Low carb diet control help

[elftress]

I was diagnosed with early stage type 2 last year and was told to manage it by low carb diet I been struggling to do this and didn't know were to get help I wonder how much carbs each day or what types of food is good for this

 

[MrsA2]

What are you struggling with?
It's quite easy if you just stick with simple real foods, eg those with mainly just one word
Meat
Fish
Cheese
Milk (or preferably cream or thick plain yoghurt)
Eggs
Green vegetables
Berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries)
Nuts
Olives


There's no one quantity that suits everyone, its quite individual how much your body needs. Are you finger pricking to see blood glucose levels?

 

[elftress]

Yes I do check my blood glucose levels

 

[KennyA]

I was diagnosed with early stage type 2 last year and was told to manage it by low carb diet I been struggling to do this and didn't know were to get help I wonder how much carbs each day or what types of food is good for this

Hi elftress and welcome.

First thing is I would strongly advise getting a blood glucose meter and testing regularly. The test pattern that works for me was a test immediately before eating, to establish a baseline, and then a second test two hours later. This is not to see "how high you go". Your body will digest any carb in your food fairly quickly and probably within the first hour after eating - which is where the high point will be. The second test is actually to find out how well your system handled the carb in what you ate - ideally after two hours you should be back at, or close to, where you started. The idea is therefore to be getting back to within 2mmol/l of the initial test, and not above 8.5 (I personally use 7.8 which is the non-diabetic level).

All digestible carbohydrate is digested to glucose, which is what you want to limit. It means restricting sugars AND starches. So (personally) I exclude carb-heavy things like potatoes and most other root vegetables, bread and anything flour-based like pasta, rice, cereals and grains, fruit and other sugars. These tend to be both high in carb and also things we tend normally to eat in quantity.

There are also carbs in smaller percentages and quantities in things like milk and green vegetables, for example. You're looking to restrict total overall carbohydrate intake so it's possible to eat more of a lower percentage carb item, and maybe a little bit of a higher carb item. The exact quantities depend on how much carb you're aiming for each day, and that's really a matter for you to decide maybe after trying different levels. You need to be able to manage this and not feel miserable - in my book it's better to maybe see slower progress, if that slow progress can be maintained indefinitely.

Generally anything 130g/day carb or less is acceptable as "low-carb". Current officia;l advice is still for diabetics and non-diabetics to eat over 300g carb/day. I ignore this. Personally I aim for around 20g/day (equivalent of one apple), because that suits me, and it also works. That's what is usually called "keto" because it means I have to use my bodyfat stores consistently to make up for the reduction in glucose. That leads to losing bodyfat and keeping my BG where I want it.

The other thing you need to be aware of is that our livers are responsible for adjusting, increasing, and lowering our blood glucose levels all the time in response to what the liver thinks we need and might need. This means that it can take some time until the liver gets used to operating with lower blood glucose levels. You can be eating low carb and still your liver is dumping glucose from store, so things like fasted levels don't seem to come down. They do eventually, though, but it took mine months.

Best of luck. This forum is a great resource and the forum members are excellent sources of information. You'll see very quickly that we often take different paths - there's no single "right" way.

 

[Melgar]

I agree with everything by @MrsA2 and @KennyA said, I would add this, you might want to try a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM ) if only to see how your body deals with the food you eat. A CGM is sensor that measures and calculates the glucose in your interstitial fluid there-by giving you a blood glucose reading. The results of which are displayed on an app on your phone. Abbotts FreeStyle Libre is one make. Abbott do offer a free trial CGM . They are pricey and one sensor lasts for 14 days. However a blood glucose meter will always be your gold standard.
Why are the CGM devices useful?. As the name suggests they give you a window into what your blood sugars are doing minute by minute. So if you eat an apple you will see how your body metabolizes the sugars in that apple. Everyone is different in how their body deal with different foods and you will get to know what foods drive up your blood sugars and what foods don’t.

 

[Chris24Main]

Just wanted to support the advice given above -
From my own experience, I was very highly motivated to make major changes very quickly ... one of the things I found hardest is that you just have to give your body time to adjust.

Totally agree with the CGM advice - you learn so much about what is actually going on in your body - you will find that there really is no blanket - fits-all guidance, you are unique...