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Ever count the carbs you ate pre-diagnosis in comparison to today

Ronancastled

Well-Known Member
We've all become expert carb counters since our diagnosis.
Yesterday I decided to ad up all the carbs I used to consume back in my 20st days.

Breakfast:
5 Deli Sausage Rolls 12gs carbs each = 60gs carbs
2 coffees with milk = 10gs
Lunch: Large Sub + Share Bag of Meanies + Share Dairy Milk = 190gs
. . . Snooze in work about 3pm
Dinner: Takeaway/Chinese/Chipper = 150gs
Half a pack of biscuits = 64gs
. . . . Snooze about 7pm
Guinness 3 Tins = 54gs

Total for the day = 528gs of carbs

How I only hit an A1c of 6.9%(52) is beyond me, can you imagine how many gallons of insulin my 20st frame was pumping out to cover that amount of glucose for 20 years.
Seems obscene just totalling it up, was like an involuntary suicide attempt.

Anybody compare to that ?
 
I have never done a count, but I know in my twenties I've eaten a 2L tub of ice cream in a day. When I'm struggling with low carb and have had a bad day diet-wise, sometimes it helps to think about the before days. In the before days a high carb day meant 3 bowls of pasta with coke and cake for desert. Now a high carb day means I had a piece of toast with my breakfast or ate some Cheetos.
 
I've never been severally obese but you're right the amount of carbs the average person eats is way over the top , I can remember having my dinner at home and then going to the chippy for cod & chips with a full sugar coke and then having a couple of chocolate biscuits before going to bed , I haven't added it up but that must be over 500 gs of carbs .
 
Interesting point. However, I have recently been watching a programme on Channel 5 called "You Are What You Eat" presented by a doctor who looks to help people improve their diets. The people on the programme are all overweight and eat in the region of 4-5,000 claories per day, most of which is pure junk. One man ate 4kg of carbs per week, and was told it should be max 1.8kg for men. What I can't get my head round though, is that when their biomarkers were tested, they were pretty good!!! Cholesterol was okay, and of the 4 people I have seen in 2 episodes, their Hba1c was 36, 38, 40 and 42! Is it just because they are relatively young (20-40 roughly)? Mine was once 42 and I eat a fraction of what they do, mostly low carb, lots of veg and do a lot of exercise - which these people didn't!
 
for T2 below obviously…

I doubt it’s age related as there are plenty of us diabetics who were diagnosed early 30s or younger. There are some who carry extra weight and don’t become diabetic and there are sone who what the medical diagnostics say are the weight they should be who do develop diabetes

to me, I feel there are genetic aspects to some of this. Carbs and diabetes linked with intolerances. Not that hard to imagine give there are those who have intolerance to gluten, or lactose.

for me, I bet my pre diagnosis carb levels were very high. Pasta/rice/pizza were all my go to and lunch would be sandwiches

we live in a high carb society
 
There aren’t enough zeros on my calculator. Bowls of granola with chopped fruit and honey. Loads of ‘whole grain’ toast. Porridge. Pasta. Rice. Sandwiches. You name it. Basically all the stuff we’re told is good for us and never much in the way of ‘added’ sugar. Easily a kilo of carbohydrate every couple of days. Little wonder I ended up with caramel for blood

What disgusts me is that the establishment knows very well it all promotes obesity, disease, misery and death. But no one cares because it makes them and their bedfellows in industry stinking rich.
 

It's because it's not simply about the amount of carbohydrates consumed or how overweight a person might be or any other 'lifestyle' factor. In my opinion, first and foremost there is a flaw in a person's DNA, making them more likely to develop diabetes or any other health condition. Otherwise every 'overweight' person would have diabetes, or every person who smoked would get cancer, etc. They don't. I am not saying that personal choices do not influence health, of course they do and there is a lot you can do to improve your health such as trying to lose weight and so on or take steps to minimise the effects of something like diabetes. There is no point comparing yourself with someone who does not have the condition you have, I say lucky them and unlucky me because of my genes. You have to be careful stereotyping too because those people you mention no doubt have many other things going on, it could be that they do not 'exercise' or are overweight because of a body that cannot handle carbs or insulin well or any other manner of factors. Personally I think there is far too much of this 'it's all totally your fault' mantra.
 

HbA1c means nothing until it’s too late. First worst diagnostic criteria ever made. You can have metabolic meltdown for several years or even decades before a diagnosis of diabetes comes about. In fact you may never be diagnosed, and die first from a related disease. And you don’t necessarily even have to become obese as a warning shot across the bow. You only have to reach your own personal fat threshold. TOFI become diabetic easier than the obese and find it harder to reverse. It’s erroneous to think that someone isn’t well on the road to diabetes just because their A1c is in range.
 
To be frank; no I haven't. It's irrelevant and no point creating some form of stick to either beat myself with or use as a bragging tool.

I try to keep my life simple.

I have found a way of living, which has included reducing my carb intake, whereby I have a good life, low HbA1cs, and I can attend any functions or go to any restaurant I want to.

I don't think of what used to be; whether that would have been the odd cream éclair, or the freshly baked petit pain from the Boulangerie in Deshaise whilst at anchor in the bay, or Salsa and Mesquite Kettle Chips. There's no point. I don't think of old boyfriends, so why would I think of things similarly not in my life any more.
 
I agree with what you say about the 'blaming' mantra. I have often seen people's posts on this forum saying that their DN doesn't believe what they say about their keeping to a good diet because their numbers are still high. They are the opposite of the people on the programme who can 'get away' with it - having low Hba1c with a very bad diet. As you say, genes play a huge part. I had a DNA test which revealed I have a gene for T2. Through low carb and exercise, I hope to keep my Hba1c at the top end of the normal range - it stubbornly refuses to go lower, whatever I do!

I must say, this TV programme is good in that it doesn't 'shame' the people on it, and looks into why they overeat/do not exercise e.g. emotional eating, life pressures etc, and seeks to help them with this aspect.
 
Just did a rough calculation!
Nearly 400g of carb for a typical day for me, including currant buns, chocolate bars, biscuits, müller corner type yoghurts, beans on toast, curry with rice and naan breads and that’s without counting fruit juice or sugary pepsi for drinks!
Interesting exercise and there was me thinking fruit juice, brown toast, baked beans and brown rice were good for me!
 
Our bodies are all so different and handle the food in different ways but I don't think any one should push themselves to the limit , not only because you will feel so much better with a healthier lifestyle .
 
I don't think my carbs were quite as high as some people here. I am/was a TOFI. But my breakfast carbs alone must have been around 100gms porridge with blueberries and a large banana plus orange juice - so supposedly extremely healthy - equivalent of 3 of my 5 a day already. Now my total for a whole day is usually between 20gms and 40gms.

I was also eating lots more fruit and veg including apple or mango, carrots or parsnips every day and multiple slices of dense wholegrain bread. I would drink tea with honey and lemon thinking it was better than milk or sugar.
I estimate 400gms to 500gms of carbs in total but I may be underestimating. So over ten times the amount of carbs I eat now.
 
I've struggled all my life with my weight, so have never eaten much in the way of carbs and sugar, but my big mistake was eating a lot of fruit as well as a range of vegetables, some of the latter being high carb. My husband by contrast eats all kinds of sugary carby things in great quantity, has normal BG and has never bothered about his weight, which stays lean. I also have people in my life who are significantly overweight but normal BG. It's all in the genes, I think.
Time was (and not that long ago) poor people had to eat a high-carb diet, and the range of lifespans was considerable. Of course, most had children very young, so the faulty BG genes carried on.
 
pre-predb said:
you say, genes play a huge part. I had a DNA test which revealed I have a gene for T2. Th
Click to expand...
Thats really interesting. I didn't realize the gene for type 2 diabetes had been found. Where did you get your testing done? I have family members who would benefit from doing it.
 
lucylocket61 said:
Thats really interesting. I didn't realize the gene for type 2 diabetes had been found. Where did you get your testing done? I have family members who would benefit from doing it.
Click to expand...
It was a company called '23 and me' which is mainly used for looking at ancestry but there is also a medical element to it too if you opt for that.
 
I haven’t calculated my ‘before’ carbs, but let’s just say A LOT. But almost as important, in my opinion, is that fact that I existed on ready meals, and shop-bought snacks, sandwiches, cakes, biscuits. All highly processed food, god knows the detrimental effects of all that.

Now I eat low carb and cook everything from scratch. Those 2 things work together, I think.
 
People who lose weight when adopting a low carb diet often say "I eat more calories than I used to" as a proof that calories don't matter. Judging from some of the previous diets above, I find it difficult to believe there hasn't been a reduction in calories as well as carbs. If, for example, someone has reduced their carbs by 400g per day that is also a reduction of 1,600 Calories per day.
 
Perhaps the former people are different ones from the latter? I am sorry you find the experience of the former to be hard to believe. Your disbelief doesn't change their lives experience. Substitution of fats, with their higher calorific value, may be the reason. I certainly eat more calories now than I used to.
 
Well most people don't just cut out carbs. They replace them with protein and fats.
 
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