Type 2 Carbs

[rightsaidfred]

Hi all, I have just been diagnosed with type 2, I know everyone is different but as a rough guide how many grams of carbs should you eat a day? It’s another 2 weeks before my next appointment to discuss it with the nurse but I wanted to make a start. Thanks

 

[catinahat]

Welcome @rightsaidfred
I suppose the the answer to your question should be none, after all we don't need any, protein and fats are essential but carbs not so much.
But it's difficult to cut them out altogether so my real answer is, as few as possible.
Have a look here https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
Ps
Be prepared to take what the nurse say's with a pinch of salt. You could get the usual advice, " eat plenty of complex carbs, wholemeal bread, porridge, brown rice/pasta plenty of fruit and take the tablets. That's why they think T2 is progressive.

 

[rightsaidfred]

Thank you for your reply. But if you don’t eat any bread, pasta, rice or potato’s what do you eat?

 

[catinahat]

Meat, fish, mainly above ground vegetables, eggs, butter, cheese, olives, oh and bacon. I could go on and on, in fact the list of what I eat is far longer than the list of what I avoid
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes
https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/

 

[catinahat]

Here's another link I found useful when 1st diagnosed
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes...il&utm_term=0_41db911777-38c3415bed-463273601

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi all, I have just been diagnosed with type 2, I know everyone is different but as a rough guide how many grams of carbs should you eat a day? It’s another 2 weeks before my next appointment to discuss it with the nurse but I wanted to make a start. Thanks

Hello @rightsaidfred , and welcome to our little corner of the web,

Sorry about your diagnosis, but you're asking excellent questions right off the bat, I have to say. I'm a bit of an 'extremist', but that's due to other health issues. I would've been fine on 20 grams of carbs a day when it comes to my blood sugars, the rest of me fares better though on 0 to 5, which means I follow a carnivore diet now. (That means meat, poultry, fish, eggs and some full fat dairy. Not much variation eh?). Odds are though you wouldn't have to go anywhere near as far as I have. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ might help some in finding what can be had when bread, spuds, pasta, rice and cereal are off the menu. There's still lots, just takes some getting used to doing things differently than what you're accustomed to.
Any questions, throw them out there! It's what we're here for.
Jo

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Hi all, I have just been diagnosed with type 2, I know everyone is different but as a rough guide how many grams of carbs should you eat a day? It’s another 2 weeks before my next appointment to discuss it with the nurse but I wanted to make a start. Thanks

It's advisable to reduce your carb intake gradually

 

[rightsaidfred]

Ok thank you. I should have mentioned I am also a vegetarian. You mentioned above ground vegetables does that mean no carrots

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Ok thank you. I should have mentioned I am also a vegetarian. You mentioned above ground vegetables does that mean no carrots

Oh, yes, that does make a difference! (I'm sorry if my post offended you. If it's any consolation, I desperately miss salads, they just really don't agree with me anymore.) https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/ is a vegetarian subforum here, you'll find lots of help there. Though it is a little more complicated and restrictive to low carb on a vegetarian diet, it apparently can be done. Do you know, by any chance, what your HbA1c was? And do you have a meter? Personally I couldn't handle carrots anymore, they did make my blood sugars go up (I did LCHF/Keto for few years before going carnivore), but it could be that you can still tolerate them in certain amounts. If you have a meter, you can check how you respond to them. Maybe tweak quantities, so they don't have to be ruled out entirely. Fruit is a no-go area save for any kind of berry, alas. Maybe starfruit though. Test before you eat and two hours after the meal. You're aiming for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l. If it's that or under, your blood sugars should gradually lower to non-diabetic levels.

Above ground veggies and leafy greens are fine, pulses are problematic to some and not for others, so you'll want to test for that and see whether they're still okay for you. Quorn and such are excellent sources of protein, and avocado's are wonderful. Those should help make a meal filling in lieu of carbs. If you're okay with cheese, cream, butter, full fat greek yoghurt and eggs, those could be a staple.

Anyway, if your HbA1c isn't especially dramatic, just a few tweaks in your diet could make one heck of a difference, so I'm hoping carrots and such are still in the cards for you.
Jo

 

[catinahat]

Low carb is a little more difficult for vegetarians but still possible, we even have a whole section just for you
And I'm sure our veggie members will happy to advise you https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/

 

[rightsaidfred]

Hi Jo, no you didn’t offend me . Thanks for all you helpful information

 

[jape]

Ok thank you. I should have mentioned I am also a vegetarian. You mentioned above ground vegetables does that mean no carrots

If you have a glucose meter (finger or Libre) you need to experiment with different foods and determine what impact they have on your blood sugar. For instance, yesterday I had some lentil soup/stew, and my blood sugar level was completely unresponsive the entire day. This also seems to be the case with other legumes. However, this is not the case with all diabetics.

 

[Resurgam]

I found that legumes seem to have about 180 percent of the listed carbs, so I eat only small amounts, but I do eat carrots, also swede onion sweet peppers turnip leek squashes bamboo shoots celeriac cabbage aubergine green beans tomato kale radish cauliflower cucumber bean sprouts courgette mushrooms celery beetroot, and a whole lot more plant based things, as well as cheese eggs and things vegetarians avoid.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I always say to try to keep below 150gm/day. Many manage to have a lot less. Bearing in mind Joe public may be having 300+ gm per day then 150 max is a good initial target max.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Why not start with cutting out obviously sweet things (juice, biscuits, cake ) . If you don't eat those things then maybe replace some rice/potatoes/bread with a good variety of protein sources (lentils, eggs, tofu, soy etc.) with less carby veg.
You don't want to be hungry and must make changes you can be consistent with so I'd advise a gradual change rather than jumping in at the (keto) deep end which really means Priortise protein, Fill up on fat (that comes naturally with the protein or some butter on those carrots or cream with the coffee) but be careful with carbs.
The fact of being diabetic implies that you are likely to not deal with them that well and the aim of our suggestions is to keep you filling full (fibre and protein do this) whilst avoiding insulin spikes (occur when you eat carbs).
If you are taking anti blood pressure meds do add salt to the foods as you will retain less fluid and lower your blood pressure by eating this way.
I don't think the nurse would argue with any of what's been said btw (unless she's old school and thnks double cream and butter block your arteries!).

 

[Robert Henderson]

The daily amount of carbs needed may depend on various factors, such as type of diabetes treatment and exercise. Still, the approximate optimal amount of carbs per meal can be determined by monitoring blood glucose levels before and 2 hours after meals. Glucose levels should not increase more than 2.2 to 2.5 mmol/L after a meal if the overall diabetes compensation is good - glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is below 7.5%.

 

[JohnEGreen]

You can survive quite well with no carbs in your diet what so ever as many people here demonstrate daily.