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Shortbread

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Hi there, I am a newbie and wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction.

I am newly diagnosed T2...........infact just last Thursday. My Blood sugar were at 10.9 and doctors have given me 6-8 weeks to get them down before they insist I go on medication. I have said I will take to the healthy eating and get shot of some of the excess weight I am carrying!

I have been given some great advice here already regarding cutting down on carbs, but what I would like to know is as a diabetic, how many carbs should we really be eating............especially if my aim is to get rid of a good few stone and bring my blood sugars down??

I will be seeing the Diabetic nurse for the first time on Weds and just wondered what I should know about what will happen there...........will I get a blood suagr monitor, will she tell me high carb or low carb??

I have cut out all the sugary cakes and sweets etc and find that Im not going to the toilet 3-5 hours through the night, which is fantastic, though did have some pasta on weds and was up 3 times........do others find pasta is not good for the BS??


Anyhow, just thought I would ask a a few questions!!

Caroline x
 
Most diabetics reckon under 150g carbs per day .Some go much lower.It is very much a case of finding out what is good for you.As you have not got a monitor yet I would suggest cutting out or reducing drastically bread,pasta,rice,potatoes and all flour based products until you see the nurse.Explain to her that you really want to get on top of your diet and to do this you will need to test your bloods daily ,if not more frequently until you find the foods that affect your blood sugar levels.If you do this until Wednesday your blood sugars should go down and you may even lose a couple of pounds as well.Show the nurse how keen you are to control your diabetes,ask her questions,if she says 'oh you tests are fine 'ask for details etc.
 
Hi Caroline,

Your doctors are doing the right thing by seeing if you can get your blood sugars back into a normal range by diet alone. Many type 2's can if they do it quickly and thoroughly enough.

how many carbs should we really be eating
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Good question and the simple answer is as few as it takes to normalise your blood sugar. There are essential fats and essential amino acids, but no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. No-one here follows a zero carb diet, but some eat very little. The outcome seems unanimously positive.

will she tell me high carb or low carb??
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Odds-on the advice will be plently of starchy carbs at every meal. This is nonsense of course but many of us have had to go it alone because the dogma is pretty pervasive.

do others find pasta is not good for the BS??
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For me, disaterous! We're all different of course but pasta is a common problem. No nutritional value, but plenty of starch to get the old blood sugars up.

All the best,

fergus
 
I don't think any HCP exactly says high carb BTW ,it's just that some advocate eating starchy carbs with every meal which in the case of a type 2 diabetic,puts up your blood sugars quite a lot and certainly doesn't help with weight loss!
 
I think I may be in the minority, my medics advised me to restrict my carb intake, which I was already doing. They are carefully positive about my low(ish) carb lifestyle since I have achieved non diabetic sugar levels most of the time in about 3 weeks. I had a couple of spikes a week when 8 or a bit over showed but now they are less and less frequent and I usually know exactly what caused them. :oops: :roll:

My diet consists of chicken, pork, lamb, beef and all sorts of fish, salads, vegetables, cream, butter, olive oil, nuts and seeds, cheeses, some oatcakes and low carb alternative crackers and bars. Oh, and eggs too.
 
Thanks Fergus, Sue and Saz for your replies.........and also anyone else who has replied. My memory is really dodgy at momnet, not sure if thats diebetes related or just old age creeping up on me lol So sorry, to all if I havent mentioned your name!!!


I appreciate all the thoughtful and considered responses, as it provides me with a great bolster in this time of confusion, stress and ultimately accepting that I have been avoiding this for a long time now!! Im a counsellor and should know better.........avoidance does not do any of us any good!!!

So once again, thankyou for the support and I look forward to getting to know you all much better x :mrgreen:
 
With each meal, you're supposed to have 45-60 grams of carbs (this includes carbs in milk, certain vegetables, and other things people usually discount as carb-free)

If you snack between meals, snacks should be less than 15 grams of carbs, and you should subtract that amount from your meals, so you're not getting more carbs than you need.

altogether, you should be eating135-180g a day. Some people eat less than this, but I wouldn't recommend it. Though it is good to get fewer carbs in your diet for diabetics, going too low deprives you of the energy your body needs to function. 135 should be close to your minimum.
 
Sorry miko, but this is quite wrong.
Not only is there no minimum safe level of carb intake, carbs are not essential for physical energy either. The body doesn't particularly care where its calories come from and can function very efficiently on fat and protein alone.
I'd be interested in where the 135g figure comes from because it's far more than I or many others consume and more than is recommended by many published medical authorities.

fergus
 
Hiya,
once again thank you all for the information!! There is so much confusion going on..........I saw the diabetic nurse on Weds and she said I shouldn't do low carb but the GI diet.......and seeing this sees it allows some of the carbs that may raise levels! Its no wonder I'm all confused lol

I do love carbs..........but I am going to try low carb! I did Atkins before and found it a wee bit difficult as the limit was 20G a day, can anyone tell me a low carb daily amount that will actually make me lose weight ???

Ian..............shortening bread???? No idea but I am guessing it is shortbread??

No I'm not a fan of it, it is way too buttery for me, I cant eat butter as it make me feel sick, so shortbread is not something I will miss eating! Shortbread comes from my surname is cook and I'm about 4ft 11 a friend called me it one time and I liked it!!! Might not make much sense to you, but well I dunno just feels right to me lol

Hope everyone is well ? :)
 
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