Help reading labels for P2

[mysscryss]

So today at the grocery store I found some whole grain wraps...and another type of wrap maid with white whole grain flour...neither contained enriched flour....but I was confused about what I should be buying when it comes to reading labels. BTW, the texture of the whole wheat wraps kind of freak me out, the others looked "normal" but did have white wheat/flour in it....is that a no no? It also had high fiber...
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/south-beach-diet-forums-phase-2/4115-help-reading-labels-p2.html

I've read the book and remember seeing something about what kind of flour/ingredients to stay away from...can someone help me find that if you know right off hand? I have just the blue book, not the super charged one.

Also any pointers on what to look for? I chose cereal with high fiber and low sugar....I grabbed some all bran crackers with lots of fiber...and some tortilla chips with a lot of fiber...but again the label didn't note anything processed.

I'm really trying t0o make this as "normal" as possible and less about dieting. I just want to make sure I'm not straying or on the wrong track with what I'm buying.

Thanks for the help!

[Jilly_Bean]

Hi Mysscryss and welcome!

Some of this is trial and error and what works for one may not work for another, so please take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I get that you want to keep it as "normal" as possible, but for me, the things you are looking at wouldn't work. At least not now. Sounds more like Phase 3 stuff to me...

I think we think eating processed foods is "normal". I mean, everybody does it, don't they? So, that means it's normal? "Normal" eating got me to 60 pounds overweight.

Now I eat "healthy" instead and the weight is coming off nicely. My suggestion? Try it if you want. You'll soon find out if you can handle that stuff and lose weight and feel good...

[mysscryss]

I got to looking at the high fiber oatmeal compared to the others online and realized I picked one with 7 grams of sugar!
So I'm going to go for the weight control brand, it has 7g of fiber and only 1g of sugar....oops!

If this sounds like P3, then what would sound more P2'ish? I'm still only doing one serving of carbs a day... just wasn't sure what KIND of carbs I should be buying.

Thanks for the help though! I'm nervous about P2, so I'm taking it sllllooow!

[Jilly_Bean]

I've gone really slow with the carbs too. In fact, I still usually eat only one and sometimes two grains, and one and sometimes two fruits per day. Most days it's only one of each. And I don't feel deprived about it. -- I just don't feel the need...

What I choose are whole grains as close to "nature" as possible. I eat oatmeal or oat bran for breakfast (zero sugar there). And sometimes I have quinoa, millet, brown rice or sweet potato at lunch or dinner. Nacho chips, even if they say they have high fiber, are made from ground corn and so that's got to be higher on the glycemic index, which I believe can bring on cravings. And wraps are also made from flour. I stay away from all flour (for now). The more processed something is, the less health benefits you're going to get.
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/showthread.php?t=4115

But, as I said before, this is just me. Some people may "get away with" more. I just felt so good after doing Phase 1 that I didn't want to add that stuff back in, and I haven't missed it. I'll bet Red will give you his suggestions too, so stay tuned!

[RedRox]

Well I think the weight control type is an instant oatmeal which is not recommended either. In order to get it to cook that quickly they need to chop it up into much smaller pieces which makes it digest more quickly and therefore has a higher GI. The two kinds of recommended oatmeals are plain steel cut and plain old fashioned, also known as rolled oats. The quick cooking and instant varieties are not recommended. In this case it is not so much about the ingredients or the nutritional panel info, but the level of processing to make them cook that quickly. BTW, the old fashioned rolled oats don't take all that much longer and are a good compromise between time and processing level.

And on reading labels, look for the word "Whole" associated with any grain flour. White whole wheat is fine as it is just a different strain of wheat that is lighter in color. Since it says "whole" it is still a whole wheat flour. That is really the only thing you can go by. Sometimes it won't say enriched. It may just say "wheat flour" and then it isn't whole either. Or it might say "unenriched" which means they just stripped the good stuff out and didn't bother to add back any vitamins or minerals to "enrich" it. Organic is just how it is grown and has nothing to do with "wholeness".
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/showthread.php?t=4115

Ideally flour based products should be from all 100% whole grains. Triscuits are a good cracker for instance. There are lots and lots of "healthy sounding" foods out there that really aren't. Bran crackers might be simply refined wheat flour with added bran to it for instance. I don't know since I don't eat crackers much or know which one you bought.

Things like "whole grain" wraps might or might not be OK. They can use those terms without having very much whole grains in them. Tortilla chips are normally made with corn meal and corn and corn flours are pretty limited even in P2.

Be sure to read the P2 foods list as a sticky topic here. I'll try and find some info on my other board and post it here on reading labels and some recommended breads and cereals and put them here when I get a chance.

[mysscryss]

Thanks for the help, this is all so confusing and overwhelming.

The plans in the book don't seem very practical for me, I'm busy, work nights, and can't cook!! So it's been hard trying to fix food that I like and can eat.

As far as the weight control oatmeal, I had a pack today and noticed it was huge in comparison to what I'd eaten before... I HATE oatmeal, I'm a country girl raised on grits....I'm scared if I leave it to old fashioned, unflavored oatmeal then I won't eat it at all.

Any suggestions on spicing it up?

[RedRox]

I add cinnamon, crumbled walnuts, a little smart balance, fruit and a squeeze of agave to mine. I never reallly used the menus in the book. You really don't have to if you work with the foods lists and the meal models in the sticky topics in the P1 and P2 forums.

[RedRox]

I also copied in a post that originated from the official paid site on reading labels in general into the main SBD forum here. You can find it here: Reading Labels 101 -- Maybe one of the mods will want to make it a sticky as well or add it as a link into one of the other sticky topics.

Also I have added info to some of the other sticky topics there on salad dressings, "some guidelines" and "bread products". All of those various sticky topics are helpful when learning how to choose a healthy product that meets SB criteria vs. those that just "sound good" but generally are not!!

[luvbug412]

Three cheers for the agave over oatmeal (works drizzled over Uncle Sam's as well).

Follow the guidelines of label reading and you'll be a pro at it soon enough. The biggest shocker to me was all the stuff that has added sugar. Even the stuff that is "savory" has added sugar.

[mysscryss]

I'd been mostly looking for sugar in products....and the ingredients for 'whole' products, but I wasn't sure if there was more to it... thanks for all the help!