After the last change in diet, I knew after what I learned about refined white flour that the next big item on my regular menu to be consigned to the "no more" list was going to have to be white bread. That was something I was really not looking forward to. I had grown up with the stuff. Sandwiches, buns and all manner of tasty things in breadcrumbs are what kids eat and we keep eating them into adulthood and carry it on into obesity-hood! Therefore, I was putting this one off for a long time and because of that, it stalled my progress quite substantially.
I intended to make the change after four weeks of no pasta, but it dragged on to another eight weeks until I couldn't put it off no more. But as usual, I couldn't go through life knowing I could not eat bread ever again. That was just too severe and I wanted to still be able to enjoy some food, or even most food that I always enjoyed. So I compromised.
Wholegrain Bread
I knew that refined white flour was high on the Glycemic Index scale of carbs and I knew that anything that was high was going to be something that I would have to omit from my diet. But I read that wholegrain bread was lower on the GI scale and because it contains the whole grain, including the all-important bran part of the wheat, it was much healthier to eat than its white, bleached and nutritionally devoid cousin.
Let me fill you in on what I learned here. Wholegrain bread, which is sometimes also called wholemeal or whole wheat bread is high in dietary fiber, which means it is good for your colon in helping your body to eliminate waste more efficiently. This is good, especially considering most Americans have a terrible diet and load up on junk but almost no fiber. Its no wonder so many folks have dietary problems like IBS and get constipated all the time. You need more fiber, man!
It also contains some goodness with vitamins and minerals that are refined out of white flour. It also isn't bleached, which is something I could never understand why they did that with refined flour just to make the product look shiny white and clinically clean.
Well, that was enough to convince me that I could make the switch to wholegrain bread and even though it is still pretty high in calories, if I cut back some, I could still eat sandwiches and not rob myself of that pleasure in life. The first time I ate it, the experience was strange because the texture of the bread was all different to what I was used to. It tasted different too, but it was a nice taste. Sort of more earthy and nutty with a totally different experience to what I had been used to all my life.
I decided I liked it!
Over those eight weeks, as I said the weight loss was stalled some, but I weighed in at 182 pounds, so it was still a net loss of four pounds on the last time I wrote in here. More to do folks!
Categories: diet
