How low do you go?

[AvaK]

Happy new year everyone! Afraid I've been not well since before xmas, caught a nasty cold bug from granddaughter and as such eating programme went out the window! Don't mean I've ate chocolate/desserts or anything like that but had stuff like a slice of wholemeal bread and homemade soup etc, was all I fancied some days. So, although I'm still not 100% I'd like to get my ducks in a row to start year well and my question is - how low carb wise do you go? I know a lot do the less than 20g carbs a day but are there others who do more and still have the same benefits i.e. better bg, lose weight etc?

 

[geefull]

Happy New Year @AvaK

I do what might be called moderately low carb, under 80g a day. I also am fairly careful with calories because I have a lot of weight to lose still.
But - and it's an important 'but' I believe, I test my blood every morning and also just before and again 1 and 2 hours after eating a new food/meal I haven't tried. If the food causes a high spike I cut it down or don't have it again. It's what I learned here on the forum - 'eating to your meter'. Everyone is different and people have different responses to foods.
When I was diagnosed my glucose tolerance test at diagnosis was 17.7 at 2 hours (10.7m.mol fasting ).

My first HbA1c after three months came back at 39 and I have lost quite a bit of weight so the Low Carb approach at that level has definitely helped me.

 

[Brunneria]

My body likes being in ketosis, and needs to stay fat adapted (where I can comfortably and easily slip back into ketosis) to feel healthy.
For me that means under 20g carbs a day is great, but I can do a couple of days higher than that (say up to 50 or 60g) before the apathy, aches, low mood and wild blood glucose swings start. After that, I just feel dreadful til I cut back down again, then don't feel good until I have had 3-4 days back on the straight and narrow.

So I usually usually stick to under 20g carbs 5 or 6 days a week, and then have a bit a of a relaxed day on the 7th. But all that means is I might treat myself to 50-60g. I don't go overboard. It just isn't worth it. A single day of over 100g carbs will wipe me out, and make me feel grotty for days.

Hopefully your personal carb range will be higher than that! But it is just a matter of self testing and playing around until you find it. Some people find they tolerate root veg better than grains, or fruit better than sugar, in which case the type of food is more important than the number of carb grams.

I suspect that once we have found out our personal range, and our Feel Good Zone, then we can play around a bit and reach a comfortable long term sustainable eating pattern.

 

[chalup]

One way to find what your limit should be is to cut back to 20 grams and stick to that like glue for a month. Add 5 extra grams per day every week starting at week 5 until you stop losing weight or your overall blood sugars start to creep up. (So week 5 would be 25 per day, week 6 would be 30 and so on.) and then dial it back 10 grams or so. That will be your personal tolerance overall and it is different for each of us. Your meter will let you know which specific foods your body does not like and those should be either eliminated or used very sparingly.

 

[AvaK]

Happy New Year @AvaK

I do what might be called moderately low carb, under 80g a day. I also am fairly careful with calories because I have a lot of weight to lose still.
But - and it's an important 'but' I believe, I test my blood every morning and also just before and again 1 and 2 hours after eating a new food/meal I haven't tried. If the food causes a high spike I cut it down or don't have it again. It's what I learned here on the forum - 'eating to your meter'. Everyone is different and people have different responses to foods.
When I was diagnosed my glucose tolerance test at diagnosis was 17.7 at 2 hours (10.7m.mol fasting ).

My first HbA1c after three months came back at 39 and I have lost quite a bit of weight so the Low Carb approach at that level has definitely helped me.

Thank you! So you lost weight even though you weren't doing the under 20g carbs? I also have a lot to lose but I want to use a diet that will be sustainable for me and not having me wanting to binge etc due to craving some carbs lol

 

[AvaK]

One way to find what your limit should be is to cut back to 20 grams and stick to that like glue for a month. Add 5 extra grams per day every week starting at week 5 until you stop losing weight or your overall blood sugars start to creep up. (So week 5 would be 25 per day, week 6 would be 30 and so on.) and then dial it back 10 grams or so. That will be your personal tolerance overall and it is different for each of us. Your meter will let you know which specific foods your body does not like and those should be either eliminated or used very sparingly.

Good idea! thank you

 

[AvaK]

My body likes being in ketosis, and needs to stay fat adapted (where I can comfortably and easily slip back into ketosis) to feel healthy.
For me that means under 20g carbs a day is great, but I can do a couple of days higher than that (say up to 50 or 60g) before the apathy, aches, low mood and wild blood glucose swings start. After that, I just feel dreadful til I cut back down again, then don't feel good until I have had 3-4 days back on the straight and narrow.

So I usually usually stick to under 20g carbs 5 or 6 days a week, and then have a bit a of a relaxed day on the 7th. But all that means is I might treat myself to 50-60g. I don't go overboard. It just isn't worth it. A single day of over 100g carbs will wipe me out, and make me feel grotty for days.

Hopefully your personal carb range will be higher than that! But it is just a matter of self testing and playing around until you find it. Some people find they tolerate root veg better than grains, or fruit better than sugar, in which case the type of food is more important than the number of carb grams.

I suspect that once we have found out our personal range, and our Feel Good Zone, then we can play around a bit and reach a comfortable long term sustainable eating pattern.

Good advice. I've always had a diet high in carbs and found it almost impossible to lose weight so cutting carbs is an absolute must for me. I guess I'll be playing around with things until I find my 'happy place' with them.

 

[kittypoker]

Good advice. I've always had a diet high in carbs and found it almost impossible to lose weight so cutting carbs is an absolute must for me. I guess I'll be playing around with things until I find my 'happy place' with them.

I'm exactly the same, have been for 50 years. I work on a basis of 5% carbs, 15% protein and 80% fat but don't sweat it if those numbers change slightly every now and then. I always know if I've overdone the carbs because I feel hungry. Carbs are the only macro not necessary to the body. It can run perfectly well on protein and fat alone.

 

[AvaK]

I'm exactly the same, have been for 50 years. I work on a basis of 5% carbs, 15% protein and 80% fat but don't sweat it if those numbers change slightly every now and then. I always know if I've overdone the carbs because I feel hungry. Carbs are the only macro not necessary to the body. It can run perfectly well on protein and fat alone.

I'll be using the next few weeks to find what works best for me. I do miss my homemade lentil soup though!

 

[kittypoker]

I'll be using the next few weeks to find what works best for me. I do miss my homemade lentil soup though!

I love a pea and ham soup! Can't wait to lose another 50lb or my birthday, whichever comes first, and enjoy a bowl.

@chalup had some very good advice - start with 20g of carbs a day then go up slowly until you find your happy place. I stay at around 20g (according to myfitnesspal) because it allows some leeway if I fancy a slice of Burgen and cheese.

 

[AvaK]

I love a pea and ham soup! Can't wait to lose another 50lb or my birthday, whichever comes first, and enjoy a bowl.

@chalup had some very good advice - start with 20g of carbs a day then go up slowly until you find your happy place. I stay at around 20g (according to myfitnesspal) because it allows some leeway if I fancy a slice of Burgen and cheese.

I have a few things I don't eat, like fish, cheese, etc. I've also been finding it difficult to find a full-fat yoghurt that is low in carbs, not that I'm overly fond of yoghurt but I'd eat if I could find. I don't use milk at all, any kind, plays havoc with my tum.

 

[Resurgam]

When I tried 20gm per day I went very weak and feeble, and was losing a Kg a day - I lasted about 3 days at that rate and started to add in more carbs until I could function normally. Back then I could lose weight at 80 gm per day so I was perfectly happy to do that. I stuck to the same foods as the Induction phase of Atkins, plus some from the start of the second phase, and have been able to confirm that they are the ones which don't elevate my BG levels now.
I also notice that after a very low carb meal I 'run hot' - last night I went out in the rain to go to the folk club and everyone was sitting in their jerseys and jackets and I had to take off my jacket as I was too warm.

 

[AvaK]

When I tried 20gm per day I went very weak and feeble, and was losing a Kg a day - I lasted about 3 days at that rate and started to add in more carbs until I could function normally. Back then I could lose weight at 80 gm per day so I was perfectly happy to do that. I stuck to the same foods as the Induction phase of Atkins, plus some from the start of the second phase, and have been able to confirm that they are the ones which don't elevate my BG levels now.
I also notice that after a very low carb meal I 'run hot' - last night I went out in the rain to go to the folk club and everyone was sitting in their jerseys and jackets and I had to take off my jacket as I was too warm.

I'll have a look and see if can find what's in the induction phase of Atkins, not done Atkins before so don't have the info to hand. Tried every other one lol, none of which worked for me but I'm pretty sure it was the carbs to blame.

 

[bulkbiker]

I'll have a look and see if can find what's in the induction phase of Atkins, not done Atkins before so don't have the info to hand. Tried every other one lol, none of which worked for me but I'm pretty sure it was the carbs to blame.

If you want to have a quick and easy guide to low carbing you could do a lot worse than check out
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[AvaK]

If you want to have a quick and easy guide to low carbing you could do a lot worse than check out
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

thanks, have that site bookmarked, lots of good info

 

[kittypoker]

I have a few things I don't eat, like fish, cheese, etc. I've also been finding it difficult to find a full-fat yoghurt that is low in carbs, not that I'm overly fond of yoghurt but I'd eat if I could find. I don't use milk at all, any kind, plays havoc with my tum.

That's okay, we all have our preferences. I love a bit of red meat, chicken and pork. Tesco do an absolutely delicious full-fat Greek (not Greek-style, that's different) yogurt. So do Lidl, but I think that's Turkish. Same idea.

Atkins is the modern-day original, and brilliant, but you can get the same idea by going to https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb. It's really so simple and lacking the hunger of a low-cal diet. It's a way of life, an enjoyable one.

 

[AvaK]

That's okay, we all have our preferences. I love a bit of red meat, chicken and pork. Tesco do an absolutely delicious full-fat Greek (not Greek-style, that's different) yogurt. So do Lidl, but I think that's Turkish. Same idea.

Atkins is the modern-day original, and brilliant, but you can get the same idea by going to https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb. It's really so simple and lacking the hunger of a low-cal diet. It's a way of life, an enjoyable one.

I'm beginning to realise it's a way of life, just a little difficult to get my head around. I love meat, all kinds, but I am missing some things at the minute, surprisingly not what I thought I would like chocolate and sweets though. Also, I'm not what could be called 'good in the kitchen' in fact although I love eating, I don't enjoy making it lol.

 

[carol43]

@AvaK I don't count carbs, just eat to my meter. Use Lidl rolls, can only manage half a roll, one slice of Burgen bread on Sundays to make a bacon sandwich, a potato never passes my lips nor pasta or rice. I was useless at cooking but I've found cooking with ground almonds is better than flour and I don't have many failures. There are lots of sites, including here on this site, that have lots of recipes, just be careful of the ones that include honey and other 'natural' sweeteners. I use some of the recipes on
alldayidreamaboutfood.com

 

[Resurgam]

You can make some great meals in a slow cooker, A piece of meat and a bag of mixed veges out of the freezer make a nice homecoming at the end of a cold journey. I check the carb content of the various mixtures, and by avoiding those which claim that sweetcorn is a vegetable it is possible to get low carb, and tasty variations.

 

[kittypoker]

I'm beginning to realise it's a way of life, just a little difficult to get my head around. I love meat, all kinds, but I am missing some things at the minute, surprisingly not what I thought I would like chocolate and sweets though. Also, I'm not what could be called 'good in the kitchen' in fact although I love eating, I don't enjoy making it lol.

It is a little tricky to turn around lifelong habits, but it's worth it. You don't need to get fancy in the kitchen. Tesco (no, I don't work for them but there's a superstore a few minutes away ) have a range of chicken breasts in various sauces with very few carbs. Or buy a couple of chicken thighs or stewing steak and a Spice Tailor curry sauce. No nasty additives, a tiny bit of sugar in some but only about 12g of carbs a portion. Or just choose some meat and sling in a tin of tomatoes and some onion and chilli or some frozen cheapo veg and cook it up for a couple of hours. The toms and onion have some carbs but a small portion shouldn't rock your meter. Do check, though.

I've never eaten so well, and so cheaply.