Low carb help please.

[Anonymous]

Hi.

I was diagnosed T2 Friday evening, and have been reading like mad since, and have decided to follow a low carb, high protein diet as it seems to do the people who follow it such great results. Over the weekend I just did my best with the food in the house while I researched. Today my total carb count was 47. One of the higher count foods I have eaten, is onions (16 grams worth) What can I use to add flavour without using them?

My second question is will following this approach lower cholesterol? Mine is 5.5, and I obviously want to see that fall, but I will be consuming a lot of fat.

Thanks for any help. I am going to drive you all mad with questions. I see the DN on Wednesday, and I am led to believe she will give me a monitor. Fingers crossed.

 

[Anonymous]

Hiya,

Well done with 47g of carb - that's really quite low if you've just started.

How are you calculating 16g of carbs from Onions? My book says that 40g of Onion, if fried in vegetable oil, is 4.4g carbs, and frying in oil is the worst way to have them - so 16g of carb from onions is quite a lot of onions.

My DB nurse raised the cholestorol question this morning, as she was concerned that I was eating a lot of fat and eggs. But my cholestorol is now a total of 3, with ldl at just 1.79 - but then I have been taking a statin for the last year or so, which I think has helped enormously.

Bring the questions on - it's how we all learn.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been using my fitness pal, and that calculates everything for you. I put in a cup of onions, some to fry with steak, and a bit to go in salad. That said said it was 16. I did think it was high. Can you point me towards a reliable place to calculate carbs please swimmer? I may have had a million if that site is so wrong :crazy:

 

[Anonymous]

No problem. I use a book, the Collins Gem Carb Counter - got it on Amazon for about £4 and it's small enough to carry around. I've heard there are some errors in it, but I don't think Onions are one of them.

That meal sounds almost no carbs, which your 2 hr reading should confirm. I use steak and salad as my 'eating out' meal now because it's reliably safe.

 

[MadMat]

I've been using the weight loss resources website, it has a huge database of foods all fat, carb and calorie counted, I was using it to count calories before diagnosis, but now mainly use it to count carbs!

Sadly it is a pay site, but I've not found a free site with a comparable database.

Mat

 

[Anonymous]

I haven`t got my monitor yet. I am seeing the DN on Wednesday, and I believe she will give me one.

My steak and salad was such a treat. Plus I put cheese in it. It felt so decadent.

 

[Anonymous]

I've been using the weight loss resources website, it has a huge database of foods all fat, carb and calorie counted

Can you look up a cup of onions Mat ? maybe we can triangulate a position for Jeannemum

 

[MadMat]

I've been using the weight loss resources website, it has a huge database of foods all fat, carb and calorie counted

Can you look up a cup of onions Mat ? maybe we can triangulate a position for Jeannemum

Raw onion 7.8 grams of carb per 100 grams

Fried onion 14.1 grams per 100 grams


Mat

 

[MadMat]

My steak and salad was such a treat. Plus I put cheese in it. It felt so decadent.

Being newly diagnosed as well I know that feeling, I used to feel guilty having bacon and eggs for breakfast - not any more

Mat

 

[Anonymous]

I've been using the weight loss resources website, it has a huge database of foods all fat, carb and calorie counted

Can you look up a cup of onions Mat ? maybe we can triangulate a position for Jeannemum

Raw onion 7.8 grams of carb per 100 grams

Fried onion 14.1 grams per 100 grams


Mat

Thank you to you both.

I am sure I didn`t have 4 ounces. I will be good and weigh things from now on. I see red onions are lower, and spring onions are loads better for my salads. I think my 47 gms may be an over estimate :clap:

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmn - see what you've started J ?

the misses has already gone to bed and here I am weighing onions..

So, the red onion I just took from the fridge is 91g in weight. So that would be 7.09g carb if you ate it raw, or 12.8g carbs if you fry it.

Dont fry it :crazy:

and it wasn't an awfully big onion. I think this could get a bit obsessive - is there anyone out there with a different book that can give us a 3rd opinion on onions?

 

[Anonymous]

My steak and salad was such a treat. Plus I put cheese in it. It felt so decadent.

Being newly diagnosed as well I know that feeling, I used to feel guilty having bacon and eggs for breakfast - not any more

Mat

I bought the stuff for that as well. I ate a lovely cheese omlette for my lunch. It felt so wrong, but I am sure it`s so right

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmn - see what you've started J ?

the misses has already gone to bed and here I am weighing onions..

So, the red onion I just took from the fridge is 91g in weight. So that would be 7.09g carb if you ate it raw, or 12.8g carbs if you fry it.

Dont fry it :crazy:

and it wasn't an awfully big onion. I think this could get a bit obsessive - is there anyone out there with a different book that can give us a 3rd opinion on onions?

Dry fry must be ok do you think swimmer? I was using oil to get the fat in. I prefer them less greasy to be honest.

 

[Anonymous]

Just re entered the onion on my fitness. This time I entered half a medium onion (which would fill one of the little cups I give the kids) and that has come out as 7. Much better. Now no frying the devils in oil

 

[MadMat]

Hmmn - see what you've started J ?

the misses has already gone to bed and here I am weighing onions..

So, the red onion I just took from the fridge is 91g in weight. So that would be 7.09g carb if you ate it raw, or 12.8g carbs if you fry it.

Dont fry it :crazy:

My understanding is that If you weighed it raw the carbs stay the same even if you fry it

The second figure is for weighing it once fried - the heat removes water, which reduces weight and therefore concentrates the carbs and calories!

Mat

 

[Anonymous]

That makes sense Mat. Thank you for taking your time out to do this

 

[philc]

No, it isn't right I'm afraid. Cooking onions will increase the carbs - they caramelise if you cook for long enough. The same can be said for most root veg as well, especially parsnips, carrots etc. As a low carber, I never eat onions - raw or cooked but you could use spring onions if you are looking for flavour. These are ok.

 

[Anonymous]

No, it isn't right I'm afraid. Cooking onions will increase the carbs - they caramelise if you cook for long enough. The same can be said for most root veg as well, especially parsnips, carrots etc. As a low carber, I never eat onions - raw or cooked but you could use spring onions if you are looking for flavour. These are ok.

Thanks philc. I wasn`t going to eat any other root veg anyway. I will buy spring onions instead for flavour.

 

[phoenix]

Caramelisation will convert starches to sugar and increase the glycemic index. It won't change the amount of carbohydrate present. This is created when the plant is growing.( except some may be lost in cooking, for example into the cooking water/oil )
As pointed out earlier cooking changes the weight so something weighed when cooked (and dehydrated)may have higher carbs per 100g as water has been lost.
good explanation here.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=newtip&dbid=38

 

[Alexender bill]

Well friend I also will be good and weigh things from now on. I see red onions are lower, and spring onions are loads better for my salads. I think my 43 grams may be an over estimate..