Wheat free/lower carb--any success?

Kat2002

Kat2002

Cathlete
Just got through watching the Dr. Oz episode with the Wheat Belly author. Has anyone had any success trying to go wheat free or lower carb? Any suggestions for bread alternatives..something to make sandwiches with? I tried making an almond flour bread and it came out so dense and dry (didn't really resemble bread either..more like the blandest cake ever) and the calorie count was astronomical...220 cals for a 1 inch slice. :confused: I didn't realize the fat content was so high until I had a 'duh' moment that the 'flour' is basically ground almonds. As a vegetarian it's easy for me to veer into carb overload, leading to a glucose overload..so I know cutting down would be beneficial. I'm hesitant about these high fat alternatives though..? I'm hesitant to jump on the band wagon and end up eating higher cal/gaining weight. I'm also missing carbs just thinking about this! Has anyone struck a sustainable balance with something like this?
 
I may not be the best person to respond, but I thought I'd pass along my experience since I have managed to go 'lower carb' with some success.

Last year I did a 12 week program (TLS Weightloss) that really changed my life. I have been a carb lover all my life - years and years of following a low-to-no-fat plan, and struggling with my weight. The TLS plan managed to break those bad habits and I can say with complete honestly that I have lost the psychotic cravings for carbs, and I don't even miss sandwiches (not that I can't have one, either. I just don't WANT one!). I feel so good with lower carb living that I can easily pass on things like bread and crackers because I know how I'll feel afterwards. (again, not that I can't have them on this plan, within reason, but I just don't want them.)

If you check the health food section of your store, you may find breads made from 'other than wheat' that will work for your sandwiches. I know there are low carb tortillas, but the ones I have still have wheat in them. I'm not sure from your post if you're looking for 'no wheat' opinions, or 'low carb' opinions? Maybe you should try a elimination type diet to see if you react to certain grains before working on alternatives?

For me, if I'm having a sandwich, I usually try to just eat the filling, or use lettuce leaves as 'bread'? I have tried various grains breads and some are better than others, but you have to see for yourself, as tastes vary.

hope this helps - good luck with whatever path you choose!!
 
GraceNote, Thanks for the feedback! I looked up the TLS program briefly, it looks interesting..I will have to look into that more..I noticed the attention on low glycemic foods...that is sort of the angle that I am looking to attack by going lower carb. I do better with higher protein meals and those that have higher fiber (avoiding white breads, rices, etc). I noticed as a vegetarian, I get hungry more often than the people around me..every 3-4 hrs...part of that is a carb/protein imbalance..and when I shift to more protein, I stay satiated longer.

To clarify, I threw wheat into my post because of the clip I saw from the Wheat Belly author where he claims 'wheat is addictive and makes you crave more wheat and causing you to eat more calories overall' (paraphrased that); he also places blame on GMO wheat. Not sure I buy that in totality but since wheat and carbs are intertwined, I am considering the possibility. I don't have any outright adverse reactions to wheat itself.

Just in thinking back to times I've cut carbs out--I recently did a 3 day protein smoothies only 'cleanse'...the smoothies had fruit and healthy fats in them still, not super low cal..stomach flattened out..2lbs down on the scale. I once did a protein only 'crash diet' where I ate low cal, high protein (~135g)...enough cals to cover the protein basically with 1 cheat meal and 1 cheat snack per week....the type of diet that I could probably never muster the willpower to do again..but I lost 8lbs in 1 month.

More about me...as I said I eat vegetarian (do eat dairy and eggs)..pretty vigilant about portions though I do eat takeout too often...but I gravitate towards the lowest cal, healthiest things on the menu. Have sworn off obvious junk like it is the devil. Don't currently count calories though I have many times in the past...I have been food journaling the past ~3 weeks, just foods and descriptions. I'm 5'3" and when I'm super sedentary, I go up to 140lbs. If I up the exercise and cut out little extras from the food more, then I'm ~135. I can't get to 130 without doing some kind of ridiculous diet like the aforementioned 'protein only for a month' diet. Each 5lbs equates to about a pants size too...size 12, size 10, size 8.

I'm currently coming off a streak of being sedentary..so I've been ramping up the exercise for ~3 weeks now, seeing positive changes already but am wondering what other changes I can make to my eating habits. The main weakness I see is carbs..! I'm wondering if I should count my carbs, but I'm a little overwhelmed..I can find info for total carbs, but I don't really want to count the carbs of vegetables, fruit, etc. Thinking maybe I could only count the starchy bread carbs?..have no idea what a good # would be for those.

Thanks to anyone who listened to all that; would love to hear more feedback..!
 
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Hi,

I lost 18 pounds following The Diet Solution Program eating plan. This plan has you not eat wheat, white flour etc. It sounds more difficult that it really is. I started using spelt flour and make a loaf of spelt bread every week. I do not use it for sandwiches....(actually gave up sandwiches and didn't miss them) but for toast in the morning.

Check this out....once you get by the annoying video..she is really good...and I like her ways to solve eating within the plan, no matter what you are doing...

5 Foods To Never Eat « The Diet Solution Program
 
I have had success with South Beach and there is a great vegetarian version. I don't know if that would work for you. Its not calorie controlled but it does limit the kinds of foods you eat. The focus is on healthy fats and proteins and lots of vegetables (low starch ones). I have been GF and I didnt' find that it helped me lose weight at all. I do ok with the occasional oroweat double fiber slice of toast on a sandwich or with cream cheese. I dont' eat white bread at all. I do better with more fats than fruits for my calories. But, it just depends on your system. At 135 and being a Cathlete I suspect you look great already. Are you just looking to cut? How much do you want to lose?
 
I have not because it's proven to be difficult for me...but that YMMV of course. In the past I have had difficulty following a low-carb plan. I don't think I would have quite so much difficulty in the wheat-free department though. I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE wheat/bread but now I don't love it so much. I still eat it, if it is available, and there are some things that I DO LOVE that are wheat/bread products but they are treats that I only eat at restaurants. After giving up cigarettes and alcohol, I really noticed my "need" to eat bread prodcuts declined...I used to eat a ton of subway and pizza...probably because I was hungover and felt like you-know-what...but not so much anymore. Anyway, sorry, that was a little off-topic and I apologize.

My point is that, I have have not had success...yet... because I have difficulty sticking with the plan. But I have not given up and I feel in my heart of hearts that going wheat-free and low-carb really is a great way of eating and once I can master it, will be the best way of eating for me. Times that I've managed to go 2-3 days on plan, I have felt AMAZING.
 
I have been (mostly) avoiding wheat for several years, once I realized that it made me tired, bloated, and exacerbates my seasonal allergies. (I say "mostly" because I'll eat wheat for certain special exceptions, like my favorite pizza restaurant, or the naan in a really good Indian restaurant.)

It started out really hard and has gotten easier. Here is what helped me:

I don't do "low carb" so much as "low refined carb" -- For example, I eat brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn tortillas, and oatmeal on a regular basis, but in small portions (1/2 c. brown rice with a meal, tons of veggies and vegetarian protein).

Spelt doesn't negatively affect me the way wheat does, so when I eat bread, I eat spelt bread. That said, with all the shifts in my eating I gradually relied less and less on bread. Oatmeal instead of toast, rice bowl instead of sandwich, etc. So I don't even eat bread much. I don't have any in the house right now except the kind my daughter eats (wheat).

I lost my bread habit but I never stopped missing pasta! Trader Joe's brown rice pasta and corn pasta have saved me. :) Again, small portions and focus on the protein and vegetables.

Like you, I don't eat meat. I eat a lot of protein, though, at every meal. I wouldn't call my diet high carb. I log my food/calories and I eat 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat. I supplement with protein powder in breakfast smoothies and post workout drinks to get that much protein. I eat a ton of veggies and fruit and beans. My favorite protein sources are tempeh and beans.

HTH!
 
RapidBreath said:
I have had success with South Beach and there is a great vegetarian version. I don't know if that would work for you. Its not calorie controlled but it does limit the kinds of foods you eat. The focus is on healthy fats and proteins and lots of vegetables (low starch ones). I have been GF and I didnt' find that it helped me lose weight at all. I do ok with the occasional oroweat double fiber slice of toast on a sandwich or with cream cheese. I dont' eat white bread at all. I do better with more fats than fruits for my calories. But, it just depends on your system. At 135 and being a Cathlete I suspect you look great already. Are you just looking to cut? How much do you want to lose?
Click to expand...

Wellll..I'm about 138/139 at the moment and coming off a bout of being very sedentary (3000-6000 steps/day)...let school get in the way of my workouts. Now that it's summer, I'm back into the swing of things with working out..videos and going on 4 mile walks. I enjoy a lot of different workouts, so I'm currently alternating Skogg Kettlebells and Tracy Anderson Glutecentric. Rotating in different cardios..so I'll definitely be using Cathe this summer too (I have Body Blast series, STS (I got through phases 1 and 2 in 2010), and Low Impact Series...and the Shock Cardio). I need to keep it going year round too...love exercise but when I get stressed, it goes out the window..ironically, it would likely help a lot with stress. I really would just like to lose 5lbs (it makes a big difference on my 5'3" frame but is harder to lose than it sounds)..I want to swap out the fat for some muscle, I really got 'soft' over this school year. Thanks for the South Beach suggestion, I was browsing through it at the bookstore today..seems like in the phase 2 that 2-3 servings of healthy grains are allowed...sounds reasonable to me!
 
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fox2star said:
Hi,

I lost 18 pounds following The Diet Solution Program eating plan. This plan has you not eat wheat, white flour etc. It sounds more difficult that it really is. I started using spelt flour and make a loaf of spelt bread every week. I do not use it for sandwiches....(actually gave up sandwiches and didn't miss them) but for toast in the morning.

Check this out....once you get by the annoying video..she is really good...and I like her ways to solve eating within the plan, no matter what you are doing...

5 Foods To Never Eat « The Diet Solution Program
Click to expand...

Thanks for mentioning spelt..I will try that out. I will check out Diet Solution too.. Congrats on the 18lb weight loss!
 
Bobbi-B said:
Like you, I don't eat meat. I eat a lot of protein, though, at every meal. I wouldn't call my diet high carb. I log my food/calories and I eat 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat. I supplement with protein powder in breakfast smoothies and post workout drinks to get that much protein. I eat a ton of veggies and fruit and beans. My favorite protein sources are tempeh and beans.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm starting to think I may limit bread to lunch (and start making meals at home, so it's more of a homemade portion) and rely on beans to be the heartier bit of my dinner...there's a crockpot stew. I was eating rice and eggs for breakfast...thinking of using black beans instead or a side of fruit. Veggies/fruit/beans...I think that would be very doable..at least for the majority of my meals! Is there a brand of tempeh that you like?..I've gotten tempeh in things and it's great but I've been wary of it in the package at the grocery store...
 
I have been wheat free for 10 years due to celiac disease. It is difficult until you find alternatives that work for you. My boys are also wheat free and they have found that glutino flax bread (in the gluten free refrigerator section) is a good bread for sandwiches. The gluten free pasta quinoa is excellent. The only down side to eating wheat free is the expense of some of the gluten free products. Some of the gluten free products have added sugar so read your labels.
The great thing about eating gluten free is that you end up eating healthy (providing you don't buy the processed foods that are gluten free, and expensive). I rarely need to worry about my weight since I have learned what I can eat safely.
As for low carb eating, prior to be diagnosed with celiac I tried going carb free since it was the "rage" back then. I can tell you that doing cathe's w/o and eating low carb did not work for me, I had no energy and felt lousy.
I hope this somehow helps your decision.
Katie
 
Kat2002 said:
Is there a brand of tempeh that you like?..I've gotten tempeh in things and it's great but I've been wary of it in the package at the grocery store...
Click to expand...
I purchase the packaged tempeh all the time. I recently came across this article that recommends steaming tempeh prior to adding it to recipes: How to Cook with Tempeh. After reading this article, I went ahead and steamed my tempeh in a veggie steamer, then browned it in a skillet before adding it to a Thai Vegan Red Curry dish. Scrumptious! :p
 
Last May I put my family on the GAPS diet, for the benefit of one of my kids (similar to Specific Carbohydrate Diet). Basically all-natural LOTS of bone broth, fish oil, meat, and meat fats; nuts, a few types of beans, eggs, fresh and fermented vegetables, fruits, full-fat dairy, and honey (the only sweetener allowed). No grains (flour, rice, etc), sweet potato, potato, corn, sugar. Initially we followed the diet closely and then loosened up on it - basically backed off on the meat and fat, which was hard to take. I had not been exercising much and went down to a 6 my lowest size so far (on my journey), keep in mind that this was a high-fat diet. In the fall other foods crept in and by Jan I was back to a size 10. In Feb I started exercising (Cathe) and am now an 8.

We pretty much eat GAPS 80-90% of the time, not as much meat fats/broths as before. I can't help wondering if I went back to high-fat as in the beginning I would lose fat again. I was definitely never hungry, sometimes not even for meals. I don't miss bread, pasta, potatoes, etc AT ALL. However I do have it occasionally eating out and I do have oatmeal, Ezekiel bread, Grape Nuts, sometimes whole wheat hamburger buns, sometimes frozen pizzas for my teens & husband at home (just not for my one child). I find white bread to be gross. My kids make pizza dough, cookies, cheese cake crusts (occasionally), "breading" for chicken, etc out of almond flour. They eat fruit and dairy like crazy. The only thing I really miss is sushi and my one child misses that too, so sometimes I have that away from home.:D
 
Kat2002 said:
Thank you! I'm starting to think I may limit bread to lunch (and start making meals at home, so it's more of a homemade portion) and rely on beans to be the heartier bit of my dinner...there's a crockpot stew. I was eating rice and eggs for breakfast...thinking of using black beans instead or a side of fruit. Veggies/fruit/beans...I think that would be very doable..at least for the majority of my meals! Is there a brand of tempeh that you like?..I've gotten tempeh in things and it's great but I've been wary of it in the package at the grocery store...
Click to expand...


There is not one particular brand of tempeh I like, I just make sure it's made with organic soy, and I stay away from multigrain tempeh because it often contains wheat.

Beans are a great carb/protein -- filling and lots of fiber! :)
 
I like the Rudi's gluten free sandwich breads, original and multigrain. It has fairly decent ingredients. Udi's (different company) has come out with some new breads that look good too with millet grain.
Beth
 
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