week 1 done......too much pasta, any suggestions?

[24boredom]

a pound lost, in the first week.....a bit dissapointed, but better than nothing.

But there are some other postives, ive cut dobe my coffe intake from 10 cups to 3 and replaced with water. I feel less bloated, Ive been getting my 5 a day. Ive measured out things like rice and pasta.

Negatives, I feel im eating too much pasta....anyone got any suggestions for sustitutes?

[Hidden]

There are lots of alternatives, but be careful not to replace in the same quantities as you're having for your pasta. Firstly try weighing your pasta (or just calculate how many portions there should be per pack). I find that 75g pasta is enough for a meal and it's not too heavy calorie wise if you stir other nice healthy things in with it (75g can be measured by filling a mug with pasta, then taking out about a quarter - a mug full is 100g I think). You can get healthy brown/spelt pasta which is a bit more filling too. I have been experimenting with different kinds of rice: brown and white rice, jasmine/sticky rice, generally aiming for 50g (dry weight - I measure this using a 'Tala dry measures cone'). Also barley is good, which can be made into a 'risotto', polenta slices (grilled), and lastly cauliflower rice, which is okay once in a while if you think you can fool yourself into believing it's real rice! Hope that helps and congrats on the first 1lb lost!

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi 24boredom,

Congratulations on losing 1 pound this week, that's really good - I know you wanted to lose a bit more, but it really is a good loss. Imagine a pound of butter on a plate, and the fact that amount has disappeared off your weight. Really good!

Ruth has suggested some great substitutes - I have copied and pasted her advice, as there are some great suggestions there. I'd like to add that quinoa is very tasty. I only tried it about a month or so ago, and I really enjoyed it. I bought a variety that had mixed colours in it, and it's lasting me a long time so far - so quite economical.

Hope you have another great week ahead. You've made some excellent changes.

Lowcal

[Penel]

For a complete alternative to ordinary pasta, you could try making 'pasta' out of different vegetables, strips of courgette and carrot work well. You can use a veg peeler or a gadget called a spiraliser to make them.

You can also get buckwheat pasta if you want a change from the usual sort.

[alex7ra]

Try searching the internet for low carb recipes if you are looking for new ideas for what to cook instead of pasta dishes.

I try to limit my pasta intake to about twice a week and then when I do have it I only have a small amount of pasta and loads and loads of veg and sauce to fill up on and sometimes add chicken or tuna.

[Jenever]

Well done on losing 1lb, it's a good loss just check out what 1lb of lard looks like...that's what you've lost!

I adore pasta and to be honest it's been the most difficult food for me to restrict, there is no substitute for me even though I do make skinny lasagne using leeks in place of pasta (Hairy Dieters Recipe Book), it's very nice but it just ain't pasta! These days I limit pasta to a couple of times a month, that's because I refuse to eat a small amount, if I'm going to eat it I'm going to eat a lot and enjoy it, I do plan what else I eat on those days so I don't do any damage, it seems to have worked for me, I hope you can work out what works for you too.

[linggirl]

I like a bit of cous cous. Nice and easy to make just add herbs, slices of lemon, orange, grapefruit whatever you.want and then pour over boiling water and leave it for a few minutes.

[MrsBooboo]

i have a bed of rocket sometimes rather than pasta or 20% pasta and 80% rocket, if I want some carbs.