I have a question regarding grains and starches.

Since starting btd I have gained weight and really struggle to loose that weight.
Before btd I had a very simple, lean diet, mainly: veggies, salad, fruit, not much meat, poultry, occasional egg, (diet) cheese, ryvita, cereal, soya milk and my weight was OK.

So, what is different? I've added rice 50g, nuts, dried fruit, goats cheese, yogurts and homemade spelt bread 50g. I mention 50g because I'm not eating huge portions and have taken onboard the portions in LRYT.

Because of the weight issue (we're only talking about a few pounds but it makes me miserable) I've cut out the rice, bread and yogurts.
Sure the weight will come off but it leaves me feeling hungry and just looking for the next meal, which means that not snacking is difficult.
I've always been amazed at how little food it takes to maintain my weight and so if I eat too much of anything....I just gain.

From what I've read, As are supposed to do well with grains and starches....mine just tend to stick in the middle!!!  

Any thoughts on the subject??  

Are you eating enough protein?

Maybe you, like laura secrete lite, as she says. You could probably talk with her. I find that I do best with out grains of any sort even amaranth and I am still having trouble loosing weight since the last time I ate grains for any period of time. You might also try to find out if you might be carbohydrate sensitive, by listening to your body when you eat carbohydrate rich vegetables. I find that they trouble me too. Hope fully that helps.

Thanks MoDon, more protein will keep me from feeling hungry.

JamieB, I didn't know what some veggies are carbo rich. What are they, root veggies??
Sounds like grains and starches react the same....I thought perhaps they were separate.

Jane,

I eat grains and starches, but I carefully watch my intake.  In fact, I watch my intake for all food groups to make sure everything is a balanced out.  I find that I do need to eat grai as a blood type A secretor for me to get through my workouts, my workday, my life.  I think I would be tired without any grains but eating too many grains and starches is also problematic.

I don't believe starches bother me as much; when I refer to starches I am simply referring to starchy vegetables.  I do not watch my consumption of starchy vegetables, but I do make observations with the grain products I eat.  As a general rule for myself since I do not consume many grains is that if I do eat grains, I make sure that it is beneficial and not neutral grain: amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted rye bread.  The exception to this would be the tempeh that I sometimes buy which contains brown or white rice.  I can no longer find soy tempeh in any of my HFS's that only contain soybeans and a culture starter.

Alia

I follow a similar diet to Alia. If I do eat a grain, I'll usually choose a beneficial grain over a neutral (if possible). I'd say I'll eat a serving of grain every two days or so, sometimes more, sometimes less.

I also have gained some weight around my midsection over the last two years which is s-l-o-w-l-y coming off, but the reason is that I've cut way back on my overall food intake. I used to eat more per serving, and more often. Lately, I'd say over the last month, since I've been taking the Deflect morning and night, I've just not been as hungry and sweet things are not as interesting to me (like chocolate). I've also upped my plain water intake by almost 50% which has helped to keep me feeling full.

I try to eat a protein source at every meal, which also keeps me from feeling hungry.

Alia, please, what are the starchy vegetables?
And I'll look into the bennie grains but I've never done well with grains so feel there is perhaps something else I'm not considering.

My suggestion is if you don't do well with grains, then don't eat them. Starchy vegetables include artichokes, sunchokes, rutabegas, parsnips (root veggies), etc. I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting, but I'm omitting the avoids.

Janet,

The starchy grains that I have eaten are carrots, turnips, jerusalem artichokes, globe artichokes, pumpkin, kobacha squash, buttercup/nut squash, taro root, parnips, jicama, and I think spaghetti squash at some point in my life.

More recently, the starchy veggies are usually carrots, turnips, parsnips, cauliflower.

Alia

Ah...that's what I thought, root veggies which of course I eat loads of!!!!!!!!!

So maybe my answer, as MoDon suggested is more protein.

Hey guys, Janet, I think I could help you, but I'm about to jump on a plane so it will have to wait until tomorrow.  I'm really good at looking at people's diets and figuring out the 'tick'...........right off I can tell you.........look at the foods you have added to your diet, more grains, dried fruit, yogurt........sugar, sugar, sugar, with no substance to ground it.

Anyway I will be back either tonight or tomorrow.  Being a type a doesn't mean eating grains.  To do something that is not working because 'type a's are supposed to do well with grains and starches' is like jumping into a pool of sharks because 'sharks are not supposed to like type a blood'

The issue is finding what is right for you, that is really what blood type diet is about.  So let's see if we can help you do that

ciao for now

Well, thanks Laura, I'll look forward to your contribution too.

If there is one thing I really like about this forum is 'somebody always knows' or has an opinion about the subject.

I was recently on another health forum and was amazed at their lack of knowledge....then I thought...wait a minute...how much did you know before you joined btd????????

Quoted from Alia_Vo

The starchy grains that I have eaten are carrots, turnips, jerusalem artichokes, globe artichokes, pumpkin, kobacha squash, buttercup/nut squash, taro root, parnips, jicama, and I think spaghetti squash at some point in my life.

More recently, the starchy veggies are usually carrots, turnips, parsnips, cauliflower.

Thanks Alia, I forgot completely about squashes! Mmmm. I have some spaghetti squash downstairs just waiting to be cooked.

Sorry to hear about those extra pounds. Certainly a nuisance.

Do you take tofu? beans? As an A I guess it is important for you to consider vegetable protein in addition to your small allowance of animal protein. I do not know how it works with weight thou.

Best wishes,

BTW any reason why you do not consume fish?

Yes Susana....it's too fishy for my liking... !!!!!
Except canned tuna and salmon and cod but I have to find one that's not salted...Spanish love salted fish but not me. Do you have Mercadona supermarket? they sell an unsalted one prepacked, but it's not always available.

Janet maybe it would help us be of better assistance if you tell us a typical daily eating pattern for you (aka: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks)

What supplements do you take?
Do you exercise?

Quoted from lkpetrolino

Janet maybe it would help us be of better assistance if you tell us a typical daily eating pattern for you (aka: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks)

What supplements do you take?
Do you exercise?

OK Laura...hope your trip was good.

Breakfast has been 50g crunchy oat cereal, soya milk, some walnuts/almonds. No yogurt.

Snacks during day could be prunes/dates/apples/pears/nuts -anything other than sweets eg chocolate, which I crave!! - Pat said magnesium might help with that.

Lunch - chicken breast, large helping steamed veg eg. carrots/ squash/ leeks/ peas/ green beans/ parsnip etc  (main meal) have cut out 50g rice.

Supper - 2 ryvita, small amount semi cured goats cheese, beetroot, cucumber.

Drinks - water.

I eat 1 or 2 eggs per week, also canned tuna and salmon sometimes cod, sometimes small piece of lamb or goat or turkey.

I've tried introducing beans into my diet but feel 'bloated' after I've eaten them.

Supps: daily - Vit E 400 IU X 1, Calcium + Vit D + magnesium X 2, Magnesium X 2 at night, Pure Radiance Vit C X 1, Black Cohash 160g X 2.
I take medication for underactive thyroid, Fosamax for back prob, muscle relax for night (hoping magnesium will replace this) re fibromyalgia.

Exercise - I walk briskly and lead a fairly active lifestyle.

Thanks for any ideas.  

How long have you been on all of these medications Janet?  When did you start thyroid meds?

Basically what it looks like to me is that the weight gain has less to do with diet and is more of a symptom of some underlying problems (same as the low thyroid and the fibromyalgia and back problem)  

These are all symptoms of something irritating your system.  Now the issue is what?

Could be diet issues, could be something eles.  My guess is that it is something eles but that requires your diet to be stricter than before.  See what I'm getting at?

I started on thyroid meds in 1994, I was tested because I was classed as 'tired all the time' (doctors refer to this a TAT, I saw it in my notes once).

Fosamax about 3 years ago. I had constant upper back pain after I had 2 fractures and also have a small hernia in the base of the neck - used to give me awful pain but not so much now. According to bone density scans, I'm still high on the charts but have this weakness in that area. I was taking a prescribed calcium supp but found it contained aspartame so stopped that and switched to one from the HFS.

Muscle relax for about 3 years, due to fibromyalgia. I find it very difficult to get quality sleep. This is aggrevated by hot flushes which have been very difficult to cope with....just in the 5th year...

Regarding my diet, I somehow feel to go back to eating more or less as I did pre btd.
I admit that I didn't know that potatoes and wheat were bad for As but I never ate them because they upset me, made me feel bloated. Come to think about it, that is one of my probs...I easily feel bloated, you know, the stomach area.
I have done a salvia test for cortisol and DHEAS - both low. I had a good attempt at supps to help these but was given two things with ascorbic acid in, so had a mega prob with Candida. This has taken ages to clear.
I'm 5'7" and weigh (now) about 156lbs, not so much but more than I'm comfortable with.
I honestly don't feel I ever overeat, so don't think it's about portion size BUT just remembered I also take a cholesterol med but it's only 10mg every other day. I've always been told that I make too much and it could be in my genes. When I said I didn't want to start taking it, I was told it was important for further down the road!
Another thing occurs to me is that my iron level is too high. It is supposed to be between 37 -145. In March it was 165 and in October it was 168....could this be affecting me in any way I wonder  

Is ascorbic acid bad for A's?

I have noticed that in the last two years, wheat and dairy make me gain weight when it did not before. I have always had these products and always maintained good weight.

It seems as if my metabolism is running slightly slower eventhough I have more muscle now.

How do your clothes fit? If they fit tighter you have gained fat.

If I where you, I would have some protein for breakfast and have the cereal for dinner instead of the goat cheese. I do not know which one you have but semicured Spanish goat cheese... perhaps too much fat for an A. Actually, the "Fatigue" book has goat cheese as neutral infrequent... you might as well count it as avoid.

How about lentils?

Also, have you noticed your veggies are mostly roots? How about some greens.

Janet,
I just made some 'bacalao' with salted cod and it turned out fine.
the trick is letting that salted cod soak for almost 2 days tops in clear water, and rinsing it every 8 hours or so.......

Janet,

I made the observation that there are alot of neutral food items in your daily food plan.  In LR, Dr. D'Adamo states that individuals who are facing an illness or trying to lose weight, sticking to Tier diet is important and adding neutral foods should be used with caution.

Re-evaluate the neutrals you are eating and try filling them in with a benefical.  For instance, substitute a compliant soy cheese, if there is one available, for the goat cheese.

Alia

is there a soy cheese out there without gums?

Personally, I have never seen any compliant soy cheese in any store I've visited.  

Perhaps use soy yogurt or try another food item besides the cheese.  Or make a dip from silken tofu in a blender and add spices, herbs, and other flavorings.

Alia