Bread and dieting

Okay, at the risk of not being believed, I have noted over the past few months that I have been losing belly fat. A couple of weeks ago I had an insurance physical and the guy weighed me out at least 5 lbs lighter than usual. The only thing I have changed in my diet is that instead of eating snacks I have a slice of lean sourdough. Sometimes I butter it, sometimes not. Must be an over-all reduction of fat intake.

That's my story,

Lee

Genuine wholegrain artisan breads are nutritionally very much like any other wholegrain food.

I'm not a WW person, but I would guess they say 'no bread' only because so many commercial breads (including bakery versions) include white flour and fats and milk and sugars in unknown amounts. If you are making your own breads, you know what you're putting into them, so you ought to be able to count them as your grain allowance.

You can probably even use recipes that call for a little molasses or honey, for instance (and a lot of wholegrain breads do) because you can account for those ingredients in your meal plans.

"I am not a cook. But I am sorta cooky."

I am not a diabetic but someone who is posted in another forum several months ago and said that sourdough breads do not mess up his blood sugar level like regular breads do. It has something to do with the long fermentation times of sourdough causing a chemical change in the sugars (starches). It would be very interesting if someone who is a diabetic could do a report on the effects of eating sourdough and the resulting blood sugar levels.

I have never worked out why Weightwatchers pass over bread in a weight reduction diet; after all the bread itself is not outragous in its energy value. When I was professionally working in this area (as a dieitian) with folk it was acceptable to include a certain amount of bread in the diet (after all it is an important component in most people's daily food choices) and it seemed unfair to expect people to emininate bread entirely. I used to recommend fibre and seed dense breads which gave a high satiety level, but restricted the fat spreads to an allowance per day. Eating breads made of highly refined flours was discouraged. I was also aware that foods which were completely eliminated could lead on to cravings which had to be 'served' and caused further problems.

My understanding of the WW Core plan is that the core foods list does not include foods with high “binge potential,” regardless of how healthful they might otherwise be, and that’s why bread’s not on the list. The good thing about whole grain bread is that it is high in fiber, which lowers its point value. (I don’t think you get any additional credit if it’s sourdough, though :-) Whole grain bread's probably one of the healthiest ways to spend your discretionary points.

Good luck with the plan, Felila!

Susanfnp

I'll bet that when they say bread, they're referring to the general idea that bread is something made with refined flour.  I say get yourself a good grain mill (like NutriMill), some whole grains, and a good whole grain bread book (like Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book) and help yourself to some REAL bread.

Rosalie

Yes, i'm inclined to agree. Eating bread made from refined flours does result in a rush of insulin into the blood because of the rapid conversion of starch to ultimately glucose which is quickly absorbed into the blood from the intestine. This rush of insulin does make one hungrier. The agenda behind weight reduction regimes, as I know them, is really behavioural modification regarding food choices and eating patterns. That is why I am not a supporter of the elimination of important foods in one's diet, such as' real' bread, because one has to learn how to manage the quality and quantity of one's food choices for the rest of one's life, if weight control is an issue.