RE: carbs...are you "normal" I say yes...and NO! I'll explain......

 Well I am one of those people... I had to remove rice, milk, and bread from my house. If they are there I will over eat them, I used to drink milk like it was water. Milk, brown rice, and stevia dessert, not good with me...  I have been obese from early childhood, so I have some very ingrained issues with food to deal with. I was raised in a healthy eating home, ie we didn't eat out, we ate a balanced heart healthy low fat, high fiber, organic food diet, my dad was a fruit and vegetable inspector for the USDA, so we always had fresh fruits and vegetables. I am the only fat person in the family, I ate what everyone else ate and while they remained thin, I got fat.

 To say that we are all the same is wrong, we are all unique and have different needs and obviously different problems with food and how our bodies use those foods. For me I had to look at my history with different foods and if the food was a compulsively over eaten one I have to tread lightly with it. If any food starts controlling me, I have to place it in a different catagory than the foods that do not trigger addictive behavior in me. I can't have high glycemic index foods around. Foods high on the glycemic index are mostly carbs, like guess what healthy brown rice, whole wheat bread, potatoes, oranges, and bran flakes... So for me I have to eat a high protein low glycemic index food diet to lose weight and maintain that loss. It is not as much about the calories for me as it is about the way the calories are used by my body and how those foods respond in my brain. I am addicted to some kind of carb high I get in regard to how a food affects the pleasure center in my brain and  my blood sugar and or energy level. Foods high on the glycemic index rapidly affect blood sugar, ie. give that "high". The problem is that they rapidly give the high, but also rapidly lose the "high", so you want more... Now that said there are some low glycemic foods that I am addicted to as well, but those addictive responses are more than likely learned as opposed to physiological. I am a cheese addict for instance, a low glycemic food, but I'm still addicted to it as some kind of learned behavior issue. So I tread lightly with it and limit my access to excessive cheese as I work to learn new healthy behavior patterns. I may never be able to fully embrace a formerly addictive food item, but I am willing to accept that as my "cross to bear" and go on with my life. 

I didn't get fat on a high protein diet or a high fat diet, others have gotten fat that way, but not me. Again we are all different. Some of us are carb addicts, sugar addicts, others are high fat food addict, others are a combination of the two. Oddly there is no research to confirm the existence of a protein addict... These addictions are real and they have a physiological basis for their existence. These addictions have a similar neurobiological brain mechanism response in the pleasure center of the brain similar to drugs like cocaine. So as an obese person we have to fight both nature and nurture, both our brain chemistry and our learned behaviors.

Nutritionists who give out cookie cutter diet plans that are the same for each of their patients based off of some food pyramid or current government sponsored ideal food plan are full of "crap". You have to look at the whole person, not some generalization of what should be the norm. If your nutritionist really looks at your whole relationship with food, your medical issues, and your history with food and then gives you a plan based on the recommended nutrition guides they will help you, otherwise they are not likely to be any real help.

This is all just my opinion based on my experiences and knowledge base... Sorry this was so long, I tend to talk too much... Lol

This is the post I was responding to - I was agreeing w/you 100%  Pop-Pop
(Pop-Pop is my "grandpa" name selected by my 2 grandkids, both of whom tell me how I'm "shrinking" because I had what the 2 year-old says is "skurgery."  Oh, and the 4 year old wanted to know "if you're shrinking Pop-Pop, does that mean you're getting younger?"  Smart kid.)

Hey Pop-Pop....just FYI...if you want to respond to a post  or reply directly to a specific person....you can click on the "reply" or "quote"  buttons under the person's post  it will quote them (like I did here)  and notify them of your comment.....in case you didn't already know it.

I am a nutritionist, and I think most nutritionists follow the mainstream education, which is mostly false due to economic interests tainting research studies and the nutritional education system.  I was glad that by the time I went to formal school for my nutritional education, I had already spent 10 years reading non-mainstream info so I knew better.

 I certainly would gain weight on beans, milk, fruit and yogurt.. absolutely.  The thing is that biochemically ALL carbs break down into glucose (sugar) in the body.  So in that respect, really ALL carbs ARE the same.  The main difference between "good carbs" and "bad carbs", is that the better carbs like green veggies have less carbs and more fiber in their ratio. 

They also have a lot more nutrients, which sort of offsets the fact that they turn into glucose in the body.  They are also lower glycemic, meaning they are absorbed slower into the body, and have less impact on insulin.   However if you get 30 grams of glucose from donuts or fruit, you still have to use those 30 grams of carbs.  Carbs can ONLY be used for energy.. they can't be used to lubricate our joints, build cells, repair our body or anything else like protein and fat can.

 They are mostly useless in the body.  So if I have carbs, I try to make those carbs count.. make sure that I'm getting the most bang for my carb buck, so to speak.  So I choose green veggies as those tend to be the highest in nutrients with the lowest impact on blood sugar, etc.

Bottom line is that both quality and quantity of food matters.. low carb, low calorie tends to be the best for health and weight loss.  Hugs..

Thanks for the info.....I value your opinion!

thanks for the info indeed. I was really curious to understand the difference from a scientific point of view. oh my just seeing this thread now, awesome! 

FYI, pre-op I was mainly a vegetarian (would eat seafood but max 2-3 a week). I ate mainly whole grains, whole carbs, veggies, dairy... and got fat. why? I blame myself for my emotional overeating but I do also blame mainstream/governmental incorrect info and that they don't do anything to stop the industry lobby although the obesity epidemic from carbs is quite obvious. I also blame most nutritionists lack of knowledge as I now know I am carb sensitive and a total addict to it and none of them, EVER, told me some people may have an issue with this, on the contrary - they always tried to incorporate carbs into my diet as carbs was one of my preferred foods. wrong, so wrong.

it shouldn't be SO hard for specialists to reach the conclusion that carbs are really bad for some people, if not for all. I thankfully reached that conclusion by myself DESPITE American Association of Diabetes website which recommends a high whole carb diet (wth?). when I was told by my PCP I had pre-diabetes last October, I started reading that ANY carb converts into glucose in the body. (I sincerely never knew this, and I thought I knew everything about nutrition!). so I put 2+2 together: carbs=glicose. diabetes=glicose issues. what should I do? stop eating carbs. NO ONE told me that, not even my PCP. and after 2 months of not eating carbs (yeah it was hard and I had withdrawal issues at first) but my PCP was REALLY surprised that my ac1 levels went back to normal. I told her: it's because I cut carbs and she looked at me like I knew something she didn't.

I did lose weight in the past eating carbs. 1200 calories a day and exercising like crazy. but if I stopped counting religiously 1200 calories or exercise, I would gain all back. besides, I did the test: if I eat carbs (no matter how healthy) I want more and more carbs, non stop. if I stop eating carbs, I don't crave them. I crave psychologically as I know they are comfort foods for me, but not physically.

good for the people who can eat carbs freely (oh, the envy!). I can't. and I am not crazy about protein, specially not crazy about dense protein and having to eat fish twice a day (I do not eat meat) but... what can I do? kill myself? I am trying very hard to stay on the diet although I can't eat the foods I really like. tough luck. I am trying to accept my new reality... not easy yet, not there yet, but been able to maintain <40 gr daily.

I'm surprised at how  misinformed some "medical professionals '" are!   It pays to be a lifelong "student" ...... research.......and ask lots of questions.....Dr's are not "gods"

In 1989 I switched from a diet filled with all mainstream eating, junk, fried foods etc, to a vegan diet with no sugar (refined, honey, agave etc) and used only splenda.  I rarely had flour products and occasionally had a rice cake.  I did this for 9 years and shed aprox. 10 pounds over those years.  I did eat potatoes during that time. I went to the gym 5x a week.  It really pointed out to me that carbs are carbs in my body, whether it comes from a potato, apple or other sources.  They all plague my body.

After eating low carb for a few years, in 2004 I went to eating a raw vegan diet.  All fruits and veggies with 1-2 ounces of raw nuts a day.  I followed it for three years.  I did lose weight doing that, I think it was 20 pounds in three years.  Again, the amount of calories I was eating, offset by the hours of exercise (at least 5x a week) didn't equate to what everyone thought I should be shedding.  Again, fruit carbs = little loss for me.

Now I can maintain at 20-30 carbs, calories under 900.  If I eat more than 900 calories or more than 30 carbs I gain.  This includes a minimum of 60 minutes daily exercise. 

So we're all so different!  I love the topic because I've tracked my food for years pre-op and can see the havoc that carbs of any kind wreak with my body.  My most successful times as far as energy and not gaining weight are when i eat as close to 0 carbs (all meat) as possible, but it's a hard place to go.

Jimbo, you rock!!  Sublimate - thanks for always providing the "other" nutritionist!

thank you Jimbo! I totally agree with your post.
oh..and I have told my kids that when I am old and dieing, and in the hospital on my last breath...I want them to bring me up a dozen donuts!! Im going to eat them all, then pass away very happy! donuts are my crack, so I dont eat them at all.. but, that last request...ahhhh, heaven!

I think if you "poll" people here....donuts are "crack" for many of us!  it is the combo of flour,  fat, and sugar that does it.....coming together in a beautiful deep fried, sugar coated, soft dough-like, warm  package!  (my mouth is watering now!)  Good thing there is not a Krispy Kreme drive-thru on the way home from work!