Low Carb and Weight loss

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Nicnak

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He everyone, I am a ype 1 diagnosed in 1983, at the moment i am approx 6 stone overweight and really need to do something about this.
My BG run high, 10 plus all the time so I am wanting to do something about it all !!

My question is, I understand I will lose weight by eating low carb, but what amount of carbs should I start off eating?

Thank you for you support, this is a great site. x
 

clearviews

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As your figures as you have said have been running in double figures there is no time like the present to change this. I would be making an informed decison as to what you would like to aim for with readings and along with your meter start reducing your carbs until you start achieving those numbers.
If is has been years with double figures you might want to make the change one meal at a time, say breakfast, for a week then tackle another meal like lunch thus allowing your system to adjust to the changes. Weight loss should begin to happen and you can control the weight loss when you get to your target by slightly increasing your carbs as long as your BGs remain within your target range as this is the primary concern. An arbitary figure won't reflect the right thing for you. It ismore about those BG readings and what you want to achieve.
Alison
 

sugarless sue

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Welcome to the forum. Good advice from Clearviews.

As a Type 1 on insulin you will have to be careful not to reduce too quickly so that you avoid hypos, you should discuss with Dn or doctor about reducing Insulin as you reduce the carb intake. Although you are not newly diagnosed this basic infromation may be of use to you.


Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!
If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.
 
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Nicnak

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Thank you both for your help and advice, I will by a carb book off Amazon today and hopefully start tomorrow xx :p
 

noblehead

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Nicknak,

Both carb reduction and exercise are great ways of reducing weight slowly, as a fellow type 1 you will need to adjust your insulin accordingly to suit the reduction in meal-time carbs and exercise, ask your diabetes nurse for advice on reducing your bolus/basal insulin's.

I notice you say your bg's are running around 10 mmol, have you asked about any carb counting courses such as DAFNE in your area? The DAFNE course teaches type 1's to dose adjust their insulin correctly to the carbs they consume with their meal, this way it keeps bg within the recommended guildlines both pre and post meal-times, it also covers subjects like exercise and insulin, sick day rules and how to weigh and calculate your carbs, so if you haven't done a carb counting course I suggest you ask your dsn or diabetes consultant. Good luck!

Nigel
 

Patch

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jaxster said:
I just want to suggest you to avoid spicy food...

Can anybody comment on this? Is there a reason not to eat spicy food? (From a T1, or T2 perspective).

I always thought that spicy food (fresh chilli especially) stimulated the metabloism.
 

cugila

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I think judging by the wording of the post the person is from outside of the UK and maybe has a diet rich in such things.......I love Curry and stuff, so it isn't a problem for me........ :D
 

Patch

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I agree - the poster definitely sounds like english is not their first language. But the poster sounds like the type of person that trusts their physician, and I would tend to believe that the advice re: spicy food has came from that very source.

I bl00dy love spicy food - and if I were to find out that it was hindering my attempts to control my BG I would be VERY upset!
 

cugila

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Trust the Physician........did notice that one. However I think we all know that sometimes that may not be such a good idea........ :(

I have had experience of both good and bad Dr's in my time. Suppose we take pot luck where that is concerned, just a pity that it can have such a devastating effect on our Diabetes.

As for the Curries etc......that we can agree on Patch, I make my own with mainly fresh ingredients so know exactly what is in them, I love Tandoori Chicken with a huge plate of salad.........very low carb !
 

jaykay

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Plus ( big plus for me ), I can eat less spicy food than bland food and it fills me up more, well at least I feel more full in a shorter space of time ( eeks, I just could NOT get that sentence to make sense in an 'elegant' way, sorry, hope you know what I mean :) )
 

Patch

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I tend to eat spicy food slower than "bland" food. That probably helps with feeling full. (Usually do at least a pint of water with a Madras, too! :lol: )
 

Sookie

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Not eating spicy food is alien to me :p I am British-Indian and absolutely love spicing up everything I eat. I'm the girl that carries spices in her bag! :oops:

I've not seen any changes in my BG's if I didn't spice up my food.

About a week or 2 ago I decided to reduce my carb intake and take control of my BG, prior to that I was all over the place. I now eat 35-50g of Carbs a day, generally consists of Eggs, Meat, Nuts, Green Veggies, Low in Sugar Jellies and Water/Diet Ginger Ale (all with an indian twist). At first i struggled with headaches, feeling tired and grumpy, although i think thats the case with any diet. My BG's have improved alot, i'm finally in single digits, except my morning readings which I think is probably the "Dawn Phenomenon".

In regards to losing weight, I've not lost anything yet and its been 1.5 weeks, I guess i'll see some results in a few weeks? I'm just happy to be under some control! :mrgreen:
 

Edden

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Low carb is very effective and is good for burning fats and you can easily reduce weight because loosing weight is not an easy thing and i like to eat low carb diet.
 

daisy1

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I have been low carbing - between 30 and 40g carbs per day for about 4 months now. I am not losing weight. How long does it take to have effect, or am I doing something wrong?