• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Low Carb Budget

akindrat18

Well-Known Member
Messages
579
Location
Stoke-on-Trent
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Guys,

I am now in my final year at uni and this time I am not going to end up in hospital again in October, like I have done for the past two years. I've joined the uni gym and now have myself a personal instructor for the whole year I have planned a LCHF budget of £25 per week at a Tesco store and would like your opinions on my LCHF shopping list.

1 - Chicken Breast Fillets 1kg - £3.99
1 - Sweet Thai Chilli Peanut & Cashew 200g - £1.10
3 - Vanilla Cola Xero 2L - £1.50
2 - 15 Eggs - £2.50
1 - Whole Milk 4 Pints - £1
1 - Streaky Bacon - £1.04
2 - Mild Cheddar 450g - £5
1 - 6 Mini Pork & Pickle Pies 300g - £2
1 - Beef Mince 750g - £3
1 - Iceberg Lettuce - 49p
1 - Whole Cucumber - 49p
1 - 6 Salad Tomato's - 69p
1 - Mayonnaise 250ml - 55p

This all comes to £23.35 and I think it is ok. The amount of eggs may be too much, but I'm thinking of having eggs cooked in all ways possible. I've added in the pork pies as they have 15 grams of carbs and will be taking some when I use the gym. Feel free to comment on list and if i could improve a little bit as I am open to what everyone has to say.
 
I wouldn't go for the pork pies - the pastry would not be good for me. Nor would I have the sweet thai peanuts, as the coating would be bad for my BS. I now avoid all fizzy pop type drinks too. I don't like sweeteners of any kind and I find these drinks still make me crave sugar. I go for carbonated water to get my fizz fix.

I would go for more veggies. I work out when the best times for getting reduced items are and I tend to only buy stuff that's been reduced. You can get some good meat and fish like that. I like to have mushrooms and courgettes in my veg box. Green beans are good at the moment too. I tend to be seasonal in my choice of veg.
 
What she said, skip the pork pies, the sweet thai peanuts and the colaXL and I am but doubtful regarding the milk too. Four litres of milk is around 200 grams of carbs so quite a lot of sugar there.

Spend some money on olive oil and butter instead, maybe some more cheese as well? And the common variety of peanuts, in moderation.
 
I agree, skip the pork pies. Pastry is odd. It really plays havoc with BS but not necessarily immediately. The fat in it seems to extend the digestion time and you find high levels even as late as bedtime. Add some more veggies and what about yogurts? (Greek yogs are best) Why do you need all that milk? My husband drinks milk on cereals, rice pudding and in tea but nowhere near those quantities and he isn't diabetic. 15 eggs sounds good. If you want something to have before the gym, I suggest you ask the question on the forum as there are plenty of folk out there that do gym work. I don't.

Well done for getting organised.
 
hHow about adding some mushrooms and onions to the list_? I would be tempted to ditch the pies and add some berries , fresh or frozen and some greek yoghirt.
 
Ive just had a thought, are you using myfitnesspal.com to monitor your food intake and your exercise? I find it really handy as yu set a target for calories and carbohydrates but if you log in your exercise daily you are given extra caolries so yu can balance your food and exercise. Just a thought
 

It's only half a pint a day (4 pints, not litres). I reckon 2 pints would probably be somethingcomparatively ridiculous like 89p, so it doesn't feel financially dire to me.
 


I tend to agree with the others on the pork pies (I don't like them anyway.........), and fizzy drinks. I enjoy a few peanuts nowadays, but rarely have the coated ones. I bet you could get a huge quantity of ordinary roasted nuts for £1.

Over winter will you feel like eating salad every day?
 
Ok.. My concern on this is that there is no food for breakfast.
I too would have plans for veg possibly rather than salads.
Mince with cheapy tinned tomatoes, onion and pepper can be cooked in one go and used over a couple days and frozen if you have access to a freezer. I know we get at least 4 meals from ours and we just eat it by itself in a bowl.
Frozen berries are good with yogurt or cream for breakfast or puddings.
 
I can all see your concerns about the pork pies, nuts, and diet cola. I forgot to mention that I will be having Tesco Choco Snaps for cereal as it is the lowest carb cereal with 22 grams of carbs, whereas oats, museli and granola are all above 30 grams. As for yoghurts I cannot handle the taste of greek or plain yoghurt even with berries. Cream is full of sugar and fat so I never touch it. The pork pies only contain 15 grams of carbs and I thought that nuts and diet cola were ok.
 

That all sounds good other than the pork and pickle pies. But they are to die for. I think I miss them more than anything else.
 
Nuts are fine, but watch the coating. I wouldn't think normal cream has sugar in it. It's mostly fat, isn't it? I opt for bacon and egg for brekkie, but I'm trying for very low carb, so am not generally having any grain based stuff. As to diet cola. I can't bear the stuff and it makes me crave sugar. I

t's a personal thing and we are all different. What works for me might not work for someone else, so try out stuff and test your BS to see how you get on. I'm going for low carb and low fat as I have lots of weight to lose as well as keeping BS down and high fat doesn't let me lose weight as it seems to for some.

Good luck for the new term. Let us know how you're getting on.
 
22grams would be going back on the shelf for me.
As for sweeteners .... I have a lot to learn yet but ... I'm reading that sweeteners of any kind are on average seven thousand times sweeter than sugar ... why they come in microdot size tabs ... but ... they send the message to your brain that calories are on their way so the brain gets certain processes ready and up and running and .... no calories arrive.
Your body is now confused and doing things it shouldn't be so to try and solve the problem your brain starts sending out hunger signals to try and obtain the calories it's geared for shifting ......
 
If it's possible go with skim or 2% milk much healthier and better for your diabetes.
 
It saddens me to see a diet so lacking in fruit and vegetables. Is there really a need to cut the carbs so low that you deprive your body of essential nutrients and fibre? I realise you are on a budget, but could you not aim for a diet that is a little more balanced by adding some fruit, veg and beans perhaps? Or at the very least take a good quality multi vitamin. I realise you want to look after your diabetes but not at the expense of your general health. Maybe replace most of the milk with some full fat Greek yogurt, toss out the pies and cola, replace the nuts with some raw almonds or similar and spend the money saved on vegetables and fruit. I wish you luck and commend you for wanting to take control of your health

PS ... Personal trainers don't come cheap - I think you'd be better off cutting back on that and spending moreo n your food.
 
Agree with veg.. You need more.
Don't know how you got your reckoning on cream. But double cream is good... Same as butter.
My concern is the lack of veg. Frozen mixed veg (defrosted) in mince is good.
I see your thoughts on pork pies for the gym but have you actually tried pork pies for workouts? They certainly wouldn't work for my blood levels..
 
See this is what I struggle with ... it's all very well going for the lowest in carb, but come on, your body's more than diabetes! You could have the best BGL in the world but it's not going to help you much if the rest of your body is malnourished and leaves you prone to picking up bugs and infections. If you want to eat cereal, some of the bran ones are low GI/carbs. I have some Allbran in my pantry that is 20g carbs for a 45g serve .... surely this is a better choice than Choco Snaps?

And I have to ask, what's with the pork pies before the gym? I think you should be more worried about the fat in the pork pies (as well as the carbs) than the cream! Sorry, I am not familiar with Type 1 (which I assume you are if you are a uni student).... do you have to have a certain amount of carbs before/after a workout? Also do you need to lose weight?

Great you are into the gym; your diet will need to support your gym workouts.
 
Hi Lesleywo, i've not been to the gym before and I don't have a clue on what I should eat before or after a workout. Also I am Type 2, weight just under 25 stone and need to lose about half my weight as my BMI is over 50.

As for my shopping list. I have got rid of the pork pies, cola, nuts and choco snaps for bran flakes 1kg, frozen broccoli and cauliflower 900g, carrot batons 600g,85% cocoa plain chocolate 100g, fresh strawberries 300g and double cream 300ml. As for drinks I don't know what to buy the sparkling drinks that I have seen all contain either sucralose or aspartame and even though I drink water all the time I still need to have a fizzy drink.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…