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Amount of carbs

jomar_uk

jomar_uk

Well-Known Member
Messages
109
Advice appreciated.

76 year old male
85kg (lost a lot of weight)

What carb total should I be aiming for daily please?

My ideal weight is 96kg and been advised to up my protein intake to build me up.

Are weight watcher meals appropriate for diabetes also pls?

Lots of health issues but trying to keep this as simple as possible.

Kind regards & thank you in advance, JoMar
 
Last edited:
jomar_uk said:
Advice appreciated.

76 year old male
85kg (lost a lot of weight)

What carb total should I be aiming for daily please?

My ideal weight is 96kg and been advised to up my protein intake to build me up.

Are weight watcher meals appropriate for diabetes also pls?

Lots of health issues but trying to keep this as simple as possible.

Kind regards & thank you in advance, JoMar
Click to expand...
It's not as simple as you feel it to be in your question!
The only way to know is using a glucometer around your meals.
Having more protein is sensible as long as the carb count doesn't go up as well. If you first try a total of 150g and its not working, then reduce to 100g, and again not enough, then 50g. It all depends on how much you can tolerate carbs and sugars. Once you get your hba1c levels to within near normal levels, then maybe you can introduce more carbs if you wish. But it will take time.
Reducing your carbs is how to lower your hba1c levels!
The problem with weight watchers meals are about their manufacturing additives and hidden sugars, never mind the usual high carb content!
I would recommend eating only fresh food, reduce starchy vegetables and not too much fruit.
It may seem restrictive, but if you read our low carb threads or dietdoctor.com. So many great ideas and recipes!
Hope that helps.
Best wishes.
 
Maybe check out dietdoctor.com for amazing range of relatively simple recipes. In any case the gold standard is to prepare your foods from scratch - i.e., not weight-watchers, etc commercially prepared meals. I've had great results just living off eggs, bacon and steaks plus odd green leafy salad and a bit of cheese
 
Lamont D said:
It's not as simple as you feel it to be in your question!
The only way to know is using a glucometer around your meals.
Having more protein is sensible as long as the carb count doesn't go up as well. If you first try a total of 150g and its not working, then reduce to 100g, and again not enough, then 50g. It all depends on how much you can tolerate carbs and sugars. Once you get your hba1c levels to within near normal levels, then maybe you can introduce more carbs if you wish. But it will take time.
Reducing your carbs is how to lower your hba1c levels!
The problem with weight watchers meals are about their manufacturing additives and hidden sugars, never mind the usual high carb content!
I would recommend eating only fresh food, reduce starchy vegetables and not too much fruit.
It may seem restrictive, but if you read our low carb threads or dietdoctor.com. So many great ideas and recipes!
Hope that helps.
Best wishes.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much.

I kept it simple as I have to balance to conflicting diets, diabetes and the main one of Crohn’s. So far the majority of my sugar readings have been in range.

Getting out is awkward and the high protein is because of severe weight loss there want me to regain (I was in a liquid only diet for 12 weeks before they discovered the steroids had induced type 2 ).

Hence the simplistic question as the juggling I’m trying to do gives me headaches :))

Fresh food would be ok if I knew which products but will look at where you suggest.

Kind regards & thanks again, JoMar
 
oldgreymare said:
Maybe check out dietdoctor.com for amazing range of relatively simple recipes. In any case the gold standard is to prepare your foods from scratch - i.e., not weight-watchers, etc commercially prepared meals. I've had great results just living off eggs, bacon and steaks plus odd green leafy salad and a bit of cheese
Click to expand...

Thank you but steaks and melted cheese off my list (possibility of creating obstructions in the strictures.

Appreciate your input, thank you, JoMar
 
jomar_uk said:
Advice appreciated.

76 year old male
85kg (lost a lot of weight)

What carb total should I be aiming for daily please?

My ideal weight is 96kg and been advised to up my protein intake to build me up.

Are weight watcher meals appropriate for diabetes also pls?

Lots of health issues but trying to keep this as simple as possible.

Kind regards & thank you in advance, JoMar
Click to expand...
I guess the answer is that it depends what you want to achieve.

If you want to build up muscle (rather than fat) to regain the weight then upping protein plus adding resistance exercise worked for me. I'm still losing body fat but my weight is fairly stable. Atthe same time I don't expect you'd want your blood glucose levels to run high, so that argues for maintaining a low-carb approach overall. In general - above ground veg, meat, fish, and dairy are all low or zero carb items. If you think back to the traditional advice to cut out starches and sugars, that's it.

I've no direct experience of weightwatcher meals but I am told they are usually carby.

Are you testing before and after eating? That should show you how well you're handling whatever carb is in your diet at the minute.
 
KennyA said:
I guess the answer is that it depends what you want to achieve.

If you want to build up muscle (rather than fat) to regain the weight then upping protein plus adding resistance exercise worked for me. I'm still losing body fat but my weight is fairly stable. Atthe same time I don't expect you'd want your blood glucose levels to run high, so that argues for maintaining a low-carb approach overall. In general - above ground veg, meat, fish, and dairy are all low or zero carb items. If you think back to the traditional advice to cut out starches and sugars, that's it.

I've no direct experience of weightwatcher meals but I am told they are usually carby.

Are you testing before and after eating? That should show you how well you're handling whatever carb is in your diet at the minute.
Click to expand...

Dietician told me to test on waking and before my evening dinner only, so far readings are good.

I think traditional advice for now till I see both teams again would be a good solution for now.

Just quickly I lost so much weight after my beloved wife died I was classed as having malnutrition so it’s a very slow process plus the added complications of my Crohns disease and diabetes.

I’m sure with the help in here we can crack it however slowly..

Thank you for your response, appreciated, JoMar
 
jomar_uk said:
Dietician told me to test on waking and before my evening dinner only, so far readings are good.

I think traditional advice for now till I see both teams again would be a good solution for now.

Just quickly I lost so much weight after my beloved wife died I was classed as having malnutrition so it’s a very slow process plus the added complications of my Crohns disease and diabetes.

I’m sure with the help in here we can crack it however slowly..

Thank you for your response, appreciated, JoMar
Click to expand...
Many of us (I'm one) find that the morning reading is often the highest of the day. Testing before food doesn't tell you anything about what that food does to your blood glucose and how your system responds- for that you'd need a second test two hours later.

I understand that you might not want to step out any further for the moment. Give it the time it needs. This forum is a great source of advice and support.
 
I’m just keeping to what both my dieticians have said which is difficult as they contradict on what foods to eat on their diet sheets.

They both have said my testing is on waking up and before my evening dinner, so I think it’s best to do as they say as I’m really in their hands especially for the strictures Crohns which seems the most problematic.

Thank you again, JoMar
 
Chicken is a great meal both from a low carb and a Heathly protein point of view and very versatile/easy to cook? Avoiding potatoes/breads/pasta/cereals/rice is a good idea - cauliflower rice is a good substitute that shouldn't upset your crohns I think? Fresh wedge salads? I'm so sorry you lost your wife and hope you're doing OK today.
 
CatsFive said:
What about mince and Greek yoghurt? Scrambled (or however you like them) eggs? Fish? Grated cheese?
Click to expand...

Fish I really enjoy, tbh they scared me a little about cheese as they said I could have hard cheese (ie cheddar) but not melted cheese because of causing obstructions.
Cauliflower and cheese I could eat 24/7 :)
Eggs also I enjoy but not too many as they can bind you.

Appreciate your suggestions, thank you, JoMar
 
Helen40 said:
Chicken is a great meal both from a low carb and a Heathly protein point of view and very versatile/easy to cook? Avoiding potatoes/breads/pasta/cereals/rice is a good idea - cauliflower rice is a good substitute that shouldn't upset your crohns I think? Fresh wedge salads? I'm so sorry you lost your wife and hope you're doing OK today.
Click to expand...

Thank you, miss her beyond words!

I love chicken since I discovered the air fryer which makes it easy & fast to cook. I make sure the skin is off as they advised.

Cauliflower rice crops up everywhere. I must try it. The cauliflower is one vegetable I cannot eat the stalk part (and of it) because the list I have said it’s fibrous and could potentially cause blockage. Honestly they do make cooking & living a tad difficult with all these restrictions.
Not sure what fresh wedge salads are, will look that up.

Again thank you for you help, appreciated, JoMar
 
jomar_uk said:
Fish I really enjoy, tbh they scared me a little about cheese as they said I could have hard cheese (ie cheddar) but not melted cheese because of causing obstructions.
Cauliflower and cheese I could eat 24/7 :)
Eggs also I enjoy but not too many as they can bind you.

Appreciate your suggestions, thank you, JoMar
Click to expand...

I'm guessing they are thinking of the way mozzarella goes stringy when melted. But you could check with them if melted grated hard cheese is OK? If it is then cheese omelettes are high protein, low fibre, low carbs and very quick & easy to cook as long as you have a decent non-stick pan.

If you like it, you can put flaked smoked haddock in omelettes, with or without cheese. The haddock needs cooking first but microwaves are wonderful... I always buy the natural smoked haddock, not the bright yellow stuff.
 
IMG_3189.jpg

To keep on topic, you really shouldn’t have mentioned fish!

Whenever I eat it, Dobbie wants to share it but 80/20% in his favour :)

Yes natural smoked haddock the best.

My dietician said *any* hard cheeses, whether grated of whole is fine to be eaten but when melted creates potent ion problems of blockage or restriction in strictures so cold cheese it is. :)

Kind regards, you cat look a fine specimen, JoMar

He is a cranberry tortie point Siamese rescue, 7 years old, we had him from about 16-18 months old.
 
Can you have cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, Parmesan cheese has a really high melt point and doesn’t go gloopy, you could add those to dishes requiring melting

If you can have Greek yogurt, cream cheese and Parmesan you can make a nice low carb cauliflower cheese that way, just warm the yogurt in the microwave add the cream cheese and season add some Parmesan then pour over the cauliflower, sprinkle a bit of Parmesan on the top and grill or put in the oven to brown off. Would that work for you?

I’m also thinking Feta which melts differently too, it sort of keeps its shape until you stir it but then it just goes into a smooth creamy state
 
lovinglife said:
Can you have cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, Parmesan cheese has a really high melt point and doesn’t go gloopy, you could add those to dishes requiring melting

If you can have Greek yogurt, cream cheese and Parmesan you can make a nice low carb cauliflower cheese that way, just warm the yogurt in the microwave add the cream cheese and season add some Parmesan then pour over the cauliflower, sprinkle a bit of Parmesan on the top and grill or put in the oven to brown off. Would that work for you?

I’m also thinking Feta which melts differently too, it sort of keeps its shape until you stir it but then it just goes into a smooth creamy state
Click to expand...

Thank you, I’ll ask my dietician as it sounds delicious!

Kind regards, john

It sounds silly but imagine the “tubes” in our tummies are 1” diameter, mine are around 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch in places (called strictures). That’s is how they explained to me how “blockages/obstructions occur as the cheese (nuts also banned as are any fibrous foods) would cool and *possibly* create these problems by blocking as they cook/reconstitute. (Basically all my “small bowel” has this problem, hence elective surgery in the horizon again, why it’s delayed I have no idea, perhaps the other medical challenges?
Tbh I’ve hard my fill of hospitals this years had my 6th visit last month, we are on Christian name terms :))

Kind regards, JoMar
 
jomar_uk said:
Thank you, I’ll ask my dietician as it sounds delicious!

Kind regards, john

It sounds silly but imagine the “tubes” in our tummies are 1” diameter, mine are around 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch in places (called strictures). That’s is how they explained to me how “blockages/obstructions occur as the cheese (nuts also banned as are any fibrous foods) would cool and *possibly* create these problems by blocking as they cook/reconstitute. (Basically all my “small bowel” has this problem, hence elective surgery in the horizon again, why it’s delayed I have no idea, perhaps the other medical challenges?
Tbh I’ve hard my fill of hospitals this years had my 6th visit last month, we are on Christian name terms :))

Kind regards, JoMar
Click to expand...
I understand how difficult it must be for you to find things to eat, it’s not possible to look at treating conditions separately sometimes and we have to take a holistic approach and treat as a whole so if low carb is difficult to achieve for your diabetes and a higher carb diet is better for your Crohns then maybe that’s the way to go maybe with the help of meds for your diabetes. Perhaps this is something you could discuss with you HCP team too. I think you do amazingly well all things considered
 
lovinglife said:
I understand how difficult it must be for you to find things to eat, it’s not possible to look at treating conditions separately sometimes and we have to take a holistic approach and treat as a whole so if low carb is difficult to achieve for your diabetes and a higher carb diet is better for your Crohns then maybe that’s the way to go maybe with the help of meds for your diabetes. Perhaps this is something you could discuss with you HCP team too. I think you do amazingly well all things considered
Click to expand...

I really appreciate your reply & encouragement.
It’s difficult having 2 teams I respect & depend on (Crohns & Diabetes) not being able to come to a consensus yet.

It will happen though & “All shall be well@

Kind regards, JoMar
 
Talking of smoked haddock tonight I’m making a favourite of ours which is skinless smoked haddock cooked gently in a wide pan in a little double cream with a handful of fresh herbs added at the end. Tonight as a luxury am adding a few scallops which will cook at the same rate. I will have mine with cauli rice, the best and most convenient I find is packs of 4 frozen individual portions from Asda or Iceland which can be microwaved in minutes as needed.
I would like to join in congratulating you in managing two very tricky conditions while at the same time grieving the loss of your wife. Finally Dobbie is a fine fella looks like he really has landed on his furry little feet!
 
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