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Type 2 carbs?

twirlytooearly

twirlytooearly

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi I have been type 2 for about 10 years not much fluctuation in my sugar blood levels but just wondering what is the new guide lines about carbs
 
I dont think there is really any new guidelines in regard to carbs as the professionals are still pushing the healthy plate which is still quite carb heavy. A lot of members here including myself are following the LCHF way of eating though which is great for lowering your BS and keeping it stable.
 
The current guidance from those who understand the science is to keep the carbs under control as they did pre-war. In the post-war period someone published a paper based on weak evidence together with industry lobby groups and the NHS and dieticians took it all on-board without looking for real scientific logic. So, keep the carbs down and have enough protein and carbs to keep you full. Personally I'm suspicious of the data relating to having a 'high' fat diet with the low-carbs but as fats are good for you use your own judgement.
 
I am more than happy to put myself on the LCHF diet as a newly diagnosed type 2 having progressed from. Pre-diabetic after gaining one stone in weight it seems. So without any form pf guidance from the doc I'm assuming my best way forward is to follow the advice and success of so many on this forum who have changed their lives around. I was not offered a meter etc so decided to invest myself and can now check my own bs levels. My lowest to date was 4.9 after eating only a mushroom omelette and a few walnuts. Having not been well I haven't had much appetite but have a feeling that maybe I need a bit more than that on a daily basis?!! I guess for some this maybe a silly question but how and where do you arrive at your total carb intake. If you cut out the obvious bread potatoes rice etc is it all about reading endless pages of what carb each veg and fruit is likely to contain- .sorry if I'm being stupid - but once I have a clear understanding of the way forward I shall get on with it. I've only just learned what hibac means and that was by watching doctor in the house on you tube !!!! but I've never been given my levels or my current body fat measurement .

Wishing everyone a very Happy, healthy and successful New year - let's all try and reach our personal goals
 
Every time I go for a blood test I always ask for a printout so I can always look back over past results at a glance. It can be quite confusing when.you first start out. It took me months to get my head around everything but I worked out what I was eating and I wrote everything in a little book complete with carb counts ect so at a glance I can look and see what carbs I have consumed, after a while it becomes second nature so I guess the first step is to work out what you are planning on eating and then look up the carb values to see where it sits within your carb range. There are a lot of apps out there like My Fitness Pal ect that you can input what you have eaten and it will calculate it for you.
 
From a carbohydrate perspective If I am eating and it has packaging I try to adopt the, eat if below the 0.5g per hundred rule. Apart from that stay away from all the carby veg, which is usually the veg that grows under the ground,
Sometimes I may have little amounts of onion and carrot.
 
@Countrykins It's well worth buying yourself a copy of Trudi Deakins "Eat Fat!" book to help you get sorted out carbs wise.

It's up to you though to both use your meter to find out how you react to various foods, and decide for yourself how many carbs, etc you need, or prefer, to eat. Many online supermarkets will provide detailed nutritional information about the various products they sell, and this can provide very useful informaytion for such decision making. Low (or reduced) carb diets will include anything from around 130g carbs a day downwards to very low carb diets at 30g carbs or below, so to an extent you have to decide just what you can manage to eat (or not) comfortably and long(ish) term, and which at the same will still improve your glucose levels and/or any required weight loss. This link gives a calculator which may help you decide on your dietary requirements. It's often best to start off at the higher levels of reduced carbs, and work your way lower as (or even sometimes if!) needs be. Try reducing or cutting out all the obvious sugary foods (sugar, jam, sweets, cakes, biscuits...) and the very starchy ones (potatoes, cereals, flour, bread, pastries, pasta, rice...) to begin with and you can then refine your diet more to get to where you want to be. Our main diabetes.co.uk site has information here on recommended glucose levels, that you should use as a general guide.

Robbity
 
4ratbags said:
Every time I go for a blood test I always ask for a printout so I can always look back over past results at a glance. It can be quite confusing when.you first start out. It took me months to get my head around everything but I worked out what I was eating and I wrote everything in a little book complete with carb counts ect so at a glance I can look and see what carbs I have consumed, after a while it becomes second nature so I guess the first step is to work out what you are planning on eating and then look up the carb values to see where it sits within your carb range. There are a lot of apps out there like My Fitness Pal ect that you can input what you have eaten and it will calculate it for you.
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Thank you so much for your reply. I haven't been asked to go back for a further blood test so will have to get in touch myself and follow this up.
However here we are at the start of a New Year so I will certainly take your good advice and from today I shall start my food diary and investigate what the carb content is of my choices, I'm not a sweet tooth so shouldn't find it too difficult. If last night is an example I shall look,forward to add ons that I'd not considered before,
like a lot of folk I've not been unwell,over Christmas so have quite a few goodies in veg and fruit to soon eat up. But last night I had a pear and avocado that needed to be used so I cut that up and topped them with Stilton and walnuts. - mmmm. Omitted to do my blood sugar before I went to bed but this morning before food it is 6.3 mmols. .?? is that good or bad in my circumstances I wonder? Anyway whatever - I have my journey to start out on so i fancy a mushroom omelette and will see in a couple of hours what result that gives me. !!!!
I will be keeping a daily check on this great site as so many forums have folk reporting such successful stories with willpower and a adjustment. It gives us all great incentive. Thanks again
 
May I just recommend the mySugr app - has the ability to store all your BG readings etc but also when you write down what you eat you can then search for it later. This means if you eat the same meals again and again, you can just work out the carbs once and then go back and look at the last time you ate it. You can also see what happened on that day, so if you got more of a rise than you wanted you can choose to avoid that option. I've found it makes a big difference to how I handle things.
 
Sunstreaker said:
From a carbohydrate perspective If I am eating and it has packaging I try to adopt the, eat if below the 0.5g per hundred rule. Apart from that stay away from all the carby veg, which is usually the veg that grows under the ground,
Sometimes I may have little amounts of onion and carrot.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for replying. I have an action plan in mind now in view of all the advice I have received and will certainly be checking out the web sites.mentioned. You are all so supportive with those of us still floundering around and on my own behalf I am extremely grateful.
 
Welcome to the forum,good advice given so far.The key being to test first thing in the morning,so as to give you a fasting reading,and then one and two hours after eating.Then you can see how each meal effects your blood glucose levels.
Avocado,Stilton and walnuts sounds good.Unfortunatley I personally can't tolerate sweet fruits like apples pears oranges etc.They are packed with fructose.
Many here can have berries,so blueberries or raspberries with whipped cream ( low in lactose) is a popular treat, it's all about trial and error.
 
Countrykins said:
Thank you so much for replying. I have an action plan in mind now in view of all the advice I have received and will certainly be checking out the web sites.mentioned. You are all so supportive with those of us still floundering around and on my own behalf I am extremely grateful.
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Low carbs really do make a difference and I wish I had known that 10 years ago when I was diagnosed with type 2. It has been a steady decline for me with rising blood sugar levels and many different tablets along the way. Last January with a hb of 65 my doctor decided it was time for insulin I asked him to give me 3 months and started researching on this wonderful forum. Low carbs seemed the way forward and I had nothing to lose. I started to eat no more than 100 grams of carbs a day and based my daily meals around the recipes on this website, they include many full meals and are all carb counted for you, this made it so much easier as the meals are very tasty and there is plenty of choice. I also try to walk a good couple of miles a day.
I have just been to the doctor for my latest tests and he was absolutely amazed my hb is down to 48 (which it has never been before) he says that it is almost at pre diabetic levels. I no longer need any medication other than metformin and I have lost 4 stone in weight.
The doctor told me that diabetes is a progressive disease and you will always get worse but my results go to show that this need not be the case - even after 10 years. I am now trying to control the diabetes and not let it control me. Good luck
 
Hello. When I first joined the forum a few weeks ago someone kindly advised me to get 'Carbs & Cals Pocket Counter' £9.99 from Amazon. I have to say that it's a great little book and easy to see at a glance with pictures, all nutritional amounts for loads of different foods. It helps that you can put it in your bag when you're shopping, so you can readily check as you're going round.

Good luck and best wishes for 2016 x
 
Juicyjan53 said:
Hello. When I first joined the forum a few weeks ago someone kindly advised me to get 'Carbs & Cals Pocket Counter' £9.99 from Amazon. I have to say that it's a great little book and easy to see at a glance with pictures, all nutritional amounts for loads of different foods. It helps that you can put it in your bag when you're shopping, so you can readily check as you're going round.

Good luck and best wishes for 2016 x
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Thank you so much everyone - my first purchase for the year will of course now be the carbs and cal pocket counter. I'm sure in time like most of you I will need it less and less as I educate myself better. Got my food diary up and running yesterday - so that's going to make. Interesting reading as the weeks go by I'm sure.!!! So lucky to have a site like this is all I can say. X
 
Hello Countrykins,welcome and a happy new yearyou might find My fitness Pal app' very useful,it calculates all your foods and gives a breakdown of carb/protein/fat, plus other useful functions,clive
 
Thank you I'll certainly go and take a look - come to think of it another member suggested that - I'd forgotten till now. x
 
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