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Counting the calories... and everything else!

T

thebear

Member
Messages
16
Hi guys,

I have had look at the "mylifestyle" section on the website and it looks like a great tool use to keeping track of everything that you eat etc etc.

I am looking for advice on the best way to work it all out. For example, i have just had a dinner of steak and ale pie, with oven chips and some carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I can work out for example the carbs on the pie as it tells me on the packet. What i cant figure out is what the carb count would be for the oven chips for example (i didn't have a full serving of them) Any tips to make it not so daunting?


Thanks.
 
Personally I've never counted carbs; just eaten "sensible" portion sizes and tried to stick to "compliant" foodstuffs wherever possible.

I'n not sure that oven chips, etc is the sort of thing you should be eating full stop, never mind counting the carbs in them.
 
hi,
oven chips will give you a value per 100grams. Weigh your portion as advised (this may be frozen weight or cooked) If it is 30 carbs per 100 grams divide the 30 by 100 the times is by the weight of the chips you have had. Eg your portion weighs 40grams. they are 30 carbs per 100 grams of chips. 30 divided by 100 is 0.3 grams of carbs per gram of chips so 40 grams of chips is 0.3 x 40 = 12 grams of carbs. A bit long winded but simple to work out.



steph
 
Hi

I can't eat oven chips at all, they spike my BG, I am better with fewer real potatoes than anything processed.
 
Thanks guy,

As it stands, i haven't started regular testing yet. I am new diagnosed so awaiting an appointment to see my doctor this week to sort out the bits and bobs.

I will be ordering a contour testing kit this week and will start finding out what i can and cannot eat.

I agree oven chips might not be the best thing to eat, and i most likely cut it out of my diet. some peeled new potatoes boiled would be a better option I'm guessing.
 
I eat oven chips regularly and they don't spike my levels. I have 60g portions (small) and that makes 16g carbs according to the data on the packet.
 
me too Daisy - I use tesco light oven chips - 21g carb for 100g port - within my remit and don't bother my bs-

ingredients:- potatoes and vegetable oil - that's it - one of the better fast foods in my opinion - not processed and no nasties added - just like all frozen veggies and lots of us use those


thebear said:
I agree oven chips might not be the best thing to eat, and i most likely cut it out of my diet. some peeled new potatoes boiled would be a better option I'm guessing.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that thebear - test and see you may be pleasantly surprised - I can tolerate about 3 small new pots (golf ball sized) unpeeled - but peeled they spike me and as I said the oven chips are fine for me - I know this has been said over and over on here but I'm going to say it again anyway - we are all different and what is ok for one may not be for someone else - test test test and eat to your meter is the key
 
I use Oven Chips, boiled Potato's with skin on and never have a problem with Bg levels. It is all down to the portion size. I weigh everything out carefully, calculate the actual carb content and then I know for the next time exactly what a portion looks like, therefore I don't have to weigh again.

Ken
 
cugila said:
It is all down to the portion size.
Click to expand...


I agree 100% with that statement Ken, I eat oven chips once or twice a week maybe and I dont weight them, I just have 10 medium sized chips, 12 If I feel a bit cheeky :lol:
 
cugila said:
I weigh everything out carefully, calculate the actual carb content and then I know for the next time exactly what a portion looks like, therefore I don't have to weigh again.

Ken
Click to expand...

This for me is crucial, i am sure it will come to me in time, but the weighing and the measuring and working everything out is quite frankly scaring the poo out of me. I have never been the most disciplined person, but its good to hear examples which i can take and use.

I am having some turkey and pita bread for lunch today, hopefully it's filling enough to last me till i get home.
 
I have got a great little scale for measuring, it's an old weightwatchers one, bought by my mother years ago and is still going strong, but after a while you'll find that you don't need to weigh and measure so much. You will get to know what you can eat and the combinations that your body will take - for instance I can eat a few potatoes and a small banana, but not in the same meal, combined they are just too many carbs. I can't eat anything wheat based but other people can eat a small piece of bread.

But the reading of packets and labels is important too. Some oven chips, for example are made of potatoes that have been processed and reformed into chip shapes, others have other types of starch in them, some are coated in batter to make them crispier. The same product will vary from brand to brand.

It is as everybody has said a matter of testing everything in the begining, to find out how you react to each thing. But once you get into it it is not as daunting as it sounds - honest.
 
Thanks Annie,

I have made myself measure my dinner this evening and i have just been working it out now...

I had a grilled pork chop with some oven chips, peas, carrots and some sweetcorn for my veg.

Total calories are around 900 with a carb count of 84g. I am right in thinking that on a medium carb diet you get up to 140ish carbs in one day?
 
Hi bear,
Without testing you will never know the right amount of carbs for you personally.
People have different ideas of what constitutes a high/med/low carb diet. The only way forward for all is to use your meter and test.
Personally the three veg you chose would not be OK for me. I might be able to get away with one of them plus some spinach/cauliflower/kale, the oven chips would be a no no as well.
Remember that we are all different.
 
This is how individual we can be - I can eat carrots raw but not cooked, unless they were the only carb in the meal, so I could not put carrots with potatoes. And I can eat reasonable amounts of sweetcorn but other people can't touch it.

Another thing never assume that things will be the same forever, retest occasionally, this month this site had encouraged me to retest alcohol. When I was first diagnosed as having impaired glucose tolerance, I tested some alcohol and it raised my BG for days so I thought I couldn't drink alcohol at all. I have now been testing different drinks and found that where previoulsy I had lumped all wine together and thought I couldn't drink any. I have now realised that though I can't drink white wine or fortified wines, I can (like many people) have a glass or two of red wine with no damge to my BG - Halleluia several years of abstinance is now over. It feels like Christmas!


Just keep plugging away you will get there.
 
Thanks for all the advice again guys. This place is a great resource and you are all very friendly.

It's funny really, Diabetes can be such a paradox. You have this condition which forces you to essentially be the most healthiest you can be, yet you still have the problems that come with the disease.

In a way i am looking forward to dropping some weight and getting fit. I have always been a fussy eater, and it's this that is going to cause me problems down the line. I do realize that it is 99% mental attitude and that with time, i will eat everything that is put in front of me.
 
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