Checking in on the LE Diet / grains/flours/carbs

[Dreamingofpinkafter2blue]

I have been doing LE since about May but I'm usually a bit over on fat. I would say I'm always under 60 grams for fat and protein. Usually if I have grains, I have corn tortillas because they are are easy. And then I will eat a lot of rice and just everything else in moderation (like wheat bread or white brad, cake, whatever).

I know I do go a bit over on my protein or fat, but trust me it's wayyyy less than I ate a few months ago (3 eggs for breakfast everyday). I'm also at a lower BMI and am kind if trying to maintain. Plus I'm a hungry girl.

My question is, what are the best "carb" options besides rice? Like if fortified cereals are a no, why are baked goods or white bread or pasta ok? Isn't the flour fortified? I tried going back to the LE diet f and Q but I'm a little confused. I tried looking back at previous threads and some of the sways. I noticed a lot of gals were eating white pasta and getting girls.

Is it better for me to eat a corn tortilla or a flour tortilla?

What about brown rice pasta? Is that a good choice?

And are gluten free things good to eat because they are made with rice flour and a bunch of other processed stuff?

What about if I eat aldis or trader joes frozen veggie pizza or pizza rolls (Within fat/protein limits)? Is that ok. I find having 6 pizza rolls for dinner super satisfying. LOL.

[ksmom]

My guess is that with sandwich bread and pasta, even though it's fortified, it's still not as nutrient dense as breakfast cereal. I think there may have also been a study that found women who ate cereal had more boys. A lot of ladies have gotten girls eating pasta but that's probably because it's a white carb which pretty much causes a big spike in blood sugar then a crash afterward. Plus if most of your diet is carbs and a lot of your protein comes from rice/pasta/bread, I think that sways pink too.

I don't think it really matters what kind of tortillas you eat because it's not the individual foods themselves that sway pink, it's your diet overall. I have heard that eating gluten free has helped sway pink for some ladies. I have to eat gluten free because I have Celiac but I have two boys so it's obviously not magic. lol Eating gluten free for people who don't have Celiac or gluten sensitivity is actually unhealthy because gluten free foods tend to not be as nutritious and are more fattening (fat makes up for the lack of flavor). Personally I ate brown rice pasta when I conceived my boys and on LE I've been eating more white rice pasta. I really don't think there's anything magical about eating gluten free, it's just that it limits your food choices by A LOT and it involves eating more white carbs like potatoes, white rice, rice pasta.

I think the best way to stay sane on this diet is to eat whatever you like while staying within limits. I've been on the diet as long as you have and eating foods I actually enjoy keeps me from completely falling off the diet.

[Dreamingofpinkafter2blue]

Yeah I guess I was just hoping some were better choices than the others. Only because I normally don't really care. I don't have a favorite type of pasta or a favorite bread or anything like that. I bought some bagels and low fat cream cheese so I might have two mini of those for lunch today.

I don't even like cereal so it's not a huge deal for me. But what is the difference between that and white flour, which is also fortified? Are they fortified in a different way or something?

I'm actually pretty laid back about the diet already. I just has a miscarriage and I'm doing the cardio, so I'm hoping that will help my sway. I don't do the fiber as a sway tactic but I eat a lot more veggies than most on LE diet, I think.

[ksmom]

I think cereal just has more vitamins/minerals in it compared to fortified flours. When I look at the nutrition info for cereal vs. white bread, the cereal has WAY more B vitamins, iron, and a bunch of other minerals in it. The whole wheat bread my boys eat still doesn't even compare to the cereal. Even pasta that's fortified still doesn't have as much of those nutrients in it compared to cereal. The thing with cereal is, most people eat quite a bit of it in one sitting AND are having it with cow's milk which is fortified with Vit. A & D plus dairy has hormones in it which sway blue. If you're eating fortified bread, chances are you're not eating like six sandwiches in a day. LOL I think too most boy moms are taking prenatal vitamins on top of eating fortified foods which sways blue. If the only fortified food you're eating is pasta or bread and you're not taking vitamins, that's probably still swaying pink.

I'm so sorry about your miscarriages. I just had two early ones back to back, the most recent one being last week. I'm not super strict with the diet either. I mean, I stay within guidelines but I'm eating whatever I like. I do cardio too so hopefully it works to our advantage. I hope we both get our sticky pink beans soon.

[Dreamingofpinkafter2blue]

I'm sorry about your losses! It sounds like we are in a similar boat and have a similar sway plan.

Ok, what you are saying about the cereal makes sense! I just never looked at the labels. Maybe I'll just try to do one serving of white flour a day and then a serving of rice or gluten free stuff. I bought gluten free and regular packaged stuffing, which I'm excited about eating!

[atomic sagebrush]

Cereal is about 10 zilion times more heavily fortified. Just had a quick look in my cupboard:

1 slice bread had less than 1/4 as much of most nutrients as 1 serving cereal plus the cereal had lots of additional nutrients added that the bread did not. Plus, the serving size of cereal was a joke and I could easily eat 2-3 times as much. I never eat more than 2 slices of bread (ok I do but not when on LE haha) The cereal is also eaten with milk which adds in lots more nutrients. Pasta was even less fortified than the bread BUT you do need to be sure to stick to 1-2 servings on that, because again, my stomach laughs at the pasta serving size.

Once you're getting to the point of worrying over tortillas or pasta types, you need to take a step back and focus on the limits for the day. Eat what YOU personally enjoy because obsessing over every detail of "eat this, not that" kind of thing, thinking about every. single. food. to see if it's "better or worse" is a recipe for another boy, because you're having to be such a control freak about everything. Plus eating the stuff you prefer means you'll be happier and more satisfied on diet and less likely to cheat.

We have had a surprising level of success with a glutenfree diet but it is not apparent to me, if that is bcause eating gluten free foods really sways, or (much more likely to me) for people with gluten sensitivities, it aggravates their autoimmune conditions and autoimmune stuff seems to sway blue.

veggie pizza and pizza rolls are fine as a part of your diet! If you like them, enjoy.

[atomic sagebrush]

the other thing to consider about the cereal is that all we know is that a study (and our experiences) found that moms who ate it, had more boys. wE don't actually know WHY and aside from the fortification, another thing it might indicate is that moms who ate cereal were eating breakfast itself, or possibly snacks (I rarely ever eat cereal for breakfast but I often have it as a bedtime snack.)

[Dreamingofpinkafter2blue]

Thanks Atomic! That makes so much sense. I tend to obsess more about ovulating and number of attempts etc. than I do about the food. Hahaha. Maybe it's because I legitimately get hungry and am on the higher end of calories.


I feel like the skipping snacks actually makes me feel better somehow. I get a tad bit hungry sometimes between meals but it's not like a starvation hunger lol. I try to make my meals satisfying because if I don't eat enough I just turn into a snack monster.

And for me just having a little bit of meat every few days helps me feel satisfied. Like a couple bites of shrimp or chicken. And even cutting up 2 small pepperoni and using it to flavor a salad or something goes a long way for me.