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I am a grazer , is this bad?

C

Claudia 1961

Well-Known Member
Hi
Bit sad. Newly diagnosed prediabetic. My HbA1c is 5.6 but a random glucose test was 8.5 ( I had eaten an apple )
My bmi is 19.5. I am always hungry but eat about 1600 calories a day , steady weight. I exercise swim or walk or both every day. I have been put on metformin 500mg a day . It’s been two weeks.
How many carbs can I eat a day? I do 120-130 a day . 120g protein. Seem to be eating 36 percent fat. My fasting level is 6.1 .
I am so sad that I have to eat so many animal products like fish, chicken etc. I’d quite happily live on lentils, chickpeas, nuts and vegetables and tofu . At least I am not constipated on metformin. Doctor says eat grain bread before you sleep , then you don’t be hungry at night. Not true.
How many carbs a day can I have? I use a glucose metre and am in range but hungry.
 
Hi @Claudia 1961

I will leave someone with type 2 to comment as things are different with Type 1.
However, I wonder why you think you must eat so much animal products when things like nuts and tofu have no or little carbs (depending upon the nuts).
If you are testing your blood sugars, it could be worthwhile trying pulses as we digest them differently. Some of us break them down and absorb the carbs but some people find they ... ahem ... pass straight through and have little affect on our blood sugars. Chickpeas are the classic ones for this.
And, if you like them, olives are a low/no carb non animal product option for grazing.
 
Have a look at this thread, lots of lovely low carb vegetarian recipes on there,Take a look at the vegetarian part of the forum it’s not part of the forum that is used regularly but there’s still lots of info there, there is some members here that do low carb and are vegan/veggie.

Vegetarian/Vegan Low Carb Recipe Index

This is a work in progress as it'll take ages to get all the suitable recipes indexed here, so please bear with me as I'll mainly be doing this during my lunch hour at work. Please feel free to suggest other recipes on the forum that should be added to this.. I've decided to create a post...
www.diabetes.co.uk


To answer your question about grazing, yep it’s not ideal to eat often, it may be why your hungry all the time as your body will be throwing out insulin that it can’t use, it’s a vicious circle. Try eating larger low carb meals with added fats like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, if you eat dairy try using more cream, butter, cheese to keep you fuller for longer
 
Hi Claudia, and welcome.
You say you are pre diabetic, do you know what your current HbA1c is?
Are you normal weight, as BMI is irrelevant and outdated mode of measurement.
Remember people who do not have diabetes numbers do spike.
You are on metformin then you will have problems. Why are you on metformin if you are pre diabetic?
People with T2 insulin resistant have problems with carbohydrates, even with complex carbs. That's possibly the reason why you spiked soo high with an apple. You shouldn't be hungry all the time, maybe you are missing something in your diet.
Whatever you do, do not eat grain bread before bed as it will be less helpful, because your fasting levels certainly increase.
You could try lowering your carbs, you could be too much for you. Green veg are best, aubagines, mushrooms, salads, anything with word berries are good. Full fat yogurts. Products with 5g per 100g of carbs and lower is very good.
Avocados, eggs, chicken, fish, butter olives.
Foods to avoid are root vegetables, tropical fruits, bread, any grains, rice even brown. The body will use fats for energy, instead of carbs.
So up your fats and proteins thats possibly why your hungry .
 

Thank you. Good advice !
 

Thank you. Good advice. My HBA1c is 5.6 but I was feeling awful energy wise and apparently I was drinking so much my sodium levels were way too low. Big change with Metformin, I don’t feel the need to drink so much. My urine has colour in it again.
 
Most people who low carb, take on board more water, also up salt intake.
Out of interest, How come your on metformin if your HbA1c is very good
 
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pixie1 said:
Most people people who low carb, take on board more water, also up salt intake.
Out of interest, How come your on metformin if your HbA1c is very good
Click to expand...

Because say I have 1 serve of crackers ( vita wheat multigrain ) with tofu my bgl level 2.5 hours later was 10.4.
I can’t just keep moving after every meal, getting tired.
 
Hi Claudia,
It seems you cannot tolerate carbohydrates, Insulin resistance, I am exactly the same. I become very tired lethargic if I have carbs.
A tip which I learnt from this forum and is absolutely invaluable, for keeping diabetes controlled. I am not as stringent these days, hence why my A1c went to 44.
Keep in mind no more than 5g per 100 grams, that will help keep your sugars controlled, this can actually helps those with mobility issues. I was able to do this without exercise, Its about being mindful of carb intake. I imagine your 1 multi grain cracker and tofu would elevate your levels. complex carbs, acts the same as simple carbs, Unfortunately they do not really act as slow release. I see all carbs as sugar; I would not eat 23 tspoon of sugar in one go, sometimes that is how much say a baked potato consists of once eaten. 1 question how many carbs in the one cracker and how many carbs in the tofu.
Its trying to move away from carbs for energy, using fats instead. I have often put back vegan products, thinking they would be healthy.
I had to unlearn everything which we were all taught as healthy eating.

I see soo many people eating so much carbs in one go, I know that, it will turn to fat if it cannot be burnt off.
 
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Hi @Claudia 1961 .

If you're newish to all this,

Can I just share something that was mentioned to me ages back by @Debandez that struck a chord.

It was we (T2D) have a problem using carbs, and because of that problem, unlike type T1D, we produce TOO much insulin,
Which our bodies normally produce to deal with food input etc.

But ours, now struggle coping with what it perceives as an ever increasing carbohydrate load.

To manage, handling what is now a more difficult load, ( I suppose like porters or Sherpas on a mountain trek )
More & more insulin is drafted in to transport the breakdown of the carbs around our bodies, that we increasingly manage so poorly.


The solution, is to aim to reduce the load & the excess need for further insulin production by eating less often ..eek


@Debandez likened it to marching out a small army garrison, every time danger was spotted (incoming carbs).


The problem we then face IS that when we simply lower carbs, without compensating with better fats & protein.
(A result of years of diet advice that really doesn't suit a T2D)
We get hungry....

Meaning we snack and endlessly send out that poor old garrison of insulin whether the danger is large or small.

The solution many find to that is when you cut down carbs, increase the better fats,
THAT helps keep you satiated for longer, meaning you eat less often but better, and your not marching that platoon of insulin out at all times of the day.


I won't lie, it's definitely a C change in how we see eating.

Years of being told something many hold to be a truth,
that once you become or are in danger of becoming T2D , no longer holds true.


I posted ages back a few time, how the expected 'death' by fat never occurred for me (or many others )

In fact pre T2D, ALL my lipid panel (Cholesterol, LDL, HDL,TRIGS)
Were well in the danger zone
For 8 years on low fat low cal, & no one mentioned it to me.
(I took the doctors/receptionist/cleaners word everything was OK .. )

6 months on LCHF and they all went to Optimal or Good.
(I now take good note of MY results, not making that mistake twice )


A simple truth:
Not everything we know, is true.

And a little research goes a long way...so due diligence is called for.

Hope some of that helps in shaping your journey.

Best wishes
 
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Thanks for the tag @jjraak
Thanks for the tag @jjraak

Warm welcome to @Claudia 1961

You have been diagnosed prediabetic and am sure you could pull it back to normal range with small but significant changes.

I've linked some pics that you will hopefully find as useful as I did when I was first diagnosed type 2.

Eating foods low in carbs keep you off the blood sugar rollercoaster. Being on this rollercoaster can make you feel very hungry (amongst other negatives as you can see). Every time you eat carbs your 'army' of insulin (i call mine my 'grandads army') has to come out to deal with them. My army certainly wouldn't win any medals.

On a low carb way of eating not so.

Eating more healthy fats is beneficial in so many ways. Im not on that rollercoaster for one. The fats keep me full for longer, i rarely feel hungry, i dont have food cravings or feel the need to snack. I found this really helped with weight loss and bringing down my hba1c to normal levels. I was apprehensive about eating more fats when first starting this way of eating but I'm almost 5 years to the day in now and all my health markers are optimal, including cholesterol.

You don't have to eat lots of meat or any at all on a low carb way of eating.

Someone has already linked a useful vegetarian thread and I highly recommend Diet Doctor for more ideas:

Vegetarian Low-Carb Inspiration – Diet Doctor

Low carb doesn’t have to mean carnivore. We offer plenty of vegetarian choices, enjoyed by both dedicated low-carb vegetarians and meat eaters.
www.dietdoctor.com

As for how many carbs can you eat a day, we are all different. I tend to be around 30g to 50g. But if you test with your monitor and try to avoid the foods that spike you or keep your blood sugars high for a prolonged period that will help you decide the right level for you. I've linked the blood glucose testing leaflet one of the forum members put together which I think is really helpful.

I found potatoes, bread and some fruit (especially grapes and bananas) really spiked me and rice and pasta not so much but took hours to come back down so I avoid. I found above ground veg ok, below ground not so.

As for eating grain bread before bed, I wouldn't as this could have a negative effect on your blood sugars. Sadly Drs dont always give the best advice. I was surprised at how much sugar is in bread, if you chew it long enough it starts to taste sweet. My husband is non diabetic and bread puts his blood sugar levels up quite a bit.

Upping the healthy fats should help with the hunger.
 

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Thank you! Yes I was eating low cal low fat…lots of veg but little cheese oil meat , just nuts
 
Claudia 1961 said:
Thank you! Yes I was eating low cal low fat…lots of veg but little cheese oil meat , just nuts
Click to expand...
Me too.
And with the prevailing diet dogma plus asthma advice, the cheeses were a double no no


With LCHF, & the good advice on here ..
In 3* months back to prediabetic no's
Lost close on 3 stones.
And life long asthma almost disappeared.......

And I now get to eat delicious cheeses once more.. WIN/WIN

*Next HBA1c test put me at 40.
 
I was 52 on blood sugar tests.. Quack immediately wanted me on medication. I said no. Three months later I'm 22lbs lighter, can walk 10k without breaking sweat. Don't wake up starving. How? Walk 3 to 4 k most days. Cut sugar from tea. No biscuits with tea. No fizzy drinks. More protein, eggs, Greek yoghurt, cheese, chicken. Latest reading down from 52 to 41
 
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