Your Daily Bread, or Rice or Pasta……
Try telling an Italian to stop eating pasta……
I have a very close friend who is Italian, so giving up bread and pasta was a bit of a stretch. Contrary to my hard line low carb advice, he decided that he could give up bread but not the pasta. For him, this was enough to shift some weight, he feels great and is more than happy to flex his muscles and show off his flattish diminishing stomach (he’s Italian every thing is communicated flamboyantly). Quite possibly at some stage in the near future he will drop the pasta as well – pizza never!!
There are a few foods that are so ingrained in our culture and lifestyle that the thought of giving them up can be the barrier to making changes to your diet. For most of us bread is one of those foods. People look at me in horror that I could even suggest life without bread as a long term option. Without fail however, a week later, the same person will be noticing some major benefits; less gas and bloating, and if bread based meals have been replaced with a meal containing some healthy fats, they will be enjoying consistent energy levels throughout the day.
So while I advocate for a diet low in carbs and processed foods, and high in green leafy/above ground vege (if you are overweight and over 40 then this is something you need to seriously consider), find a way of eating that is sustainable, that works for you. Start looking at alternatives to those starchy favourites, you might be pleasantly surprised.
- Fry Haloumi cheese until crisp and use as an alternative to toast when eating soup
- Try making some low carb bread
- Make Low Carb Seed Crackers to replace crackers and bread
But what we all need to work out is how to make this way of eating work for us. We are all different and “one size does not fit all”. Some will lose weight quickly others will wait longer to move that weight. For some giving up a particular food really is too difficult.
Fried Haloumi
Almond Meal Bread
Low Carb Seed Crackers
Meat Stuffed LCHF Muffin
