Hand over the beans and no one gets hurt

[nutbar]

How bad are beans in this carb-fearing world? I mean veggies are good. Fruits are okay. Bread, pasta, rice, etc are the bad boys, and the fully white version of those are just plain evil. Where do beans fall in the spectrum? Beans are my (healthy?) friends and I don't care to completely shun them.

I'm doing a TNT-ish thing since February or so (I think -- I'm getting old and senile and live in a time warp) but I'm wanting my little beany friends back. I'm not talking about eating beans 3 times a day but maybe a couple of times each week. I'm going for balance here and the directional propulsion provided by bean power could steer me in a good direction, I think.

[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.

[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.

[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).

[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...

[LisaS]

sorry - I wrote the response over in the other thread and then cut/paste it here and deleted the other one - and now that line is out of context.

[Alan Aragon]

Originally Posted by nutbar

How bad are beans in this carb-fearing world? I mean veggies are good. Fruits are okay. Bread, pasta, rice, etc are the bad boys, and the fully white version of those are just plain evil. Where do beans fall in the spectrum? Beans are my (healthy?) friends and I don't care to completely shun them.

The carb-fearing world is not always on target from a scientific/physiological standpoint. The minute people start fearing foods like beans & classifying certain foods as evil, you know there's a problem -- and that problem is a lack of moderation. I don't think it's at all bad to regularly eat the so-called "evil" stuff, as long as you don't gorge yourself on it. As for beans, well, they're especially useful for marking your territory or clearing out a room . If you have the right digestive machinery for beans, have at it, it's just food.

[LisaS]

for me, I like limiting and controlling my intake of foods higher in carbs. I'm annoyed when lumped into the carb-phobic label or am accused by association of fearing foods or calling some foods evil just because I mention I'm controlling my carb intake (not that you did that - just venting)
/rant

[Alan Aragon]

Originally Posted by LisaS

for me, I like limiting and controlling my intake of foods higher in carbs. I'm annoyed when lumped into the carb-phobic label or am accused by association of fearing foods or calling some foods evil just because I mention I'm controlling my carb intake (not that you did that - just venting)
/rant

No problem, 'venting' is perfectly welcome - and even encouraged - when speaking about beans..

[LisaS]

or whey - whey and beans can have similar effects somehow - and there's nothing for the fauna to ferment in the whey ...

[Alan Aragon]

Originally Posted by LisaS

or whey - whey and beans can have similar effects somehow - and there's nothing for the fauna to ferment in the whey ...

I do amazingly well with whey. My workout shake has 4 scoops + 2 cups of milk - nary a peep from the poop chute. Beans on the other hand, I could out-fart an IFOCE competitor in training.

[Frank.S]

Give me 1/2-1 cup of dried fruit (specifically apricots) and LOOK OUT.

beans, whey, cheese, milk, meat, whatever. does nothing to me at least.

[missjane]

Originally Posted by LisaS

for me, I like limiting and controlling my intake of foods higher in carbs. I'm annoyed when lumped into the carb-phobic label or am accused by association of fearing foods or calling some foods evil just because I mention I'm controlling my carb intake (not that you did that - just venting)
/rant

Amen! (Actually referring back to that other thread, too). I'm totally with you here.

Diane, I don't care for beans, but maybe you could move on to TNT-ish plan C where you could have those beans. You seem to have a really good feel for where you are at nutritionally. I'll bet you can experiment and find a way to fit them in.

[nutbar]

Yep, I do plan on continuing to play with my eats as I have been and beans will be a part of that. It just dawned on me the other day that that, for whatever reason, I've come across any reading that covers the details of beans in my obsessive nutrition reading this year. I know the general stuff but, really, someone needs to write a bean book. It's bound to be a bestseller.

In case someone is left on the planet who has not seen the Fart Facts page, here it is: Facts on Farts

[Lost Dog]

What would you want to know?

[nutbar]

Everything. I'm a freak like that.

I want to know what the various little beanie parts do once in your body, how they affect the body & the body's response, how they interact with other foods and varying conditions, etc.

I've found that kind of info for the majority of most other things I like to eat, I've just not run into the bean info yet. Then again, I didn't realize that I hadn't until a few days ago so have just started my search.