Diet

[groovydaz45]

I'm really struggling with my diet, knowing what to eat and how to read.
Are there any apps (other than this one) you can recommend for easy info on labels, receipes etc

 

[bulkbiker]

My aim originally was to keep everything I ate below 5% carbohydrate.
This info is usefully on the back of the pack that food comes in.

After a year or so I just gave up eating stuff that comes in a packet for the most part and concentrated on meat (some fish although I'm not a fan) and green above ground veg. I then dropped the veg and now survive mainly on meat with occasional berries with cream as "treats"
Most recent HbA1c 27 mmol/mol.

I find "moderation" really hard so exclusion for me is far easier.

 

[catinahat]

I'm really struggling with my diet, knowing what to eat and how to read.
Are there any apps (other than this one) you can recommend for easy info on labels, receipes etc

Hi groovydaz45
The most important thing to get your head round is that all carbohydrates when digested will eventually show up as glucose in your blood.
Brown, white, wholemeal, gluten free, sourdough, your body can't tell the difference. You will read about slow release carbs, simple carbs, starch, all of them sooner or later will cause your sugar levels to rise.
So when you look at food labels, ignore the "of which are sugar's" bit, it's the total amount of carbs that we're interested in.
When you look at labels wondering if it's OK for your blood sugars, just bear in mind that 1 teaspoon of sugar is around 5g of carbs. So a can of soup for example may have say 28g of carbs, that would be the equivalent of over 5 teaspoons of sugar.
As a general rule for me anything over 10g of carbs per 100g gets left on the shelf
Between 5-10g I'll have maybe occasionally or if I really want it, under 5g per 100 and its in my basket without a second thought.
So what do I eat?
Meat of any kind, dairy(full fat), eggs cooked anyway I fancy(usually with butter) fish, vegetables, above ground leafy vegetables have less carbs than those grown below ground.
What do I avoid?
Well apart from the obvious things like pastry, cake, biscuits, there's bread, spuds, pasta, rice, most fruit is too sweet and raises my levels higher than I like. I do occasionally have a few berries or maybe one of those tiny apples they call "fun size" but only as part of a meal, never as a snack between meals.
I also avoid anything that my meter doesn't like, so I test before I eat and again 2hrs afterwards, if that meal causes my sugar to rise too much, I cross it of my menu or see if I can reduce the amount of carbs for the next time. After a couple of weeks testing like that you have a pretty good idea of what your diet should look like.
Have a look at the nutritional thingy link below for more info on diet

 

[MrsA2]

I find this site and associated groups helpful.

Low Carb / Keto Starter Information

Starter Information Use the search icon in the top right corner of the page to search for information. We are currently experiencing some issues with the links on this page. Please use the search function to find the page you'd like to visit. For our Free Recipe Library, click here. Infographics...

www.ketofitnessclub.com

Just note many use it for weight loss or fitness reasons not just diabetes control.
Its written and run by an English family, so no US measures and only UK terminology