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Definition of low-carb?

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Within low carb success stories, where is the definition of low carb?? I was in hosp a dietician told me to eat only 3 to 4 carbs per meal, as I am retired, and age 72 now. A hosp.dietician I paid under medicare for two visits, told me to eat 3 to 5 carbs per meal. I can benefit to lose an added 30 lb. as I am 190 lb. at 5 ft. 8 inches height. My GP and heart doctor says little about specific diet, only it would be good to lose weight and exercise. The dietician at my HOSP. cardio exercise program 3 days per week, says also to eat 3 to 4 carbs , or 45 to 60 grams carb. per meal.
However, the link I see on a Diabetic site says and promotes "Low Carb in 60 seconds", and it lists specific food to eat and ones to avoid or minimize, but it DEFINES LOW CARB AS BELOW 20 GRAMS PER DAY. I have been told by all health professionals I see, to consume 45 to 60 grams per meal each day. Before I went on insulin and when my weight was 220, I am sure I often was eating 300 grams of carbs per day, ( and quite a lot of saturated fat as well ) when I used mostly several diabetic pills. However, this proposed very very low carb eating plan seems to be one to convert the body from burning sugar for energy to a new revised life style of burning fat, and that conversion might be more reasonable for younger more healthy people than older or those with multiple varied health issues. I see little dialog or help about that issue, but often they will say, go see your doctor. My doctor has not attempted to convert me into fat consumption and burning for energy, from carbohydrates. Should he or might he, is it best, how would we best decide? The article on Low carb suggests a couple problems along the way of such a conversion, and suggests a couple things to deal with the side effects of low carb on body and brain, for at least a two week adjustment period, if not longer. So everybody seems to fail to compare apples to apples or give very very specific guidelines. Of course each person is different and health issues or challenges are also different, even if some of us have similar situations or challenges. Input? to cityjimmy....thanks.
jdh
 
You don't have to eat such small amounts of carbs to be low carbing.

Some people eat 80g daily where as some are as low as 20g or less.

What limit you set yourself is up to you.

Grant
 
Low carb has a wide definition, anything under 150g a day. Some people eat a lot more than others. People on insulin can eat more because they can inject enough insulin to cope with the extra carbs. Some people not on insulin but on the strong insulin-promoting drugs can manage a few more. People like me cannot eat very many because we control our blood sugar levels without any medication - just by diet alone. Personally I eat around 30g a day.

If you need to lose weight then cutting down on the carbs is a very good idea. It usually works. However, as you are on insulin you need to be careful not to inject more insulin than you need. I can't help you with this as I know very little about it. You would have to take advice from your diabetes team about this.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Low carb has a wide definition, anything under 150g a day. Some people eat a lot more than others. People on insulin can eat more because they can inject enough insulin to cope with the extra carbs. Some people not on insulin but on the strong insulin-promoting drugs can manage a few more. People like me cannot eat very many because we control our blood sugar levels without any medication - just by diet alone. Personally I eat around 30g a day.

If you need to lose weight then cutting down on the carbs is a very good idea. It usually works. However, as you are on insulin you need to be careful not to inject more insulin than you need. I can't help you with this as I know very little about it. You would have to take advice from your diabetes team about this.
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Well, thanks for input , but my longer question has within it,, sort of two questions for feedback, as follows: after providing some of my own input, I have asked about a number for carbs per meal or per day. I see some input on that topic, already, I appreciate the input. The other question is actually about eating a very low carb diet in order to intentionally eat more fat food, and try to shift body from reliance upon carbs for energy, to eat and burn mostly fat. How reasonable is that idea or approach, and considering its impact on other body systems, is it practical for most people, or only a few people?
 
I am of the opinion that eating more carbs than needed for energy the same day or near term, even if you inject more insulin to hold blood sugar peak to a more within range level, eating too many carbs , ( and the use of insulin often tends to put more weight on a person, which compounds a problem for a diabetic. ) is an approach to added weight. thanks for input.
 
cityjimmy said:
I am of the opinion that eating more carbs than needed for energy the same day or near term, even if you inject more insulin to hold blood sugar peak to a more within range level, eating too many carbs , ( and the use of insulin often tends to put more weight on a person, which compounds a problem for a diabetic. ) is an approach to added weight. thanks for input.
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You are right. Eating too many carbs and using insulin to cover them is a recipe for weight gain. I would suggest reducing your carbs slowly over a period of time and getting your doctor or nurse to oversee your insulin needs. The obvious things to reduce or eliminate are sweets, bread, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, and sugary drinks. Juice is a sugary drink. Add more fats and protien in to your diet if you are feeling hungry due to the reduction in carbs. Just remember that high carb and high fat together is a bad combination. This is why this diet plan is LOW CARB/HIGH FAT Hope this helps.
 
cityjimmy said:
The other question is actually about eating a very low carb diet in order to intentionally eat more fat food, and try to shift body from reliance upon carbs for energy, to eat and burn mostly fat. How reasonable is that idea or approach, and considering its impact on other body systems, is it practical for most people, or only a few people?
Click to expand...

I doubt any of us that eat a very low carb diet do it in order to intentionally eat more fat. We eat a very low carb diet in order to reduce our blood sugar levels and keep them as low as possible. Doing that without increasing fats would make us ill because we would have no fuel for energy. The amount of fats we eat varies from person to person, just as the amount of carbs we eat does. Basically, the lower the carbs the higher the fats and protein need to be. It can be a fine balance. It seems to work for many members of this forum.

As for the impact on other body systems I can only speak personally. As far as I am aware there has been no adverse impact on my other bits and pieces.

Hope this helps.
 
I am not particularly young and I do have multiple health issues and low carb has not created any problems with them. It has lowered my blood sugar and I have lost 20 lbs in about just under 4 months. I tend to keep it at about 20 grams per day but others have levels anywhere from practically 0 up to 150 grams per day. For weight loss under 80ish seems to be the number.
Today I have eaten:
breakfast- 2 oz monteray jack cheese (not much of a bkfst girl)
snack- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
lunch- large green salad with shredded chicken and mayo
snack- handful brazil nuts (about 12 or so)
dinner- 2 zero carb sausages, 2 egg omelette with mozza cheese

This is about 20ish carbs. I do not eat butter with a spoon. There is enough fat in this food to keep me from feeling hungry.
I hope this helps. :)
 
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