Cutting Out/down on Carbs

Carbs are okay as long as they are healthy carbs. But WHOLE GRAIN bread - not whole wheat, not multi-grain, it's not the same thing - but WHOLE GRAIN. And buy brown rice or quinoa. They even have whole grain pasta now, as well as tortillas, etc.
Good luck!

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How about using quinoa, brown rice, barley and other "hippy" whole grains from now on instead. Hopefully these will not affect your IBS. We just love doing a brown rice/wild rice mix. Or a quinoa salad or pilaf. We also love this rice mix from Trader joes that is brown rice, barley and mustard seeds. Quinoa has a lot of protein too so you feel more satisfied. Good luck!

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I second the nutritionist suggestion. I cured my IBS and my friend cured her chronic colitis with a program by Metagenics called Ultra Clear. It's a rice based protein drink packed full of vitamins and amino acids. It tasted GOOD. It was a detox program, was supplemented by healthy foods, but prohibited dairy, wheat, caffeine, sugar, alcohol. It was hard, but I needed to save my life at that point as my IBS was so bad I would roll up in a ball on the floor in pain. The drink was so tasty, and completely filling that I usually just had a fruit smoothie made with it every morning for breakfast for years after. It comes complete with instructions, so you could do it on your own, but I do recommend guidance from a nutritionist. You could probably call Metagenics and ask them for practioners names in your area. Good luck!

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There are a lot of books at your local library that will be full of recipes with meals that have less carbohydrates in them. My FIL is a heart patient, quadruple bypass. He went on the lowest end of the no carb diet and he has done so well his cardiologist is putting other patients on it. He eats eggs and bacon every day for breakfast and all foods that he enjoys. His blood sugar went from diabetic levels to the low side of normal. His other blood work showed much improvement too. If it makes you feel better and makes your blood work better like it did for my FIL then try it and use the one that fits you better.

My hubby did the one where you eat zero carbs all day then for one hour of each day he could eat whatever he wanted, candy, bread, anything. He lost weight and his cholesterol and super high triglycerides went down drastically.

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My daughter is on the specific carbohydrate diet (www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info) for ulcerative colitis. It has helped her so much that her doctors were amazed and agreed to our request to try to wean her off some of her weekly injections.

I followed it with her for about six months and lost 30 lbs with no exercise. I was rarely hungry and had to force myself to eat. I also had no migraines while I was following it (I cheated and the intense cravings came back.... going to try to get back on it soon though).

The diet, which is really a way of eating and not a weight loss diet, tends to normalize weight for people (overweight - lose, underweight - gain). It is very tough to follow in the beginning, and you may not want to go to that extreme, but given your IBS, you might check to see what they list as suggested foods on the "legal/illegal" list. Good luck!

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You need to know the differences between carbs.
There are complex carbs, and simple starches.

THEN you also need to look up the "Glycemic Index" of foods/carbs.
So that, you can make wiser choices about what carbs you are eating.

AND see a Nutritionist. FOREMOST. They will tell you, dietary guidelines/menus/foods you can eat, per YOUR condition.

Do not guess.

See a Nutritionist.

You also need to exercise.

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Hi T. - you can actually eat more carbs if you increase your protein intake and if you eat a protein and a carb at the same time, your blood sugar stays better regulated.

You might consider something along the lines of a diabetic nutrition plan where you just watch the proportion of carbs in each meal and just watch your portion sizes. You might also consider switching some of your carbs to whole grain.

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I found this pasta at Krogers & Albertson's has it too but not Walmart. It's called Dreamfields. Its in a black box w/Red and Yellow writing on it I think. It has this patented-formula that when when your body breaks down the sugars it only produces 5g of Carbs. Compared to 16-32g that alot of other pasta's have, that's amazing. And the best thing of all is it tastes exactly the same as regular pasta. Seriously!! So I make a cold tuna pasta salad w/fat-free mayo and diced up veggies that is high-protein and very low carb. Also I make a low-fat alfredo sauce w/grilled chicken & Broccoli over that pasta! Try it you will loooove it! It is a little more expensive than other pasta but its worth every penny for how low-carb it is!

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I have had to drastically change my diet due to being diagnosed with Chronic Epstein Barr.. I'm trying to do it the "natural" way because medicines normally do the opposite to me...
I also get migraines and have extreme fatigue (used to box 5x's per week now can barely walk for 20 minutes without getting dizzy). I don't have any weight issues but I'm changing it to detox my body.. Here's what I eat:

Breakfast:
-eggwhites with sauteed spinach and garlic mixed in
or
-Ezekiel bread (found in freezer section) with Agave Nector with cantaloupe

Lunch
-Ezekiel bread with chicken breast (or turkey) with spinach, mustard, cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dipped in olive oil

Dinner
-steamed broccoli with brown rice. olive oil mixed in it...
Throw in some chicken (I don't eat red meat or pork so I don't cook dishes like that)
- mango salsa on cook salmon with quinoa rice

Snacks-
-cottage cheese with agave nectar or stevia (found at whole foods or nutrition place)
- Edy's has a yogurt blend that I eat
- any veggies with all natural pnut butter

It's not the yummiest diet BUT I used to LOVE my snacks (thank gosh I have a fast metabolism) and the sugar has finally caught up with my immune system.... The cravings will take about 7-10 days to leave your body. and after that, you'll get used to eating the healthy foods...

I also drink this powder called Field of Greens.. It doesn't taste good AT ALL, but it's SOOOOOOOO good for your body and bringing up your ph levels in your body. Plus you get all your veggies in one shot...

Fresh green drinks are AMAZING for you.. If you have a juicer ( I don't have the patience to juice so I get it made for me)... Get kale, spinach, celery, ginger, lemon and dandelion.. Doesn't taste that great BUT it's SOOOO good for your body.. Especially ifyour body is stuck ..

Good luck...

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Well, all fruits but berries do have a lot of carbs in them. Good carbs but carbs none the less. I will suggest that you buy South Beach Supercharged. Its low carb oriented but not as restrictive as Atkins-which I couldn't imagine would be good for IBS.
Also-try Shiratake Noodles. They have practically no carbs and no calories and can be substituted anywhere you would use a starchy carb like rice or pasta. I personally think they are best with asian and stir fry though.

I have raised a child with type 1 diabetes and what I have learned is to look at the glycemic index as not all carbs are the same and there are complex carbs which stay with you - like potatoes, pasta, rice, some beans and simple carbs that are sorta in and out - like fruit and juice....always have some protein with whatever you eat as it levels your blood glucose....as had been stated - watch the size of your portions and eat, wait before you eat more to give your body and chance to digest and therefore let you feel full...good luck! my daughter just lost a lot of weight due to illness and does not want to regain it so this is what she is doing and so far, so good

The secret is not necessarily cutting down on carbs but eating the right carbs. Stay away from white carbs and eat whole grains, whole wheat, brown rice, whole grain/wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, etc. This helps maintain your blood sugar level at a constant throughout the day.

Congratulations on losing weight. That is a huge accomplishment and I understand how you really want to maintain that weight loss. Shakeology is a balanced meal replacement drink that is low in calories (140 cal). It has even been shown to help reduce the symptoms of IBS. Here is a 1 min video on Shakeology by a Gastrointestinal Dr. http://youtu.be/x8_W8r7K9uk If you would like to try a sample message me.