Original email for context: Being that I am of Caribbean descent there are certain foods we eat which would be considered big no-nos on this diet until way after maintenance and even then that might be risky. I have already gone months with no rice, bread, flour or pasta of any kind. There are certain foods that we eat that just doesn’t go well with salads or “carb alternatives”, how do I get to enjoy our foods? I’m in no way saying I’m going to go back to having rice and peas or plain rice with every meal or even flour dumplings, I just want to know if I’ll ever be able to eat those things at all again?
Re eating things like rice, bread, etc in the future. While everyone is different, I can tell you for myself – I eat corn tortillas and rice and gluten-free bread all the time and maintain.
I’ve been maintaining 6+ years now. Every single day, I have a sandwich on gluten-free bread made from rice flour. I frequently have a couple of corn tortillas that I’ll toast and put butter and salt on for a snack at night. Or I will eat corn tortillas in tacos. I get mashed potatoes or french fries every time we go out to a restaurant. I have regular rice if I eat Thai food out.
I am gluten free so I no longer eat pasta or gluten grain. But hopefully, this gives you a picture that I do indeed eat simple carbs on a daily basis now.
Now, I do need to include that I CrossFit 3 days a week- weight lifting and interval training, as well as take thyroid medication, and I am 100% positive that these 2 factors play a big role in why I can eat these foods without gaining. But that said, I do think there is a way to include these items again eventually, and also I think a lot of it has to do with making choices on a daily basis- like 1 day indulging in the rice meal, then the following day eating a day with no grain, etc- when planned out like that, many women find they can totally fit these items in.
If you take a look at my overall carb consumption on a daily basis, even though I’m eating simple carbs each day, my total for the day is still pretty much always within low carb limits – usually between 85-100g of carbs per day. So the other foods I’m eating are lower carb and compensate I guess.
I hope this helps you!
