@mizloco I used the nutritional calculator that Indy51 linked too. It was helpful.
I counted carbs in the beginning, never counted calories or figured out the ratios.
When I started the LCHF diet, I primarily focused on increasing water intake, sleep, and walking, while eating
above ground vegetables or 1/4 cup berries with each meal;
protein, typically egg(s), 3 - 4 ounces meat, poultry, or fish at each meal; and
fat in the form of butter, extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil with every meal. I'd also have 1 ounce of cheese each day with a meal or as a snack; 1 - 2 ounces raw nuts a day with a meal or as snack; and half an avocado with a meal or as a snack was good too.
Breakfast typically is an omelet and berries;
lunch is 4 cups of leafy greens, avocado, nuts, and some type of meat or poultry topped with a vinaigrette, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar;
dinner is essentially a combination of meat, poultry, or fish, above ground vegetables, and healthy fats.
Green olives helped when I opened the fridge door and need just a little something.
Beverages: water, and more water, also black tea in morning, green tea in afternoon. A glass of red wine in evening.
Treats: a small amount of frozen berries or an ounce or less of a good quality dark chocolate is good.
It helps to
snack in the beginning, but once you're in ketosis, snacking is not as important, and not eating 3 hours before going to bed is helpful. Later you can explore adding intermittent fasting, but I'd get the diet down first.
Here's two good articles by Michael Eades, MD on
everything you need to know about water intake and maintaining your electrolytes when starting or restarting the LCHF diet...
Part 1:
https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2011/05/30/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-i/
Part 2:
https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2011/06/25/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/
Watch your protein intake, you want enough to feel good, but not so much that your spiking your blood glucose levels - (excess protein is converted to glucose).
Perhaps someone here can post a
protein calculator here for you. (I can't remember which one I used...apologies).
Oh, and if you want to use a
vegan diet - (what's listed above is more of a Paleo style diet) - Neal Barnard, MD, and Joel Fuhrman, MD have both written books specifically for type 2 diabetics. Mark Hyman, MD just came out with his book, Eat Fat, Get Thin. The book includes 4 or 5 chapters on fats alone, and his LCHF diet can be followed with or without animal protein and animal fat.
Good luck!
