Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby roundcoconut » Wed May 25, 2016 7:28 am

petero wrote:I could write sonnets to bread.


Oh, I KNOW! You and so many others. And when you TOAST that bread, good lord.

When I eat bread, I eat rye, which certainly does have a high salt content, but does not have any sugar that I can taste. It is weird, that "whole grain" stuff sold in the grocery stores.

I looked up one such bread, and it not only has oil (soybean oil), but plenty of seeds and nut products (almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds) and plenty of sugar products (sugar, molasses, raisin juice concentrate).

Check it out:
https://www.oroweat.com/products/sliced ... -and-seeds

So, the idea that these sugar-, salt- and fat-laden breads are sold by the giant loaf, is just a bad scene! These big grocery-store loaves of bread have, like, eighteen slices of bread. (They are the "Big Gulp" of breads -- a systematic problem that the portions people put in the grocery carts will put extra weight on people, or keep extra weight on people.) It would be so much more appropriate for bread to be sold in smaller quantities -- enough to get you through two sandwiches, which is about right for one person, for one week.
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby petero » Wed May 25, 2016 7:54 am

roundcoconut wrote:smaller quantities -- enough to get you through two sandwiches, which is about right for one person, for one week.


I don't know about that. :wink: A month ago I ate an entire loaf of Nature's Own whole wheat bread in the car, as a snack on the way back from Rib Mountain State Park in WI...but I had just done my first 20 mile day of the year. This is why I wish there was more low sodium commercial bread out there. It gives me (low fat, less processed) options.

In addition to high blood pressure, I gained 6 pounds that week from SAD levels of sodium. After a week back home, my weight rejoined the same (gradual) downward trend line for weight I've been on for a while.
It's easy to be a naive idealist. It's easy to be a cynical realist. It's quite another thing to have no illusions and still hold the inner flame. -- Marie-Louise von Franz
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby roundcoconut » Wed May 25, 2016 9:08 am

petero wrote:I don't know about that. :wink: A month ago I ate an entire loaf of Nature's Own whole wheat bread in the car, as a snack on the way back from Rib Mountain State Park in WI...but I had just done my first 20 mile day of the year.


It's funny, because if breads were sold in single serving sizes, I don't know a single soul who would feel right about buying 18 of them at once. Not too many people would go to a bakery and say, "Can I have 18 rolls please?", because the lady at the counter would say, "Oh! Are you throwing a party?", and you'd have to say, "No, it's just a huge quantity, so I can get myself in trouble." That loaf of 18 slices is total overkill!

I love those German breads that are sold in little packages of 7 slices. No sugar whatsoever.
http://www.iherb.com/Mestemacher-Pumper ... fgodJHIKdg
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby petero » Wed May 25, 2016 12:48 pm

roundcoconut wrote:I love those German breads that are sold in little packages of 7 slices. No sugar whatsoever.


Those are great, but I have the same beef as with Ezekiel--it's really hard to eat the whole thing. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad. If I don't exercise I'm fine eating whole foods without bread, my appetite varies quite a bit. But these days I would eat an entire loaf and call it Dinner. My Cronometer has sections for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Supper, plus On Trail and Night. I've eaten almost 2000 calories already today, and if history is correct, I figure I'l be hungry enough to eat another 1500 before bed so I can recover for my next workout tomorrow. I love lentils but I sure wish it could be bread!

Yesterday I ate 1000 calories of raisins while hiking and when I was done, was hungry enough to eat 1245 calories of various "healthy" bars and wash it down with a Coke (forgot I'm off caffeine). That 1245 could have been a loaf of bread.
It's easy to be a naive idealist. It's easy to be a cynical realist. It's quite another thing to have no illusions and still hold the inner flame. -- Marie-Louise von Franz
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby colonyofcells » Wed May 25, 2016 3:37 pm

I also like mestemacher breads. They last for many months without refrigeration and they last almost as long as twice baked breads like pretzels.
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby dailycarbs » Wed May 25, 2016 3:56 pm

Some thoughts on bread:

I love bread. When it comes to real food (not desserts and sweets), bread is my favorite food. I was raised on it and I have definitely some unfinished sonnets dedicated to it.

Before this woe, I was an indesrimintate bread addict. I'd eat any type of bread and as you can imagine, the calories added up and the satiety wasn't there. Since this woe, I went off bread for a long, long time. Its calorie density and it also being a trigger food for me, I avoided it completely and would not bring it into the house. A loaf of bread is a like siren's song to me and I'm not going to let it go stale. Before the woe, all sorts of spreads and sandwich fillings abounded. My favorite was feta cheese with fresh tomato. I also loved the vegan fake meats and cheeses. Also, a Greek tomato salad with feta cheese, olive oil, and a huge hunk of bread to sop up the oil...Oh. My. God! That would probably my last meal choice.

Ok, now after many years of avoiding bread, I have made my peace with it and eat it once again. I have become very discriminate about it however. I'm not going to waste my bread allotment on something subpar. I've tried every "healthy looking" packaged bread I can find—including many "fresh" sourced from local bakeries. None pass my muster. Most have way too much salt. I am very salt sensitive. They're are also too processed—not enough whole ingredients for my liking. The Ezekiel and other "health food" breads, spelt, etc are not breads to me. They taste like...I don't know what. Why bother? I'd rather eat potatoes or rice and not pretend.

My solution for my bread fix? An excellent local bakery. Some of their breads have oil, others have nuts and seeds as well, but they are all filling, freshly baked, very whole grain, dense breads with oats, rye, wheat berries, etc. And the sodium is under control. I buy the loaves sliced and freeze what I don't eat. Slices can be microwaved and/or toasted and they're damn good that way. A loaf usually lasts a week.

I will not bake my own bread. Having that smell in the house for hours and a hot loaf out of the oven? That's a recipe for disaster. Arugula's dogs would have no chance with me in the house. :D

Now as to petero's comments, yes, a loaf of good bread can be a great option for a meal or two. We can certainly do worse out there. I've done this on hikes and bike rides at times. With water and some mini carrots on the side, it can be very filling and calorie density appropriate (sounds like a prison food but for me, it's heaven). It's not something I'd eat every day but nothing wrong with it once in a while. It can make for a nice change of pace.
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby Spiral » Wed May 25, 2016 4:07 pm

I love bread. If it weren't for the sodium levels and the calorie density, I'd eat more of it.
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Re: Can You Carbo-Load Your Way to Good Health?

Postby roundcoconut » Wed May 25, 2016 5:52 pm

petero wrote:I've eaten almost 2000 calories already today, and if history is correct, I figure I'l be hungry enough to eat another 1500 before bed so I can recover for my next workout tomorrow. I love lentils but I sure wish it could be bread!

Yesterday I ate 1000 calories of raisins while hiking and when I was done, was hungry enough to eat 1245 calories of various "healthy" bars and wash it down with a Coke (forgot I'm off caffeine). That 1245 could have been a loaf of bread.


It's funny -- I too ate a TON of food today. I worked a 12-hour day yesterday, waitressing, very physical, and if you figure I'm walking 1.5 to 2.0 miles each hour, then I walked maybe 18 miles yesterday, on only fruit (well, I had only planned on working the day shift, so all I brought was some apples, bananas and pears for when my shift ended). So I woke up today and REALLY was ready for food. Wound up cooking a full cup of dried lentils and eating it all (maybe four cups of food total?) and then repeated the process with another cup of dried red lentils cooked up -- and I don't speak calories, but I know that I ate WAY more food than I ever eat on a normal day. it was SO delicious!

I don't think I would have felt such a satisfaction if I had tried to fill up on bread. Sure, I could've pounded the caloric equivalent of my lentils, in bread, but doubt it would've served me as well.
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