Bread ... why?

how can you have a sandwich if you haven't got bread ;-D

Simplicity and conditioning. Many people think a packed lunch = a sandwich.

You can’t have boiled eggs without Marmite soldiers! Just one 5g carb slice of Hilo bread, is enough for two eggs for me

bulkbiker said:

I have often wondered why we see so many threads about bread?
I gave it up and don't miss it but many people spend ages trying to find low carb bread (which must surely be an oxymoron).
So why do you think we need to eat it?
Habit, lack of imagination or does it fill another role (intentional pun) in our lives? I'm interested to have your thoughts.

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Hi BB. I often think the same. It is simpler just to convince yourself you no longer eat bread. I missed it a hell of a lot when I first started keto and tried all sorts of alternatives, but now I don't miss it at all.

bulkbiker said:

ham outside, cheese inside or vice versa..

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Not so good if you don't like ham.... I used to take Lidl rolls with me when we went out, it stopped me feeling left out and meant I was less likely to buy something full of carbs. It was more convenient too.

Edit: After years of eating fewer and fewer calories, I try to eat a minimum of 1200 per day. Without Lidl rolls I would struggle to eat enough if all I could take was salad and cheese. (although I am not vegetarian I am not that keen on meat )

bulkbiker said:

But couldn't you spread marmite on your finger , dip it in and lick it off? just a thought...

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There’s a thought, but I’d have to choose which finger tip carefully so as not to mess up my post prandial reading!

If the low carb bread doesn't cause spikes then what is the harm? Same with a couple of spuds. Of course they need rigorous testing, but once that makes it clear the bread is safe, then it is tickety boo.

I went from white/wholemeal bread to low carb bread to no bread at all. I didn't plan it, it just happened slowly over a few months. I began to find even the lower carb breads stodgy and I was leaving more and more of it on the plate and picking out the filling to eat alone. I am not even tempted any more.... unless I hear the rustle of a packet of Walkers crisps......

I was a big bread eater before diagnosis, a sandwich or three every day between meals, and yet I don't miss bread at all now. In fact I ate so much bread and rice that I expected to drop weight quickly once I gave up, didn't happen.

I too gave up bread for a long time but just had a fancy for a bacon sandwich and a slice of hot buttered toast. We travelled from Scarborough to Otley to the nearest Waitrose to buy their Livlife bread. We enjoyed our bacon sandwich and another day enjoyed the toast. However I noticed the last slice was left ignored and binned. I liken it to scratching an itch. It’s now done.

Because member's are interested in the topic, want advice, share their BS readings when they have eaten a slice, different types of bread, lowest carbs, they like it, the history of bread etc. Some can still have a slice and it doesn't spike them. I do miss the smell of bread, the taste too at times, but I can't eat it.

bulkbiker said:

I have often wondered why we see so many threads about bread?
I gave it up and don't miss it but many people spend ages trying to find low carb bread (which must surely be an oxymoron).
So why do you think we need to eat it?
Habit, lack of imagination or does it fill another role (intentional pun) in our lives? I'm interested to have your thoughts.

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A staple in the diet for generations but I do have egg on toast as a cheap low carb meal if protein bread and crust took off.

It is probably also some cultural conditioning. Germany is a bread country with a huge variety of different types of bread (heard it is somewhere around 2000). It definitely is a staple around here.

So, to assuage my bread cravings, I regularly make a batch of DD keto rolls, maybe once a week or once every two weeks. I also use even lower carb flour than suggested on the website, so I figure they come out to about 4g of carb per roll.

Kept in the fridge, they are a quick and convenient goto meal or snack (maybe half a roll with butter). I find them indibly filling (more so than just cheese and ham) and they have virtually no impact on my blood sugars at all. Most vegetables have more carbs and a more significant impact on my blood sugars. So, why not!

There are other things to take into consideration as well as carbs. The sadly no longer available Lidl rolls were stuffed full of fibre and omega 3, not to mention protein. I imagine it is similar with other low carb breads.

For me bread is utterly addictive, it's the one 'carby' food I would crave above all others. Going cold turkey helped a lot, then I've found Livlife bread doesn't spike me - the problem is once I enjoy a slice I want another and then another... I find oatcakes a good alternative, as long as I limit them to 2 a day max - oh man, just talking about bread is making me want some!

bulkbiker said:

I have often wondered why we see so many threads about bread?
I gave it up and don't miss it but many people spend ages trying to find low carb bread (which must surely be an oxymoron).
So why do you think we need to eat it?
Habit, lack of imagination or does it fill another role (intentional pun) in our lives? I'm interested to have your thoughts.

Click to expand...

There's possibly many angles to this. I'm thinking:

* Bread is considered a staple (in the UK at least). So most people are likely to be very used to eating it. If they suddenly get told they should avoid carbs, then they might naturally wonder whether they can keep this 'staple', or some form of it, in their diets.

* Bread is ancient. It's not typically considered a junk food. Many people are likely to think "Surely I can still have this!"

* Many types of bread contain good stuff - it has nutritional value.

* Bread is far from the highest carb food out there. It's not necessarily the top-priority thing to eliminate in most people's diets at the point of T2 diagnosis for example.

* Bread is possibly one of the most (the most?) 'easy' of the staple foods. No cooking required.

* Bread is one of the most versatile of the staple foods. It can be made to do a lot of things, and very easily.

* There aren't many low-carb foods which have a bread-like texture, whether toasted or not. Something fairly unique disappears from your food repertoire if you remove bread.

Personally I've hugely reduced the amount of bread I eat. I only eat the low-carb stuff, and often just one tiny slice. Often I don't have it at all in a meal where I normally would. I like toast with bacon and egg, but often skip the toast. I like a chicken sandwich in a packed lunch, but often I'll just have the chicken with salad.

But sometimes I have the bread, because it's variety and I like it. It's also not a huge deal carb-wise - for breakfast, I can include a sausage which can easily be 4g of carbs, or a slice of low-carb bread which is the same.

I guess for a lot of people the simple answer is: "I like it". I imagine the vast majority of us can identify at least one foodstuff in our diets which we think we would be better off without, but we keep eating/drinking it, because we like it a lot and, even when eating it, we know we've improved our diet drastically.