Whole grains and potatoes are NOT good weight loss foods BUT....
Today's Post: Thursday, 2-3-2011
Thursday & Friday last week there were several stories that suggested whole grains and potatoes might be good fatloss & weight loss foods.
It seems that a new book and cookbook titled, "The Skinny Carbs Diet" is now available and says that foods with “resistant starch” can work well for weight loss.
The story on Yahoo’s Contributor Network last Thursday said that foods with resistant starch can help you feel full for up to 6 hours after you eat them because they digest slowly.
The idea is that if someone on an Atkins low carb and high protein diet who wants to keep using it but is getting too hungry between meals might be well advised to include some resistant starch foods. That way they can keep using the part that keeps their weight down without too much hunger.
This might also help people who are using some version of the health upgrade to Atkins that includes only health OK proteins and oils and nonstarchy vegetables and some but regular whole, fresh fruit. Because of the health OK oils such as from nuts and avocados and extra virgin olive oil and fish and Omega 3 supplements, and the fiber in the fruits and vegetables, this problem is much less than in the original Atkins diet. (This is what we and others increasingly are suggesting since it is better for you than the original Atkins diet. It’s easier to stay eating this way. And, if you use it well, you will lose fat.)
But eating enough of the nonstarchy vegetables can be harder for some than others. And, sometimes it is not convenient enough to work well to solve the problem by eating more than 3 meals a day or including health OK snacks.
The good news is that cooked beans and lentils, particularly lentils, have abundant amounts of fiber and also have resistant starch -- BUT, they also have nearly as low a glycemic index as vegetables. As an added bonus, they are high in protein and combined with other kinds of health OK proteins, they can do a good job of adding protein for you at a much lower cost than those other protein sources.
Eating enough beans and lentils does solve this problem.
But what about potatoes and whole grains?
In March 2010, KABC-TV Los Angeles featured resistant starch foods as the right types of carbohydrates to enjoy when trying to lose weight.
They suggested eating potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, beans, 100 percent whole grain pasta, artichokes, and quinoa.
Artichokes and artichoke hearts are low glycemic and we just spoke well of beans which are low glycemic also.
Yams and sweet potatoes are lower in glycemic index than white potatoes. And, by eating them with extra virgin olive oil or even butter on occasion helps you to take in far more of the good for you carotenes that they contain – plus the combination is lower in glycemic index and spikes your blood sugar less than eating them plain.
The good news about white potatoes and whole grains is that a very similar strategy can work if used in moderation two or three times a month or a bit more.
Eating a baked white potato with minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil AND eating the skin has a dramatically lower glycemic index than eating just the potato with no fats or oils and not eating the skin. And, the fiber in the skin will help keep you full longer also.
On occasion eating a baked white potato with sour cream or butter and chives or diced onion can even be OK. (My wife found an imported butter from Germany that is from grass fed cattle that would be an excellent choice.)
My wife also likes to make potato pancakes that have added whole eggs and diced onion and are sautéed in extra virgin olive oil. We also use lowfat, plain yogurt as a topping which also lowers the glycemic index.
Adding Irish Cheddar cheese from grass fed cows to white potatoes or potato pancakes also is an option.
Similarly, lower glycemic whole grains such as sprouted whole grains of various kinds, buckwheat groats, quinoa, barley, and wild rice – or whole wheat pasta can be OK.
Thanks to the needs of people who cannot eat wheat or the gluten it contains, there are many recipes that have lower glycemic ingredients that can be added to breads made with non-gluten grains.
Almond flour, lentil flour, and pecan meal are three that work. Buckwheat, particularly if the certified gluten free kind from Bob’s Red Mill can work.
But, for people who can eat wheat, these same ingredients can also be used to combine with whole wheat to make a lower glycemic meal.
Similarly, whole wheat pasta will have a lower glycemic effect if you use half as much in each recipe and have the other half be spaghetti squash or cooked down kale that was cooked down in extra virgin olive oil.
And, including extra virgin olive oil or feta or parmesan cheese or walnuts with the pasta or adding diced vegetables pasta primavera style also adds flavor and lowers the overall glycemic index.
Lastly, right after eating a meal with white potato or a whole grain food, the glycemic effect will be less if you immediately go on a brief walk.
So the bottom line is that NO white potatoes and whole grains are not good fatloss or weight loss foods. Nonstarchy vegetables, nuts, and beans and lentils are a better choice.
But if you like them, there are ways to eat them anyway particularly if you don’t overdo how often you eat them.
Today's Post: Thursday, 2-3-2011
Thursday & Friday last week there were several stories that suggested whole grains and potatoes might be good fatloss & weight loss foods.
It seems that a new book and cookbook titled, "The Skinny Carbs Diet" is now available and says that foods with “resistant starch” can work well for weight loss.
The story on Yahoo’s Contributor Network last Thursday said that foods with resistant starch can help you feel full for up to 6 hours after you eat them because they digest slowly.
The idea is that if someone on an Atkins low carb and high protein diet who wants to keep using it but is getting too hungry between meals might be well advised to include some resistant starch foods. That way they can keep using the part that keeps their weight down without too much hunger.
This might also help people who are using some version of the health upgrade to Atkins that includes only health OK proteins and oils and nonstarchy vegetables and some but regular whole, fresh fruit. Because of the health OK oils such as from nuts and avocados and extra virgin olive oil and fish and Omega 3 supplements, and the fiber in the fruits and vegetables, this problem is much less than in the original Atkins diet. (This is what we and others increasingly are suggesting since it is better for you than the original Atkins diet. It’s easier to stay eating this way. And, if you use it well, you will lose fat.)
But eating enough of the nonstarchy vegetables can be harder for some than others. And, sometimes it is not convenient enough to work well to solve the problem by eating more than 3 meals a day or including health OK snacks.
The good news is that cooked beans and lentils, particularly lentils, have abundant amounts of fiber and also have resistant starch -- BUT, they also have nearly as low a glycemic index as vegetables. As an added bonus, they are high in protein and combined with other kinds of health OK proteins, they can do a good job of adding protein for you at a much lower cost than those other protein sources.
Eating enough beans and lentils does solve this problem.
But what about potatoes and whole grains?
In March 2010, KABC-TV Los Angeles featured resistant starch foods as the right types of carbohydrates to enjoy when trying to lose weight.
They suggested eating potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, beans, 100 percent whole grain pasta, artichokes, and quinoa.
Artichokes and artichoke hearts are low glycemic and we just spoke well of beans which are low glycemic also.
Yams and sweet potatoes are lower in glycemic index than white potatoes. And, by eating them with extra virgin olive oil or even butter on occasion helps you to take in far more of the good for you carotenes that they contain – plus the combination is lower in glycemic index and spikes your blood sugar less than eating them plain.
The good news about white potatoes and whole grains is that a very similar strategy can work if used in moderation two or three times a month or a bit more.
Eating a baked white potato with minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil AND eating the skin has a dramatically lower glycemic index than eating just the potato with no fats or oils and not eating the skin. And, the fiber in the skin will help keep you full longer also.
On occasion eating a baked white potato with sour cream or butter and chives or diced onion can even be OK. (My wife found an imported butter from Germany that is from grass fed cattle that would be an excellent choice.)
My wife also likes to make potato pancakes that have added whole eggs and diced onion and are sautéed in extra virgin olive oil. We also use lowfat, plain yogurt as a topping which also lowers the glycemic index.
Adding Irish Cheddar cheese from grass fed cows to white potatoes or potato pancakes also is an option.
Similarly, lower glycemic whole grains such as sprouted whole grains of various kinds, buckwheat groats, quinoa, barley, and wild rice – or whole wheat pasta can be OK.
Thanks to the needs of people who cannot eat wheat or the gluten it contains, there are many recipes that have lower glycemic ingredients that can be added to breads made with non-gluten grains.
Almond flour, lentil flour, and pecan meal are three that work. Buckwheat, particularly if the certified gluten free kind from Bob’s Red Mill can work.
But, for people who can eat wheat, these same ingredients can also be used to combine with whole wheat to make a lower glycemic meal.
Similarly, whole wheat pasta will have a lower glycemic effect if you use half as much in each recipe and have the other half be spaghetti squash or cooked down kale that was cooked down in extra virgin olive oil.
And, including extra virgin olive oil or feta or parmesan cheese or walnuts with the pasta or adding diced vegetables pasta primavera style also adds flavor and lowers the overall glycemic index.
Lastly, right after eating a meal with white potato or a whole grain food, the glycemic effect will be less if you immediately go on a brief walk.
So the bottom line is that NO white potatoes and whole grains are not good fatloss or weight loss foods. Nonstarchy vegetables, nuts, and beans and lentils are a better choice.
But if you like them, there are ways to eat them anyway particularly if you don’t overdo how often you eat them.
Labels: effective weight loss methods, How to eat pasta or potatoes or whole grains and still lose weight, resistant starch and fat loss, resistant starch and weight loss
posted by David at 1:35 PM
1 Comments:
In my case, cutting back on whole grains was an important part of my losing 15 pounds last year. And, to keep off that 15 pounds, I still do it!
By eating a boiled egg and lentils for B vitamins, protein, fiber, and soluble fiber every other day and eating regular or non-instant oatmeal and 1% lowfat milk for those things every other day instead of every day, that helped me lose weight and fat in two ways.
I still got the resistant starch and fiber from the beans.
But the higher glycemic starches and carbs in the oatmeal was gone. AND, so were the calories in it!
So, without feeling less full, i removed that many calories every other day.
And, a boiled egg and cooked lentils are much lower in glycemic index and glycemi load than milk and oatmeal. So I likely had less of a blood sugar and insulin spike on those days.
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