The Low Carb Program.

I’ve noticed that a few recipe books and sites contain meals which are higher carb than I eat ( Michel Mosely’s blood sugar recipe book, and the Pioppi diet to name a couple) I think maybe if you are just starting out on this adventure that 130g a day is probably a lot less than most people usually eat and cutting out refined starches and sugar is a good starting point.
I do sometimes wonder if I cut out too much too soon as I can never now increase the amount of carbs I eat ( usually under 20g but sometimes up to 30g a day). Perhaps if I’d taken things at a gentler pace like the low carb programme and the others offer, then I might have been able to stop at a higher level?
I just ignore recipes with fruit or most types of flour now. I do eat very small amounts of pulses occasionally though.

Well it is the 'Low carb programme' so I can understand that some of the recipes may contain 30/40 carbs or more. Obviously for those who are keto or wish to go lower they would have to choose carefully. I guess this site has to cater for MANY different approaches hence the 'test it for yourself' mantra. I also think about how many carbs a 'normal' non diabetic person might eat and it probably adds up to 300 a day or more (especially if you add a bag of crisps or snack to the mix). This site has to start somewhere and to pitch their recipes too low might be off putting for some people.

derry60 said:

I keep telling myself to try a small portion of kidney beans, or lentils, just to see what happens.

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I eat lentils and beans but I have found the types vary a lot in carbs. If you are going to experiment I can recommend Puy lentils or black beans as they have the least affect on my BG.
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/g...sainsburys-so-organic-black-beans-carton-380g
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/g...-and-pulses/merchant-gourmet-puy-lentils-250g

Nowadays, ‘low carb’ is widely accepted as being 130g carbs /day or less
And keto is anywhere from 50g downwards, usually 20g or less

For someone on 130g carbs a day a dessert of 30g isn’t unreasonable. They could have 3 of those a day, and still have 40g carbs left over for ‘necessities’ like breakfast toast and lots of green veg.

That isn’t the way I eat, because my body likes lower carbs than that, but horses for courses.
Am quite envious, actually.
There are some beautiful summer fruits around at the mo.

@derry60 thanks for the tip about Finest High protein bread. If I’m feeling brave one day I’ll give it a try. There does seem to be evidence that freezing and reheating some starchy food makes it less likely to spike a bg increase too.

derry60 said:

I was looking at some recipe's on the Low Carb Program, which is on this site. I could not believe the carbs in some of the recipe's. 24 grams carbs for some plain greek yogurt, a few berries, (Not Many) seeds and cinnamon. I am wondering if the carb count is right. Many of their deserts I could not eat as some where as much as 30 grams of carbs per serving. They include pulses, peaches, cherries?? Some of their dinner recipes where high also. I queried some of them because there is similar recipes on The Diet Doctor site and are lower in carbs. I asked them if they had counted the carbs right. They came back with," everybody is different (Which I know) and that" we go up to 130 carbs per day??? I consider that to be quite high. I then asked about the fruit..Peaches, cherries, etc..Oh they use Soya flour also.. I told her that I am pre-diabetic and if I were to eat quite a few of their recipe's my sugars would spike. She just said that everybody is different. Can anybody else on here who is Pre-diabetic or type 2 eat pulses, cherries, peaches, Soya flour? If I was eating up to 130 grams of carbs a day, I think I may turn into a full blown diabetic, and would not have lost any weight. I think that I will stick to Diet Doctor site.

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@derry60 I eat approx 130g carbs per day and have maintained my hba1c at non-diabetic levels for about 6 years. I eat nectarines with Greek yoghurt if I don’t have any berries available with no effect on my BS.

derry60 said:

I was looking at some recipe's on the Low Carb Program, which is on this site. I could not believe the carbs in some of the recipe's. 24 grams carbs for some plain greek yogurt, a few berries, (Not Many) seeds and cinnamon. I am wondering if the carb count is right. Many of their deserts I could not eat as some where as much as 30 grams of carbs per serving. They include pulses, peaches, cherries?? Some of their dinner recipes where high also. I queried some of them because there is similar recipes on The Diet Doctor site and are lower in carbs. I asked them if they had counted the carbs right. They came back with," everybody is different (Which I know) and that" we go up to 130 carbs per day??? I consider that to be quite high. I then asked about the fruit..Peaches, cherries, etc..Oh they use Soya flour also.. I told her that I am pre-diabetic and if I were to eat quite a few of their recipe's my sugars would spike. She just said that everybody is different. Can anybody else on here who is Pre-diabetic or type 2 eat pulses, cherries, peaches, Soya flour? If I was eating up to 130 grams of carbs a day, I think I may turn into a full blown diabetic, and would not have lost any weight. I think that I will stick to Diet Doctor site.

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I take 100 to 130 grams of carbs per day. My blood pressure is down, my weight is down, my blood sugar is normal and my diabetic symptoms have reversed.

I eat around 100g of carbs a day and have done so for over 7 years and maintained good blood glucose levels with no diabetes med.

@derry60
i probably run at around 50/60g carbs a day
I'm a Klutz in the kitchen as i found out so the recipes i haven't tried, but by
the sounds of them i wouldn't eat.

For me any foods from the shelves that come in at the 30g carb mark, gets put back down like a scalding hot coal.
so making something that exceeds it, doesn't make sense to me personally.
( might just as well skip the hassle and get those Krispy Kremes.... )

But as you know ..we are all different .

and as pointed out we have to start somewhere..
God knows how many carbs i was on before DX..easily over 600, i reckon

I'd agree with @Brunneria, the current "standard definition" of
low carb is 130g carbs a day or less - which in the context of how many carbs many people get through in a meal, let alone a day IS low carb. For some people a reduction to the higher end of low carb is all that's needed to control their glucose levels, so there's absolutely no necessity for them to go lower if they choose not to. Not everyone needs or want to reduce carbs dramatically - for some though It may well be a necessity, and for others it's (hopefully!) an informed choice for possible extra benefits. And i suspect for others, not necessarily our forum members, it may be a kudos thing: "Look how low I can go!"

I started eating low carb over five and a half years ago - well before the program existed , so I've not needed to use their recipes. But in spite of what I think about the carb levels and ingredients in some of them, it's still a good starting point for someone who's suddenly discovered they need to reduce their intake and doesn't have much idea of where to start. But I've always worked on the basis of (a) eating to my meter and (b) eating a varied, and most importantly a long term sustainable LCHF diet. I've found my body is happiest around a maximum of approx 50g carbs a day. I can and do go much lower (e.g. down to 20-25 g a day for a few weeks to ensure i was in ketosis) but in general, how low I go is simply a matter of what I choose to eat, or how often I eat , and being keto/fat adapted I don't have to stay at any fixed level. and (as should be the case) naturally go in and out of ketosis depending on my ratio of carbs and fat at the time,

And I am currently enjoying (probably a few too many of) all the lovely in season summer fruits.

Robbity

I also eat around 50 to 100 carbs a day (sometimes lower, rarely more). I certainly admire those that are able to stick to keto as it certainly works but my extra carbs come in the form of veg mostly, a bowl of (brace yourselves) STARCHY oven cooked root vegetables! Or a homemade tomato sauce of some kind that contains carbs or even a slice of toast or an apricot. There. I've said it. Mostly my food is of the no/very low carb type as I find that easier to estimate insulin doses, ie cheese, nuts, meat but I find it so much easier to stick to if I can have a few extra yummy carbs (healthy ones mind) to supplement it. I sometimes think people assume that eating extra carbs must mean it's in the form of a chocolate éclair or a big bowl of pasta.