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How many grams of carbs do you eat each day/meal?

vintageutopia said:
Another question...are those total carbs or net carbs?
I am already at 30 grams for the day.
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I'm in the UK, and our nutritional labelling shows carbs (and sugars) separately from fibres. So my 30-50g a day excludes fibre. We're a UK based forum so I imagine most people here would count this way, but we do have many members from all over the world as well, so - totally confusing!! :wideyed::wideyed:

But, and I think Pasha has made this point, Mother Nature isn't kind enough to calculate carbs to the gram for us when growing or ripening stuff, so there has to be some slack in what we allow for our vegetables, fruits and nuts "allowance" anyway. And if we fuss too much over these small amounts we'll probably be raising our glucose levels by more than these variations are worth...
So go by our mantra and eat to your meter....

Robbity
 
vintageutopia said:
Another question...are those total carbs or net carbs?

I am already at 30 grams for the day.
Click to expand...

In my case ex 21 carbs its NET CARBS ie according to the American system. In the final analysis it doesnt matter which system you use because the real control is via the glucose meter reading.
 
Do you count your protein as well? I'm low carbing (20-30g per day) but not counting fat or protein. Is this important?
 
asyarlk said:
Do you count your protein as well? I'm low carbing (20-30g per day) but not counting fat or protein. Is this important?
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Just assuming that this question is for me ?

The answer is yes. If you go low carb then you must use some other energy source, and thats fats, otherwise you will be hungry all the time and feeling listless.. Protein also needs to be looked at because if you eat too much some of it can be converted into glucose, its called gluconeogenesis.

Hope this helps
 
I am type 1 and have been doing lots of research into the low carb approach and it seems to be the best way forward, so im after some advice off all you low carbers out there please. Do you just follow a diet that is low in carbs (if so, how many cabs per day?) or do you follow a plan such as Atkins or Dr Bernsteins? Im very confused as to the best way to eat.........I appreciate these are not diets they are a whole way of lifestyle :-)
All advice gratefully received.
 
lisajohnson101 said:
I am type 1 and have been doing lots of research into the low carb approach and it seems to be the best way forward, so im after some advice off all you low carbers out there please. Do you just follow a diet that is low in carbs (if so, how many cabs per day?) or do you follow a plan such as Atkins or Dr Bernsteins? Im very confused as to the best way to eat.........I appreciate these are not diets they are a whole way of lifestyle :-)
All advice gratefully received.
Click to expand...

T1 30+ years. Size 8-10. Have max 50 carbs a day.
Have diverted a while from this a few years back on advice to eat porridge or toast for breakfast and put weight on and would never again go back to eating more carbs on a permanent basis.

I do occasionally (very rarely) have excess when we have a takeaway or go out with friends. So I don't always keep to under 50g.

I also used to have extra in December each year but nowadays I don't do this either.
 
donnellysdogs said:
T1 30+ years. Size 8-10. Have max 50 carbs a day.
Have diverted a while from this a few years back on advice to eat porridge or toast for breakfast and put weight on and would never again go back to eating more carbs on a permanent basis.

I do occasionally (very rarely) have excess when we have a takeaway or go out with friends. So I don't always keep to under 50g.

I also used to have extra in December each year but nowadays I don't do this either.
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Is this UK Carbs ie carbs-fiber?
 
Total carbs. Does that make sense? I'm not sure how it works on packaging abroad.
 
lisajohnson101 said:
I am type 1 and have been doing lots of research into the low carb approach and it seems to be the best way forward, so im after some advice off all you low carbers out there please. Do you just follow a diet that is low in carbs (if so, how many cabs per day?) or do you follow a plan such as Atkins or Dr Bernsteins? Im very confused as to the best way to eat.........I appreciate these are not diets they are a whole way of lifestyle :)
All advice gratefully received.
Click to expand...

I am not type 1 or type 2 but prediabetic +other problems.

I started with ATKINS and drifted to LCHF and have kept on the way of eating. I lost plenty of weight and got much improved BG values, also feel much better.

In reality you need to consider all the macronutrients ie Carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The high fat is the energy source used to replace the reduced carbs.

FYI I normally eat 20 grams carbs 56 grams proteins and 150 grams fats for about 1680 calories/day.I am very carbohydrate intolerant, but

remember we are all different and each of us must seek out our own levels. Hope this helps at least a little.
 
I can't eat more than 20g carbs at any one meal because I'll end up over 7.8 which I try my best to stay below at all times. I'm currently trying a lower carb regime than previously to see whether it will shift weight and improve my fasting BG, so mostly trying to be under 30g total.
 
Danny Francis said:
I was using a low carb diet before, 80 - 100 grams a day. It was great, lost a lot of body fat but after 2 months i started seeing negative effects from it. Not saying it wasn't worth it because losing body fat is always great! but its defiantly not a sustainable way of eating. Your body requires around 100 - 130 grams of Carbs a day for average needs of bodily function but sticking low will eventually lead to a decrease in serotonin in the brain which will then cause, Depression, Fatigue, On and off mood swings. Yeah not great.. as experienced, But if your doing these style diets i would recommend have a high Carb day every week or two just to replenish normal hormone function (If affected) and muscle/Liver Glycogen. It worked for me and I'm finding it much more sustainable than before and will keep you staying slim ;)

Hope that helps a little
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Hi Danny,
What you just said about low carb diets causing depression and fatigue has concerned me. I have suffered from Clinical Depression for nearly thirty years (I am 44 now) and am on anti depressants. I certainly do not want the depression to get any worse. I am trying to keep my carb limit to 70grams per day, though I find it difficult to do. The thing is I am only diagnosed Type 2 three months and I need to lose around 45lbs and calorie counting, weight watchers etc have only ever been short term solutions for me. I was thinking about making my own low GI bread from ground Linseeds and oat bran but I was worried about the large amount of carbs in it - now I think I will make the bread. Fingers crossed it doesn't spike my blood sugars. Thanks Danny.
 
Ellie-70 said:
Hi Danny,
What you just said about low carb diets causing depression and fatigue has concerned me. I have suffered from Clinical Depression for nearly thirty years (I am 44 now) and am on anti depressants. I certainly do not want the depression to get any worse. I am trying to keep my carb limit to 70grams per day, though I find it difficult to do. The thing is I am only diagnosed Type 2 three months and I need to lose around 45lbs and calorie counting, weight watchers etc have only ever been short term solutions for me. I was thinking about making my own low GI bread from ground Linseeds and oat bran but I was worried about the large amount of carbs in it - now I think I will make the bread. Fingers crossed it doesn't spike my blood sugars. Thanks Danny.
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Hi I am 41 and have suffered from depression since my teenage years. I have been low carbing for 12 days with eating between 22g and 35g of carbs a day. No bread, rice or pasta.
I have found that I have stopped snacking, I feel full for a lot longer and my mood has improved (even noticed by my husband), I am also feeling more awake.
Hood this helps.
 
70 grams a day should be easy peasy, look at Bergen soya and linseed bread at 11g per slice. Swap out potatoes for celeriac and cauliflower, look for cauli rice and cauli hash brown recipes also spicy courgettes (zucchini) cakes.

Ali
 
Just from today I have started using my fitness pal and it is fantastic... Yesterday I was writing it all down and today it's all being done for me!! This has helped me see what I'm missing and where I should be adding more. I would definitely recommend this when starting out as it gives you something to aim for. Is the general consensus that low carb is best for type 1s? I enjoy not injecting as much and it's more predictable!!

And cauliflower rice is lovely, especially with lots of garlic!!
 
lisajohnson101 said:
I am type 1 and have been doing lots of research into the low carb approach and it seems to be the best way forward, so im after some advice off all you low carbers out there please. Do you just follow a diet that is low in carbs (if so, how many cabs per day?) or do you follow a plan such as Atkins or Dr Bernsteins? Im very confused as to the best way to eat.........I appreciate these are not diets they are a whole way of lifestyle :-)
All advice gratefully received.
Click to expand...

From today I am doing:

30-40g carbs
60g protein
90g fat

I will reevaluate this each week so it's not set in stone yet.

I'm 27, type 1 and a size 8 so not looking to lose weight. I just want to control my blood sugars and not inject so much. I also want to feel in control and when I have a jab, I feel like the next few hours are unpredictable and I don't like that feeling. I was never a big carb eater anyway and now I don't feel guilty eating cream and jelly yum yum!
 
Fi2000 said:
Hi I am 41 and have suffered from depression since my teenage years. I have been low carbing for 12 days with eating between 22g and 35g of carbs a day. No bread, rice or pasta.
I have found that I have stopped snacking, I feel full for a lot longer and my mood has improved (even noticed by my husband), I am also feeling more awake.
Hood this helps.
Click to expand...
Hello Fi,
Thanks very much for your encouraging response. As much as I want to get my blood glucose levels back to normal and to lose weight, my mental health will always be my priority. It is great that you feel good on lchf these last 12 days and I am going to continue with the lchf and not bake the bread yet ( I will bake some ginger biscuits from ground almonds and Xylitol instead lol). However if I do find my depression worsening down the road then I will add in some extra low GI carbs. I have only counted my carb intake for one day so far and I ate 52 g of carbs and I found that day hard and I was hungry. I do need to start adding butter to my veggies and I am having sugar free jelly with cream for my night time treat so I hope that will help. Thanks for your input Fi and I would love to keep up with you to see how you are getting on. Good luck.
 
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