Hi
@joanne147 ..
I agree with what has been said above .. some say 100g of carbs is OK, others recommend zero .. but so long as it's on the low side (say less than 50g ) the amount of carbs that you eat is less important than the type. For me, I try for between 20 and 30g per day, favouring the lower rather than the higher figure .. and I follow 16.8 IF (intermittent fasting) which means that I only eat between 11.00am and 7.00pm
You will come across a lot of confusing and (sometimes) conflicting information around but the key point to take on board is that managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. I suggest that you follow up on the discussion on the
Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites, which will give you all the info that you need on what and what not to eat ...
Low Carb Intro and Information and
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds
For exercise, again this is individual .. some people go to the gym every day, some run, some walk, some do weights or high cardio. For me, I play golf three times a week, jog 2-3 km followed by a stint on my exercise bike every afternoon and walk everywhere. Anything that raises your heart rate and fits your personal circumstances is good.
Unless you are prescribed a test meter and strips by your doctor (unlikely), it is a top priority that get yourself one and, for this, the following websites might help:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. Make sure that you tick the appropriate box on the on-line order form and you won't pay VAT on your meter or strips.
For the SD Codefree, the strips are £7.69 for a pack of 50 and there are discount codes available for bulk purchases:
5 packs x 50 use code: 264086 .. cost is £29.49
10 packs x 50 use code: 975833 .. cost is £58.98
For the TEE 2, the strips are £7.75 for a pack of 50 .. but there are no discount codes currently available
I recommend that you test before meals and then again two hours after you started to eat .. some folk also take a fasting blood glucose reading first thing in the morning. This testing pattern will enable you to monitor trends over time and to spot any foods that cause your blood sugar to "spike" or fall ouside the normal ranges. The ranges that you are looking for are ..
# Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
# 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
I'm testing 3-5 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them
Hope this helps