low carb diets

bobscdats

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello good people, have a bit of a problem, waiting for a knee replacement for arthritis and was told by the hospital that my HbA1c levels are way too high (currently around the 75/77 mark) but need to come down to below 69 before they will even consider things, so have been doing some research and on this very website I have found what I believe to be conflicting advice, that is is it ok to eat weetabix for breakfast? (And mabe also special K.) I know that things like potatoes and pasta are high in carbs, and that I should snack more healthilly (raw carrot definately top of the list for healthy snacking and can eat them until they stop growing!!).
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,982
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello good people, have a bit of a problem, waiting for a knee replacement for arthritis and was told by the hospital that my HbA1c levels are way too high (currently around the 75/77 mark) but need to come down to below 69 before they will even consider things, so have been doing some research and on this very website I have found what I believe to be conflicting advice, that is is it ok to eat weetabix for breakfast? (And mabe also special K.) I know that things like potatoes and pasta are high in carbs, and that I should snack more healthilly (raw carrot definately top of the list for healthy snacking and can eat them until they stop growing!!).
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some getting blood sugars down relatively fast. I wouldn't touch any cereal with a 10ft pole myself, regardless of how "healthy" a brand claims to be, but what does your meter tell you? If you test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, and the rise is no more than 2.0 mmol/l, you know your body could handle what you put in it. Whenever there's conflicting advice, and there is a way to check what might be true for you... Test! Because we're all different... And what is true for one person, might not be true for the next. Though I have to say, with surgery needed... Don't take the risk right now, and do low carb "properly". Then when it's done and over with, and the wound healed, you might want to experiment a little. But for now.... Play it safe, maybe? (And carrots are below ground veg, so.... Still a bit carby. ;) A few won't hurt, but don't have cartloads!!!!)

Good luck, and hope you get a shiny new knee soon!
Jo
 

Paul_

Well-Known Member
Messages
452
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Definitely try reading @JoKalsbeek's blog she linked to. It was a massive help to me as a starter for ten (maybe a starter for 1000 actually :))

Using the general principles in that, combined with trawling this forum for additional tips and tricks, I reduced my hba1c from 83 to 32 in 15 weeks. It might be difficult at first, it can be a steep learning curve, but the people here can help you shortcut much of that with simple, great advice!

Keep asking questions, Bob, don't be a stranger!
 

KennyA

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,960
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Cereals, even ones without (much?) added sugar like weetabix and special K, are very carb-heavy. You can assume 60% at least by weight is carb. They are not on my list. Additional carb (lactose) in the milk as well.

Carrots are a higher carb vegetable - about 10% of weight is carb. You might be OK with the amounts you eat - I have a few when I can, usually when there's not much carb in anything else I'm eating that day.
 

Paul_

Well-Known Member
Messages
452
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Cereals, even ones without (much?) added sugar like weetabix and special K, are very carb-heavy. You can assume 60% at least by weight is carb. They are not on my list. Additional carb (lactose) in the milk as well.

Carrots are a higher carb vegetable - about 10% of weight is carb. You might be OK with the amounts you eat - I have a few when I can, usually when there's not much carb in anything else I'm eating that day.
Agree with this. Weetabix is one of the better cereals out there.....for non-diabetics. My kids eat it, I encourage them to do so in the face of so many worse options, however for T2D then carbs are king when it comes to what we need to limit/control for our intake. Whether you're eating Haribo, chocolate, rice, potatoes, or cereal, it doesn't matter what form the carbs are consumed in, it just matters that when they're digested they all turn into glucose. That glucose then gets carried by insulin, however T2D means you have higher insulin resistance, so the insulin and glucose can't be efficiently absorbed and it stays in your blood. When you then keep carb loading meal after meal, the glucose levels in your blood rise higher and higher, which over time (weeks/months) results in a high hba1c result.

@bobscdats - Are you on any diabetes medications? The reason I ask is that some medications will need to be monitored for dosage levels if you're lowering your carb intake, so you may need to consult your doctor or diabetic nurse before doing so.
 

aylalake

Well-Known Member
Messages
716
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Being told “Oh go on, one won’t hurt you!”.
Conversely, the food police.
@bobscdats It is possible that some of what seems to be conflicting advice is because some respondents are on insulin and can pretty much eat what they like and offset it with the insulin (so I understand). Others are diet or tablets only and severely restrict their carb intake.

Good luck and hopefully your operation will happen quickly.
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,868
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I read and was told that brown carbs are good, and slow digestion.
I think my insides just see it as a challenge, to judge by the number my blood glucose meter shows after any colour of high carb food. Having no way to reduce my numbers, using diet only as a type 2, and having found that alternative breakfasts of meat, fish or eggs and cheese result in normal numbers that is what I'll stick with.
 
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Paul_

Well-Known Member
Messages
452
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I read and was told that brown carbs are good, and slow digestion.
I think my insides just see it as a challenge, to judge by the number my blood glucose meter shows after any colour of high carb food. Having no way to reduce my numbers, using diet only as a type 2, and having found that alternative breakfasts of meat, fish or eggs and cheese result in normal numbers that is what I'll stick with.
From a nutritional and gut health perspective, wholegrain and other "brown" carbs are better. However, for T2 diabetics, they don't offer much (if any) benefit over white and/or non-wholegrain carbs in terms of insulin response and blood glucose reaction.
 
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