The penny has dropped using info I found on net

[Alexandra100]

Sorry What is s IMHO and does not low carb go hand in hand with calories, I cannot exercise.
But I am going to keep trying.xx

IMHO = "In My Humble Opinion". It is sometimes meant to be more polite than IMO =" In My Opinion". And sometimes not.

 

[Alexandra100]

does not low carb go hand in hand with calories

Not always. It depends how much more fat and protein you eat to replace the carbs. However, many people think that low carb leads to more weight loss than high carb, even if the calories eaten are the same. And many people find that they get less hungry and need to eat less often if they eat a higher proportion of fat to carbs.

 

[eggs11]

There is an excellent book, available from Amazon. It is called Carbs & Cals. It has many hundreds of common foods including vegetables, each photographed in different serving sizes on normal plates. It gives the weight, the carbs, calories, protein, fat, and fibre content. Well worth it.

Yes, be very careful when using the net for carbs etc. Make sure it is a UK website. I find Tesco website the best, but other major supermarkets also list the nutrients.

Just looked this up on Amazon and ordered this and a new title they've done with low cal diet menus that also shows the carbs etc - they look great, so thanks for the tip!

 

[Alexandra100]

I'm in a bit of a minority on this site as I also count calories

You could do a survey to find out how many want to lose weight and how many count of those count calories. I am definitely a minority in that I need if anything to gain weight. But I may be a T1 in disguise (pre-LADA?)

 

[Phoenix55]

@Motherhen2014, Do you have a bg meter? If you do then use it and you may find that there are some vege that you can still eat in moderation also some of the meals that you are used to eating, but you need to repeat test to be sure. It is called eating to your meter. After a short time you get used to what foods you can eat and how much of them. We are all different and take a different approach, the trick is finding what works for you. We can only advise what we have found works for us in our experience. A few general rules are a good start - above ground vege are good, a few berries (6/7) with a portion of full fat Greek style yoghurt makes me a good breakfast that keeps me going until lunchtime, a main meal and a lighter meal, cheese or olives eaten with a cocktail stick for a snack mid evening, 85%+chocolate in the fridge to be eaten a square at a time as a treat.
You say you can not exercise, but a little gentle exercise on a regular basis makes a huge difference to your bg, your outlook on life and you will find that your ankles reappear again. If you can get outside and walk a little would be best, even if it is just to a lamp post and back to start with, but if not then sit on a firm chair and try pulling in your tummy and exercising your upper body, even if you have to use tins of soup as dumbells! Don't worry about losing 3/4 pounds each week, aim to lose 1/2 and take the weight off gradually. It will drop anyway with fewer carbs and the adjustment to a permanent diet is more gentle. Your body will also thank you for being more gentle and will readjust to your new shape as you go. By the time the summer comes people will be noticing that you are a slimmer, fitter version of yourself and you will be belting and taking in your clothes. It can be done and each day is a fresh start. If you do something you are a winner, so get things ready, get a good sleep tonight and make a start tomorrow.

 

[Robbity]

50g of spinach has 0.8g of carbs.. if you are aiming for 20g of carbs from spinach you could have well over a kilo of it. Are you doing your sums right?

Weighing it sounds more like it being 50g weight of spinach rather than 50g worth of carbs from spinach to my mind...

Robbity

 

[Alexandra100]

Weighing it sounds more like it being 50g weight of spinach rather than 50g worth of carbs from spinach to my mind...

Robbity

Indeed.

 

[bulkbiker]

Indeed.

Sorry I still don't get why you are worrying about 50g of spinach.. I can eat a whole 450g pack.. when cooked it becomes almost nothing and still have relatively few carbs.

 

[Jared1]

The thing about vegetable carbs though is that they are slowly processed, so actually good for most folk....

individual testing still required obviously...

Agree - all carbs are not created equal. Vege still good - take the fiber off the total carbs to get net carbs if makes feel better lol

 

[Dmcc0]

50g of spinach has 0.8g of carbs.. if you are aiming for 20g of carbs from spinach you could have well over a kilo of it. Are you doing your sums right?

I read it as 20g carbs for the day, not just from the spinach! Obviously every gram counts when you're going that low.

 

[T0sie]

I have been using an app called ketobuddy to check my values for the macros, proteins ,carbs and fat. So that I know that I am eating enough nutrients.
How I use them every day is up to me but I check them on an app: fitatu or myfitnesspal. The last one also keeps track of my exercise and logs it. It stimulates me to keep active.
It helps me to keep track and has served me very well in losing weight. I still want to lose more.

 

[Alexandra100]

Sorry I still don't get why you are worrying about 50g of spinach.. I can eat a whole 450g pack.. when cooked it becomes almost nothing and still have relatively few carbs.

Lucky you! Unfortunately for me we are not all alike, and my carb tolerance only allows me roughly 100g low carb vegetables x 2 meals daily + a few cups of tea/coffee with cream + a generous amount of the lowest carb cheese + sometimes 2 eggs + small amounts of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise or vegan pesto. And that still doesn't give me perfect bg levels by a long chalk. I am eating to my meter. I suspect that unlike the majority of T2s I produce very small amounts of insulin. I may even be pre-LADA.

 

[bulkbiker]

Lucky you! Unfortunately for me we are not all alike, and my carb tolerance only allows me roughly 100g low carb vegetables x 2 meals daily + a few cups of tea/coffee with cream + a generous amount of the lowest carb cheese + sometimes 2 eggs + small amounts of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise or vegan pesto. And that still doesn't give me perfect bg levels by a long chalk. I am eating to my meter. I suspect that unlike the majority of T2s I produce very small amounts of insulin. I may even be pre-LADA.

So how many carbs per day are you going for?

 

[Bluetit1802]

And that still doesn't give me perfect bg levels by a long chalk.

Are you being too strict with your BS targets and stressing too much about them?
What average levels do you see across the board (FBG, pre-meals, post meals, bedtime)?

 

[Alexandra100]

Are you being too strict with your BS targets and stressing too much about them?
What average levels do you see across the board (FBG, pre-meals, post meals, bedtime)?

One of my problems is that once my bg has gone up post-prandially it has a tendency not to come down for hours, so I am reluctant to let it rise too much in the first place. I have now been taking 500mg Metformin for about 2 weeks and I think it may be helping. I agree that my carb level is too low, but what was much more upsetting was seeing little or no reward. After I have been on Metformin eg 4 weeks I mean to re-evaluate and see if I can get away with a few more carbs. Alternatively, I might try to persuade my GP to up the dose.

 

[Bluetit1802]

One of my problems is that once my bg has gone up post prandially it has a tendance not to come down for huors

Probably nothing at all to do with how many carbs you are eating. Metabolism speed comes into it, as will the amount of fat in the meal. Have you done an OGTT recently? I would consider this a better test and may explain things.

 

[Alexandra100]

So how many carbs per day are you going for?

I am thinking more in terms of avoiding post-prandial spikes.

 

[bulkbiker]

I am thinking more in terms of avoiding post-prandial spikes.

As are we all surely. Do you find that spinach causes a post prandial spike then?
Have you thought of trying zero carb?
If you would prefer me to shut up and leave you alone then that's fine too.. just trying to help.

 

[Guzzler]

I may be wrong (I'm still new to all of this) but I doubt that Metformin would help with post prandial readings as its main aim is to curb its liver dumps and it is unlikely that one would experience liver dump after a meal.
Or I may have missed something altogether.

 

[Alexandra100]

As are we all surely. Do you find that spinach causes a post prandial spike then?
Have you thought of trying zero carb?
If you would prefer me to shut up and leave you alone then that's fine too.. just trying to help.

Yes, I have accidentally occasionally eaten zero carbs and my readings are then better, but I don't see this as a realistic programme long-term. I have tried eating 100g spinach + c 50g of another low carb vegetable in a meal, and I have the impression that this raised me, but frankly with the unreliability of my meters/strips I would have to try the experiment a lot of times before being sure. ( do intend to try gradually raising my mealtime carbs, maybe to 150g, to see.) If only our meter readings were 100% reliable, how much simpler all this would be!

Thanks very much for taking an interest.