On LCHF from yesterday but still high

[Pinkorchid]

I am curently paying £8 for 50 and i am totally fine and happy with the price and i will pay for as long as it takes.
It's just that the doctor wasnt happy to prescribe strips and judging by her attitude and advice to only test once a day , i am bit affraid that i could lose this priviledge for prescribed strips .
If i do lose it then whenever i will want to test i will have to pay the full price which is prohibitively expensive.

The cost of the Codefree strips are 6.99 for 50 cheaper with a discount code if you buy 5 or 10 pots at one time

 

[khorlo]

Thanks everybody for your kind answers.

A great source of frustration was not knowing how i would be able to count every carb, calories and protein from every item i have in order to be within the limits of my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal

After tons of reading i managed to work out how i would convert the recommended daily macros for a very low carber that is 70 % FAT, 25% PROTEIN, 5% CARBS into their coresponding fat , protein and carb per gram values...etc...
What i had difficulties with was how i would know what is the protein, fat and carbs content of each item and how i would combine them to give me the above ratios.
I had to calculate that 70% of 1500 is 1050 cal of FAT daily, 25% of 1500 is 375 cals from protein daily, and 5% of 1500 is 75 cals from carbs daily
So every day i should get 1050 cals from FAT 375 cals from protein and 75 cals from 5 % of carbs.

Initially i couldn't get my head around the fact that i have to get 1050 cals from FAT but then i discovered that only ingesting 100g of FAT would give you 900 cals already.
But i found an app, which lots of people use, which calculates the fat , protein and carb content of every item one can have and then adds them up giving you the total amount for that meal.

So this is the kind on mind bending gymnastics i had to get into in order to figure out how i would get the 70% FAT /25% PROTEIN /5% CARBS ratios based on my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal.

 

[Sirmione]

Thanks everybody for your kind answers.

A great source of frustration was not knowing how i would be able to count every carb, calories and protein from every item i have in order to be within the limits of my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal

After tons of reading i managed to work out how i would convert the recommended daily macros for a very low carber that is 70 % FAT, 25% PROTEIN, 5% CARBS into their coresponding fat , protein and carb per gram values...etc...
What i had difficulties with was how i would know what is the protein, fat and carbs content of each item and how i would combine them to give me the above ratios.
I had to calculate that 70% of 1500 is 1050 cal of FAT daily, 25% of 1500 is 375 cals from protein daily, and 5% of 1500 is 75 cals from carbs daily
So every day i should get 1050 cals from FAT 375 cals from protein and 75 cals from 5 % of carbs.

Initially i couldn't get my head around the fact that i have to get 1050 cals from FAT but then i discovered that only ingesting 100g of FAT would give you 900 cals already.
But i found an app, which lots of people use, which calculates the fat , protein and carb content of every item one can have and then adds them up giving you the total amount for that meal.

So this is the kind on mind bending gymnastics i had to get into in order to figure out how i would get the 70% FAT /25% PROTEIN /5% CARBS ratios based on my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal.

Relax just try and get your carbs as low as reasonably possible, I just avoid all carbs except special treats. As long as you you don't totally pig out the calories won't matter.

 

[Sirmione]

" Acu aviva check" the retail price for 50 is £27 and on prescription is £8.
I do not think that i could use strips of a different brand in my device.
But i could be wrong.

A new meter is cheaper than 1 box of strips that is why a lot of us use the SD Codefree both the meter and strips are cheap and as I have re-assured myself by testing it and other manufacturers meters against control test solutions it is about as accurate if not more accurate any other meter in my growing collection.

 

[GeoffersTaylor]

Thanks everybody for your kind answers.

A great source of frustration was not knowing how i would be able to count every carb, calories and protein from every item i have in order to be within the limits of my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal

After tons of reading i managed to work out how i would convert the recommended daily macros for a very low carber that is 70 % FAT, 25% PROTEIN, 5% CARBS into their coresponding fat , protein and carb per gram values...etc...
What i had difficulties with was how i would know what is the protein, fat and carbs content of each item and how i would combine them to give me the above ratios.
I had to calculate that 70% of 1500 is 1050 cal of FAT daily, 25% of 1500 is 375 cals from protein daily, and 5% of 1500 is 75 cals from carbs daily
So every day i should get 1050 cals from FAT 375 cals from protein and 75 cals from 5 % of carbs.

Initially i couldn't get my head around the fact that i have to get 1050 cals from FAT but then i discovered that only ingesting 100g of FAT would give you 900 cals already.
But i found an app, which lots of people use, which calculates the fat , protein and carb content of every item one can have and then adds them up giving you the total amount for that meal.

So this is the kind on mind bending gymnastics i had to get into in order to figure out how i would get the 70% FAT /25% PROTEIN /5% CARBS ratios based on my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal.

I'd agree with that. Fat has just over twice the calories per gramme as protein. So if you eat roughly the same weight of each you'll get the right calorie split almost without trying.
I'm an accountant by trade - it comes in handy when crunching numbers like this

 

[khorlo]

I'd agree with that. Fat has just over twice the calories per gramme as protein. So if you eat roughly the same weight of each you'll get the right calorie split almost without trying.
I'm an accountant by trade - it comes in handy when crunching numbers like this

That is a good point actually.
Thanks.
Im sorry i was obnoxious earlier but the last couple of days i had crash course in percentages, macros...etc, a marathon learning thing which is terribly time consuming and quite frustrating at times as i am totally new to the whole thing.

 

[mehhh2015]

That is a good point actually.
Thanks.
Im sorry i was obnoxious earlier but the last couple of days i had crash course in percentages, macros...etc, a marathon learning thing which is terribly time consuming and quite frustrating at times as i am totally new to the whole thing.

You will be fine and get where you want to get and it can be very very frustrating at times... never feel you are doing anything wrong, we are all learning how to deal with this the best way we can...

 

[GeoffersTaylor]

Im sorry i was obnoxious earlier but the last couple of days i had crash course in percentages, macros...etc, a marathon learning thing which is terribly time consuming and quite frustrating at times as i am totally new to the whole thing.

No problem at all.

 

[Lizm62]

Hi, when I started to low carb I eliminated, pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cereals and root veg completely. It took a few weeks to bring my levels down consistently and I was taking readings before eating then two hours after. I have found that I can often have the same reading before eating and two hours later! For breakfast I have full fat Greek yoghurt with a mixture of seeds and nuts plus a handful of berries, lunch is usually some sort of salad or soup, dinner is exactly what I used to have without the carbs listed above. I have extra veg and spiralise courgette to have with bolognaise or similar. I have poppadums with curry. I am enjoying my food and have found eating out not a major problem. My hba1c went from 10.7 to 6.7 ( approx 96 to 50 percent) in 2 and a half months. I have found I can't eat a slice of toast or porridge but I am okay with a couple of new potatoes. Everybody is different so don't give up. Also eggs are great for bringing BS down.

 

[alisonhe]

As from yesterday i started to follow the advice on LCHF given in this guide http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/.

My food yesterday only had around 55 grams of carbs in it (100 grams of brown rice, 80 grams of butter beans 50g of sweetcorn, 4 tomatoes) and the rest was dairy, greens and chicken and no fruit at all.
Based on this, my BS levels were in the 8's and 9's.

This morning at 9 i had a salad where the only carb was 40 g of sweetcorn a tomatoe and that is about around 6 carbs
An hour after, i checked the BS levels and it was 12.6 mmol
I have no idea what is going on.

How low do i have to go in carbs intake to be at 6 or bellow 6 mmol?
Or does it take weeks and months for the LCHF diet to work and reduce the sugar levels?

are you Type 1 or 2? Do you need more insulin or drugs to bring it down a bit - perhaps an extra unit per meal? I find my needs change all the time, I can get stuck in a rut where I need more insulin so I take a bit more which brings my levels down and they tend to stay down for a bit then and I need less insulin - it is complicated!

 

[Gravity-Carb]

Thanks everybody for your kind answers.

A great source of frustration was not knowing how i would be able to count every carb, calories and protein from every item i have in order to be within the limits of my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal

After tons of reading i managed to work out how i would convert the recommended daily macros for a very low carber that is 70 % FAT, 25% PROTEIN, 5% CARBS into their coresponding fat , protein and carb per gram values...etc...
What i had difficulties with was how i would know what is the protein, fat and carbs content of each item and how i would combine them to give me the above ratios.
I had to calculate that 70% of 1500 is 1050 cal of FAT daily, 25% of 1500 is 375 cals from protein daily, and 5% of 1500 is 75 cals from carbs daily
So every day i should get 1050 cals from FAT 375 cals from protein and 75 cals from 5 % of carbs.

Initially i couldn't get my head around the fact that i have to get 1050 cals from FAT but then i discovered that only ingesting 100g of FAT would give you 900 cals already.
But i found an app, which lots of people use, which calculates the fat , protein and carb content of every item one can have and then adds them up giving you the total amount for that meal.

So this is the kind on mind bending gymnastics i had to get into in order to figure out how i would get the 70% FAT /25% PROTEIN /5% CARBS ratios based on my chosen daily intake of 1500 cal.

Holy S*** that is some mental yoga going on there.

Good for you but my 2pence worth is to chill a bit. Not to be as condescending as that sounds, as when I was first diagnosed I was angry, impatient and needed to understand my condition Now. Really this intensity was helping to keep my blood sugar high....all to do with physical stress response and your liver being instructed to pump out glycogen to fight or run from a suspected sabertooth encounter.

Your numbers are coming down... as a previous poster said, I think, write your food and amounts down. My fitness pal app can help with that. I haven't used it as I am old school and tend to write stuff down for 2 days and then think that's tedious and stop.
Once you add your blood glucose readings from before and after food, you will over time see trends. Its these trends your looking at. So if there is a dish you have occasionally and you notice that your BG raises the following morning. Then you might reduce what you had or avoid it or have it much earlier in the day with 30min of exercise afterwards to burn up that extra glucose in your blood.

This is the long game; the mere fact your 'eating to your meter' (the aim for no more than a 2mmol/L raise after 2 hours of eating or non-diabetic levels) you will lose weight if you have any to lose. Take up regular exercise, you will improve your numbers. LCHF on this forum you will see personal interpretation of that that either works for the individual or not. I would say I do a low carb some days <20g other days <50g, my BG can handle that flexibility right now. It might not in the future nor might it work for you; highish fat, cause I eat way more fat than I used to and even only just started having fat drinks which took me weeks to get my head around, but ultimately how I feel, what they taste like and what my meter shows, dictates stuff I eat. No biggy.

Be prepared for the NHS to not fund or recognise your aims for non-diabetic levels. My GP is convinced Type2 is a progressive disease and I'm basically ******. So that might mean purchasing your own meter and test strips. For that SD CodeFree is great. I get through a pot a week. Works out at approx £5.10 per week, with discounts. Knowing my BG numbers is worth more than 2 'flat whites' a week to me. Read books if you like, I got the Beirnstine (sp) book on kindle, but not read yet cause I prefer an urban fantasy book, I do like reading how real people with Type2 manage their own beast on the forums.....

But essentially your doing a Sinatra, your condition your way. Respect for that.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Holy S*** that is some mental yoga going on there.

Good for you but my 2pence worth is to chill a bit. Not to be as condescending as that sounds, as when I was first diagnosed I was angry, impatient and needed to understand my condition Now. Really this intensity was helping to keep my blood sugar high....all to do with physical stress response and your liver being instructed to pump out glycogen to fight or run from a suspected sabertooth encounter.

Your numbers are coming down... as a previous poster said, I think, write your food and amounts down. My fitness pal app can help with that. I haven't used it as I am old school and tend to write stuff down for 2 days and then think that's tedious and stop.
Once you add your blood glucose readings from before and after food, you will over time see trends. Its these trends your looking at. So if there is a dish you have occasionally and you notice that your BG raises the following morning. Then you might reduce what you had or avoid it or have it much earlier in the day with 30min of exercise afterwards to burn up that extra glucose in your blood.

This is the long game; the mere fact your 'eating to your meter' (the aim for no more than a 2mmol/L raise after 2 hours of eating or non-diabetic levels) you will lose weight if you have any to lose. Take up regular exercise, you will improve your numbers. LCHF on this forum you will see personal interpretation of that that either works for the individual or not. I would say I do a low carb some days <20g other days <50g, my BG can handle that flexibility right now. It might not in the future nor might it work for you; highish fat, cause I eat way more fat than I used to and even only just started having fat drinks which took me weeks to get my head around, but ultimately how I feel, what they taste like and what my meter shows, dictates stuff I eat. No biggy.

Be prepared for the NHS to not fund or recognise your aims for non-diabetic levels. My GP is convinced Type2 is a progressive disease and I'm basically ******. So that might mean purchasing your own meter and test strips. For that SD CodeFree is great. I get through a pot a week. Works out at approx £5.10 per week, with discounts. Knowing my BG numbers is worth more than 2 'flat whites' a week to me. Read books if you like, I got the Beirnstine (sp) book on kindle, but not read yet cause I prefer an urban fantasy book, I do like reading how real people with Type2 manage their own beast on the forums.....

But essentially your doing a Sinatra, your condition your way. Respect for that.

Gravity-carb I agree with every word you wrote! I too stop recording after 2 days due to tedium, and buy books without reading them, lol.

Seriously though, perspective is everything. Chilling is good. This doesn't need to be an extreme sport of counting and calculating. Stress does raise BG levels.

 

[Sirmione]

To put it another way eating low carb isn't a "diet" but a change in eating style even more a it is a change life style that a diabetic will have to live with for life.

Trying to micro manage Type 2 with diet will quickly drive you mad, the way to succeed is to adopt a wider perspective and just avoid carbs rather than count them, using your meter as a tool to learn what food works for you and what doesn't.
Cutting out carbs and replacing them with fats and to a lesser extent proteins with result in better blood glucose control, weight loss and reduction in appetite when the weight loss starts to level off is the time to look at calories.

 

[Croc]

What I want to know is why I've not lost an ounce doing LCHF. I've not cut out carbs completely but I've reduced significantly to a level I can easily live with and nothing. Im getting nice BS readings on the whole but no weight loss.

 

[Jo123]

UOTE="Croc, post: 925292, member: 166824"]What I want to know is why I've not lost an ounce doing LCHF. I've not cut out carbs completely but I've reduced significantly to a level I can easily live with and nothing. Im getting nice BS readings on the whole but no weight loss.[/QUOTE]
I would cut down on the fat you are eating. When I first joined this forum it was low carb not low carb high fat, following this regime the weight fell off me. But also through testing I was strict with foods that raised my blood sugar, which turned out to be most carbs!

 

[Evelynross]

Yesterday I had 20g carbs, today BS 9.9. I will give it a couple more days

 

[Evelynross]

Wonder if my meds need upped? I'm on 2x metformin

 

[Gravity-Carb]

Wonder if my meds need upped? I'm on 2x metformin

Give it time and try and do 30mins of exercise a day, if your able. A walk after Lunch or dinner? A 30min youtube vid on exercise on a chair. Dancing like a loon to your fav album. Whatever appeals do it for 30mins and you might be surprised in your numbers. Remember to test before and after, I always forget

 

[mehhh2015]

Wonder if my meds need upped? I'm on 2x metformin

It all depends, maybe you could open your own thread and give us a little more detail so we can help.

 

[khorlo]

are you Type 1 or 2? Do you need more insulin or drugs to bring it down a bit - perhaps an extra unit per meal? I find my needs change all the time, I can get stuck in a rut where I need more insulin so I take a bit more which brings my levels down and they tend to stay down for a bit then and I need less insulin - it is complicated!

Hi @alisonhe ,
I am type 2 and my feeling is that keeping this diet very strict i would be able to stay within the BS recommended limits for a diabetic.
I am totally determined to make this work and i am not comfortable going down the route of medication for now or at least for the rest of the year.
Diet and exercise is my chosen path for now and i am convinced that i will succeed as many others did before me.
I also have at my disposal tools which are almost unknown in the west.

The psychological effect medication has for some people is making them to become lazy.
For the past couple of decades my laziness and sedentary lifestyle has only created me problems.