I did it for like 5 years, but it cost a lot of money and time. Money because it's all about eating whole, nutritious, and organic. Time because It takes time to cook and do meal prep, and sometimes I don't have that time or energy mentally.
To effectively diet you have to reduce the amount you eat. You can do this through calorie restriction, time restriction, or food restriction. Low carb diets are a form of food restriction that are particularly effective because dropping carbs also drops hunger levels so it is easier to sustain the restriction.
Not all carbs are made the same. But generally your body was never built to consume pure carbs. Our bodies are built on fats.
Drinking a can of coke when you're hungry and seeing yourself gets more hungry. Eat 2 avocados and you can probably skip the next meal.
It wasn't build to consume pure fats either. A healthy mix of complex carbs, protein and fats release energy over a long period of time and satiate the stomach. Cutting sugar, sweeteners and fatty snacks does a lot to fix addictive food behaviour, but it's hard.
Fun fact, all your body fat you want to get rid of has to leave through your breath.
Have you tried Fathead Pizza Dough? It's keto-friendly (and probably many other similar diets-friendly).
When I was doing that stuff I used a Cauliflower pizza base. Either way there is so much protein / fiber in the base you end up feeling full after just a few slices.
Can confirm. This shit SLAPS.
I have up carbs once. It was awful. All I could think about was bread. Day and night it consumed my every thought. Started thinking about baking bread, started reading reviews on bread makers...
As someone who is gluten intolerant this picture scares me
I made these cookies but mixing like 3/4 almond flour and 1/3 keto protein powder so like this stuff you would use for a workout and then you add in softened butter so like not so like warm then you would add in baking soda and then add monk fruit erythritol blend then you would like add in an egg mix it up and then you're done but I like to add in is Lily's white chocolate and crushed walnuts but you can add in whatever you like then divvy out the batter onto a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper then put in the oven at 310 f wait for 15 minutes make sure you stick it with the toothpick and if it comes out clean it's done put in the fridge and after it's cooled down it's ready to eat
Oh wow really?
Yep
yep