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help plz how do i count carbs and how much i need

P

pinkzeezee

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
New to all this do I read back pkts and the lower the carbs and sugars the better. And how many carbs a day I need I'm t2 and on gluizide bloods between 4-6.7
 
There's no definitive answer to that at all. Obviously, the fewer the better but in any event, it very much comes back to what you eat and what you should not and resultant tests. I've seen people on the forum around 100 grams or less per day.

This is but one reference tool so I suggest you google a few more and try and find one that's not US centric

http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/
 
There is an excellent book you can buy from Amazon. Many of us use it. It's called Carbs and Cals. It shows all the normal foods we eat in portion sizes, nice photos of each type of food on a plate with the weight, number of carbs, calories, protein, fat and fibre. It was my bible at first, and I still use it most days. It is worth it, and not very expensive. You can also get it as an app, but the book is better.

Read the food labels before you buy anything. The maximum grams of carbs per 100g should be less than 10g. If its more than that, leave it on the shelf. You don't really need to look at the sugar content as that is included in the carb amount. Sometimes the labels show the carbs for a portion size, for example per sausage, or per slice. This is a good indicator too.

How many grams you eat a day is up to you. The fewer the better. Personally at the moment I am eating about 50g a day. Some people eat a bit more than this, others eat a bit less. It is all down to what your meter tells you is your personal tolerance level.
 
The simple answer is that you need as many or as few carbs to get your blood sugars down to a good level - possibly one that will allow you to reduce or stop medication. Be aware that on Glicazide if you low carb you may need to adjust your dose as it can cause hypos- talk it through with your GP or diabetic nurse if you start to notice much lower numbers on your meter. I assume you test regularly- I believe that you are entitled to a meter and strips on it from NHS.
Carbs and cals is good starting place. Also bear in mind that portion size matters- as a rule 10g or less per 100g is great guide but if something is much higher but you'd only eat a tsp ( say a sauce or pickle) then that's ok too.
I tend to be under 50g carbs most days but I don't worry if it's much less or up a bit on that. Make sure you drink plenty of water too.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
There is an excellent book you can buy from Amazon. Many of us use it. It's called Carbs and Cals. It shows all the normal foods we eat in portion sizes, nice photos of each type of food on a plate with the weight, number of carbs, calories, protein, fat and fibre. It was my bible at first, and I still use it most days. It is worth it, and not very expensive. You can also get it as an app, but the book is better.

Read the food labels before you buy anything. The maximum grams of carbs per 100g should be less than 10g. If its more than that, leave it on the shelf. You don't really need to look at the sugar content as that is included in the carb amount. Sometimes the labels show the carbs for a portion size, for example per sausage, or per slice. This is a good indicator too.

How many grams you eat a day is up to you. The fewer the better. Personally at the moment I am eating about 50g a day. Some people eat a bit more than this, others eat a bit less. It is all down to what your meter tells you is your personal tolerance level.
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My only additional comments would be that personally, I don't go hard on the 10g per 100g, but it's not a bad rule of thumb. Where I ignote that is if I'm looking at something, like a condiment, where I'd only have a dash or a very small amount, If something is 25g per 100g, but I'm only going to have less than a teaspoonful, and it'll completely transform my meal, how many additional grammes of carb will I actually be eating by adding that dash of deliciousness?

That's why it makes sense to have our thinking caps on when we're thinking about all these things, but there is a certain amount of trial and error if you're adding in "doses" of higher carb ingredients.
 
If you start by avoiding all bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and anything with lots of wheat (cakes etc) you will be low carbing. I too find Carbs and cals to be my 'bible'. You might also want to avoid anything labeled 'low fat', as this generally means higher carb. Full fat milk has less carbs than skimmed or semi skimmed, low fat yoghurt has more carbs than full fat. Nothing wrong with egg and bacon for breakfast, indeed many find that with going low carb, increasing your fat intake helps. May sound odd, but that's how many of us find it works.

As said, don't worry to much about sugar, concentrate on the carb amount, as this includes the sugar content.
 
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