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Just starting on low carbs - advice needed

G

Gravadi

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi all,

This is my first post. I am T2 and I started on a low-carb diet a few days ago. I assume that we need some carbs, but if I eliminate all the foods which contain carbs like bread, pasta etc., where do I get the carbs which I need? All the food which is recommended like eggs, meat, fish, cheese etc contain no carbs at all, so which carb foods can I eat?

Since I started on low carbs I find that I'm hardly eating any carbs at all. I do have veg such as broccoli, cabbage, sprouts etc., but they seem to contain only small amounts.

I would appreciate any advice, as I'm confused. Hope this makes sense?
 
Gravadi said:
Hi all,

This is my first post. I am T2 and I started on a low-carb diet a few days ago. I assume that we need some carbs, but if I eliminate all the foods which contain carbs like bread, pasta etc., where do I get the carbs which I need? All the food which is recommended like eggs, meat, fish, cheese etc contain no carbs at all, so which carb foods can I eat?

Since I started on low carbs I find that I'm hardly eating any carbs at all. I do have veg such as broccoli, cabbage, sprouts etc., but they seem to contain only small amounts.

I would appreciate any advice, as I'm confused. Hope this makes sense?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum:)

How much carbohydrate you choose to eat is specific to you and what you want from the diet.

You'll need to match a figure (generally 130g or less per day, to be classed as low carb) with your lifestyle to get the best results. If your very active, you may want to have a carb intake slightly higher than someone who has a desk job for instance. There is also the addition of healthy fats to your LC diet which act as an energy source. This is known as LCHF (low carb high fat). Again, how much fat, where it's from, etc - is up to you. A lot of us who have done low carb diets have only done so for weight loss, but there are forum members such as @bulkbiker and @Kristin251 who eat LCHF permanently and (I think) have their macros balanced to maintain their chosen weights. They'd be able to advise you better than me:)

Where you choose to get your carbohydrates from is entirely up to you. But what I would recommend, is that you get these carba from low GI foodstuffs. Basically, low GI will limit unnecessary BG spikes so you'll get the best overall BG profile as possible.
 
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You are kind of assuming wrong.. there really isn't any need as such to eat carbs.. fats and protein yes.
Like you I get mine from fresh green veg, salad and from cream and milk. No problems so far and overall pretty good control.
Keep up the great work.
 
Yup. I agree with the others.

We have dietary needs for fats, proteins, fibre (made of types of carbs), vits and mins and all sorts of other trace elements. But we have no dietary need for sugars or starchy carbs (that aren't fibre).

There is a myth running round the internet like a bad smell that has infected the brains of a lot of so-called-medical-experts, that we need 130g of dietary carbs a day to keep our brain functioning. Codswallop.

If that were true I would probably have died somewhere in my twenties (nearly 30 years ago).

The reality is that our own body can generate what little glucose we need out of other foods - notably protein and fats, and does it well. So we could, (and some people do) survive entirely on fat and protein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis
https://zerocarbzen.com/ (not my cup of beef broth, but they seem happy)

However, most low carbers choose to eat a generous amount of green and leafy, above ground veg, nuts, seeds, and even some fruit, plus if they choose, some additional carb foods. This is often a far more nutritious diet than when a half to a third of the plate was filled with starchy, nutrient poor carbs.

Hope that helps. :)
 
Thanks to all for your informative replies. I obviously misunderstood the need for carbs. That gives me the confidence not to worry about carb intake. Bluetit1802, thanks for the link. Very informative.

G.
 
If you cut right down on your carbs, your body and brain will switch over to using fats for their fuel sources instead, which is absolutely natural and normal. The only reason you might need a few carbs - mainly in the form of your green veggies - is that these can contain some of he vitamins and minerals, etc, that we require.

Robbity
 
@Gravadi I can only agree with what's been said above. I started Low carb when I was diagnosed type 2 on 30 September, since then I've found I enjoy the carbs I eat (Veg and fruit only as I too have cut all the obvious out of my diet). I feel less sluggish and "lighter".

Good luck with your life choice. Keep reading, tons of great advice here. :D
 
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