• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

A few questions for a future Low carb

Q

Quanntum

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello all,
I am new to the forum, though I have been T2 for a while now. I am finally taking this seriously and will be going Low carb in about a month (my campus food is pretty **** so I'm waiting until I go home. Will be off campus next year so I'll be able to cook starting in a month)
ANyway I just have a few basic questions i got from reading stickies/threads on this site:

1) When the thread says "Avoid" does that mean never eat? And maybe I missed it, but where do beans fit into this spectrum?
2) Do any of you low carbers eat things like rice/potatoes/bread/pastas at all? This definitely seems like it would depend on how that specific carb affects you I'm guessing. I really want to do low carb, and I figure if I'm not super low, say I'm in the 60-75g/day range, I might be able to fit some of that in there? I already don't drink soda/juice, or eat cereal/chips/candy. But i feel giving up the brown rice and sweet potatoes may be a bit harder.
3) Are any of you heavy athletes? I am hoping to get back into martial arts, which is my biggest hobby. However that would include working out 5x/week for anywhere between 45 mins (Gym session) to two hours (BJJ session).

Uhh. IDK I'm sorry if all of these questions have been answered I promise you I did try to find them but I really couldn't.
 
@Quantum I think the most important thing is to get a blood glucose meter and then test your levels on waking then before each meal and then 2 hours afterwards, this will let you know exactly what certain foods are doing to your blood sugar levels.

For a fantastic free resorce look at www.dietdoctor.com they do a two week low carb challenge which effectively tells you what to eat for that period and includes recipe's and is a really good introduction into this way of eating. Maybe do this in conjunction with testing your BG levels so that you can see the effect this way of eating is having.

To be honest most low carbers avoid rice, potatoes, bread and pasta but you very quickly lose your cravings for these, however you can but try them and test 2 hours after eating them if they raise your sugars up then probably best to avoid. There are some low carb breads and wraps available and you can always ask people which brands they use. Sorry I do not eat bread at all anymore so am not much help on this one:)

I am not a heavy athlete but do go to the gym every day and spend 45 mins in the gym (weights and resistance) and then have a 40 minute swim. Hopefully someone who does do more heavy workouts will be along soon to answer your questions.

Personally I have never felt so energised and well and my mood has lifted. As you can see from my signature I had a blood test on the 3rd march which showed I had an HbA1c level of 118 and a BG reading of 17.7. I had already been doing LCHF since the 10th Feb (hilariously I gave up carbs for lent, you have to laugh really!) but now a month after my test my weekly average BG reading is 6.3. So yes low carb really does work.

Other people to read are Zoe Harcombe and also Jason Fung (google them both) Janson Fung does work on the success of Intermittant Fasting which is something a lot of low carbers also incorporate. Either keeping it as simple as not eating breakfast so doing an 16/8 fast or having a couple of 24 hour fasts in a week, some even go further and fast for a few days. It is worth reading up on and seeing if it is something for you or not. The way I do fasting is I gave myself an 8 hour window to eat food so for example the kitchen opens at 12:00 and closes at 20:00.

Lots of information to read, I know I spent my first week after diagnosis with my head buried in the lap top reading and planning.

Keep asking questions this lot are really knowledageable and there are folks who have done really amazing things with their weight and BG levels.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello quantum welcome to the forum
There are no hard and fast rules with a low carb diet, how many carbs you eat and where you get them from is something you need to decide. All of the foods you mention are high carb and will probably make controlling your sugar levels difficult. The only way you can know for shure the impact different foods have on your sugar levels is by testing before you eat and again 2 hours later. If you keep a record of your meals and test results you will soon see what needs to be cut out or reduced. I'll tag @TorqPenderloin for you i think he will be able to help with your exercise question
 
Dear Cat in a Hat,

Yes, avoid means avoid for ever. In theory you could have the odd small splurge, but it doesn't work psychologically. You wouldn't be safe from the longings. It's cold turkey I'm afraid.

Beans: well, you have to test. Some people can tolerate lentils, chickpeas etc, but many (me for example) can't.

Courage.
 
As said there are many levels of low carbing which makes it fun :)

Avoid to me means mostly but I make exceptions and try to aim for 80% doing things right....

IE... if I am going out for a meal I dont stress over it , it is generally a family meal sunday lunch style so I have spuds etc but just dont go mad ......... and eat zero carb for the rest of the day to allow for it...

Portion size is often not mentioned, just because a food is high carb in of itself does not mean that it is high carb in the context of a meal...ie a bowl of rice is high carb but a teaspoonful on your plate is not going to raise your bloods much if at all.......



Test , test, test everyone is different . I can have a few small new potatoes and my bloods are fine you might not be able to....

I stick to less than 40g of carbs a day and my approach is working for me....



My advice (for what its worth :) ) is to start easy @ >100g a day of carbs and see how you go ......
 
How many carbs and which sort of carbs is very personal, and only a meter can give you the answer. We each have our own tolerance levels and it is a matter of finding that level. Some people find going cold turkey is the best way, whilst others (me included) reduced carb levels gradually. The decision is yours, but the real answer is eat to your meter and find a sustainable eating plan. It has to be sustainable for you personally as this is forever, not just a few months.
 
For me a low carb diet means just what it says - eating high carb foods (potatoes, pasta, cereal, rice, flour, cakes, jams, etc) on a low card diet is a contradiction in terms, and would be pointless... :wideyed:

But still being pedantic, we can eat a reduced carbs diet and still eat these high carb foods in moderation. Your meter will tell you what your body can cope with.

It's worth being aware that if you do go fairly low carb, eating high carb foods can take away from your chosen carbs allowance some of the healthy low carb alternatives that you ought be be eating instead. And it may keep you craving carbs which is really not such a good idea.

Robbity
 
Did someone say exercise?!? Haha, thanks for tagging me @catinahat

First of all, yes, all of this is extremely complicated and it's extremely difficult to change everything all at once. If you're worried you might not be able to do it all at once....then don't :)

When you count calories, you're limiting the total energy that enters/leaves your body. That's pretty easy to understand for the most part.

When you count carbs, you're causing your body to undergo a change in what it uses as energy (glycolysis to ketosis). That's a complicated topic to understand at first.

Either way, the end goal is to find something that works for you and that is sustainable, but for now the goal should be to start. You don't have to immediately have the perfect diet, workout 7 days a week and run a marathon before the month is over, but each day try to do something you're proud of.

Setting goals for yourself is also extremely important and vital to your success. The long-term goals are more obvious, but don't neglect to set some short-term goals either. You need to constantly remind yourself to stay on track and be conscious of when you're succeeding (but also when you're failing).

I realize this doesn't directly answer your questions, but I believe your mindset is 100x more important than having the perfect diet and exercise plan.

In my opinion, your first goal should be to start low-carbing TODAY rather than in a month. It doesn't need to be anything drastic, but set a simple goal and try to eat fewer carbs than you ate the day before.

The problem is, it's not going to get any easier in a month. You think it is, but it won't. There's always going to be an excuse or challenge that makes it difficult, but that's why if it were that easy we'd all have ripped abs and perfect physiques.
 
Wow. This is the second time I've made a thread and been surprised by the amount of responses and support I got lol.

I think I understand though. I'm going to look up how to properly test to see what causes spikes, and then go buy me some test strips and get to figuring things out! You're all right, and this is for life. I'll give up whatever I have to in order to get to where I need to be and live a long healthy life.

As for starting now, I'd agree. It is difficult, but I'll just have to find ways to deal with it. In a way I feel I have started a little bit just by getting myself to stop overeating. Because eating less in general is probably the first step for a lot of people who are severely overweight (like myself). So I understand what you are saying and I agree.

Thank you all again for your responses.
 
Lindy1706 said:
@Quantum

Personally I have never felt so energised and well and my mood has lifted. As you can see from my signature I had a blood test on the 3rd march which showed I had an HbA1c level of 118 and a BG reading of 17.7. I had already been doing LCHF since the 10th Feb (hilariously I gave up carbs for lent, you have to laugh really!) but now a month after my test my weekly average BG reading is 6.3. So yes low carb really does work.

.
Click to expand...
i am looking forward to this. Getting my energy and my mood up. HOpefully my concentration as well, as I have been having so much trouble focusing in school.
 
Hey all, one more quick question.
I've been doing a ton of research the last few days and I keep seeing "net carbs" which is apparently total carbs-fiber. Here do you guys believe in that or is it just a carb= a carb? I'm trying my best to learn from you all because you've all been successful already
 
It's the awkward Yanks who insist on net carbs.

In the UK and Euroland the amount of Carbs shown in the nutritional information is the ACTUAL amount of Carbs the product contains.
 
britishpub said:
It's the awkward Yanks who insist on net carbs.

In the UK and Euroland the amount of Carbs shown in the nutritional information is the ACTUAL amount of Carbs the product contains.
Click to expand...
Unforunately I'm not in the UK. I'm in America :( idk if that makes a difference but I think I will just count carbs and fiber as separate entities.
 
Quanntum said:
Unforunately I'm not in the UK. I'm in America :( idk if that makes a difference but I think I will just count carbs and fiber as separate entities.
Click to expand...

Yep, in America everything is awkwardly different from here. Even the units on our glucose meters. :(
 
Quanntum said:
Unforunately I'm not in the UK. I'm in America :( idk if that makes a difference but I think I will just count carbs and fiber as separate entities.
Click to expand...
I'm in the US as well. Here all carbohydrates are counted in "Total carbohydrates" even those our bodies cannot digest (like sugar alcohols).

"Net carbs" refers to the number of carbs that, in theory, should affect your blood sugar.

It's my understanding that in the UK, fiber and sugar alcohols are excluded from the Total Carb count which makes the term "Net Carbs" redundant.
 
Yes: net carbs is what you want. Fibre that doesn't get digested is subtracted from total carb in US figures. That's already done in the UK. So UK carb = US net carb.

So not as bad as it looks.
 
So I got back from the hospital. Got some routine bloodwork done as well as getting checked out for some things. Other than having diabetes, I am a fairly healthy individual and set to start my LCHF diet tomorrow :) It'll be tough and I feel I'm going to end up undereating my first few days, but that's okay.

My usual split was a 40/40/20 carb/protein/fat split. Now with a 2000 cal diet, that put my carb intake at about 200g/day, which I am hoping to cut in half for now. I will see how my body responds, and will periodically come back with updates! (Or create a new thread, but i try to avoid doing that too often).
 
Back
Top