Confused about low carb levels

Elpurple said:

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Hi, I’m confused about what is a low carb diet. The screenshot about dietary levels is from NHS website and the other is from here. NHS recommend no more than 260g carbs a day but the list from here suggests that anything over 170 is a high carb diet. Is that high carb for T2 diabetics?

I was advised to aim for around 140g but can see other people on here have next to no carbs in their diet. I don’t think I could manage with that low a carb level and my mental health really suffered last time I was diagnosed but I ultimately did go on to reverse my T2 but due to lots of factors here I am again and I’m worried about pushing myself too much.

Would appreciate some advice without judgement

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Hi
There are people who have a very, very low carb diet on this site and manage their diabetes extremely effectively. But there are others, including myself, who eat more carbs, lose significant amounts of weight and consistently achieve non-diabetic HbA1c readings. In my opinion, the important thing is to avoid long term diabetic complications and in my case, so far so good.
Very low carb is daunting so I try to keep to less than 130g of carbs a day and less than 30g per meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner). This gives me some room to play with for the odd snack. I rarely eat pasta or rice and measure it carefully on the very odd occasions when I do. However I do eat a couple of VERY thin slices of bread each day (rye or sourdough or a local low GI loaf which is also pretty low carb). I also eat the odd new potato now and then.
I generally have meals which are normal meals based on meat, fish, eggs or whatever protein you like - unadulterated, curried, Italian style etc etc plus veg but minus, for example, rice, spaghetti, garlic bread etc. I fill the pudding hole with berries and yoghurt. And the occasional, ok daily, couple of squares of very dark chocolate. And/or nuts.
So there you go. I have found this do-able and effective. Hope it helps.

I could tell you how many carbs I have a day and what my sugar levels are but it would be pointless. We are different people, our weight, insulin resistance, metabolism and levels of activity amongst many other things are different.
Some people can get blood sugar levels they are happy with consuming 150g of carbs a day. Others have to go down to 20g or even lower to get to levels they are happy with. Only you can decide what glucose levels to aim for and what amount of carb you need to cut out to achieve those levels.
Use your meter, test before and after meals, in no time at all you will know what to cut down or avoid. You will be able to design your own diet that will give you the sugar levels you are happy with. How many carbs that will be, who knows?

Elpurple said:

The screenshot about dietary levels is from NHS website and the other is from here. NHS recommend no more than 260g carbs a day but the list from here suggests that anything over 170 is a high carb diet. Is that high carb for T2 diabetics?

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I wonder which has achieved greater success in remission rates.. I can guess quite easily though and it won't be the NHS.

Depending on what you like to eat and what changes you are prepared to make very low carb eating can be easy or hard.

It will also depend on other things like food addiction, cultural background and your desire to heal yourself.

The reason those in here vary is because we are all different. if I ate 130g a day my levels would be sky high. Others can achieve normal non diabetic levels on this amount. Many of us who eat much lower never thought we could do it either but once you get started and used to it (step by step for many) it no longer looks so daunting. The answer is to make a start, test lots and see if you like the results. If not keep cutting the carbs til your happy. It’s not a once only decision and can be adjusted later (either way).


The one thing we have in common is that the nhs advice will keep us firmly diabetic, probably increasing medications and complications. 260g is a lot of carbs for anyone. If you happen to be developing insulin resistance/prediabetes/type 2 it’s way too high. Many of those people have no idea they are in this category.

Hi,
We have a saying on this forum; Eat to your meter.

The problem that most newbies have is to get their heads around, that low carb works. It all depends on how low or how many carbs you can cope with.
We all have a problem with glucose spikes and the way we find out how intolerant we are is to test, test, test. Before and two hours after. With a glucometer and if you are getting good results the more carbs you can have.
One of the reasons why there is a lot who go very low carb is because they cannot tolerate any carbs like me! My usual dietary intake is as low carb as I can possibly get. Regardless wether the carbs are called healthy, or slow digestion, or nutritional, or complex carbs, they are all carbs and I cannot tolerate them.
We are all different and finding how low you need to go is the best way to control your diabetes.
Have a look at the low carb forum on this site and dietdoctor.co.uk this site has incredible ideas on how to change to low carb.

Keep safe

I think in my generation we were told you have to have carbs and we do but not in the amounts that we have had over the last 50 yrs no wonder there is so much obesity, if I didn't have to use carbs to control my insulin dependant type 1 I could quite easily halve mine . But they are so available nowadays I mean who opens a tube of Pringles and only eats a few ? It is difficult but we know what the consequences are , we all have brains in our heads it's up to us isn't it ?

jaywak said:

I think in my generation we were told you have to have carbs and we do

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In truth we don't.. we don't "need" any carbs whatsoever.
Ok to treat a hypo they are needed but as a source of nutrition they aren't.

Many of us were ultra-carb before diagnosis, swimming in a bath of hyperinsulin until the day the body just gave up. I now fall somewhere between 100-200g of carbs a day which may seem like a lot but would have been 500g plus before diagnosis. Eat to your meter or even better, eat to your CGM. Those devices will truly tell you what your body can now handle.

jaywak said:

have had over the last 50 yrs no wonder there is so much obesity, if I didn't have to use carbs to control my insulin dependant type 1 I could quite easily halve mine

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Hi jaywak, you are right, in my Mum's day she was told to match her carbs to her insulin, meaning she had fixed injections of insulin then had to eat copious amounts of carbs to stop from hypoing (which rarely worked). For quite a while now though, the consensus is you decide how many carbs you wish to eat and adapt the insulin accordingly. Of course I do not know your situation but why do you feel you have to 'use carbs' to control your type 1 other than for getting out of a hypo, I use insulin to control mine? Pleases don't think I am criticising, I am just interested in all of our different approaches. x

I suppose it's just how I started 46 yrs ago ! I was told to eat 200grams of carbs per day and with experience you'll be able to work out how much insulin you need to cover it , it's worked fine all these years although as i've got older I eat less and so inject less . I suppose what i'me saying is if it aint broke don't fix it !