[nutbar]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Beans aren't so bad, particularly if they are satisfying to you. Calories are the key, so if you're counting, count them, too. If you're not, you'll have to figure out a portion that's going to keep you going in the right direction.

Compare the calories to those in the other foods that you're eating. They're higher than the same volumes of veggies and most fruits.

If you're doing TNT, you could stick with the P, as is. Adding in the beans will up the carbs and cals, so for that meal you could drop the fat just a bit. Not that any macros are good or bad, just that you are trying to manage your calorie load to keep the fat loss going. Play around and see what happens.

Yep, calories are the bottom line and I definitely have to keep an eye on them or I'll be eating Jethro portions of most everything.

I have huge issues getting in enough fat. I just don't like it and it makes me feel not-so-hot. However, I've been trying my hardest to up my fat intake and I've done pretty well -- (on a 2200 cals/day general average) up to 50-ish % as my best effort but I feel much better around 40% max for fats. Now, I don't know if it's the lowering of the fats that makes me feel bouncier or if the fact that it allows me to up my carbs a bit more but there is very much a difference. (I do fine keeping my protein pretty level at about 180-200g/day -- also difficult for me but doesn't make me feel like crap as the fats do.)

Originally Posted by Jestter

Thanks for the question Nutbar, I have also had the same question. Beans and rice is nice. They are definitely one of the foods I am missing on TNT.

I'm not a rice fan myself but I'm with ya on the beans!

Originally Posted by LisaS

Beans are a wonderful food - but they don't fit in every phase of every meal plan. FYI - not everyone who choses to limit their carb consumption is "carb phobic". Given the choice between spending carbs on beans or on grains, I think beans are a better choice for me.

If you are following a plan where you are limiting carbs per meal to try and moderate your insulin response, your portion size of beans at that meal will be pretty small. And as always, there is a big difference between canned baked beans in a sugary sauce and tossing garbanzos on your salad or having refried pintos with your fajitas (sin tortilla por favor).

Yep, I do realize not all low carb folks have the phobia but it's a handy label to throw around. I'm playing with the idea myself because 1) adult-onset (read: diet-induced) diabetes is seen a lot in my family and I'm an apple/middle fat kind of gal and 2) I used to live on carbs -- 95% veggies so it wasn't like I was downing pasta and Wonder bread but I was severely neglecting protein and fats. I'd eat meat (or dairy or some non-veggie source of protein) maybe twice a month. Fats weren't quite that bad but still incredibly low. So I needed to give my thoughts and food-wants a complete overhaul.

Nope, no baked beans here. I'm a black beans and/or kidneys with tomatoes freak. Just a cup or so in a bowl of chili once a week might do the trick for me. I seem to be constantly playing with my nutrition this year and I continually learn something new! Time to switch my internet reading to beans...