Concerned about recent articles

I eat gluten free but would not expect every recipe and food article on the site to be confined to gluten free food, nor do I advocate that everyone eat gluten free as I do.

Not everyone agrees that gluten free is the way to go, just as not everyone agrees that low carb, vegan, vegetarian or any other way of eating is best for every individual.

First let me say that YES I read the article. And I think the op missed the point of the article entirely. The point was not to "eat a plateful of linguine". That particular comment in the article was a suggestion for someone who uses spaghetti and meat sauce as a "fall back", stuck in a rut type meal, to swap it out for linguine and spicy shrimp instead. Just a different type of pasta (and nowhere did I see "plateful") with a low fat protein on top. I don't like shrimp, but I got the point (which was NOT that I should start eating shrimp)-- change things up a little and think a bit outside the box, with your cooking. Over and over on Spark, you see references to the "my plate" thing-- so that linguine would be a serving, 1/4 of the plate max. Not a "plateful".

The elevator stops on many floors, and it is up to each person exactly where they will get off. For some people, their stopping point includes high carb. Or processed foods, diet soda and other artificial sweeteners etc. For others, they won't get off til they hit low carb, or vegan or raw food. Where some people get off, depends on their particular health conditions. It is up to each person individually to decide. Personally, I like Spark's "middle of the road" type approach. Many of the articles may suggest things that aren't exactly applicable to your specific eating plan. But they include general ideas, that you CAN apply.

I've lost 210 pounds on low carb. I hate the articles on this site. They are a recipe. For diabetes. My diabetes is now gone. Following this type of advice is what got me fat and diabetic in the first place.

Some people can eat starchy carbs and get away with it. If you are over 60, female and have a desk job.....pasta, breads etc....in fact, anything with wheat is poison for you.

I think it's important to have options that can appeal to every person no matter their style or preferences. Since everyone has different things that work for them, it does make sense. If an article is talking about swapping out something for something that is even marginally better that seems like a good idea. If a person is just beginning on their journey sometimes a large change can be too much all at once, but small changes are easier to make. Every small change can then add up or be changed again later with another small change.
For me personally, I've found that I have to make small changes one at a time or I inevitable fail and regress very quickly. However small changes that stick make me feel successful and allow me to continue making other small changes to do add up after a while.

on your great success losing weight.

I agree with all who have said that each person needs to find what works best for them. It is also very important as has been suggested, to learn to balance a variety of foods that you will be eating for the rest of your life.

I've done low carb diets, but my best success has been modifying the way I cook and learning to limit the portion sizes of food. I have lost 37 pounds in 3.5 months eating 50-60% of my total calories as carbohydrate. This is what works for me. I also make sure when I choose to have pasta, I use whole wheat, higher protein pasta and measure the serving. I can happily do this for the rest of my life while for me, the low carb diets led to cravings.

I wish you much continued success.

As a seasoned athlete and a general person, you need some form of carbs in your eating regime. The amount depends on what activity level and how your body reacts! 65% of my foods come from whole grain carbs as that is what my body needs.

Congrats on your weight loss, very impressive.

I have to agree, that having a variety of options available is the best way to go. I have had a gain over the last year and a lot of the struggle was I didn't modify "old" recipes, so when I had a craving issue I ate the "original" not something better. I was all in - or all out. Now I'm trying to have balance - occasional "better for me" choices, especially heading into holidays.

Notice that they say "IF spaghetti with meat sauce is in your repertoire..." and then give a suggestion for something that would likely be a bit higher in protein and lower in fat and carbs than spaghetti with meat sauce. They're not saying that people who are happy and successful on a low carb plan should suddenly go nuts with the linguine, just making a suggestion for those of us who have no issues with carbs. And certainly for most people there's nothing wrong with a tostada. A single corn tortilla does not have an outrageous carb count, and a SparkPeople recipe would likely be topped with lean chicken, veggies, and possibly some beans. It could definitely be made low-carb if that's your need.

I lost 50+ pounds while eating as much as 80% of my calories from whole-food carbs. I would never suggest that to someone else, but it works like a charm for me. For people who don't have insulin resistance, carbs are NOT evil, and it's definitely NOT true that "most" people need to stay below 30g of carbs per meal. Some probably do, but some is not the same as most. The majority of people are just fine with about twice that. In fact, personally, if I had a concern with recent articles it would be that they're catering too much to the minority who need low carb and leaving us high-carb folks with no new ideas!

There's plenty of low-carb information available. Not every article is going to be ideal for every person. I could still use an occasional reminder on ways to cut fat, myself.

You haven't posted very often, let me clue you in, at some point in the future, you WILL eat some pasta again, so you may as well learn to have a certain portion of it, enjoy it, and not be afraid of it, trust me......................because eating more healthy foods all the time for the whole rest of your life isn't going to be easy. You will also eat some bread again, and some potatoes.

A lot of Spark recipes are quite high in carbs...too high for many of us.

I think that you just have to use your own judgment and realize that a plate of pasta may not be something that works for you, personally.

Hi Lisa-
Thanks for following up with clarification. That article's advice sounds a lot different than what you had implied in your original post, and it's definitely something that our experts stand behind as one example to give people ideas to make their meals more fun and exciting again, which is the intention of the article.

SparkPeople takes a very open and balanced approach to eating: all things in moderation, nothing specific off limits. We know that different things work for different people. I'm thrilled that you have found success with your approach, as have many others like you who have chosen to limit carbs or similar food items--but that doesn't mean that is the only/right approach for everyone simply because it worked for you. It would be impossible for us to cover all the different types of diets or restrictions for every kind of eater or eating preference in every article. Similarly, not every article's direction or topic will be targeted to the unique stags of each person who reads it. Perhaps you can find the ideas that apply to you, ignore the ones that don't, or simply think about the concept itself to spark new ideas that do work for you. I'm sorry that you didn't find insight in this particular article, but I don't agree that the advice was bad or wrong just because it differs with your dietary beliefs.

The truth is that everyone will find success in different ways and with different food approaches. We try to be as encompassing as we can, while sticking with our general diet recommendations and nutrition philosophy that fits our average members. The beauty of SparkPeople is that people from all walks can connect with each other to share ideas and support and talk about what does work for them.

I appreciate your feedback and will keep it in mind on future articles on the site. Thank you for writing!

Nicole

From "break Out of Your Rut"- A simple strategy for busting out of the auto-pilot cooking rut is to find alternate ways to prepare those go-to meals—in particular, look to different ethnic cuisines for interesting takes on your standards. If spaghetti with meat sauce is in your repertoire, try linguine with spicy shrimp sauce instead. Not feeling that leftover chicken? Turn it into something new, like a tostada.
The carb count is so much of what is being posted lately is fairly high. There's a simple rule of thumb on carbs for most trying to lose or maintain and 30grams of carbs in any snack or meal is a standard. I'm sure you're very well aware of how hard it is to burn carbs vs. calories. Just a observation of a trend I've been seeing. And thanks for the response.
Lisa

LSMILEY-
Congrats on your weight loss! That is amazing and you should be very proud.

I'm not aware of any advice from our articles or experts that advises what you listed below. Can you please tell me where you found it so that I can look into it?

Thank you!

Nicole
Editor-in-Chief, SparkPeople

Alright, so for the past 2 1/2 half year and 91 pounds later, I've used some of the motivational aspects of this site and tracked my food like a hawk. As I've read some recent articles and looked at recipes posted by editors, there's NO WAY I'd take those suggested foods/recipes because they are diametrically opposing to lean eating!! Just today, telling someone to exchange just a meat sauce for linguini? How is that AT ALL a lean diet? I don't get it. A plate of linguini is so carb laden that I have only had pasta 3x's in the 2 plus years...there's a reason!!