How much veg?

[ghost_whistler]

I'm starting to worry (because of course) that my portion sizes might not be enough, so before proceeding further I need to make sure I'm getting enough.

So breakfast will include (veg) 1oz of Kale and half a hass avocado (they are just under 100g whole).
Lunch will include some lettuce (i did't measure, probably less than an ounce), and perhaps an oz of cabbage.

dinner will include 1oz spinach, possibly a bell pepper (if i have any left, those bags of three are surprisingly dear), 1 mushroom, 2 spears of broccoli (no idea the weight, probably 1oz), and maybe a couple of spears of cauli (i'm going to have some later fried in the butter i just brought as rice).

My veg intake is about what it's always been, but i'm cutting back on carbs. I used to include a carrot as well, but although the ones i have remaining aren't that large they don't seem hugely worthwhile. Afterwards i'd have an apple, but those are verboten.

Is this enough? How much more should I eat? Bags of veg are all add up £££wise - and the greater the portion size, the greater the carb count (apparently in the UK we list carbs as net carbs, even though the fibre is also listed, i hope that's the case for every product across the board!)

Thanks

 

[Brunneria]

How much veg is a hotly debated topic
Some people eat none at all.
Others have it as 3/4 of their plate.

I normally eat well over the recommended 5 portions a day, and will happily sit down to a meal containing half a head of broccoli and 150g (approx 6 oz) of sugarsnap peas alongside my protein and fat. The veg in the meal is approx 12g carbs.

For me, the thought of 1oz of this and 1 oz of that is mind bogglingly small. So I am probably not the best person to give you any advice on this...

 

[Resurgam]

You need to have some idea of the percentage carbs in the things you are eating - maybe a small notebook to have handy in the kitchen so you can see what is high and what is low - if you always work in ounces then write down the carbs per ounce - and weigh rather than guess - it really pays to have accurate figures. If you can eat the same amount of carbs in a meal and then check your BG level you will - hopefully - see your numbers reducing week by week, or that you can eat a bit more without raising BG levels into the teens.

 

[azure]

As you're not diabetic, why not try eating to,satiety and see how that goes

 

[ghost_whistler]

As you're not diabetic, why not try eating to,satiety and see how that goes

I am, and i feel better. I hope i can be objective about that.

I've been using the myfitness app, but finding precise measurements for the exact item isn't always easy. What's a slice of ham worth (the packet has no info)? Or the butter i used to cook with today (about 40g worth! my GP would likely spew!)

That said I'm apparently 1600kcal today, and it tells me i should be aiming for 2000kcal. According to low carb macros, that's a little high, and they tell me i should be around 1600. Is satiety enough? What if i want to get more active? Working out the exact macros isn't easy I found, but i did my best. I'll need all the calories i can find just to keep up with this app!

Today's carbs are about 36 according to the app. That doesn't include the 8 or so for the sausages i bought. I will have to buy better next time. Also I'm not sure some of the measurements are accurate either. You have to hunt around to find an entry with the correct data. I have 100g cabbabe registering as 6 and a green bell pepper as 8. Not sure how accurate those are. The peppers didn't come with nutritional info. And then you have to work out whether the entry is net carbs or not because apparently info on UK labels is net carbs and they just list the fibre content separately as well. However if that's true it means 100g of Chia is 44g!

 

[ghost_whistler]

You need to have some idea of the percentage carbs in the things you are eating - maybe a small notebook to have handy in the kitchen so you can see what is high and what is low - if you always work in ounces then write down the carbs per ounce - and weigh rather than guess - it really pays to have accurate figures. If you can eat the same amount of carbs in a meal and then check your BG level you will - hopefully - see your numbers reducing week by week, or that you can eat a bit more without raising BG levels into the teens.

Seeing the numbers reduce was the problem!

I want them to remain stable. Not jump and fall. After all, if I'm not in ketosis, and I don't know if I will be, i'm still going to be riding the insulin train.

 

[azure]

I am, and i feel better. I hope i can be objective about that.

I've been using the myfitness app, but finding precise measurements for the exact item isn't always easy. What's a slice of ham worth (the packet has no info)? Or the butter i used to cook with today (about 40g worth! my GP would likely spew!)

That said I'm apparently 1600kcal today, and it tells me i should be aiming for 2000kcal. According to low carb macros, that's a little high, and they tell me i should be around 1600. Is satiety enough? What if i want to get more active? Working out the exact macros isn't easy I found, but i did my best. I'll need all the calories i can find just to keep up with this app!

MyFitnessPal usually has a choice of serving size. Also, if, say, it says that two slices of ham is X amount of protein/calories, etc and you only had one slice, then you can still add the 'two slice' value but put your serving size as 1/2 ( to allow for the fact that you had one slice not two) The app will then adjust the nutrients to the right values. I hope that makes sense - it's less tricky than I probably made it sound! You can also store favourite lunch items, etc, so you can choose from them rather than having to search for each item all the time.

Edited to add that it's normal to see blood sugar rise and fall. A non-diabetic could have blood sugars of 4, 6, 8 or whatever throughout the day. Most people are unaware of blood sugar fluctuations because they don't test.

 

[ghost_whistler]

MyFitnessPal usually has a choice of serving size. Also, if, say, it says that two slices of ham is X amount of protein/calories, etc and you only had one slice, then you can still add the 'two slice' value but put your serving size as 1/2 ( to allow for the fact that you had one slice not two) The app will then adjust the nutrients to the right values. I hope that makes sense - it's less tricky than I probably made it sound! You can also store favourite lunch items, etc, so you can choose from them rather than having to search for each item all the time.

Edited to add that it's normal to see blood sugar rise and fall. A non-diabetic could have blood sugars of 4, 6, 8 or whatever throughout the day. Most people are unaware of blood sugar fluctuations because they don't test.

It does, but not all the entries have complete nutritional values. So you can pick 'slice of ham' but have to find the one that has details filled in.

 

[azure]

It does, but not all the entries have complete nutritional values. So you can pick 'slice of ham' but have to find the one that has details filled in.

I usually search by the brand and if I can't find the exact one, I choose the nearest equivalent - or even google for general info then adjust the serving on MyFitnessPal until it most fits the nutritional info I found.

It will never be perfect, but it does give you a good idea of your intake.

 

[Kristin251]

I eat similar to you. I love veggies and could eat them all day long for if my stomach and blood sugar would handle them but neither do.

Bf is 2 oz avocado with celery chunks
Lunch is 2 oz avocado with green onion and a bit of celery diced, sometimes a bit of lettuce
Dinner is always some romaine lettuce ( salad) and a handful of mixed low carb veg. Generally includes bok choy, mushrooms, asparagus and them a few green beans or Brussels sprouts. Even just lettuce will raise me.

I don't use net carbs because for me they are all carbs. Some just slower than others. At DX I was told I could deduct half, not all.
I don't go by calories. I only go by quality foods in moderate portions
My mantra ( for keto) is vlc, MODERATE protein and just enough fat to satisfy. I dip out of keto with anything over 20c per day. At least that's where I start putting on weight and losing energy.

For a long time I weighed all my food on a digital scale and that to,d me what was worth making and / or the quantity I could eat. I would take the portion I thought I'd like then weigh it. For some foods I could eat more and some much less. Broccoli , beans, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers all raise me quickly. So I have many mixed veggies at all times and will use the bigger portion of vlc ones like bok choy, mushrooms, asparagus and then add a few beans or Brussels sprouts.

I never found MFP to be very accurate so I use www.calorieking.com when I weigh foods. It doesn't track calories but gives me accurate protein, fat and carbs. I've never really counted calories. Just protein and carbs. When I did use MFP I always came out 80% fat, 15 % protein and 5% carbs. Most of my fat is avocado, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts and pumpkin seeds. Oh, lets not forget the mayo!!

Everyone needs different fuels and macros to feel well. I just test and listen to my body I never starve. The avocado is my magical food for steady constant even energy and satisfaction. I used to always be hungry and thinking about food. Horrible feeling.

 

[Resurgam]

Humans do not digest fibre - you'd need a couple more stomachs to do that - I have always used the net carbs, as on UK packaging, for accuracy - some things I eat are low fibre and some are high, so using gross carbohydrate figures would give me problems as one day I might be digesting twice the amount of carbs as the next or previous day.

 

[ghost_whistler]

So how do we tell what is accurate? Chia is supposed to be really good and I'm tempted to get some as i noticed it was quite cheap in sainsburys. But if the net carbs are 44g (that's for 100g iirc, but still). That's a lot of carbs!

 

[azure]

So how do we tell what is accurate? Chia is supposed to be really good and I'm tempted to get some as i noticed it was quite cheap in sainsburys. But if the net carbs are 44g (that's for 100g iirc, but still). That's a lot of carbs!

Not if you're only having a small amount. Have you ever had them before? You don't need many.

 

[Kristin251]

OMG I THINK I WOULD DIE IF I ATE 100g.

Warning warning. Go SLOW. They totally swell in the stomach and need lots of water !!!

 

[ghost_whistler]

OMG I THINK I WOULD DIE IF I ATE 100g.

Warning warning. Go SLOW. They totally swell in the stomach and need lots of water !!!

I'm not actually eating 100g, more like 1oz, as a portion. If I ate that much I'd be spending a fortune on veg. I usually buy 1 bag a week (of whatever).

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

@ghost_whistler Chia seeds are very high fibre/low carb and nutritious.

https://www.verywell.com/chia-seeds-nutrition-health-benefits-2242156

 

[azure]

I'm not actually eating 100g, more like 1oz, as a portion. If I ate that much I'd be spending a fortune on veg. I usually buy 1 bag a week (of whatever).

I think @Kristin251 meant the chia seeds?

 

[Kristin251]

I think @Kristin251 meant the chia seeds?

I sure did !! I could never eat 100g of chia seeds. I'd be backed up for a week!!! Although I don't do well with fiber. Flax is the worst!!!

 

[ghost_whistler]

I think @Kristin251 meant the chia seeds?

I've never eaten them at all. I doubt you'd want to consume that much, you'd be spending a fortune if nothing else.

 

[azure]

I've never eaten them at all. I doubt you'd want to consume that much, you'd be spending a fortune if nothing else.

Yes, they're not cheap. I usually look out for offers at the health shop and stock up then. I like to mix them with other seeds.