Carbs are carbs?
 

I have tried various types of low carb/ good carb diets and honestly have trouble staying on the diet due to the limitations in foods. I am wondering if anyone here has tried simply counting protein/ carbs and allowing freedom in food choices, I.e. " carbs are carbs" and as long as I stay under the limit of carbs( as specified by Eades) would I still lose weight??!! For instance potatoes would be nice once in a while. Could I have the potato( or portion of) as long as I stayed within my daily allowance.I suppose this would be similar to the WW point system except I would count carbs from any foods I eat rather than being limited to food lists. I would love to hear your thoughts and/ or experiences with this approach!!!

I don't have experience with it. But from my reading, I would expect it depends on one's insulin response. This is what appears to get us in trouble in the first place.

Actually I've been considering the approach you suggest.

I just reread PP and I thought you could. I will look again.

RapidDash- I do think you are right. He just says that two things can have the same efc but not the same nutritional value. A carb is a carb but make wise nutritional choices...

carbs are carbs
 

I would suggest posting the question at Michael R Eades M.D. blog site. Lots of good info and threads there and I think he will respond directly back to your question. I also would be interested in what he has to say.

Dyong great idea! I think I will do that!

different carbs affect your insulin levels in different ways. they aren't the same.

If you are still searching for a good plan with more options try the Primal/paleo approach.
I love Mark's daily apple and I'm following his primal fittness routine.

Carbs are not carbs. Use proper carbs.

A carb is not a carb...that is why some people gain or stall eating certain things even tho they are low in carbs...The best way to find out is to try it and find out how your body responds...no one knows your body like your body does...

IIRC, ProteinPower does basically imply that carbs are carbs.

However, it's not true for everyone. I used a glucometer for over a year, testing each and every food that I ate. I learned for example that 20 net carbs worth of strawberries raise my BG, but 20 net carbs of raspberries do not. I also learned that 10 net carbs of tomatoes make my BG skyrocket more than a pint of Haagen-Dazs PB and Chocolate (this data was from before I started low-carbing, obviously).

So there's more going on than merely total carbs, or net carbs.

If you really want to eat as broadly as possible, get yourself a glucometer and test. Assemble a meal of foods that are safe for you (for example, some steak with a pat of herbed butter on it), and then add a variable: some type of berry for dessert, or a salad with a measured amount of tomatoes, for example.

Test blood glucose right before you eat, and 1 hour post-prandial. Then when you repeat that meal of "safe" foods, omit the variable, and test similarly.

During the hour after eating, try not to change behaviors---like don't the first day take a nap but the second day go for a run, or something. That'll skew your results.

Good luck!

No, no, no! Not all carbs are equal, and PP makes that clear. You must eat carbs full of nutrition, e.g., vitamins and minerals, not just starch, which puts you on a blood sugar roller coaster. White potatoes are in that category, as are most grains, and definitely any type of bread, according to Eades.

newbr1, there's a signature line by one of our forum members that applies here: "There's a million things you can have and a million you can't. Focus on the million you can." There's a huge range of possibilites with low-carb foods — just check the recipes section of this forum for examples. Go to Amazon.com, and enter the search term "low-carb recipes," and you'll have thousands more at your fingertips in seconds.

If you've gotten overweight and your lab work is bad because you're addicted to carbs, face the addiction squarely. Otherwise, you're looking at diabetes, drugs to try to control it, and eventually things like damage to your eyesight, tingling pain in your limbs, and other nasty symptoms, not to mention how hard it is to carry the extra weight. I know from experience how hard it is to wrestle with a carb addiction daily. But you have to be willing to adopt a new mindset that says, "I broke my body, and I need to repair it every day." if you want to recover your health.

Also, you must cook, unless you're rich and can pay someone to do it for you. Most restaurants serve the lowest-quality ingredients their customers will pay for, simply because of the low margins in that business. Besides, you can't get a cup of bone broth at Starbucks.

Warning: Year old thread.

But then in PPLP, they provide those different levels of attention. The only name I remember is "Hedonistic".

I've always found the PP books contradictory in terms of what carbs to eat.

Also, I'm aware that not all carbs are created equal. It was this implication from the PP books that I disliked, and that dissuaded me from following their plans.

Thanks for pointing that out....I feel a little like a Tard

For the newbies and some of the others that have forgotten, this info is important and wouldn't hurt to get it out there.