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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 04:43
violetgrey violetgrey is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 188/179/130 Female 5'8"
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Default Why pasta? It's paste.

In Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution there is a pull-out carbohydrate gram counter. He lists pasta, not under "Examples of high carbohydrate fattening foods" but under "Grains, Bread and Pasta." How does this category even merit a place in his book? He says that 1/2 c. of cooked pasta has 19.8 grams carbs. This implies that it would be OK as long as the other carbs for the day are low enough. It also implies that it is a food. I acknowledge that it's treated as a food, but I am asking why.

On my pasta label, a serving is 85 grams, which is 63 grams carbs. Perhaps an Olympic swimmer could eat that and not get obese. That's 3 times the 19.8 grams in 1/2 c. according to Atkins. I doubt my spaghetti serving is meant to be 3 x 1/2 or 1 1/2 cups. Or is it?

Anyway, my point is that I was shocked when I found this out and I asked myself why anyone eats this. It's paste made from flour and water, sometimes with eggs. Why do we eat disgusting paste? Because our parents told us it was food and their parents told them it was food? Why is it considered a food?

For a real shock, type in "spaghetti is unhealthy" or anything like that and you get tons of articles saying how healthy spaghetti (pasta) is. How it's good for you. How you need it. How it's not fattening. Where did this propaganda come from? Not one article to answer my question: why do people eat this? We're not ALL THAT POOR that we can't afford food. I've been poor and I know that you can eat real food without buying spaghetti.

And no - I never crave pasta of any kind. But sometimes I make it for my grandchildren (whose parents have trained them to like it). I know there are tons of unhealthy foods that people eat, but at least some of them you can understand. Noodles, spaghetti, pasta are all the same disgusting dried paste, reconstituted by boiling. It's the sauce that makes it edible. And in those articles about how healthy pasta is, they all say it is the sauce or butter that make it unhealthy - that pasta is good for you. Really?? Really??

Please, anyone who ever didn't gain weight eating any sort of pasta, I'd like your opinion. Was it worth it? Do you think it's healthy? Didn't it just handicap your weight loss? Was it so delicious that you allowed it once in a while? I need to understand this thing.

Logically speaking, bread is just as loaded with carbs as spaghetti. I know that. But at least bread is not reconstituted dried flour and water paste.
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 05:26
Just Jo's Avatar
Just Jo Just Jo is offline
A'72 Lifer Hard Core
Posts: 15,566
 
Plan: A'72 Induction Lifer + IF
Stats: 265/114/130 Female 5'4"
BF:Not so much now!
Progress: 112%
Location: South Central New Mexico
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What a great post! So I googled... Is Pasta healthy for you... and this is just one that I found:
Quote:
One cup of cooked spaghetti has approximately 220 calories, 1 gram of fat and no cholesterol. Most pastas on the market are enriched with iron too. Whole grain pastas contain about the same calories as regular pasta but have more protein, fiber and vitamins.

Source: http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthy...ta-good-or-bad/

Is it healthy for you? I'd say it would depend if you suffer from a carb metabolic processing disorder like I have... so NO it's NOT healthy for me... BUT if you're following the SAD, then it's a healthy food b/c there's NO cholesterol, 1 g of Fat, all those extra vitamins...

Imma surprised it's list under "Grains, Bread and Pasta" in NDR... but then I've never read that version of Atkins....

IMHO, it sounds like insanity to me... who eats only 1/2 c of pasta??? I know I NEVER did...

One can cut down the portion of any CARBY food and it can be considered "low carb", eh???? Heck 1/2 a choc'late cupcake is only around 15 total carbs w/o subtracting the fiber...
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 07:27
DelaneyLC DelaneyLC is offline
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Posts: 2,462
 
Plan: Keto/Carnivore/Fasting
Stats: 190/143/144 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 102%
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You say Atkins is implying it's ok to eat pasta. I say Atkins is implying it's NOT ok to eat pasta because of the high carb count.

Edited to add: I have the book and it's a carbohydrate Gram Counter, lisiting all kinds of foods like bread muffins, pancakes, waffles...etc. he's not saying you should eat those on a low carb diet. He's showing examples of carb content in all foods.

Last edited by DelaneyLC : Wed, Feb-22-17 at 08:52.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 07:37
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teaser teaser is offline
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Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by violetgrey

Logically speaking, bread is just as loaded with carbs as spaghetti. I know that. But at least bread is not reconstituted dried flour and water paste.


No, it's baked reconstituted dried flour and water paste. And the decreased density makes bread break down faster in the digestive tract, so you may get a higher glucose peak.

But I don't really understand pasta, most of the stuff that goes good with it goes better with some scrambled eggs or on lettuce. Meat sauce on saeurkraut is interesting.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 07:38
teaser's Avatar
teaser teaser is offline
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Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
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I'd guess maybe he saved the very worst category for sugary foods.
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 07:38
tess9132 tess9132 is offline
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Plan: general lc
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Pasta is cheap cheap cheap. I grew up poor with seven siblings and spaghetti with ketchup or margarine was a normal meal for us. In college, my roommates and I ate spaghetti with some regularity. We were all quite thin. I've never been crazy about pasta and pretty much stopped eating it once I was out on my own and had enough money for different food. I managed to get fat off other kinds of bread and sugar.

I do still serve pasta to my kids. Since I began low carbing, I've been making meals that I'll serve to them with pasta, like say chicken broccoli alfredo, and I'll eat it myself without the pasta. I know pasta is bad for me. It makes me hungry and sleepy. My kids? It fills them up and it does so cheaply. They're all in sports and quite frankly, to feed teenage boys without bread and pasta would be a real shock to our budget. Two of my boys can come in from practice (track or crew) and eat 2 peanut butter sandwiches *before* dinner. I can't even imagine what my grocery budget would look like if those boys followed my LCHF eating plan.

My boys eat lots of stuff I will never eat again in my life, e.g. cereal, pasta, rice, fruit punch, sugary yogurts, etc. I know that stuff's all processed junk that leaves me feeling hungry and awful - I don't miss any of it. What I don't know is how much damage I'm doing to them, if any. I do try to keep things into perspective for them and let them know they can only eat this stuff with regularity because they're young and active but once their metabolisms slow down they'll need to approach these foods the same way mom approaches bagels and chocolate chip cookies. Still, our kids eat much healthier than my husband and I ever ate growing up so I think they should have a better handle on nutrition going into their adult years. At least I hope.

ETA: My daughter, on the other hand, does eat pretty low carb, and rarely eats bread. At 20, she's the oldest of our kids. She's a trained dancer and rail thin. She primarily eats chicken and vegetables, although she still enjoys plenty of sugary treats.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 13:40
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CMCM CMCM is offline
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Posts: 4,264
 
Plan: Keto / Atkins VLC
Stats: 173/148.6/135 Female 5'6"
BF:23.9
Progress: 64%
Location: N. Calif. Sierra Nevadas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by teaser
But I don't really understand pasta, most of the stuff that goes good with it goes better with some scrambled eggs or on lettuce. Meat sauce on saeurkraut is interesting.


I agree about the pasta toppings! Awhile back I bought a spiralizer, and you can use zucchini squash (as well as other veggies) to spiralize "noodles", and these taste great in a lot of things such as with a spaghetti sauce, or in lasagne instead of the noddles, etc, and any other dish that would use noodles of some sort.
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, Feb-22-17, 13:56
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deirdra deirdra is offline
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Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150 Female 66 inches
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I love my spiralizer and also make "noodles" by simply slicing cabbage into the sizes I want for lasagna or alfredo sauce. Cabbage is cheap (often cheaper than healthywholegrain pastas) and lasts a long time in the fridge. It takes on the taste of the sauce, and unless people look closely, they don't even notice that it is not pasta since it has a similar texture. It can be steamed separately or just layered or stirred in raw prior to cooking. You can use red cabbage or a mix of red and green for extra antioxidants.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Feb-23-17, 15:47
forsythia forsythia is offline
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Plan: lo-carb, atkins
Stats: 202/195/130 Female 5ft. 1 1/2inch.
BF:
Progress: 10%
Location: michigan, usa
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DH and I are both doing LC. Sometimes we want the taste of Spaghetti but not the pasta. So I've come up with a dish that satisfies. I bake chicken breasts in spaghetti sauce. with cheese.
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Mar-03-17, 22:55
violetgrey violetgrey is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 188/179/130 Female 5'8"
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I did an experiment. His serving size of pasta is 1/2 cup. I cooked spaghetti and measured 1/2 cup. With sauce, it makes an infant serving. I guess you would not gain weight if you ate that small of a portion. It's just a bit misleading to call it a portion. Look at your one half cup measure and you will see, without even putting cooked spaghetti in it. You could probably eat one half cup of anything, even cake, and not gain weight. However, go to any spaghetti restaurant - you will get one and a half cups of cooked pasta plus sauce. You could eat the one half cup and stay way under the 30 grams carbs cut-off point. But realistically who does that?
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  #11   ^
Old Sat, Mar-04-17, 04:25
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thud123 thud123 is offline
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Violet, I think the recommended serving size of spaghetti is 2 oz dry - that hydrates to about 1 cup cooked. So times 2 your thinking maybe?

I think a cup (8 oz wet) is a fair serving size, especially if you mix other stuff in. However, myself would eat 3 times that and have other stuff to boot. Some people can tolerate delicious pasta - I let them enjoy it. If your husband likes pasta, and can tolerate it, let him enjoy a full serving!
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  #12   ^
Old Sat, Mar-04-17, 05:07
DelaneyLC DelaneyLC is offline
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Posts: 2,462
 
Plan: Keto/Carnivore/Fasting
Stats: 190/143/144 Female 5'4"
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Progress: 102%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by violetgrey
I did an experiment. His serving size of pasta is 1/2 cup. I cooked spaghetti and measured 1/2 cup. With sauce, it makes an infant serving. I guess you would not gain weight if you ate that small of a portion. It's just a bit misleading to call it a portion. Look at your one half cup measure and you will see, without even putting cooked spaghetti in it. You could probably eat one half cup of anything, even cake, and not gain weight. However, go to any spaghetti restaurant - you will get one and a half cups of cooked pasta plus sauce. You could eat the one half cup and stay way under the 30 grams carbs cut-off point. But realistically who does that?


He's saying there are that many carbs in each 1/2 cup serving. He's not saying to eat that or any other of the starchy carbs on the carb counter list. He's pointing out just how many carbs there are so you can avoid those types of food.
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  #13   ^
Old Sat, Mar-04-17, 09:50
DelaneyLC DelaneyLC is offline
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Posts: 2,462
 
Plan: Keto/Carnivore/Fasting
Stats: 190/143/144 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 102%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by violetgrey
In Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution there is a pull-out carbohydrate gram counter. He lists pasta, not under "Examples of high carbohydrate fattening foods" but under "Grains, Bread and Pasta." How does this category even merit a place in his book? He says that 1/2 c. of cooked pasta has 19.8 grams carbs. This implies that it would be OK as long as the other carbs for the day are low enough. It also implies that it is a food. I acknowledge that it's treated as a food, but I am asking why.


Violetgrey, I really think you are missing the whole point.

Dr Atkins has the Carbohydrate Gram Counter in his book to show the grams of carbs IN ALL FOODS. In no way is he implying you eat ALL THE FOODS LISTED.

Near the end of the carb gram Counter he lists some SAMPLES (but not all) of SOME FATTENING ITEMS.

Pasta is a starch and a high carb item. There is NO SUGGESTION you should eat it. Quite the opposite. There is no actual list of low carb foods in the Carbohydrate Gram Counter in the book.
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  #14   ^
Old Sat, Mar-04-17, 11:24
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Baylor1 Baylor1 is offline
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Posts: 137
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 000/000/000 Female 66 inches
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Quote:
Originally Posted by violetgrey
In Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution there is a pull-out carbohydrate gram counter. He lists pasta, not under "Examples of high carbohydrate fattening foods" but under "Grains, Bread and Pasta." How does this category even merit a place in his book? He says that 1/2 c. of cooked pasta has 19.8 grams carbs. This implies that it would be OK as long as the other carbs for the day are low enough. It also implies that it is a food. I acknowledge that it's treated as a food, but I am asking why.

On my pasta label, a serving is 85 grams, which is 63 grams carbs. Perhaps an Olympic swimmer could eat that and not get obese. That's 3 times the 19.8 grams in 1/2 c. according to Atkins. I doubt my spaghetti serving is meant to be 3 x 1/2 or 1 1/2 cups. Or is it?

Anyway, my point is that I was shocked when I found this out and I asked myself why anyone eats this. It's paste made from flour and water, sometimes with eggs. Why do we eat disgusting paste? Because our parents told us it was food and their parents told them it was food? Why is it considered a food?

For a real shock, type in "spaghetti is unhealthy" or anything like that and you get tons of articles saying how healthy spaghetti (pasta) is. How it's good for you. How you need it. How it's not fattening. Where did this propaganda come from? Not one article to answer my question: why do people eat this? We're not ALL THAT POOR that we can't afford food. I've been poor and I know that you can eat real food without buying spaghetti.

And no - I never crave pasta of any kind. But sometimes I make it for my grandchildren (whose parents have trained them to like it). I know there are tons of unhealthy foods that people eat, but at least some of them you can understand. Noodles, spaghetti, pasta are all the same disgusting dried paste, reconstituted by boiling. It's the sauce that makes it edible. And in those articles about how healthy pasta is, they all say it is the sauce or butter that make it unhealthy - that pasta is good for you. Really?? Really??

Please, anyone who ever didn't gain weight eating any sort of pasta, I'd like your opinion. Was it worth it? Do you think it's healthy? Didn't it just handicap your weight loss? Was it so delicious that you allowed it once in a while? I need to understand this thing.

Logically speaking, bread is just as loaded with carbs as spaghetti. I know that. But at least bread is not reconstituted dried flour and water paste.


I feel like Dr Atkins wanted you to have all the information. It is a choice to eat and what not to eat. Some people even on a LC lifestyle can have the occasional pasta and be fine. Some choose to make it part of their life in some form and some don't. That is a choice.
I would think he meant this for the maintenance crew and not the weight loss crew.

There are all kinds of pasta and some are better than others. I ate dreamfields in maintenance once a month or so and was fine.

Everyone needs to find their balance in eating and what works for them long term.
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  #15   ^
Old Tue, Mar-07-17, 12:04
My3threat My3threat is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 151.7/135.0/125 Female 5'1 inch
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I had meat sauce over steamed broccoli and it was delicious, didn't even miss the pasta. Pasta is just filler we have been trained to eat....Now the garlic bread....😵
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