Daily Carbs

Suze A

Member
Messages
21
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
After being diagnosed as type 2 Diabetes last week I have decided to try to reverse it before it gets worse. I am doing carb counting. What is the ideal grams of carbs to have daily?
 

VashtiB

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Hi @Suze A

There is no one size fits all for the ideal grams of carbs to have daily.

There's a few things to consider though. The ideal amount is low enough to keep your levels in the normal range. It's also a level that you can sustain long term- not a diet but a way of eating.

For ME= I go very low carb- less than 20 grams a day. I find that generally I crave carbs less the fewer I eat. I tend to stick to things with no or very low carbs so I don't have to measure. That makes it easier for me. These are things like fish, meat, cream in coffee, cheese (hard mostly) and diet jelly. But this is what works for me.

I will be honest and say that I do find a keto diet challenging at times. Before my diagnosis I would eat red meat about 2- 3 times a year. I find it generally very dense. However, I am very motivated to keep my levels in the normal range. I can sustain it and have done for some years.
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
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6,453
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
After being diagnosed as type 2 Diabetes last week I have decided to try to reverse it before it gets worse. I am doing carb counting. What is the ideal grams of carbs to have daily?
Hi @Suze A ,

Seconding @VashtiB here: no clear-cut answer on the amount of grams, sorry. We're all different, with different levels of insulin resistance/sensitivity and output. Not to mention varying lifestyles, rhythms, stress factors and whatnot. So you will have to find out what works for you. One way to do that: get yourself a blood glucose meter. Test before a meal and two hours after the first bite. If your blood sugars go up 2.0 mmol/l or less, your body could cope with the amount of carbs in that meal. So you basically start with an arbitrary number like 120 grams per day total, and work your way down from there, for instance.

Personally I do best on 20 grams per day or thereabouts, but that might not be true for you. You might be fine on 80 grams, or 100. No telling without a meter, really.

Hang in there eh.
Hugs,
Jo
 

Home79

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hello, I have an HbA1c value of 5.9. Here in Germany, this value is considered prediabetes. I measured my blood sugar levels after having a rice dish. One hour after the meal, it was 145, and two hours after the meal, it was 125. Which value is more important to consider?
 

Inchindown

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Messages
274
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
My understanding is that 250 mg of carbs is about the middle of the range of the recommended amount. It could vary somewhat depending on your total calorie intake.

Personally I aim for about 125 mg. I just can't get by on the very low levels some on here seem to do well on.
 
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OrsonKartt

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Messages
1,399
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
over selling.... oh so many things are enthusiastically oversold
After. I am doing carb counting. What is the ideal grams of carbs to have daily?

- as the other posters have suggested it really does depend on the kind of person you are

When I was diagnosed about 8 years ago I dived into low carb. Lots of above ground veg , no bread no beer no pasta etc.

Gradually I changed to keto , higher fat so more meat, lots of nuts….

….and now I’m happy with an almost totally meat , fish eggs and occasional cream and cheese .

Testing every day has been crucial. As has keeping a food / activity diary.

I wish you all the best

There’s lots to be enjoyed. It’s just different
 

KennyA

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I aim for around 20g/day. The usual estimate is that the system requires about 130g glucose/day, which if it doesn't come from food will come initially from glycogen stores being metabolised by the liver via glycogenolesis and later from gluconeogenesis from metabolised bodyfat. The pic attached is from Bilous andDonnelly's Handbook of Diabetes and illustrates the complex system but particularly the alternative sources of glucose. NIMGU is Non-Insulin Mediated Glucose Uptake - glucose being used by cells without requiring insulin.
Fig.5.20.jpg



The "official" recommnendation on how many carbs you should eat is much higher. The UK (via the Eatwell Plate) officially advises everyone to eat around 250-350g carb a day, and other countries seem to be in the same ballpark.
 

Chris24Main

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Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
This is the way I thought about it -

Cards on the table, there were definitely foods (well, things I would eat) that I was addicted to. No question. The idea of reducing them was a problem. How much is enough, how much is too much? - I was also totally in the mindset of measuring macros.

But - T2DM is a hormonal imbalance at heart - it's much more like being an alcoholic, you have developed a need for too much of a thing - that's why we talk about remission rather than cure. (and of course, that inevitably sounds judgemental, but I really don't mean it to be - I was at my ideal weight and addicted to grapes and honey, so anyone can fall into this trap).

But - then consider the alcoholic - how much wine should he cut down, how much beer? what is the safe limit?

We just don't think in the same way - of course you have to cut out all alcohol, otherwise you're back on the slippery slope.

However - we still need to eat, so it isn't that simple.

...
So, for me it was a question of just getting better at making binary choices - really around sugar and starch to begin with, and then finding that I was starting to question the ingredient list a bit more closely, and then really understanding fats better, so not cooking with unstable vegetable oils, and then finding Avocado oils, and re-discovering butter.

But - essentially - does it have lots of sugar, starch or seed oils - if so; then sorry, not having any. If not, fine.
There is still a problem with the word "lots" - but you refine what you mean by that over time. It's really difficult to avoid these completely, but any starch is out, anything made with seed oils is out, stuff in seed oils (like Olives) - well, you can't throw out the baby, so to speak - and anything with more than about 3% sugar is out.

Not saying that's a perfect recommendation - only for me, with my current level of insulin sensitivity and metabolic situation right now, but it's the simplest framework to build your own set of guidelines.
 
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SimonP78

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Messages
472
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Sorry slightly OT, but seeing the value @KennyA posted I had to comment.
The "official" recommnendation on how many carbs you should eat is much higher. The UK (via the Eatwell Plate) officially advises everyone to eat around 250-350g carb a day, and other countries seem to be in the same ballpark.
Wow, that's a lot of carbs in the recommendation! I've never looked at the advice I must admit, but I'm surprised it's so high.

My Tidepool data tells me I average ~270g of carbs per day (over the past 90 days - I may be miscounting, but probably not vastly) but I've also ridden ~600km over the same period (with stable bodyweight.) Over ~3 months in the summer I apparently ate a bit more (292g per day on average) but I also rode a bit more (~2000km)
 

KennyA

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2022 daily carbohydrate recommendations from the US are quoted below and much the same as the UK's - about a teaspoon or two difference. I used to follow this sort of advice. This is taken from the Mayo Clinic's site and the whole thing is here:

How many carbohydrates do you need?


The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of total daily calories. So if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day.

You can find the carbohydrate content of packaged foods on the Nutrition Facts label. The label shows total carbohydrates — which can include fiber, total sugars and added sugars.
 
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SimonP78

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472
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
For the avoidance of any doubt, it's not that I didn't believe you, I was just surprised that the powers that be recommend what appears to be quite a lot of carbs.
 

ianf0ster

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For the avoidance of any doubt, it's not that I didn't believe you, I was just surprised that the powers that be recommend what appears to be quite a lot of carbs.
Unfortunately, 'the power that be' just have one set of nutritional advice and don't distinguish between Diabetics (Type 1 or Type 2) and non-diabetics. This is almost like having only one limit for units of alcohol and applying it to all adults whether alcoholic or not.

Quite a few people feel that it was by following the nutritional guidelines that they developed Type 2 diabetes in the first place (I am one of those).
 

KennyA

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For the avoidance of any doubt, it's not that I didn't believe you, I was just surprised that the powers that be recommend what appears to be quite a lot of carbs.
No, I didn't think that.

I know from personal experience that the recommendation would be pushed higher if thought possible. There's a considerable history behind the recommendations, much of which is to do with governments trying to reduce the cost of feeding people (schools, prisons, military, etc). by switching from meat to carb. Gary Taubes goes into this quite a bit in books and blogs.
 
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Suze A

Member
Messages
21
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
- as the other posters have suggested it really does depend on the kind of person you are

When I was diagnosed about 8 years ago I dived into low carb. Lots of above ground veg , no bread no beer no pasta etc.

Gradually I changed to keto , higher fat so more meat, lots of nuts….

….and now I’m happy with an almost totally meat , fish eggs and occasional cream and cheese .

Testing every day has been crucial. As has keeping a food / activity diary.

I wish you all the best

There’s lots to be enjoyed. It’s just different
I am vegan so hard work, but thx
 
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Antje77

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20,570
Type of diabetes
LADA
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Insulin
I am vegan so hard work, but thx
Vegan and low carb is very hard. You need to get your calories from somewhere to sustain yourself, and they have to come from carbs, protein or fat. It's much easier to find fats and proteins in animal products than in plant products.

Do you use a glucose meter before and after meals to see how you are doing with different meals? This can be very helpful.

Nuts, avocados, olives, olive oil are low carb and filling, foods like these can come in very handy if you want to reduce carbs but don't want animal products.
 
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