How many carbs do you eat every day?

[Samara1]

Hi,

How many carbs do you eat every day?

Since I got diagnosed 2 years ago with Type 1, I’m very anxious about injecting over 7u of bolus for a meal… and for dinner, It’s worse, I always try to get a low carb meal. My problem is that I eat fewer carbs than I really want because I’m scared of hypoglycaemia. I have recently visited my family in France, and they were shocked to see how skinny I was. I thought it was normal to lose weight because I can’t eat all the biscuits/ cakes that I was eating before, and I exercise a lot as well, but I have recently realised that I reduced the amount of carbs from 170g per day (6 months ago) to 100g of carbs at present.

Before getting sick my weight was around 60kg for 174CM. When I was hospitalised for DKA my weight was 54kg, my weight is now 51.5kg and I’m not happy with it (BMI= 17). I want to put on weight and eat more carbs, but I do not know how to do it without getting spikes and staying in a safe BG range.

I talked to my nurse, and she booked an appointment with a dietician in January, but I would like to act now!

I would really appreciate your help.

Best,

Samara

 

[In Response]

I don't restrict my carb in take. I eat cakes and bread and pasta and potatoes and ... maintain my weight.
As I carb count, my carb intake varies each day.
I monitor with Libre and treat as I see my levels dropping to avoid most hypos.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi,

How many carbs do you eat every day?

Since I got diagnosed 2 years ago with Type 1, I’m very anxious about injecting over 7u of bolus for a meal… and for dinner, It’s worse, I always try to get a low carb meal. My problem is that I eat fewer carbs than I really want because I’m scared of hypoglycaemia. I have recently visited my family in France, and they were shocked to see how skinny I was. I thought it was normal to lose weight because I can’t eat all the biscuits/ cakes that I was eating before, and I exercise a lot as well, but I have recently realised that I reduced the amount of carbs from 170g per day (6 months ago) to 100g of carbs at present.

Before getting sick my weight was around 60kg for 174CM. When I was hospitalised for DKA my weight was 54kg, my weight is now 51.5kg and I’m not happy with it (BMI= 17). I want to put on weight and eat more carbs, but I do not know how to do it without getting spikes and staying in a safe BG range.

I talked to my nurse, and she booked an appointment with a dietician in January, but I would like to act now!

I would really appreciate your help.

Best,

Samara

Hi @Samara1 Most Type 1 diabetics either don't restrict their carbs, or they eat more than 100gms of carbs per day (though some do eat low carb so as to reduce the need for bolus insulin).
You talk about being scared of hypoglycaemia, but a hypo mean blood sugar going too low ( under 4.0 mmol) - not high, and so eating too few carbs for your insulin dose would be more likely to put you in danger of it. Eating too many carbs gives the opposite situation of hyperglycaemia.

What are your Blood glucose readings before and after meals?

It isn't just carbohydrates that affect weight, are you eating enough protein and fat?
I'm a Type 2 in remission on a low carb 'way of eating' so my carb intake is low (only 20gms to 40gms per day) but to balance the calorie reduction from fewer carbs I eat more protein and more fat (e.g. eggs).

 

[Samara1]

I don't restrict my carb in take. I eat cakes and bread and pasta and potatoes and ... maintain my weight.
As I carb count, my carb intake varies each day.
I monitor with Libre and treat as I see my levels dropping to avoid most hypos.

How do you avoid spikes? When I eat bread or cakes I can't avoid it even if I wait 20-30 mn after my bolus injection

 

[Samara1]

Hi @Samara1 Most Type 1 diabetics either don't restrict their carbs, or they eat more than 100gms of carbs per day (though some do eat low carb so as to reduce the need for bolus insulin).
You talk about being scared of hypoglycaemia, but a hypo mean blood sugar going too low ( under 4.0 mmol) - not high, and so eating too few carbs for your insulin dose would be more likely to put you in danger of it. Eating too many carbs gives the opposite situation of hyperglycaemia.

What are your Blood glucose readings before and after meals?

It isn't just carbohydrates that affect weight, are you eating enough protein and fat?
I'm a Type 2 in remission on a low carb 'way of eating' so my carb intake is low (only 20gms to 40gms per day) but to balance the calorie reduction from fewer carbs I eat more protein and more fat (e.g. eggs).

Yes, I’m scared of being in Hypo when I inject a lot of insulin (for me, injecting over 7u of bolus is a lot…don’t know why). I’m used to eat low carbs meals at night or even at lunch sometimes and I do not have Hypos. That is why I’m more comfortable eating fewer carbs I guess… however I realise it isn’t ideal.

I manage my BG quite well, I’m at 6mmol before meal and the same after.

I eat meat every 3 days and fat every day… but I do not know if it is enough or if it’s the right products to be honest…any recommendations would be welcome!

 

[Antje77]

You talk about being scared of hypoglycaemia, but a hypo mean blood sugar going too low ( under 4.0 mmol) - not high, and so eating too few carbs for your insulin dose would be more likely to put you in danger of it. Eating too many carbs gives the opposite situation of hyperglycaemia.

It makes perfect sense to have a higher risk of hypo's on high carb meals. As we adjust our insulin doses to the carbs, a high carb meal means much more insulin. Exact carb counting is almost impossible ans insulin to carb ratio's aren't perfect all the time either.
So if you calculated your dose, and it's off by, say 25%, you'll have a lot more excess insulin in your body if the dose was high, for a high carb meal, than if the dose was low.

Since I got diagnosed 2 years ago with Type 1, I’m very anxious about injecting over 7u of bolus for a meal… and for dinner, It’s worse, I always try to get a low carb meal.

Do you use a CGM/Libre? It might be very helpful as it warns you when you're dropping so you can often prevent a hypo instead of treating when you're low already.

 

[Ushthetaff]

Have to agree with majority ! I dont restrict carbs in fact don’t really restrict anything if I fancy it , I’m old enough to remember when I had to eat carbs to the amount of insulin I took , ( thank goodness that’s over ) so I now enjoy the “ freedom” ,knowing your insulin to carb ratios and carb counting will definitely help ,as a good control is far more achievable ,

 

[Daibell]

Hi I do restrict carbs to 150gm/day when possible otherwise I gain weight and my BS goes out of control. I think you may still be confused about hypo- and hyper-. When you have a lot of carbs you risk going hyper (not hypo) which is only dangerous if it takes your BS into the 20s or above. Are you on the Basal/Bolus regime? have you balanced your Basal? Do you carb-count the carbs to adjust your Bolus. You may need to eat more fats and proteins freely as well as increasing the carbs a bit.

 

[In Response]

How do you avoid spikes? When I eat bread or cakes I can't avoid it even if I wait 20-30 mn after my bolus injection

I do not avoid all spikes - everyone experiences them, including people without diabetes.
I minimise spikes with regard to the dose and timing of my insulin but my concern is long term high blood sugar levels not levels that rise and return to normal within a short period of time.

 

[Goonergal]

@Samara1 you might find this website helpful. It’s the site of Dr Ian Lake, who has type 1 diabetes himself and uses a low carb approach.

https://type1keto.com/

 

[Samara1]

It makes perfect sense to have a higher risk of hypo's on high carb meals. As we adjust our insulin doses to the carbs, a high carb meal means much more insulin. Exact carb counting is almost impossible ans insulin to carb ratio's aren't perfect all the time either.
So if you calculated your dose, and it's off by, say 25%, you'll have a lot more excess insulin in your body if the dose was high, for a high carb meal, than if the dose was low.

Do you use a CGM/Libre? It might be very helpful as it warns you when you're dropping so you can often prevent a hypo instead of treating when you're low already.

Yes, I use a libre and it is so useful. I guess I need to take a deep breath and increase the quantity of carbs I'm allowing myself. It makes me so anxious to increase the quantity of insuline but I need to work on it quickly because I just can't continue like that thanks your kind help

 

[Samara1]

Have to agree with majority ! I dont restrict carbs in fact don’t really restrict anything if I fancy it , I’m old enough to remember when I had to eat carbs to the amount of insulin I took , ( thank goodness that’s over ) so I now enjoy the “ freedom” ,knowing your insulin to carb ratios and carb counting will definitely help ,as a good control is far more achievable ,

I wish I could be as confident as you...maybe after some time. Any recommendations are welcome

 

[Samara1]

Hi I do restrict carbs to 150gm/day when possible otherwise I gain weight and my BS goes out of control. I think you may still be confused about hypo- and hyper-. When you have a lot of carbs you risk going hyper (not hypo) which is only dangerous if it takes your BS into the 20s or above. Are you on the Basal/Bolus regime? have you balanced your Basal? Do you carb-count the carbs to adjust your Bolus. You may need to eat more fats and proteins freely as well as increasing the carbs a bit.

When I say that I'm afraid to be in hypo if I eat more carbs it is because I know hat I will have to inject more insuline than I usually do...i always have this little voice " what if you injected too much". Getting out of my zone of comfort is difficult but yeah I need to trust myself when I carb-count.

 

[Samara1]

I do not avoid all spikes - everyone experiences them, including people without diabetes.
I minimise spikes with regard to the dose and timing of my insulin but my concern is long term high blood sugar levels not levels that rise and return to normal within a short period of time.

Interesting, my nurse asked me to stop eating sweet breakfasts (bread+ honey) because I was experiencing too many spikes.... I miss it terribly.

 

[Samara1]

@Samara1 you might find this website helpful. It’s the site of Dr Ian Lake, who has type 1 diabetes himself and uses a low carb approach.

https://type1keto.com/

Thanks! I'm gonna have a look at it. My question might sounds stupid but is it possible to follow a low carb diet and put on weight?

 

[Daibell]

When I say that I'm afraid to be in hypo if I eat more carbs it is because I know hat I will have to inject more insuline than I usually do...i always have this little voice " what if you injected too much". Getting out of my zone of comfort is difficult but yeah I need to trust myself when I carb-count.

The Libre 2 could be very useful for you but it would cost £100/month. It has alarms that warn you when you go too low or high. I now couldn't do without mine.

 

[Goonergal]

is it possible to follow a low carb diet and put on weight?

In my experience, yes. Not welcome in my case, but nuts, cream, cheese, nut butters if consumed in sufficient quantity can have that effect.

 

[EllieM]

I eat low carb age 59, mainly because I have T2 relatives and I struggle to keep my weight down. Low carb is the only method I have for losing/maintaining weight.

But, as a long term T1 (51 years) I certainly wouldn't go low carb if I were trying to gain weight. (I did the NHS eatwell diet during my two T2 pregnancies and had issues with hypos, not hypers, I would have killed to have a cgm). And I didn't go particularly low carb till I had a (excess) weight issue.

I'm not frightened by the odd spike, remember that most of the posters on here are T2 and have slightly different bg expectations.

Having a family member who got an eating disorder through too much weight loss, I'd argue that a bmi of 17 is far more dangerous than a few spikes from a higher carb count.

(This is all personal experience, and has nothing to do with my status as a moderator).

 

[Trevor vP]

I eat circa 150 Gram carb a day some days lower. I try keep each meal at below 45 Grams as I do not like having a lot of fast acting Insulin onboard as I do a lot of endurance training so try protect from Hypos.

On weight gain lots of items like Walnuts / Goat Cheese / Omega seeds will help with weight gain. I use these to stop my weight dropping to much when I am in peak training months.

Hope this helps

 

[Ushthetaff]

I wish I could be as confident as you...maybe after some time. Any recommendations are welcome

Well it’s taken me quite a few years to be able to say what I’ve said, and unfortunately there is no quick fix, it’s all down to experience and what works for you and this can only happen with time , almost everyone here will tell you that diabetes is an individual thing what works for one may not work for another , one thing I will say is it does get better with time as you find out what works for you , try to be flexible as being totally rigid things become boring and that leads to frustration ,