So What Does Cutting Bread and Pasta From Your Diet Do?

June 24th, 2009 • 2009 Write-off, Personal

Yesterday, Emma detailed her day in pictures as part of the Great Write-off of 2009. We’re more than halfway done now!

This week, I’m trying an experiment. Due to long hours and a general sense of apathy, probably 95% of my meals consist of some sort of pasta or bread-based products. Subway is a mainstay of my diet, and I don’t do a lot of cooking past pasta (hah, wordplay) in my place. Eating out while trying not to break the bank for every meal does present itself with limiting options. In addition, I snack a ton on top of that – I have an insatiable sweet tooth that probably corresponds to the fact that my elementary school in Grade 7 and 8 was directly beside a then-Becker’s, and it corresponded with my first source of income from a paper route. The snacking is bad enough for my diet without all the heavy carbs on top of it.

In addition, this is my least active summer thus far. That may change without much effort due to some sports leagues I have coming up, but being stuck at my desk for 10+ hours a day has caused my ordinarily skinny body to start to round out. (At this point, I realize that I’m seriously impacting my dating prospects, but hey, work’s doing that well enough as is by taking up most of my time. I swear it’s not me.) So, I wanted to try something. Not only was I going to make an effort to eat healthier this week and exercise more, I also wanted to cut out all bread and pasta from my diet this week. I started this Sunday afternoon, and have had 4 days of it under my belt.

So, what’s the result? While there aren’t likely any noticeable physical results yet (let’s face it, I am still fairly skinny), I’m feeling a LOT better. Salads and parfaits are surprisingly more satisfying than I remember, and I have more energy than I should, given that I’ve been up at 5:45 every day this week. I’ve also avoided the mid-afternoon lull, where I normally have to resort to heavily caffeinated drinks to avoid QWERTY-face. (Commonly caused by falling asleep at my desk.) I’ve rediscovered my love for the formerly-named Lettuce Eatery (now Freshii), discovered an awesome salad as Fusaro’s, and rekindled my enjoyment of chicken and fish. Although I haven’t quite stayed away from all snacks (thanks, Satish), I’m doing a ton better, and it’s made a noticeable difference in my demeanor, at least.

If you’re feeling a little slow in the afternoon, or in general, examine the heavy carbs that you’re eating. I do find that it makes a big difference in these warm months.

It may even be enough to keep me away from Subway – a bold statement, given that I once ate at Subway 14 days in a row, and 25 days out of 30. (yes, I kept track.)

Trackback URI.