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How many grams of carbs do you eat each day/meal?

Alisonjane10

Alisonjane10

Well-Known Member
May I be so bold as to ask how many carbs other members of the forum eat every day on a LCHF diet. Also, is it personal preference, what works for you or something else that helps you reach your carb gram amount. I really don't want to calculate how much protein, fat etc I'm eating per day....I just want a very low sugar & carb eating plan that follows the principles of LCHF. I want to be healthy, eat sensibly & prevent diabetic complications without the need for calculations or complicated theories. I appreciate that we're a diverse bunch, and many are passionate about eating a strict ketogenic LCHF diet. Can it be simpler though?? Your opinions will be appreciated.

Ali. X
 
I suspect you'll get different answers for pretty much everyone who does LCHF as there isn't a set figure that "works best" for everyone.
Personally, I eat around 20g of carbs a day (any more and my blood sugar starts to creep up) and use MyFitnessPal on my phone to keep track of everything I eat - it does all the calculations of macronutrients for me and you can scan the barcode of most foods to add them.
It's a bit of a pain initially but you soon get used to it :)
 
My diet is haphazard and hope-for-the-best. I started with the advice on LCHF given here and tested a lot till I found a group of things that seemed ok, and have stuck to them ever since. I have a porridge recipe which ought not to work, but for some reason does. I tried making bread with spelt flour and no sugar added but that's no good. LivLife bread seems ok but I hardly ever have it anyway. I eat fruit ending in -berry, plus red & black currants, always with double cream, and I might take an apple on a walk (to eat it, not exercise it). I may have to eat fewer onions :( and butternut squash :( Etc etc.
My BS drifts along between 5.3-6.8 and I'm more interested in keeping the variation small than going lower. I have no idea whether or not my arteries are clogged so I pretend they're not. I seem to have a good even flow of energy and I remind myself to go for an uphill walk at least every other day.
Exercise seems equally as important as diet. I could add SE (sensible exercise ) to my LCHF. But that would be TMBA (Too Many B****y Acronyms).
NB I get a kick out of finding new food I can (probably) eat and I should add Mrs D is very supportive and sometimes more strict about my diet than I am.
PS I've never been overweight and got far too thin using the NHS diabetes diet.
 
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I was using a low carb diet before, 80 - 100 grams a day. It was great, lost a lot of body fat but after 2 months i started seeing negative effects from it. Not saying it wasn't worth it because losing body fat is always great! but its defiantly not a sustainable way of eating. Your body requires around 100 - 130 grams of Carbs a day for average needs of bodily function but sticking low will eventually lead to a decrease in serotonin in the brain which will then cause, Depression, Fatigue, On and off mood swings. Yeah not great.. as experienced, But if your doing these style diets i would recommend have a high Carb day every week or two just to replenish normal hormone function (If affected) and muscle/Liver Glycogen. It worked for me and I'm finding it much more sustainable than before and will keep you staying slim ;)

Hope that helps a little
 
Typically about 100g a day.

That allows for 25-30 most meals plus a bit of a snack for exercise.

There will be some meals with zero carbs, and then there will be days like yesterday where I made hoem-made chocolate fondants with booze-soaked prunes :hungry:, but still only 30g carbs per portion, so only just snuck over into around 115 g carbs yesterday.

Long days on the bike or running can double that though, but as I'm using it as quick as it goes in, BG stays fairly steady even on those days.
 
I have no idea how much of anything I eat other than I like to think I'm sensible about it.
LCHF has been my saviour in needed weight loss lowering of blood pressure rebalancing my cholesterol levels and getting my blood sugars under control.
I eat to my meter.
I eat low carb and reasonable fats ... as in butter vream full fat products oily fish nuts coconut oil.
But how much of anything I know not.
If the day comes where I have to start counting or weighing anything then I'm sure I will but it's looking like I've got this beast under good control just now.
 
Danny Francis said:
I was using a low carb diet before, 80 - 100 grams a day. It was great, lost a lot of body fat but after 2 months i started seeing negative effects from it. Not saying it wasn't worth it because losing body fat is always great! but its defiantly not a sustainable way of eating. Your body requires around 100 - 130 grams of Carbs a day for average needs of bodily function but sticking low will eventually lead to a decrease in serotonin in the brain which will then cause, Depression, Fatigue, On and off mood swings.
Click to expand...

Hi Danny, I see from your other posts that you are on insulin. Remember that It's not quite that easy for the T2 diabetic without access to insulin to increase their carb consumption at will. Many low carbers are going with a carb level that works for them in terms of BSL control.

Think of it this way. Imagine (hypothetically) that long term you only had access to enough insulin to cover about 50g of carbs per day. Would you still choose to eat 150g or 200g/day to feel better short term?
 
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Danny Francis said:
I was using a low carb diet before, 80 - 100 grams a day. It was great, lost a lot of body fat but after 2 months i started seeing negative effects from it. Not saying it wasn't worth it because losing body fat is always great! but its defiantly not a sustainable way of eating. Your body requires around 100 - 130 grams of Carbs a day for average needs of bodily function but sticking low will eventually lead to a decrease in serotonin in the brain which will then cause, Depression, Fatigue, On and off mood swings. Yeah not great.. as experienced, But if your doing these style diets i would recommend have a high Carb day every week or two just to replenish normal hormone function (If affected) and muscle/Liver Glycogen. It worked for me and I'm finding it much more sustainable than before and will keep you staying slim ;)

Hope that helps a little
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't think you can generalise like that - some people are fine on very low carb diets for long periods of time (Dr Bernstein for one). Speaking from personal experience, it's now 4 months since I had over 100g of carbs in a day and over 2 since I had more than 25 and I feel fitter than ever, more alert than ever and my mood definitely doesn't swing around :)
 
I eat 21 grams of carbohydrates [ net] every day. I can maintain this level quite easily because its all a matter of developing new habits. Lost 40 Kg, feel much better and by far less moody ie mood swings.
I employ strict adherence to the rules because I want to get the best results that I possibly can.
 
phil1966 said:
To be honest, I don't think you can generalise like that - some people are fine on very low carb diets for long periods of time (Dr Bernstein for one). Speaking from personal experience, it's now 4 months since I had over 100g of carbs in a day and over 2 since I had more than 25 and I feel fitter than ever, more alert than ever and my mood definitely doesn't swing around :)
Click to expand...

Apologies, I should of elaborated that i was doing intense exercise while using this style of dieting.
 
Thank you to everyone who has replied to my question. Clearly some are more rigid with their diets than others. But we're all after the same results....stabilising blood glucose levels whilst eating low carbs, losing weight & preventing diabetic complications. I don't suppose it matters how that's achieved, as long as it's successful for you. Best wishes to all.

Ali. :)
 
uart said:
Hi Danny, I see from your other posts that you are on insulin. Remember that It's not quite that easy for the T2 diabetic without access to insulin to increase their carb consumption at will. Many low carbers are going with a carb level that works for them in terms of BSL control.

Think of it this way. Imagine (hypothetically) that long term you only had access to enough insulin to cover about 50g of carbs per day. Would you still choose to eat 150g or 200g/day to feel better short term?
Click to expand...

No i defiantly agree with you, this is just what happened to me.
 
I eat under 30g a day and have done for the majority of the last 6 years - I have much more energy, clearer head and no hypos eating at this level and I can eat a good amount without gaining.

Eating 100g plus carbs leaves me feeling pretty ill, tired and low, generally. Though sometimes I slip off the wagon and it takes a while to remind myself of this. When I'm happy with my weight I can go to 50g carbs without messing up my blood results.

I'm usually less than 10g carb per meal, often much lower, very occasionally a tiny bit higher.
 
Pasha said:
I eat 21 grams of carbohydrates [ net] every day. I can maintain this level quite easily because its all a matter of developing new habits. Lost 40 Kg, feel much better and by far less moody ie mood swings.
I employ strict adherence to the rules because I want to get the best results that I possibly can.
Click to expand...
Can you share some examples of the meals you eat ( to give us ideas) . I eat under 50kg carbs per day but am getting a little bored of my meals a few weeks in... But not at all sick of the stable bs levels
 
I eat between 30-50grams of carbs a day, and do try for approx 30g, I prefer to split the carbs between meals so that I don't give my body too much work at any one time, and keep any bg spikes lower. I know most of the approximate carb values now of the food I eat, so don't really count anything.

My menu includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, cream, butter, almond milk, nuts, nut oils and butters, olives, avocados, many different vegetables, salads, herbs, a variety of lower sugar fruits (mainly berries), and a treat of a bar of dark 85% chocolate a week Ground almonds and other nuts allow me to make and eat sweet and savoury muffins, shortcake, cookies, etc, , and occasionally have some home made low carb bread. I just avoid grains in all their forms - flour, bread, biscuits, etc,, starchy root vegetables, rice, pasta, high sugar fruit, and fruit juices, any ready type meals, tinned soups, bought sauces, jams, etc., Most of my meals I prepare/cook from scratch, and frequently our main meal (cooked by husband) is essentially the same for us both, but mine just lacks any of the carby stuff.

There's a good selection of recipes in our Low Cabs forum, and the "What have you eaten today?" thread is an excellent example of the wide variety of meals we eat.

I've been low carbing for about 12 months now, and haven't yet got bored with this type of diet. it's now a permanent lifestyle rather than a shorter term dietary "fix".

Robbity
 
DeejayR said:
My diet is haphazard and hope-for-the-best. I started with the advice on LCHF given here and tested a lot till I found a group of things that seemed ok, and have stuck to them ever since. I have a porridge recipe which ought not to work, but for some reason does. I tried making bread with spelt flour and no sugar added but that's no good. LivLife bread seems ok but I hardly ever have it anyway. I eat fruit ending in -berry, plus red & black currants, always with double cream, and I might take an apple on a walk (to eat it, not exercise it). I may have to eat fewer onions :( and butternut squash :( Etc etc.
My BS drifts along between 5.3-6.8 and I'm more interested in keeping the variation small than going lower. I have no idea whether or not my arteries are clogged so I pretend they're not. I seem to have a good even flow of energy and I remind myself to go for an uphill walk at least every other day.
Exercise seems equally as important as diet. I could add SE (sensible exercise ) to my LCHF. But that would be TMBA (Too Many B****y Acronyms).
NB I get a kick out of finding new food I can (probably) eat and I should add Mrs D is very supportive and sometimes more strict about my diet than I am.
PS I've never been overweight and got far too thin using the NHS diabetes diet.
Click to expand...
Deejay, I want you for President. Of, well, Everything.

LucySW
 
phil1966 said:
To be honest, I don't think you can generalise like that - some people are fine on very low carb diets for long periods of time (Dr Bernstein for one). Speaking from personal experience, it's now 4 months since I had over 100g of carbs in a day and over 2 since I had more than 25 and I feel fitter than ever, more alert than ever and my mood definitely doesn't swing around :)
Click to expand...
This is correct. We don't have a set threshold need for grams of glucose per day. But we DO need extra salt if we're low carbing, because our kidneys shed too much on low carb diet. We need to take 1-2g salt extra a day. Or our intra-cell processes get screwed up and all sorts of brain fog and other things can happen.

Phinney and Volek recommend drinking two bouillon cubes every day.
 
LucySW said:
This is correct. We don't have a set threshold need for grams of glucose per day. But we DO need extra salt if we're low carbing, because our kidneys shed too much on low carb diet. We need to take 1-2g salt extra a day. Or our intra-cell processes get screwed up and all sorts of brain fog and other things can happen.

Phinney and Volek recommend drinking two bouillon cubes every day.
Click to expand...
2g's sounds a lot!
 
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