The Drink Your Carbs Food List
Tips for Using The Food List:
The Food List does not contain every food item in existence. If it did, it would be roughly the size and weight of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary. You are certain to come across foods not on the list. Feel free to post any questions to our blog at drinkyourcarbs.com and we will try to reply quickly.
Alternatively, you can look for similar foods on the list to see where they fall. For example, we do not call out pattypan squash by name. We do, however, list zucchini under “Unlimited.” Since pattypan is essentially UFO-shaped zucchini, you can safely assume it is also unlimited. Similarly, we do not explicitly prohibit funnel cakes by name, but between the sugar, the white flour and the deep fried preparation you should be able to figure out that they belong in “Avoid.”
We have also included a list of food preparations to enjoy and to avoid. Just because zucchini is unlimited does not mean you are allowed to eat it breaded and deep-fried. How you prepare your food is as important as the foods you choose to eat.
Understanding the Categories: Unlimited, Limited and Avoid
Unlimited Foods
As long as you stick to Unlimited foods, you need not worry about portion size. Whereas some diets allow you to eat anything you want as long as the portion is small enough, Unlimited foods are truly unrestricted. There is no need to purchase a drug scale to weight your portions. Or re-purpose your drug scale if you’re currently selling drugs. You can dress salads without the help of measuring spoons. You will never again drag your shirt cuffs through grease while trying to compare the size of your filet to that of your clenched fist. As long as you stick to Unlimited foods, the only constraint is that you stop eating when you feel full.
Limited Foods
The idea of limiting consumption causes confusion. We are convinced that somewhere out there, there’s a thesaurus that lists “limited” as a synonym for “always.” This is best explanation we have for why foods that are designated as Limited frequently become dietary staples.
Weight Watchers recently overhauled their entire point system to deal with the problem. Foods they intended to be limited became primary food groups for their membership. Weight Watchers solved the problem through hyperinflation. Certain foods now cost twice as many points within the system. The foods themselves are the same. All that changed was Weight Watcher’s desire for their members to stop eating these foods so regularly.
Alternatively, you can look for similar foods on the list to see where they fall. For example, we do not call out pattypan squash by name. We do, however, list zucchini under “Unlimited.” Since pattypan is essentially UFO-shaped zucchini, you can safely assume it is also unlimited. Similarly, we do not explicitly prohibit funnel cakes by name, but between the sugar, the white flour and the deep fried preparation you should be able to figure out that they belong in “Avoid.”
We have also included a list of food preparations to enjoy and to avoid. Just because zucchini is unlimited does not mean you are allowed to eat it breaded and deep-fried. How you prepare your food is as important as the foods you choose to eat.
Understanding the Categories: Unlimited, Limited and Avoid
Unlimited Foods
As long as you stick to Unlimited foods, you need not worry about portion size. Whereas some diets allow you to eat anything you want as long as the portion is small enough, Unlimited foods are truly unrestricted. There is no need to purchase a drug scale to weight your portions. Or re-purpose your drug scale if you’re currently selling drugs. You can dress salads without the help of measuring spoons. You will never again drag your shirt cuffs through grease while trying to compare the size of your filet to that of your clenched fist. As long as you stick to Unlimited foods, the only constraint is that you stop eating when you feel full.
Limited Foods
The idea of limiting consumption causes confusion. We are convinced that somewhere out there, there’s a thesaurus that lists “limited” as a synonym for “always.” This is best explanation we have for why foods that are designated as Limited frequently become dietary staples.
Weight Watchers recently overhauled their entire point system to deal with the problem. Foods they intended to be limited became primary food groups for their membership. Weight Watchers solved the problem through hyperinflation. Certain foods now cost twice as many points within the system. The foods themselves are the same. All that changed was Weight Watcher’s desire for their members to stop eating these foods so regularly.
Fact: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was not the first porn hound appointed to the US Supreme Court. In 1964, Justice Potter Stewart spent hours and days in a tiny theater beneath the Court reviewing pornographic films. Justice Stewart did this under the pretense of doing research for an obscenity case, Jacobellis v. Ohio.
No one knows exactly what Justice Stewart was doing during all of those lonely hours reviewing films; most historians presume that he was wearing his robes and taking notes in a dignified fashion. It is equally unknown whether there is still a grindhouse operating in the Court’s basement. History recorded only that when Justice Stewart finally emerged in order to rule in favor of the pornographer he defined pornography as: “I know it when I see it.”
We have borrowed Justice Stewart’s definition of pornography for own definition of Limited.
Defining what quantity of Limited foods is acceptable is extremely subjective. In the end, we all have to apply our own “I know it when I see it” test. We all have different weight-loss goals. We all have different caloric requirements in order to feel good and stay healthy as we diet. Deciding how much of any Limited food you should eat is more art than science. Our basic guideline is, if you are losing weight, continue eating the way you have been. If your weight loss slows, cut back on Limited foods. If you stop losing weight altogether, consider spending time in Austerity Mode where most Limited foods are banned altogether.
We included the Limited category because it offers more flexibility and variation than would be available if we instead put down blanket prohibitions. For example, most diets ban dried fruit. The usual justification is that dried fruit is higher in calories than fresh fruit. This is a fantastic reason, except that it’s not true. A single dried peach is roughly equivalent in calories to a fresh peach, assuming the brand you have purchased contains no added sugar. The problem comes in the fact that it is far easier to eat a whole bag of dried peaches than a bag of fresh peaches.
For that reason, most diets ban dried fruit rather than trust dieters to control their intake. We have faith that you will behave like adults, so we have included dried fruit in Limited. This same belief holds true for all of the foods in this category.
We included the Limited category because it offers more flexibility and variation than would be available if we instead put down blanket prohibitions. For example, most diets ban dried fruit. The usual justification is that dried fruit is higher in calories than fresh fruit. This is a fantastic reason, except that it’s not true. A single dried peach is roughly equivalent in calories to a fresh peach, assuming the brand you have purchased contains no added sugar. The problem comes in the fact that it is far easier to eat a whole bag of dried peaches than a bag of fresh peaches.
For that reason, most diets ban dried fruit rather than trust dieters to control their intake. We have faith that you will behave like adults, so we have included dried fruit in Limited. This same belief holds true for all of the foods in this category.
Fact: Steven eats no dried fruit because if he allowed himself to eat dried fruit he would eat an orchard’s worth every single day.
Under no circumstances should you live off the foods on the Limited list. If you find yourself over-consuming one of these foods, cut it out. Again, the reason these foods are limited is that they are potential diet busters. It would not be difficult to eat an entire cup of roasted cashews, but doing so would add nearly 800 calories to your day. As long as they remain Limited, however, roasted cashews are a delicious, healthy snack.
Foods to Avoid
There are some foods you just don’t eat.
There are some foods you just don’t eat.
Fact: Losing weight while continuing to drink is as easy as pie - as long as you accept the fact that you can no longer eat pie.