Carbohydrate count

[Chromeautofill]

Good morrow,

I counted how many carbohydrates I ingested yesterday and it came to 191 in total, the recommended daily amount is 240 (I think) obviously that's for someone in good health.
Is that enough for somebody who has impaired glucose tolerance like I have ? Or should I be aiming to go lower ? I don't know if there's a minimum amount I should be eating each day ?

 

[Chromeautofill]

191g I should hasten to add

 

[Ann1982]

Lots of people here find that the lower the carb intake the better their glucose control is.

 

[bulkbiker]

I tend to try for under 20g .. I am a little extreme... however 191g is a lot especially as if you are pre diabetic.
For "low carb" I would suggest trying cutting down to 100g per day although that wouldn't suit me.
It kind of depends on your personality.. I'm an all or nothing person so found cutting all carbs out easier than trying to scale down. Mostly my carbs come from milk and cream (some from Oppo ice cream but trying to limit that) and green veg.
The problem with carbs is that the energy they provide is usually short lived and the more you eat the more you crave. So restricting becomes quite hard, that's why I try to cut out as many as possible.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Good morrow,

I counted how many carbohydrates I ingested yesterday and it came to 191 in total, the recommended daily amount is 240 (I think) obviously that's for someone in good health.
Is that enough for somebody who has impaired glucose tolerance like I have ? Or should I be aiming to go lower ? I don't know if there's a minimum amount I should be eating each day ?

Do you have a meter? If so this will tell you if you are eating too many carbs, and which ones are worse for you. We each have different tolerances to the same foods. If you test before you eat and 2 hours after first bite, the rise in your blood sugar levels from before to after will tell you if there were too many carbs in that meal. Keeping a food diary including portion sizes and recording your levels alongside is very helpful because after a few days patterns will emerge, enabling you to either reduce the amount of carbs or eliminate some of them completely. This is all trial and error, but does work.

If you don't have a meter then it is highly recommended that you buy one. They are essential tools.

 

[GrantGam]

Good morrow,

I counted how many carbohydrates I ingested yesterday and it came to 191 in total, the recommended daily amount is 240 (I think) obviously that's for someone in good health.
Is that enough for somebody who has impaired glucose tolerance like I have ? Or should I be aiming to go lower ? I don't know if there's a minimum amount I should be eating each day ?

It depends substantially on what comprised that 191g of carbohydrates. It it was white/refined then I doubt that'll do you any good, but if it was brown/wholemeal varieties and/or low GI foods then that will probably help some. Eating low GI or brown stuff doesn't mean you're out the woods though.

Everyone has different tolerances to certain foods and the only way you'll truly know whether they work for you or not is to test both pre-prandial and post-prandial BGL's to find out.

 

[Brunneria]

I think you will find the whole range is covered by people on the forum.

There are no hard and fast rules, but the Low Carb Program on diabetes.co.uk takes the view that under 130g carbs a day is the upper end of low carbing, so I think your 191g would probably sit in the 'moderate' range.

My view is that people should use trial and error (and their blood glucose meter) to work out what level of carb intake suits their body best, then adjust their diet accordingly.

For me, that is ideally 20g or less a day, but being human I have been known to stray higher than that, especially if we are eating out. It is very rare that I go above 100g because I don't feel well on it. The occasions when I have tested 'normal' carb levels (say 200g a day) will make me feel grotty very quickly.

 

[Chromeautofill]

Wholemeal bread, chicken breast, spinach, broccoli and shredded wheat with blue top milk was what I ate yesterday.
So far today its been 2 shredded wheat and 1 wholemeal slice of toast for breakfast, i'm having tuna chunks in brine with 2 slices of wholemeal bread for lunch at work and probably nothing for my tea because after I finish work I'm picking my great niece up to take to the big game tonight the mighty Southport Vs FC united of Manchester . . \O/ come on you yellows \o/ so by the time I drop Keira off back home after the game then get home myself its going to be close on 10.30 which is too late to eat for me, I have to be up at 4.45 tomorrow morning

 

[GrantGam]

Wholemeal bread, chicken breast, spinach, broccoli and shredded wheat with blue top milk was what I ate yesterday.
So far today its been 2 shredded wheat and 1 wholemeal slice of toast for breakfast, i'm having tuna chunks in brine with 2 slices of wholemeal bread for lunch at work and probably nothing for my tea because after I finish work I'm picking my great niece up to take to the big game tonight the mighty Southport Vs FC united of Manchester . . \O/ come on you yellows \o/ so by the time I drop Keira off back home after the game then get home myself its going to be close on 10.30 which is too late to eat for me, I have to be up at 4.45 tomorrow morning

Of all those foods listed, the shredded wheat is probably the one that's going to cause you the greatest amount of difficulty regarding BG control. It doesn't mean you have to rule it out; certainly not until you get an idea of what it is doing to your blood glucose.

As already mentioned. BG testing is the only way you can gauge how your diet and macro balance is impacting your levels. Until then, any advice, suggestions or scrutiny of your diet is purely speculative - but often based on solid, collective experience.

TEE2 and Codefree are two manufacturers of test meters that use reasonably priced test strips. If you choose to get a meter, and you're going to be privately funding strips, then either of those come highly recommended.

 

[Chromeautofill]

Thanks for your advice folks, I presume i'll be able to buy said strips from high st chemists ? Taking readings 2 hours after eating won't be easy though, I don't get home from work until around 11pm on a Wednesday and Thursday night and I usually go straight to bed without eating anything because I have to be up at 4.45 again the next morning, and I work 8pm till 8am Friday and Saturday nights and I just a 1 cup of tea and no food all night, I wait until I get home and have a fry up for my breakfast, will a meter take an accurate reading if ive been awake all night ?

 

[Bluetit1802]

The Codefree and Tee2 meters and strips are not available in pharmacies, although other meters and strips are.
Try here for the Codefree meter
http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips
http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk and if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

The Tee2 is here. The meter is free but the strips are a little more expensive.

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/

Whatever you buy, it is the cost of the strips you need to look for because you only need one meter but you need many thousands of strips.

Your work patterns will be interesting. Whenever you are in a position to test 2 hours after eating, that is what you need to do. You can test at any time you like, but you need to keep records of when this is, what and when you ate, and whether you skipped meals.

 

[Resurgam]

It is cheaper to get the meter and strips mail order. There is information on the forum about it - sorry I can't link to it directly - I should make a note but I got my meter from Lidl, used it for 6 months and now very rarely need it, just to check if I really should have eaten something new.
You might well find that eating brown carbs is just the same as eating any carbs - it spikes your blood glucose.
Bread and breakfast cereals would spike me, so I get the protein rolls from Lidl which are low carb and most people can tolerate them, and avoid all the ordinary stuff made with grains - it just isn't worth it when it means that my entire day's 'allowance' of carbs is used up in one go and I then get a spike.
I could never eat even 100gm of carbs a day without putting on weight. My limit was 80gm, and since diagnosis even less, but I aimed to keep my BG under 8 at first, and now about 7 after eating.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. There is no such thing as a recommended amount of carbs per day as we are all different. Most of us would stay below 150g/day and many a lot less. Anything over 200gm is getting too high even for someone in normal health.

 

[Ledzeptt]

Hi @Chromeautofill

It would be worth your while joining this site's low carb program to learn more and to help change your diet gradually: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/lowcarb/