How Many Carbs per Meal

It does totally depend on your condition and status.

For type 2's the real answer is "how every much you have learned you can process, perhaps less a little bit". The only way to find this out is by eating meals with known quantities and using a blood glucose meter to check if your levels are higher then you would want.

If your following a specific diet where you need to limit cabrs in day like the Keto diet, then there is probably a more complicated answer and some one will be along shortly with information.

For example, i know that if i can eat a higher volume of carbs in pulses and beans as a meal, then i could if it were mashed potato, equally i could eat less cake then potato.

Every one is different and the best way to know is using a blood meter.

None?

MsMollie said:

Hi Everyone -

I am wondering for a meal, for example dinner, what would you say is the maximum amount of carbs you should eat?

Thank you

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I'm seconding @sno0opy here: your meter'll tell you. For me personally, I stay below 20 grams of carbs a day (Not per meal, per day). Might not be your idea of ideal though. Your meter'll tell you. Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You don't want to see a rise of more than 2.0 mmol/l. If you're on it or under it, that meal was worth repeating. If not... Then it needs to be scrapped or modified. Good luck!
Jo

You "need" none so as low as you feel comfortable with I guess.. I averaged 10g per day last year.

Mainly from cream for coffee and the odd excursions into raspberries and very high cocoa chocolate (with, rarely, some black pudding).

MsMollie said:

Hi Everyone -

I am wondering for a meal, for example dinner, what would you say is the maximum amount of carbs you should eat?

Thank you

Click to expand...

Not everyone has (needs) such a low level as some of the above examples. I manage to keep my HbA1c at a non-diabetic level with about 75g of carbs a day. I have say 10g for breakfast, 10g for lunch and 30g for dinner, the rest is milk in my coffee, a beer in the evening and a few squares of chocolate. I don't know what your limit is going to be, you will have to experiment. Some people just go as low as possible but remember your diet has to be sustainable, there is no point in going for very low carb if you can't keep to it.

Honestly at this moment i time I am a fan of eating to your meter, and looking for no less then a 2 mmol/L rise after two hours. Although I tend to like the peak 1 hour rise to stay under 2 as well but that's just me. IF you want to go keto and things, more power to you. But try different carbs, in different amounts and see what works for you.

For me personally I found that it was better to have zero carbs for breakfast other than a splash of milk in my tea. Lunch time I was fine with a few carbs, and for dinner a few more carbs. No snacks between meals, and other than milk in tea, nothing at all between dinner and the next day's lunch. I am much further down the road than you (just had my 6th anniversary since diagnosis) and can manage more carbs than previously. I am an advocate of eating to your meter providing you test regularly post meal. Doing that, plus recording your levels and keeping a food diary, you should arrive at your personal level.

The recommended level for someone without diabetes is 90gm so, in a sense, anything below this helps and for diabetics, the lower the better. Another factor is how complex the carbs are and how much the food is processed. For example, pearl barley is high in carbs but because it is harder to digest, it has a very low GI. Barley flakes on the other hand, are easily digested and have a GI similar that that of white bread. Then there is your own personal metabolism, every person is different. Thus, the best way is to test, before and after (2hrs) meals and find out what works for you.

As an example, I have 1/3rd cup of oats as porridge for breakfast. Although fairly high in carbs, the portion is small and the oats take time to digest. I am under 7.8 after 2 hours. Lunch I usually do carb free, slices of meat, cheese or fish with salad veg and a mug of a warm broth . Evenings I'll include some carbs, something like 50gm brown rice, 3 small new potatoes boiled (not flourery) or pumperknickel. It probably amounts to 40gm carbs but, it is a sustainable diet. I have tried zero carbs and I did lose weight but had to stop after a couple of weeks. I just didn't feel well. Just test, eat and test again and experiment to find out what works for you.

MsMollie said:

Hi Everyone -

I am wondering for a meal, for example dinner, what would you say is the maximum amount of carbs you should eat?

Thank you

Click to expand...

According to my doctor, for main meals maximum 60 grams of carbs. But I don't follow it - I eat way lower carbs than that.

I aim to have a reading of under 7.7 mmol (after meals).

I aim for under 7mmol/l after eating as even that level puts my Hba1c at 42. That means 10gm of carbs in the morning and 30 gm in the evening, maximum.

However few/many will keep my glucose stable with a small a rise as possible 2 hours after eating, and keeps me within my aim of 50g carbs max per day, and my HbA1c within low pre-diabetic range. But I wouldn't choose to eat that target limit of carbs in a single meal.

And as already pointed out you need to find your own carby tolerances and targets - the number of carbs I choose to eat won't have any impact on your diabetes. And how you manage your diabetes - diet only, meds, or insulin - will have an impact on how you're able to handle different quantities of carbs.

Mr_Pot said:

I don't know what your limit is going to be, you will have to experiment. Some people just go as low as possible but remember your diet has to be sustainable, there is no point in going for very low carb if you can't keep to it.

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And I'd add to that it's not necessary either in going ultra low carb unless you absolutely need - or choose - to. So however many carbs you find you keeps your levels where you need them to be, and allows you to eat a long term healthy and sustainable diet.

Test 2 hours after first bite... I’ve always been testing 2 hours after I’ve cleared my plate will try after first bite now though

I use an app which gives me a carb count (but maybe they all do). I'm working with a goal of less than 130 grams / day (and making good progress), but use 30g as a target for any one meal. Often I'm below those target levels and from time to time I go over, and sometimes way over, but it's working for me to have those targets at the back of my mind all the time.

The 130 daily target came out of using the Low Carb Program when I was really getting to grips with this (https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/ ). The meal target of 30 goes back to when I was first diagnosed T2 in 2015 and read Dr David Cavan's Reverse your Diabetes which has a good chart of example daily meal menus going from 50 down to 10 (or less). 30 was in the middle and I thought was an attainable level for me.

I am new to this, so please forgive my ignorance. I have done the 800 calories diet and have reached my target weight (which is 48kg - I wasn't overweight before I started). So now, am I correct in thinking, I have to look at carbs, not calories? Do calories matter any more? And why am I always hungry?!

@Janedent: Yes - if you want to control your glucose levels you need to reduce and watch your carbohydrate consumption. If you choose to eat a low carb diet, you will be replacing most of the carbs with fats as your main source of fuel, and eating enough fattier foods to stop you feeling hungry. And no - calories won't need watching, unless you starting eating fat like there's no tomorrow!