Oh My, Hidden Carbs!

[TheBetty]

Duh! Hidden carbs may be a problem for me and I didn't even know it.

I posted this to my journal, too, but I thought it may be a good topic for discussion.

I was surfing the net yesterday and read something that mentioned the amount of carbs in heavy cream--and this is something that I have realized before with other food items but never paid much attention to it. While there are zero carbs in a serving size of heavy cream, there are about 6.5 carbs in one-cup! When you are only alloewd 15 grams of carbs per meal, using 3 of them on cream can put ya over the top.

A few grams here, a few grams there--I've probably been eating a lot more carbs than I realized (or cared to realize). I make sauces with cream with many meat dishes, including the over-sauced roasted chicken that hubby and I love so dearly.

Then, there's the "free" ice cream, add another 3-4 carbs per serving of that and I've blown half my allotment for the meal.

Me thinks I need to rethink the freebies and start measuring quantities again. It's been since early Feb since I started this WOL, and I surmise it's about time I had a refresher course.

So, starting this morning, I am paying close attention to what I put into my mouth, even if it's a freebie (like the good fat, heavy cream).

Ever notice how hard it is to measure whole strawberries? It's because they leave so much air in between each berry in that measuring cup. Oh no ya don't! No cutting them up first to make them fit better--that will add many carbs onto your total. But may I please be creative--even artistic--in my stuffing of the berries into the little cup? Alternating the points so they go together like a dove-tailed drawer in a quality piece of furntiure? :lol:

And what of that white wine used for cooking? Has my 1/2 cup splash turned into a 3/4 cup sugar fest? Me thinks it has!

So, it's back to basics for this fat chick (and I use that term affectionately--I am okay with the word fat, I've been this way many years). I'm keeping the measuring cups handy, right atop the counters where I will use them.

Back to counting almonds and measuring cashews.

Back to including the cream I put into my tea--even tho Dr. S says not to worry about fats, I believe I'm eating an excess of cream which contains carbs, unlike the rest of the fats. Oh sure, I could eat all the olive oil I want, but my almond tea just wouldn't taste the same. :daze:

I think for me, being careful at all meals and snacks will be very helpful in returning to a more steady weight loss, but at dinner time, I am not going to worry about having 2 or 3 more carbs because they help me to sleep much, much better.

Anyone else find any hidden carbs in their meals?

Have a great day. --TheBetty

[mmoranmic]

Hi There,
I hear ya about the hidden carbs! i thought I was doing so well my first two weeks, boy did I have a lot to learn! Lots of carbs not listed on the label if the serving size is less than one carb. Even my splenda and my coffee have carbs in them. I count them all and with strawberries i vary the count based on the size of the berries. They certainly are my favorite this time of year!
You are doing a great job and I think we all go through a learning curve. Keep up the good work. From another fat chick. I'm o.k. with the word too cuz my fat made me a very strong person. Bye Bye, Maureen

[DewTal]

I agree up to a point. I think the thing to remember is that the carby stuff that Schwarzbein wants us to count are those that would make our insulin rise. Which to me means being careful of the fruit (I love them strawberries too!), but keeping other things in proportion. For instance, Lightlife has vegetarian "turkey" slices that are 1 carb per slice, and I have 3 for a snack. However, they have 3 g protein per slice, so I figure 3 carbs with 9 protein grams isn't going to make my insulin shoot up, so that's OK. That makes sense, doesn't it?

Tal

:wave:

[TheBetty]

DEWTAL SAID:*I think the thing to remember is that the carby stuff that Schwarzbein wants us to count are those that would make our insulin rise. Which to me means being careful of the fruit*

Thanks for the responses! Well, actually, it's not the fruit that I was eating too much of. I actually was being pretty right on with the portions of the "obvious carbs" but seemed to get into trouble where the "hidden carbs" are concerned.

Case in point: Say I have my 15 grams of carbs in the way of strawberries for a sweet treat after a dinner meal. But during that meal, I also had about 1/2- to 3/4-cup heavy cream between the gorgonzola cream sauce and the whipped cream OR homemade ice cream, not to mention the splash of wine in the sauce (although it'c cooked down, sugar remains, right?), as well as all the non starchy veggies I am eating in my salad and possible cooked veggies--which all add carbs to the mix.

My concern is that, as Dr. S states in her book somewhere, if we are getting enough non starchy veggies, we may not need the addition of our carb allowance. I certainly wouldn't want to stop eating my salads just so I could have a few strawberries, if you get my drift.

I suppose when I get the rest of this weight off and only need maintain a steady, healthy weight, I won't even think about this stuff, but until I actually rid myself of this gigantic stomach of mine, I think I need to pay close attention to those hidden carbs. But not to the point where I focus on that and get obsessive about it, right?

Long winded again, sorry. It's just that I have hit several "plateaus" now in only just over 3-months on SP and I think I can attribute it to my occassional splurge or my turning the other way when extra carbs creep onto my plate.

Maybe I am wrong, I don't know. But I'll try being very cautious for a a few weeks now and see what happens. Astill, anymore input is greatly appreciated. --TheBetty

[DewTal]

Betty:

I understand your concerns. I went through similar concerns, thinking that I should pay attention to all the carbs in my meals. I tend to have pretty big portions, i.e., 4 or 5 cups of salad, 2 or 3 cups of cooked veggies with meals, that sort of thing. I once counted up all my carb grams in a nutrition database and found I was eating something like 70 or 80 a day (having cut down obvious carb grams to about 7 or 8 per meal, thinking I was making it up with carbs in veggies and cream and so forth). It got me kind of worried at first, but I learned something important. The way your body feels ranks above all else!

When I brought down my carb grams, the fatigue came back, the irritability, the depression. All those things that LCing had taken away were back! And I was still stuck in my weight. I realized that I had lost faith in the SP program (not saying this is what's happening with you, only that this is what I realized in my case). So this week I am back to the 15 carbs per meal in the form of fruit, though don't incorporate the carbs in snacks except on weekends (when I need more energy). Now, I can't tell if this will get me moving again (I'm PMSing and know already I'm bloated up!), but I'm less tired, less irritable and depressed (apart from the effects of PMS, but I can tell the difference by now! :)

I wonder if this counting carbs in everything isn't a hangover from the Atkins diet. I don't know if some of the other ones advocate counting carbs in everything, but I know, for instance, that GO Diet and Carb Addicts doesn't advocate this either.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try it. But I hope you pay close attention to how your body feels and monitor things like fatigue, mood, etc. And if you feel worse, then I hope you won't be afraid of adding in more carbs. There are a lot of other suggestions for moving stalls and cutting carbs is only one of them.

HTH

Tal

[lisaf]

Hi all-- sorry to post so late.

Counting carbs is a strange beast and on this board (with all the Atkins-ites) its often hard to NOT count them. If you are to follow Schwarzbein strictly as written then you would ONLY count the carbs in starchy vegetables, fruits and grain-based foods. So, she doesn't include dairy, cheese etc.

Remember that almost all foods without exception contain some carbs! How you choose to count them is up to you...so long as you understand that you are tweaking the plan to suit your needs. For example, some people are so sensitive they can't tolerate the insulin rise that comes about from cream. I can...so I don't count it.

Hope this helps!

Lisa

[TheBetty]

Hi Lisa, yes, it does help--especially coming from someone who has been there and done that!

I have been thinking about exactly what you talk about the past 2 days. I agree, I am letting my OLD DIET NATURE creep back in. And re-reading the SP book is helping me, along with the great advice I am getting here.

I am simply going to be a little more observant now with portion sizes of all food in general, make sure I eat my "free" veggies and only make sure that I don't get too loose with those carbohydrates in the "not-so-free" carb foods.

This has already started to make me feel a little better, more energy. I was simply getting lackadaisical with sloppin' a few too many carbs on my meals and snacks, and I was trying to get too legalistic about the "free" stuff.

Well, I suppose I will do this time to time b/c of the years of bad programming in me. But I'm glad for your responses--really has helped me not to focus on the wrong things.

Wishing you all a wondeful weekend! --TheBetty

[DebPenny]

TheBetty, it seems to me it's not so much the "hidden" carbs as being aware of the carbs in foods we consider to be carb-less. In TSP, Dr. S. gave us wonderful charts of the countable carbs in foods. That's what I use to determine my intake. She tells us how many countable carbs are in cheese and cream, both of which we tend to think of as carb-less, and other foods.

Dr. S. also says that if we are eating a lot of non-starchy veges, that we don't necessarily need to eat carbs from other sources to get our carb "allowance."

I don't "count" carbs, but, using Dr. S's. charts, I keep my track of my carbs and keep within her guidelines. I also am not worrying about my rate of weight loss, which has slowed to about 2 pounds per month. I am much more interested in being healthy.

And I have to add that I don't eat artificial sweeteners or coffee or other caffienated drinks. (BTW: When I cut out tea, which I drank lots of every day, my teeth got whiter ;) )

Just my 2 cents.

;-Deb
:daizy:

[TheBetty]

Thanks you for your input, DebPenny. :)

I am re-reading the SP book right now, but at a leisurely pace this time (the first time, I read it in a day or two, just to get the gist of it all). I hope to pick up on the more subtle details this time, as you mention above.

Like you, I have no place in my life for caffeine--and especially artificial sweeteners. I hav enever used AS anyway, save the few times years ago when nutrasweet came out--tried it, gave me a headache and made me really dizzy, never went back. I've always been a PURE SUGAR girl (til now!). :lol:

I feel the berries and other fruit choices are wonderfully sweet, and when I do have something--like that muffin at that salad bar--it's sickeningly sweet and I don't desire to go there too often anyway.

I'm really over the caffeine thing, like you, but I do like hot herbal tea, as I have always. I have not found these to be a problem for me and it's something I am not willing to give up. I don't think DR. S would have a problem with herbal teas, as long as they are not really just decaf regular teas or have sweet ingredients in them.

DebPenny, thank you for confirming what I mentioned earlier about getting plenty of carbs in the non-starchy veggies! I thought I read that somewhere in her book the first time, and you have proved I am not going nuts!!! I do eat a lot of salads and veggies, and I enjoy them so.

I have found that my monitoring of the carbs in cream and the wine I cook with, as well as paying closer attention to the "measured carbs" that I have moved the scale again. I think, as you are hinting at, that I was just being a little too lax about making sure that 3/4-cup of blueberries wasn't really a cup plus (!). Add that to all the NS veggies I eat and I can see why I was stalling.

I don't consider a pound a month to be acceptable weight loss for me at this stage. I am extremely heavy and I have a lot of pain in one of my feet that only weight loss will correct--and for other reasons, I need to lose at a faster rate--even a pound a week would be acceptable. While I realize that we all must be patient and lose weight sensibly and at our own healthy rate, when one weighs well over 300 pounds, 4 pounds a month is NOT too much to ask.

I am starting to see the results of a new fitness plan, as well as the much closer monitoring of just my carb intake, and I hope these two subtle changes will be the kick in my weight loss pants.

I know I would like to say that I am only doing this for my health and that any weight loss is only the added bonus. But in reality, when you are as big as I am, weight loss IS the ONLY chance at health b/c there are so many complications from the huge amounts of fat. I won't get detailed here, but suffice it to say that my overweight body (mainly my super sized stomach where I carry 90 percent of my fat) is causing me great health problems--just "feeling better" isn't enough for me. I need to lose the weight faster than one pound a month. One pound a week is a small and safe percentage for me to lose, and it's my goal.

Well, sorry to go on again, I guess I don't post too much but I make the most of my posts when I do. :D

All the best to you all. --TheBetty

[DebPenny]

I think the exercise will help. I had been on a 2 1/2 week "stall" and last Wednesday and Thursday I went on a 30 minute brisk (for me) walk. I had not been doing any extended walking before that (15 minutes at most to walk the dog). Well, this weekend my scale moved down 2 pounds. It was a great gift of the program! And I reached my first mini-goal of 25 pounds down.

I wasn't able to walk this weekend or Friday or today, I was sick Friday through Sunday and today it's raining :D, but if it's clear tomorrow or at least not pouring, I'm going to do that 30 minute walk again. I am planning to keep it up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And maybe more often later, if my feet hold up ;).

BTW: I may not be quite as large as you, but I do know first hand some of the major "inconveniences" of being severly over weight--I topped out at just under 250. I understand what you are going through. And I understand your wanting it to come off faster. Just rest assured that it will come off. And the changes you are making, the exercise and being more aware and in control of your carbs, will help it come off faster.

;-Deb
:daizy:

[TheBetty]

Your opinion means so much to me! You are someone whom I look up to in this WOL, really. I think it's COOL that you made your mini goal of 25 pounds (tho that's really a big feat)!

:D :D :D :D :D

I haven't been to your journal in about a week--I hope you've updated it. I really look forward to reading about your days in it.

The walking is great! I too have trouble with the pain in my feet, mainly just one of them. I'm blessed to have a long pool that I can do laps in, which is, I'm sure, extremely helpful. Plus, NOTHIN HURTS when I'm done, except maybe sometimes sore muscles, but that's good hurt. ;)

I plan to swim year round and we have a heater in the pool. I mean, yes, it is expensive to heat the pool in December, but what cost is my health? Gyms are $30 a month, plus gas to and from, plus time in transit--it's not quite break even, but the benefits are certainly worth it.

Well, I' look forward to your journal, Deb (may I call you Deb?). --Betty

[DebPenny]

Hi, Betty (I hope that's all right also, I saw one post where you signed just Betty instead of TheBetty). Deb is my preferred moniker.

I envy you your swim pool. That's what I would really love to have easy access to. When I was young I was a synchronized swimmer. My coaches thought I was pretty good too until my body started developing and I was no longer a stick figure, then they started "working" on my weight and the horror began. I quit when I was a sophomore in highschool.

I still love to swim. But walking is now my preferred exercise.

;-Deb

[TheBetty]

Hi Deb, yes, Betty is just dandy!

About swimming, you have really got some special skills with the synchronized swimming! I understand the draw to the water, believe me. In fact, it was that draw and desire to be in the water that led us to have a pool put in.

It's really sad that adults often start kids on a lifetime roller coaster of bad eating habits, isn't it. They say things that give us a horribly damaging mindset, that sticks with us all our lives, unless something changes it.

I am really sorry you had to go thru the stick figure thing. That's unexcusable, since this was someone in authority over you at school (I assume). People can be so cruel.

You've inspired me to make another journal entry. Thank you for your always insightful posts, Deb. :) --Betty

[DebPenny]

Actually, I was on an AAU (amateur athletics union) team. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts. And actually, by a round-about route, my claim to fame. My team (after I left) was one of the original teams to participate in the Olympic demonstrations 4 years before synchronized swimming was added and then the first gold medal winners were two girls I swam with (duets and singles). Maybe one day I will post my team picture. (hope you don't mind the bragging)

;-Deb
:daizy:

[TheBetty]

Oh, were you bragging? I hadn't noticed. ;)

I think it's just awesome that you were on that team! I've never met anyone who was almost in the Olympics. I would love to see your team picture, and I'm sure the rest here would, too. Please post it sometime! --TheBetty