How many carbs should I be eating??

[bulkbiker]

not too much meat,

Poor advice indeed.

 

[Eddmar]

Can I ask a bit more info first..

What kind of readings are you getting?

What was your last HbA1c?

No meat mentioned in your diet are you vegetarian?

Oops edit to add Hi and welcome...

Hi yes sure. I’m not vegetarian and love meat but quite fussy which won’t help with this journey. Last reading was 68 at doctors and blood prick at home was 9.6 so both high I know.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

Hi there, thank you very much indeed for this invaluable advice. It sounds like I need to go very much back to the beginning and really count the carbs and measure BS and record. I can’t get my head around if a person is eating no carbs or very low then what exactly can they fill up on. As advice is easy on fruit, not too much meat, only handful of nuts so the list gets shorter and shorter and I’m not even meeting my minimal calories hence losing weight I don’t want to. I’m fairly fussy eater which doesn’t help but like most Meat and vegetables. What would be a typical days food for you? thanks again, very helpful

Any kind of meat. Usually the cheaper cuts of meat have a better protein/fat ratio to keep you full. If you like cheese that’s a food option.
Any above ground vegetables and berries.
Full fat yogurt and cream are also tasty.
Eat until you are full.

 

[Eddmar]

Welcome to the forums.

Well, there's certainly plenty of scope for reducing the carbs in your diet (eg bread, potatoes, rice, grains, pasta, most fruit).

I'm going to link you to @JoKalsbeek 's awesome blog about T2 and diet.

JoKalsbeek's blog | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

And if low carb doesn't work for you then bear in mind that at least 10% of t2s are actually misdiagnosed T1s (slow onset). So unlikely but if diet stops working in the first few years a distinct possibility.

Good luck.

Thank you v much I’ll take a look. Yes lots of scope to cut carbs but it’s what to replace them with is the question! That’s main thing I’m struggling with as don’t want to lose more weight

 

[MrsA2]

Each meal, start with a protein, about as big as your fist or larger if very active- so chicken, meat, steak, fish, cheese, eggs, yoghurt
Add plenty of vegetables that grow above ground: cabbage cauliflower, green beans, lettuce etc. Add a bit of tomato or cucumber but not too much as these are actually fruit.
Then add healthy fats, avocado, butter, cream , good olive oil. These can be dressed up as a sauce or ingredients to make the earlier ingredients into a dish
Add spices , herbs or flavourings, natural as possible
If still hungry add av few berries with or without full fat yoghurt ot cream. Add a bit more cheese or some nuts

Simples.

 

[Eddmar]

Hi, it would seem that you base your meals around carbohydrate sources. Try starting with protein sources instead and adding in fat sources and above-ground vegetables. You can then decide which protein sources you prefer. In this way you will feel more full at the end of meals. For example breakfast today was fried egg, mushrooms, tomatoes and buttery, garlicky spinach. Yesterday was cheese omelette. If time is an issue then low-carb toast with nut butter or other toppings is an option.
Have you been following the standard advice that is still given out by some dieticians and DNs?

Ok thank you very much for this advice. I need to get my head around having a lot less carbs as fine I’m not full without them at the moment (or hungry shortly after).

 

[Eddmar]

Each meal, start with a protein, about as big as your fist or larger if very active- so chicken, meat, steak, fish, cheese, eggs, yoghurt
Add plenty of vegetables that grow above ground: cabbage cauliflower, green beans, lettuce etc. Add a bit of tomato or cucumber but not too much as these are actually fruit.
Then add healthy fats, avocado, butter, cream , good olive oil. These can be dressed up as a sauce or ingredients to make the earlier ingredients into a dish
Add spices , herbs or flavourings, natural as possible
If still hungry add av few berries with or without full fat yoghurt ot cream. Add a bit more cheese or some nuts

Simples.

Thank you, had no idea cucumber was not a good food as far as diabetes was concerned! I’m struggling most with finding enough to eat to keep weight on especially when running. thanks so much for commenting

 

[Eddmar]

Hi. You could reduce the carbs a bit more and set yourself a limit of perhaps 150gm/day? Minimise the cereal for breakfast and make sure it has no sugar added. Are the baked beans low-sugar ones as the standard ones are loaded with sugar. Soup can also have loads of sugar added and may be high'ish carb. Have fats and proteins to keep you feeling full

Hi thank you for commenting. Yes low sugar and salt beans and the cereal is a low sugar granola (think 4% sugar) and only have the potions it states. I’ll have to look at soups in more detail as maybe hidden carbs in those then

 

[Eddmar]

Poor advice indeed.

I’ve had more advice on here in 2 days than in the entire 3 years since diagnosed so thank you. All GP wanted to do was prescribe metformin!

 

[Roggg]

Ok thank you very much for this advice. I need to get my head around having a lot less carbs as fine I’m not full without them at the moment (or hungry shortly after).

That's part of the adjustment period for low carb, and is one reason I believe in the keto way go eating. The hunger and cravings go away when your insulin is stable at a lower level. Keto is basically the "all-in" version of low-carb, and in my experience allows you to adapt more fully to being in a low-carb, low-insulin state. It takes a few weeks generally the first time to adapt, and then the hunger/cravings go away. I struggled so badly with wanting toast in the mornings.

In some of my earlier attempts I used eggs to bridge the gap. Any time I felt hungry I would eating eggs. I may have eaten a dozen or more a day.

 

[bulkbiker]

I’ve had more advice on here in 2 days than in the entire 3 years since diagnosed so thank you. All GP wanted to do was prescribe metformin!

Unfortunately thats mostly what their training consists of .. medicate, medicate, medicate.

They never seem capable of looking for root causes and fixing those instead. With very few exceptions they are relatively useless.

Anyway as to best things to eat.
Meat, fish, dairy, eggs are virtually zero carb so can be eaten in limitless quantities (until you feel full anyway)
Above ground veg are relatively low carb too.
Base meals around those and you won't go far wrong.

If more adventurous in the kitchen www.dietdoctor.com has a host of free recipes for low carb food that will help keep blood sugars in check.

 

[Roggg]

I’ve had more advice on here in 2 days than in the entire 3 years since diagnosed so thank you. All GP wanted to do was prescribe metformin!

A lot of the medical community are not wise to the latest dietary treatments. They take forever to change. It's disappointing, but I dont really blame them. I personally just take my fate into my own hands, and I'm grateful for some of the great research that's coming to light.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Add a bit of tomato or cucumber but not too much as these are actually fruit.

True, but very low carb fruit. Tomatoes 3.6% carbs, Cucumber 1.2% carbs compared to Strawberries 6% carbs.

 

[Pasha]

Unfortunately thats mostly what their training consists of .. medicate, medicate, medicate.

They never seem capable of looking for root causes and fixing those instead. With very few exceptions they are relatively useless.

Anyway as to best things to eat.
Meat, fish, dairy, eggs are virtually zero carb so can be eaten in limitless quantities (until you feel full anyway)
Above ground veg are relatively low carb too.
Base meals around those and you won't go far wrong.

If more adventurous in the kitchen www.dietdoctor.com has a host of free recipes for low carb food that will help keep blood sugars in check.

"Meat, fish, dairy, eggs are virtually zero carb so can be eaten in limitless quantities". Some of cannot do this because of GNG.If I stray from a certain amount of protein ,it takes me 3-4 days for my BG to return to its previous values.

 

[bulkbiker]

"Meat, fish, dairy, eggs are virtually zero carb so can be eaten in limitless quantities". Some of cannot do this because of GNG.If I stray from a certain amount of protein ,it takes me 3-4 days for my BG to return to its previous values.

GNG is supposed to be for most anyway a demand driven process..

What kind of a spike do you see from protein consumption?

 

[MrsA2]

True, but very low carb fruit. Tomatoes 3.6% carbs, Cucumber 1.2% carbs compared to Strawberries 6% carbs.

I find cucumbers and peppers spike me way above what their carb value suggests. Just recommending the op 7uses caution to begin with and test for himself

 

[KennyA]

not on O P original post but why do you keep coming up as insulin dependent? Agree with your approach!

I have no idea - I've never seen that and I'm certainly not insulin dependent!

 

[KennyA]

Hi there, thank you very much indeed for this invaluable advice. It sounds like I need to go very much back to the beginning and really count the carbs and measure BS and record. I can’t get my head around if a person is eating no carbs or very low then what exactly can they fill up on. As advice is easy on fruit, not too much meat, only handful of nuts so the list gets shorter and shorter and I’m not even meeting my minimal calories hence losing weight I don’t want to. I’m fairly fussy eater which doesn’t help but like most Meat and vegetables. What would be a typical days food for you? thanks again, very helpful

I have been LCHF for about 15 months now and can honestly say I've never been hungry. After a large meal I can easily go 24 hrs without eating. I fill up on meat, some more meat, and dairy. Meat includes fish, and I make (and like) a lot of curried food (no rice or bread obvs). The dairy is predominately cheese, but also cream. I also have some vegetables as my BG is reasonably OK with most, as long as they're above ground. I have berries with cream maybe once or twice a week. I also eat exactly eight low carb keto "bread" rolls (3g each) every month. I could safely eat more but I need to stay away from bread (and pastry, and pasta unfortunately).

 

[kvetiny]

I've read everywhere on this site about people going keto or low carb. Seems to work for them and sounds like a good idea. Just don't think I could do it. Rather just learn how to cope with dealing with carbohydrates rather than going without.

 

[Daphne917]

@Eddmar we are all individuals and, as such, have different tolerances to carbs. I’m one of the lucky ones in that I can maintain my hba1c at non diabetic levels with between 100 - 130g of carbs per day but I appreciate that others are not so lucky and need to go very low carb or Keto. If you have a meter by testing your reaction to different foods you can decide what you can and should not eat.