Counting Carbs: Can I eat whatever I want?

[jwongcsp]

Hi Aaron: I'm an old Chinese guy (62) like mum. I also missed my noodles, the popular noodle here is Japanese Ramen, about 5 years ago it was Vietnamese Pho. I don't eat out at those restaurants . Instead I found low carb substitutes. A product called Miracle Noodle is made from Shiratke mushrooms and has less than 1 gram of carb. Instead of rice I eat finely chopped cauliflower stir fried with meat, eggs, etc...and it taste like fried rice. Instead of muffins I eat flax meal muffin made in a coffee mug. All these recipes are found online. Good luck

 

[Hovis273]

Aaron.
Welcome to the forum, we will do what we can to help and encourage.
Tagging @daisy1 for the standard newcomer information.

In your research, have you looked at the Low Carbohydrate High Fat eating style? Similar to Atkins.
That has much lower carbohydrate targets.

You are looking at maximum 50 grams per meal (I assume 3 meals) and 30 grams per snack. If we assume two snacks (morning and afternoon) that gives (3 *50) + (2 * 30) = 210 grams of carbohydrate per day. That is pretty high carbohydrate and probably not ideal for a T2 diabetic.

If you were to go the low carbohydrate route many follow on this forum, you would be looking at closer to 50 grams of carbohydrate per day. Some go as low as 20 grams.

Your mother is on Gliclazide which encourages the pancreas to produce extra insulin. Because of this she would have to be very careful when lowering the total number of carbohydrates eaten because with less carbohydrates there is less glucose in the blood and she could experience a hypo. So gentle steps.

She may be a little late for reversal, but not for achieving normal levels of blood glucose, which can look very similar.

Your biggest issue is that she is very used to a high carbohydrate diet.
[As a side note, carbohydrate is turned by the body into glucose. The body can't store much glucose so insulin is used to turn it into fat. So eating lots of carbohydrates can result in storing lots of fat.]

Please look at the low carbohydrate forum where there are loads of suggestions about how to replace high carbohydrate favourite foods with low carbohydrate alternatives.

You have come to a good place for advice. Take your time because it takes a long time for it all to sink in. Ask loads of questions.

I’ve been on the Low Carb High Fat (Keto) diet since January and thoroughly recommend it I’ve lost 18kg (now at 99kg) and came off Gliclazide after 4 months...HbA1C now “normal”, cholesterol is good and I’ve never felt better (diagnosed T2D 12 years ago, now 52)...good luck, and I’d say Go for it! (PS Think of it as a lifestyle change rather than a “diet” cos you shouldn’t revert back to Carbs once at target weight)

 

[aaron_mky]

Thank you all!

My mum is going to see the diabetic nurse in 2 weeks and see if it is possible to get off Gliclazide. We have also bought extra test strips so we can find out if she is eating too much or less carbs in her meals.

I will keep you all posted! Once I get the results from the doctor, I most likely will start a new thread for advice and recommendation on her new diet. Fingers Crossed

 

[Bluetit1802]

We have also bought extra test strips so we can find out if she is eating too much or less carbs in her meals.

Do you know how to do this?
She needs to test before she eats, then again 2 hours after first bite.
Look at the rise from before to after, which ideally should be under 2mmol/l and preferably less.
If it is more than that, there are too many carbs in the meal.
Keep a food diary including her portion sizes and all contents of the meal.
Record her levels alongside the food, and then look for patterns so you can work out which are her danger foods.

 

[aaron_mky]

Hi @Bluetit1802

We tested her blood sugar just before dinner and it was 9.2, however she did have a slice of bread an hour before... And a bit of cake in the afternoon...and she almost went hypo after the gym morning session cause she didn't have anything to eat afterwards...maybe today wasn't a good day to test her blood sugar level

Anyway... When I found out her level of 9.2 is high, her dinner was only a quarter chicken leg, with carrots and cabbage, with roasted garlic.

We measured her sugar level 2 hours later and it was 10.2!! Which I was surprised cause she didn't have any proper carbs for 3 hours.

Am I interpreting the results incorrectly?!

 

[Bluetit1802]

@aaron_mky

Whilst 10.2 is very high and not desirable, her rise from before to after her dinner was only 1mmol/l so that in itself was good - but starting at 9.2 is not good. It sounds like she needs to cut out some of these afternoon carb heavy snacks. (bread and cake). Without those she would have started at a much lower level and ended with a much lower level. Put all this in a food diary and record the levels alongside. Patterns will emerge.

 

[Alto]

Hiya,

First time post, behalf of my mother.

My mum has Diabetese type 2 for almost 20 years, and she has recently turned 62 years old. She has been on oral medication to control her sugar level, which is Metfomin 500mg and Glycoside 80mg.

Like many people, my mum tends to eat the wrong food at the wrong time, and it is getting to a point where we don't want to control her diet and want her to enjoy her life.

Ideally, I want my mum to lose weight so she can improve her health and hopefully take less medicine. I still believe she can reverse her diabetes as she is still taking medicine, please correct me if I am wrong.

I have been doing some research online on how to control diabetes and even lose weight. A lot of diet plans recommend eating 40 - 50grams carbs per meal and 15 - 30 grams carb per snack. Thankfully, my mum has agreed to weigh her food and not go over her carb quota.

Anyway, my question is, can my mum eat any carbs she wants if she within her quota. For example, she can have a small bowl of plain fried white flour noodles with meat and veggies, as long as the whole meal doesn't go over her 40 - 50 grams quota? My mum is Chinese and she does miss having her bowl of white rice and noodles.

Furthermore, our goal is for her to lose weight, but her excuse is that every time she doesn't eat much carbs, she feels quite dizzy and possibly go in to hypo, which I think is more psychological. Can you please confirm if this is true?

Many thanks

Aaron

 

[aaron_mky]

Thanks, that's good to hear that my dinner is all diabetic friendly!

I know someone posted a guide to this thread, about sugar levels and what they should be before or after meals.

Are there any more comprehensive guides or websites where I can learn more about blood sugar levels?!

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Thanks, that's good to hear that my dinner is all diabetic friendly!

I know someone posted a guide to this thread, about sugar levels and what they should be before or after meals.

Are there any more comprehensive guides or websites where I can learn more about blood sugar levels?!

Search the web site which supports this forum - there is plenty of information here.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/Diabetes_and_blood_glucose.html

There is also a load of information on the Internet - some good and some not. Google will probably overwhelm you at first.

Figures are slightly different in the USA, for example
https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/blood-glucose-management/blood-sugar-chart/
Note that the cut off for diagnosis on HbA1c is 5.7% where it is usually 6% in the UK.

 

[lindijanice]

Hi Aaron - It's nice to see that you are so concerned about your Mum and her health..... I hope that she is as on board about all this as you are! I hear alot about what you are doing for her, but not so much of what she is actually doing..... If Mum isn't 100% committed to making these changes, there may be resistance and strain in your relationship..... Just saying from experience. It would be wonderful to know that she wants this as much as you and that she is willing to make these changes - she is the one who is "bending the elbow" as it were and she needs to see the necessity for all these changes.

I would suggest that you get yourselves a Carb Counter book or app as you would be very surprised at the amount of carbs in "good" food - like carrots! When they are cooked they turn into sweet little bites!!

Wishing you and your Mum all the best - be loving and supportive as this is a long process for some to change and give up what are their pleasures in life!! Blessings/L

 

[aaron_mky]

Thanks,

We have been measuring mums sugar level past few days and noticed her sugar level is high, even this mornng, it was 12.4! Her sugar level was 12.3 at 930pm last nighr, 2 hours after her meal, it was 11.8 before the meal. She hasnt had any food in between.

But at least she knows now that she can stay away frp, carbs at evening without going hypo. We are thinkimg of omitting all sort of carbs after lunch. Will this to be too drastic for her? Prior to this diet she was om roughly 150grams of carb per day

Thanks

 

[aaron_mky]

Hi all,

went to see the diabetic nurse yesterday, unfortunately, we were not able to get my mum off gliclazide because her sugar level was high, and taken before started her new strict diet 2 weeks ago. They said her sugar level from the test is 8.6, and it has to be under 7.0 before they consider taking her off Gliclazide.

The nurse did take her diet into consideration and is planning to do another blood test in 6 weeks time. If her level is under 7.0 then she can be off the Gliclazide. The good news is that her sugar lever stable and within normal range before and after meals.

Another question I want to ask, relating to this topic. My mum does her daily exercise every morning after breakfast, and her sugar level is around 5.0 after working out. I assume this is because her exercise brings down her sugar level. Is it safe for my Mum to have a bowl of noodles for lunch, and then exercise afterwards to bring down her sugar level? Or should she stay away from simple carbs...full stop.

Thanks again for all your help!!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Fingers crossed for your mum and her next blood test.

If you want her to get over any carb cravings she has, it would be better not to re-introduce any in my opinion, certainly not as a daily thing. She will only crave them more. Having said that, in some lucky people exercise does cause BS to drop, and it seems your mum may be one of the lucky ones. (I'm not). All you can do is try it and see. What happens in a morning may not be the same as what happens after lunch.

She is doing exceptionally well, and my hat goes off to you for helping her.