Carbs/Starch

I'm so grateful for your answers and glad to see I'm not alone to wonder how to approach carbs.

I'm still in the first months of treatment and not necessarely feeling any different than before I started, so I tend to ask myself : "maybe I should cut this out...? or that?" If I eat them, I definitely have a tendency to overdo carbs... and at least, I am sure that overdoing carbs is no good. After trying to cut them out completely, I came back to the conclusion that balance is everything. I think that IC is slowly teaching me about balance in so many different ways. It's a new concept to me :)

I don't mesure grams of starch, I usually mesure visually. I need starch so much for the work I do... I need power. And to exercise!! And I have a tendency to feel guilty when I eat them, imagining that I contribute to the yeast in my body. It's a tricky issue for me...

How do people on Atkins survive lol!

I quit grains for a year and just used potatoes as my starch. I found that my yeast levels came down to normal. I had my MD check them with a blood test. I even ate some potato chips. Since then I have added back a little rice and wheat but don't eat it on a daily basis. Red potatoes have the least starch followed by yellow/gold potatoes. White potatoes have the highest starch content. I eat noodles very sparingly.

It does matter how much carbs you intake but you need to have some even at a resting point if you didn't do anything your body would still burn it off. There were times in the early stages I used to count my carbs but going totally off carbs would deplete my energy to the point of passing out. Your body needs to be balanced and there are good carbs to have too just don't over do it.One slice of toast in the morning is plenty if you have lots of veggies with them. Before I realized I was allergic to eggs I would do two eggs with asparagus and summer squash with leaks or green onion and basil by the time I cooked all those veggies in my eggs I didn't even need the toast that much.Artichokes are very filling too so I tend to eat a lot of them and I use a pressure cooker to make them, only takes ten min that way. I don't cut out my carbs though I eat about 30-45 grams per serving 3x a day and I may even have a little more if I am working out a lot. I try to stick to that serving size though it seems to do me good. If you look at the labels of your pasta, bread,rice it will say the serving size it's not that much but it ends up being plenty to fill you up if you are eating 50% veggies like we should be.Making my snacks more filling veggies has been more helpful too thats why I love the artichokes. I know in the early stages its hard being on list one trying to fill yourself up. I think the brain is bored personally and that you are full but your body is getting plenty. I try to be creative with it and come up with new tastes even though it's all the same.

This is a good subject, and one that has been difficult for me. I have been a patient for a while, and have often considered going completely off carbs to speed up the process. I tried it for a day and almost fainted in the grocery store. Maybe I am an extreme case, I have a very fast metabolism and weight just comes off if I miss a meal or two. I am more active now and hungry all the time. I feel like I am burning more calories than I consume. But everytime I go to put some potatoes or bread on my plate I get scared and think I am feeding yeast so I cut back. As long as portions are balanced, it is supposed to be ok. But I don't know, gram wise, how much is permitted in the protein to carb ratio. Say you have two pieces of spelt bread and it equals around 40 g of carbs. How many grams of protein do you need to balance that out? I am tired of being hungry and underweight but I can't stand the thought of feeding yeast. Hard to know what to do, but great topic

Hey all! since the cooking all the time is rather new to me and I am often rushed in the mornings I got in the habit of eatingyeast free spelt toast and butter for breakfast- and even though its allowed on my list and it didn't seem to be bringing my pain level up or anything but it felt like maybe it wasn't a good choice. I checked with Matia and she told me i should try combining my grain with some meat protein and that would be a good combo. It seems that maybe starches ain't really so detrimental or hinder progress as long as you eat them in the proper amount and balence them with other foods. There is such an interesting peculiar balence with IC treatments and it's good because I am definatley establishing some new habits around what I'm eating- how I am eating. I think the breakfast of grain/protein is a good thing -a good kind of solid foundation for the day. I wonder if carbs have gotten an undue bad wrap in a subconscoius way from all the atkins diet "carbs are bad" hype. if we ate all meat or all veggies all the time it might aggravate IC although cause they are easy access and crunchy which some of us crave it can be a challenge not to go overboard with carbs.I am trying out the protein ( handmade turkey sausage )/toast or brown rice combo and let yall know if it seems to give a better result. thanks for bringing this up as it has been a concern for me too. peace

Yes, I definitally think it makes a difference, even more if you have too much yeast in your body, because yeast thrives on the starch and therefore you should limit it as it should be written on your list.