gaining and food

Ok I know that I need to gain some weight but my fear of bread is really annoying. THe thing is I think that eating bread everyday will make you hold water weight and I will look bloated. Im a little anxious because for the past 3 days I did challenge myself and eat 2 slices of challah bread a day. Now Im freaking scared. But then again I do eat my post shredded wheat everyday,but it has 0 sodium in it. Is the ED talking to me here??

Do any of you eat bread everyday?

OMG I could LIVE on bread!  I LOVE it!  I definitely eat bread everyday, whether it is on my sandwich or my mom makes her famous Rosemary Bread as a side to our pasta dinners.  I also love rolls, english muffins, bagels, biscuits-- I love it all!  I have yet to turn into a big bloated blob and my consumption of bread doesn't seem to bother me at all.  But I can relate to this being a fear of yours, my fear is fat, but it's something we need to get over.  Good luck!

The thing about bread is, is that it has salt and it is a carbohydrate - both of which retain water.

It will not make a significant difference if you balance out your days sensibly - if you have toast for breakfast, have another type of grain for lunch like rice, with no salt. If you want a sandwich for lunch, have the no salt shredded wheat cereal you mentioned for breakfast.

So, carbohydrates from all the different grains will all retain the same amount of fluid, bread won’t retain any more water then the rest of them; it is just the salt content of bread can be high, and too much salt can retain fluid.

A lot of people eat toast for breakfast every day, or a sandwich for lunch.

Bread helped me in my recovery, you can put together a perfectly balanced, decent sized meal together in minutes with no cooking or preparation required!

The less I had to prepare and think about food, the better! It is also handy to have as toast spread with avocado, and nut butters to get lots of cook fats in and it also taste great!

I should also add, that there are SO many COMPLETELY different styles/ types of breads!

Heavy rye bread, sough dough rye, wheat sough dough, fruit loaf, muffins, Turkish style, pita bread, Indian breads, multi grain, and MANY more!

Not all bread is created equal, a more dense, better quality bread usually has less additives/ preservatives and keeps you fuller for longer then less dense bread.

If you try to mix up the type of bread you have you will be getting different nutrients, and by increasing the variety you get you are more likely to get a good range of nutrients you need to look and feel your best!

Firstly, this is definitly ED talking. I have a massive issue with sodium and what not too.

That being said - I have two slices of bread everyday, as I make sandwiches for lunch.

Bread is nothing to be afraid of. Yes, the first time you eat it after a long time, if you were to weigh yourself the next day, there would probably be a slight fluctuation. HOWEVER. Your body will adapt to the really quite minimal change within two days. Our bodies are incredibly adept at that adaptation thing. Plus, your body needs a certain amount of sodium anyways - it is a nutrient along with potassium, magnesium, and many others. If you are really, really that worried about your salt intake - drink an extra class of water and eat a banana (or other food with a high potassium count). Both of those things help to remove excess salts (though I sincerely doubt a few slices of bread will result in excess - excess would be over 2,000mg) and prevent next-day bloated feelings.

thats ED talk, im not even gaining anymore and i eat about 9 servings of bread everyday on most days so yea, bread is yum!

This is most definitely ED rearing his ugly head and trying to get you to miss out on one of the greatest things ever. Wasn't the challah amazing?! That alone is reason enough to eat it, but nonetheless, bread is vital for your health and recovery.

I totally understand being afraid of carbs, I still am, and for that very reason, i incorporate some form of grain into every single meal and snack. It's a good source of energy, and really good for you if you get more complex carbs, like the hearty whole grain breads, pasta, rice, barley, oats, etc. The possiblitities are endless, and actually will make you much less bloated than trying to get all your calories from vegetables. I'll get pretty bloated from lots of vegetables, but a nice bowl of warm oatmeal or peice of toast or rice pudding will ease the bloat.

Some good examples of ways to incorporate these: I usually have some sort of oatmeal/ cereal/ granola with breakfast, a sandwich/ crackers/ tortillas/ pita with lunch, I like cereal or english muffins with yogurt and fruit and nuts for snack, pasta/ rice/ pizza/ rice with dinner, and usually oats/ cookies/ cereal/ cakes/ etc etc for before bed. And of course keep adding in the higher cal things as has been said like avocado, nut butters, olive oil, dried fruit, all of which go great with breads!

You've been around here for a while so I trust that you can distinguish between that ED voice and the real you, now just start LISTENING to you and tell ED to shut up!

oh candycane it is just a fear food that you can and i know you will overcome!! it was never a fear food for me so i immediately took to eating like 9 servings of grains a day.  they help alot with gaining but you dont have to have much if it makes you feel uncomfortable...just have more nuts or something else high cal instead.  Its great that you are challenging yourself and once you get comfortable with two slices a day...go ahead and try two slices of bread AND some pasta for dinner =]

Like everyones said its your ED doing the talking.

I eat bread every day. I have toast every morning with my porridge and most days because they are handy to take to work I have a sandwich made with two pieces of bread.

It really isnt anything to be scared of eating but we all have our fear foods when it comes to dealing with an ED. Just try not to get to caught up in worrying about sodium in a piece of bread etc.

aww I know how you feel, when I first started eating normally again (and I mean before I started with the gain), bread was like the big scary thing.  I remember wanting some toast but only allowing myself a little corner of a slice.  But as soon as I started eating it properly, I realised all the anxiaties were just in my head!  Bread is yummy and a perfect accompianment to make meals more balanced, and the wholegrain type is a good source of fibre.

I probably have 2 - 3 slices a day or a few wholegrain rolls as snacks or meals.

ED dislikes normal staple foods like bread which are essential for your health so please try and ignore him/her/the thing lol.

Hey Candy Cane take it from me..bread will not make you bloat or gain weight too rapidly.  I happen to write about health and nutrition and i recently did an article on whole grains.  Several scientific studies show that women who consume more whole grains per day (including whole grain breads) are actually leaner than those who do not.  In addition they also offer protection against cancer and other diseases like diabetes.  I ADORE bread...i love the dense chewy rye breads that are full of flavor and loads of important nutrients.  If it helps you get over your fear why not start with whole grain breads?  I love slicing an avocado and putting it on rye toast for lunch--it's just delicious.  Also shut your ED up by playing to your vanity...tell yourself..this rye toast is full of B Vitamins which are fantastic for my hair...AND my skin. And if you top that rye bread with nut butter or avacado tell yourself you're helping your skin, hair and nails to be absolutely divine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It sounds like the notion of eating normally is the thing that scares people recovering, because normal eating is associated with normal weight.

I have noticed that a lot of “ staple” foods like bread, pasta, pizza, and things that are the most common are feared….. I have also noticed that a lot of people fear fats! It is as if the reality that it is the total calories that amount to weight gain gets over looked, and that eating any amount of a fat is a bad thing.

If the fear annoys you, work to overcome it. Which you are. But honestly, saying "my fear annoys me" is about as productive as saying "This window is cracked. It annoys me" and then not going and replacing the pane. Eventually, that thing is going to shatter. So would you rather conquer this now or put it off and put it off until you're put in an embarrassing or compromising situation?

55-60% of any person's diet should come from carbohydrate. Bread is a fantastic source. It will not make you "fat". It is not going to make you gain by the truckload. Personally I eat a lot of bread, some days even possibly too much. But it is very enjoyable and works with many dishes and for many purposes.

I too think this is the ed and the only way to get past these fears is to eat the bread etc and see nothing "bad" happens. I am assuming the goal of yours is to gain weight since on this board so remind yourself of that as well. No one food will make you gain weight it is overall calories. As for sodium many foods that you may not even think of like even ketchup contain it. It is just about balance and for many when they increase carbs there body will store some extra water or feel blaoted just from not being used to it but your body will adjust. They give you energy. So maybe make some goals to encorporate some bread. By the way if you have a Panera near you they have amazing bread and you will see what you are missing. You can do it