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Carb amounts

chefdee

chefdee

Well-Known Member
Can I ask what sort of carb numbers should I be looking at per meal, I realise we are all different but I'd like a rough idea , I'm failing miserably getting my numbers down ....many thanks
 
I have kept my carbs down to a max of 30g per day and my BG is now back in the normal range. When first diagnosed in May 16 my fasting BG was 14mmol this morning it was 4.6mmol. Initially I went low carb and low calorie then when my weight came down to near where I wanted it I upped the fat content to slow the weight loss down.
 
I usually ear less than 30gms carbs a day but sometimes I go up to 50.

My rule of thumb is nothing over 10gms carbs per 10gms, and most things less than 5gms.
So yesterday I had bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, grilled halloumi with lettuce and cucumber salad for lunch, and a grilled chicken thigh with salad leaves and roasted tomatoes and courgettes for dinner. I also had a piece of cheese as a snack. The tomatoes would have bumped up the carbs but I still came in at under 30gms. My readings pre and post dinner were 6.1 and 7.2.

I downloaded a really good app called "carbs and cals" to my phone and when I first started low carbing I used it to work out the approximate carb values of all my meals. I don't use it as much now as I tend to know roughly what I can and can't eat but it was really useful at first. I also kept a notebook where I wrote down everything i ate along with my readings so I could see what was affecting me. What I've learned is that I can't have any carbs at all in the morning, my body can't cope. But I can tolerate more in the evening. So blueberries and natural yoghurt will spike me hugely if I have them for breakfast. If I have them for pudding after an evening meal it's no problem.

Just keep testing after everything you eat and hopefully you'll work out what your body will tolerate and those numbers will star to come down.

Good luck
 
I think the best thing is to do as @TooManyCrisps suggests and try to eat only foods with a Carb content of below 10g per 100.

Too much fiddling around and "experimenting" will likely mean the process of getting your levels down will take longer and could ultimately be frustrating.
 
Also, you could choose a meal and check your blood sugar after the meal. If your numbers are too high then you ate either too many or the wrong carbs. If you do this with breakfast for a week or two, then you will have an idea what you can eat for breakfast. Then track lunch for a couple of weeks. Then dinner.
 
Thank you so much everyone, some good advice for me to get my head round, I will change my way of eating and post my results, once again thank you for your time and help
 
I found it simplest when first diagnosed to learn which were high carb/starchy/sugary foods and reduce/avoid them. Doing this before I found the forum and discovered about using a meter to check reaction to different foods gave a big drop in my glucose levels. Buying my meter and starting to eat very low carb (20-25g per day) for a short while helped me lose weight and reduce glucose levels even further. I now try to restrict myself to under 50g carbs a day (usually around 30-40). This keeps my levels in the mid to low pre-diabetic range, and generally very stable, and also allows me to keep to my diet long term (over 3 years) without ever feeling deprived.

Robbity
 
Ian_Laye said:
I have kept my carbs down to a max of 30g per day and my BG is now back in the normal range. When first diagnosed in May 16 my fasting BG was 14mmol this morning it was 4.6mmol. Initially I went low carb and low calorie then when my weight came down to near where I wanted it I upped the fat content to slow the weight loss down.
Click to expand...
I am overjoyed if my total day's carbs are below 200! My wife and I love our potatoes, but not rice. I eat a modest amount of bread cereals. However I have a stubborn sweet tooth. Give me strength. I do a lot of exercise.
 
bridia12 said:
I am overjoyed if my total day's carbs are below 200! My wife and I love our potatoes, but not rice. I eat a modest amount of bread cereals. However I have a stubborn sweet tooth. Give me strength. I do a lot of exercise.
Click to expand...

Just remember there's a big difference between how type 1s - and some type 2s manage carbs (with insulin) and how many other t2s manage theirs (oral meds and/or diet alone). This makes a big difference to the number and types of carbs we can eat to control our glucose levels.

Robbity
 
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