New diagnosis

[Ellenw]

Hi.. I am newly diagnosed type 2..My Hba1c was 70 and I had to come out of denial..

So I'm trying to go low carb.. How do you measure the carbs you eat and what would you say was a low daily intake that would still give me the energy to cycle 20 miles round trip daily...?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi,

You chose your own intake and, with testing, religiously before and after meals, be prepared to reduce your intake. Are you currently testing your meals, or don't you have a meter? If you don't have a meter then you need to buy one. Look for ones with the cheapest strips because you need many thousands of strips. We all have different tolerance levels to carbs, so you need to find your own. You could start at 80g or 100g a day, then work downwards from there. Most T2s on here are 50g a day or less.

Test immediately before you eat
Test again 2 hours after first bite
Look at the rise from before to after and try to keep it under 2mmol/l and preferably less.
If it is over 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope with.
Keeping a detailed food diary helps a lot.

Measuring carbs isn't easy at first, but it becomes second nature. You have to learn to read nutrition labels for the Total carb content per 100g. Then you measure or weigh the portion size you are eating and calculate how many grams. If there isn't any packaging, such as with fresh veg, there are excellent supermarket websites to help, such as Tesco and Sainsbury. There is also a brilliant book (and app) called Carbs & Cals available from Amazon. You also have to watch out for hidden carbs in things such as sauces, gravy, milk etc.

 

[Ellenw]

Hi,

You chose your own intake and, with testing, religiously before and after meals, be prepared to reduce your intake. Are you currently testing your meals, or don't you have a meter? If you don't have a meter then you need to buy one. Look for ones with the cheapest strips because you need many thousands of strips. We all have different tolerance levels to carbs, so you need to find your own. You could start at 80g or 100g a day, then work downwards from there. Most T2s on here are 50g a day or less.

Test immediately before you eat
Test again 2 hours after first bite
Look at the rise from before to after and try to keep it under 2mmol/l and preferably less.
If it is over 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope with.
Keeping a detailed food diary helps a lot.

Measuring carbs isn't easy at first, but it becomes second nature. You have to learn to read nutrition labels for the Total carb content per 100g. Then you measure or weigh the portion size you are eating and calculate how many grams. If there isn't any packaging, such as with fresh veg, there are excellent supermarket websites to help, such as Tesco and Sainsbury. There is also a brilliant book (and app) called Carbs & Cals available from Amazon. You also have to watch out for hidden carbs in things such as sauces, gravy, milk etc.

Thank you.. Very helpful...I'm not sure what 'test' it is that I am supposed to be doing with my meals..I need to do some more reading..

 

[dbr10]

Thank you.. Very helpful...I'm not sure what 'test' it is that I am supposed to be doing with my meals..I need to do some more reading..

You need to get a cheap blood glucose meter so you know what is happening to your BG levels after food.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thank you.. Very helpful...I'm not sure what 'test' it is that I am supposed to be doing with my meals..I need to do some more reading..

To test meals, you need a blood glucose meter. You test before you eat, then again 2 hours after first bite. If the glucose levels have risen above 2 points (2mmol/l) there are too many carbs in that meal. Keeping a food diary including portion sizes is very helpful as you can record your levels alongside the food and look for patterns. Your personal danger foods will soon become obvious. Some will need eliminating. Some may be OK in smaller portions. It is trial and error.

 

[Caterham]

If you are trying to control carbs, there is an excellent app called 'Carbs and Cals'. It has pictures of portion sizes and is really useful for me.

 

[Resurgam]

Your question seems to indicate that you have been told that your body needs carbs for energy - I am convinced that mine doesn't, but I have been trying to low carb in the face of opposition for over 40 years - always felt better and had more energy when eating low carb foods.