How many carbs should I be eating??

[ianpspurs]

Some great advice here on carbs, Maybe be aware they come in food and drink which remain personal taste D or not. The OP has personal tastes which will rule out some of the options mentioned. Don't assume we can or will all eat any given food. I'd largely rather just drink tea than most options mentioned here. Didn't start that way 6 years ago it just happened. Conversely, I didn't like salmon at the start.

 

[KennyA]

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.

If you can learn how to do that there will be a lot of people anxious to hear from you.

 

[bulkbiker]

Just don't think I could do it.

Any particular reason why not?

Not sure if you are T1 or 2 but keto can be very useful for both/either.

 

[kvetiny]

I'm type 1. Well I love my carbs and I need lots of energy for my active job. I'm guessing u will initially have less energy until u get used to a new diet. Definitely inspired by keto. I will start by cutting back on carbs the days I'm off from work.

 

[Eddmar]

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).

Hi again, Thank you for all of what you’ve written back. I must say it concerns me that with the kind of diet that’s recommended for type 2 that you have described goes against every health rule I’ve learnt. Cured meats are processed and too much red meat including pork have been proven with a link to cancer. And cheese every day will push my cholesterol levels up again more than likely although I love cheddar cheese!! And more recently media says Ed should eat less meat/vegan diet is healthy etc. I wonder how a vegetarian type 2 copes. I’m intolerant to cram and yogurt so that rules out a lot of the ideas I’ve read on here. I worry that solving One problem and causing another if you get what a mean.
Also do you stick to this 100% religiously day in day out? Or do you have the odd normal meal or a take out or a pint down the pub or a birthday cake etc etc?

 

[Eddmar]

I'm type 1. Well I love my carbs and I need lots of energy for my active job. I'm guessing u will initially have less energy until u get used to a new diet. Definitely inspired by keto. I will start by cutting back on carbs the days I'm off from work.

I love carbs too and when cut them back a little initially I felt lethargic and lost weight but got used to it a bit more. Although turns out I need to cut them back even more than I am by quite a lot so I can imagine I’ll be the same

 

[Resurgam]

Hi again, Thank you for all of what you’ve written back. I must say it concerns me that with the kind of diet that’s recommended for type 2 that you have described goes against every health rule I’ve learnt. Cured meats are processed and too much red meat including pork have been proven with a link to cancer. And cheese every day will push my cholesterol levels up again more than likely although I love cheddar cheese!! And more recently media says Ed should eat less meat/vegan diet is healthy etc. I wonder how a vegetarian type 2 copes. I’m intolerant to cram and yogurt so that rules out a lot of the ideas I’ve read on here. I worry that solving One problem and causing another if you get what a mean.
Also do you stick to this 100% religiously day in day out? Or do you have the odd normal meal or a take out or a pint down the pub or a birthday cake etc etc?

I suspect that 'has been proven' should actually be written as 'I have this hypotheses that' - like that fellow who has persuaded many who ought to know better that an essential part of the Human diet - fat - is actually bad for us.
With more cholesterol in the blood people tend to live longer - someone checked.
If you can't digest lactose then some things are to be avoided, but on a personal level I find that as soon as I cut back on the supposedly unhealthy things, I get aches and pains which prevent me enjoying life, even if taking painkillers throughout the day.

 

[bulkbiker]

too much red meat including pork have been proven with a link to cance

Not sure you can say "proven"as it's based on a very few studies mostly on mice and associational rather than causal.

Man has eaten meat for millennia without problem so I strongly doubt it is cancer causing or we wouldn't be here as a species.

Dr Georgia Ede explains it well here..

 

[Dr Snoddy]

Hi Eddmar, I appreciate your dilemma as I have been there myself. I found it easier to write down everything I could and would eat. It turned out that there was a lot more than I originally thought even after eliminating the carbohydrate sources. I have also found foods that I had previously overlooked eg, fennel, celeriac that I now love. I also sought new recipes etc and finally learned to prioritise my health over food that was harming me!
There is lots of good advice on sections of the forum that concentrate on vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

 

[KennyA]

Hi again, Thank you for all of what you’ve written back. I must say it concerns me that with the kind of diet that’s recommended for type 2 that you have described goes against every health rule I’ve learnt. Cured meats are processed and too much red meat including pork have been proven with a link to cancer. And cheese every day will push my cholesterol levels up again more than likely although I love cheddar cheese!! And more recently media says Ed should eat less meat/vegan diet is healthy etc. I wonder how a vegetarian type 2 copes. I’m intolerant to cram and yogurt so that rules out a lot of the ideas I’ve read on here. I worry that solving One problem and causing another if you get what a mean.
Also do you stick to this 100% religiously day in day out? Or do you have the odd normal meal or a take out or a pint down the pub or a birthday cake etc etc?

One of the issues with Type 2 and LCHF is that LCHF is thought to be something new - it's not. It's the way T2 diabetics managed their condition in the past. What's new is the current official insistence that a traditional diet is somehow bad for you, although I suspect that too is changing. A lot of what you say is "proven" is only what the media say. Worth thinking about how much you normally trust what the media claim. Why don't you have a look at (eg) Dr Verner Wheelock's book "Healthy Eating - the Big Mistake"? It covers many things - including the Ancel Keyes scandal - and if you haven't heard of that you should. You do know you make your own cholesterol, don't you? And that cholesterol is essential?

I do stick to this as my aim of ~20g carbs/day, but it's not "religiously" - I am not forced to do it and there is nothing other than my health riding on it. It's been a while since I've been able to have a pint down the pub but that is one of the things I do - alcohol lowers my blood sugar quite markedly. Doesn't happen for everyone. I do have meals with carbs in, very occasionally - maybe 4 or 5 times a year, and I notice the BG rise afterwards (unless alcohol) . Birthday cakes etc are right out for me - I experimented with an xmas pudding in 2019 and the sugar was just too much - I felt ill for about 36hrs. that's my experience, which will differ to other people's.

I used to eat the diet you describe - high carb, meat restriction, lots of fruit, all that. Plenty of exercise. I had increasingly severe and unpleasant diabetic symptoms from about 2010 on, with rising BG levels. In the fifteen months since diagnosis, my BG has returned to normal levels (took 3-4 months) and my symptoms have either gone or decreased considerably. Some I'm probably stuck with thanks to the damage done already. I should be officially "in remission" this month. I can't explain that other than as a direct result of commencing and staying on a low carb lifestyle.

 

[Roggg]

@Eddmar Since you asked, here's a 1700 calorie, 3-meal day. Carbs are spot on. Protein is a tad on the high side. Macro percentages would have been 67/28/5.

 

[Deleted member 532959]

Man has eaten meat for millennia without problem so I strongly doubt it is cancer causing or we wouldn't be here as a species

Not that I'm saying that meat definitely does cause cancer, but I'd question your rationale. Procreation and the passing of genes, in most cases, is going to happen at an age long before the development of of life/species-threatening cancers.

 

[bulkbiker]

Not that I'm saying that meat definitely does cause cancer, but I'd question your rationale. Procreation and the passing of genes, in most cases, is going to happen at an age long before the development of of life/species-threatening cancers.

Except that mainly meat eaters in still existing native populations do not suffer these cancers to anywhere near the extent of westernised "civilised" societies.

 

[Deleted member 532959]

Except that mainly meat eaters in still existing native populations do not suffer these cancers to anywhere near the extent of westernised "civilised" societies.

Read my first sentence again, perhaps. I am not making the claim that meat causes cancer (Neither am I claiming the contrary). I just pointed out that had early humans suffered cancer it would not necessarily have meant the end of our species. In other words, making it to the age of procreation is not really a foundation from which to make claims for ongoing health and longevity.

And while cancer might not be a biggie amongst these native high-meat populations, stroke and cardiovascular issues do seem to be.

 

[Eddmar]

Not sure you can say "proven"as it's based on a very few studies mostly on mice and associational rather than causal.

Man has eaten meat for millennia without problem so I strongly doubt it is cancer causing or we wouldn't be here as a species.

Dr Georgia Ede explains it well here..

That’s very interesting, thank you. I guess I meant bacon and processed meat when I said what I said in original comment.

 

[bulkbiker]

That’s very interesting, thank you. I guess I meant bacon and processed meat when I said what I said in original comment.

The jury is still out on those and the evidence still quite flaky.

I don't limit my consumption of either of those although tend to go for hams and salamis over the junk that is produced in America.

 

[Brunneria]

And while cancer might not be a biggie amongst these native high-meat populations, stroke and cardiovascular issues do seem to be.

please can you provide references as evidence for that statement, so that members can examine your source and make up their own minds.

 

[Eddmar]

Read my first sentence again, perhaps. I am not making the claim that meat causes cancer (Neither am I claiming the contrary). I just pointed out that had early humans suffered cancer it would not necessarily have meant the end of our species. In other words, making it to the age of procreation is not really a foundation from which to make claims for ongoing health and longevity.

And while cancer might not be a biggie amongst these native high-meat populations, stroke and cardiovascular issues do seem to be.

Absolutely agree, you can’t really base any solid facts on our predecessors from hundreds of years ago as their lifespan was a fraction of ours in a lot of cases. The diet we have today (if you live a fairly healthy lifestyle) is much more balanced and varied and we are very lucky to have these choices. I just get concerned that as a diabetic I seem to be having to cut an awful lot of varieties of food out that I’m used to (healthy ones included) and that does worry me

 

[Eddmar]

The jury is still out on those and the evidence still quite flaky.

I don't limit my consumption of either of those although tend to go for hams and salamis over the junk that is produced in America.

We’ll agree to disagree on that one. I personally do not want to start eating more processed meats like bacon as think it will potentially bring more problems and I’m just trying to solve one atm in the healthiest way I can.

 

[bulkbiker]

their lifespan was a fraction of ours in a lot of cases

But that is mainly down to high infant mortality and infections killing many.

Those who lived longer probably lived healthier because they ate a species appropriate diet as all other healthy animals do.

Just because we now how more varieties of food doesn't make them healthier.

Our European based ancestors would not have eaten fruit year round for example as it was a seasonal crop designed to fatten us up for the winter.