What carb's are best

babycham

Member
Messages
9
I am glad I have found this 'non low-carb forum' and have read many of the posts, so its good to see that I am not the only one who couldn't see how to survive with minimal carbs.

I have as of today decided that I MUST get my BS under control, it was once again in the 14's before breakfast, I already take 4 metformin and 2 gliclazide a day, and a couple of months ago had everything under control, but I have somehow lost it, and forgot to keep testing (my fingers were getting sore).

Any advice on what others eat would be beneficial, as I am very over weight 16st 7lb and 5ft 5in tall, I don't exercise and my job is quite stressful and I sit on a social care services call desk all day, oh and I am a 44 year old female.

I enjoy and eat too much bread and potatoes (but they are my comfort foods), I like pasta and rice, most pulses and vegetables, but have lost the knack in cooking now that my children are in there 20's.

My breakfast is normally, weetabix, or fruit and fibre or porridge, with extra fruit if i have remembered to buy any.

10 - 10.30 is a bad time as we have a sandwich lady who comes round daily at work, and if I am not stuck on call, I just seem to migrate to her and buy and sandwich (which I don't need as I am not hungry, but it is just automatic), I have tried in past having a fruit or cheese scone but not sure if these are any better or worse for me.

Lunch is usually a sandwich, or may be tin of soup but can't eat it without bread (by the way is tomato soup good or bad, as says low fat and low sugar), followed by a fruit yogurt.

Mid afternoon is another bad time for me,as this is when the chocolate starts calling, and the shop is just across the road, (plenty of time to get there in my break), I've tried not taking any money to work, but there is a bank around the corner, or the local Coop takes debit cards and gives cashback.

AS you will see a pattern forming, I have no will power.

My main meal of the day is about 6 - 6.30 and depends on what sort of day I have had a work and if its shopping day, I do occaisionally plan my meals, but often cook ad hoc with what I can find in the cupboards, so ofter a jar of sauce with chicken or something similar, Jacket potatoe always a good bet.

I understand that many of you test after having different foods, who soon after eating do you find the best time to test.

I have sometimes tested at bed time, and then found next morning that my BS is higher then before bed, why is this?

I have also tried missing a meal and still taking my meds to try and reduce my BS but this doesn't seem to work.

I am waiting to hear back from my GP about my last Hcba1, as have a feeling they won't be happy with it, my previous 2 have been 9.6, hence the gliclazide.

Thanks for letting me let off steam, and I look forward to any advice (even the sort I would rather not hear) as I am feeling more positive today than I have in a while.

Teresa
 

jopar

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,222
What are the best carbs?

Well unfortunatley, this is a bit hard yes avoiding heavy sugared products will do a lot of good, but also there is a certain amount of how an individual body reacts to particular carbs..

But if you can get old of and GI diet book, this will help you find slower bruning carbs that don't hit the system quick so can be a good guide there is also a web site with an index to it, I try to find it for you and post...

The only real way of knowing how individual carbs are reacting, is testing BG's before and around 2 hours after a meal...

Soups etc, are better if you make them from scratch rather than tinned as manufacturers hae a bad habbit of lobbing a lot of sugar in them...

Will Power

This is a hard one as sasdly can't be given in a tin... But some tips that might be helpfull

Make small changes at a time...

Say tackle one meal at a time rather than trying to change all meals at one time...
Try cutting having a smaller portion of potatoes, pasta and bulking out on vegetables, meat..
Perhaps buy a smaller plate so it looks more than it is...
Swaping one sandwich for a piece of fruit or yogert can help (fruit wise, grapes, oranages and bananas tend to hit the blood glucose quickly)
Exercise..
If can walk to work, give it a bash even if you start by walking once a week then increase over time
If you need to catch a bus, try walking to the next stop to catch and get off a stop early..
If you need to drive, try parking as far away from the building as possible (every little bit helps)
If you get a choice between lifts or stairs take the stairs.
Dinner time have a stroll or walk around...

Some people are lucky that they can lchange there whole lifestyle over-night, and maintain there new regime for ever more, for others they got to take a slower appraoch, by changing a little bit at a time over a period of time, they find there motivation and encourage to change a little bit more as the start to see the results and feel better within themselves..
 

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
f you have just done lots of activity and your blood glucose is low, then you need would need fast energy... simple sugar is very effective in this case BUT People with diabetes have the opposite problem, too often their blood glucose is high, so they wouldn't normally eat sugar by itself. The same goes for products containing a lot of sugar ( which are also often combined with a lot of sat fat) , products such as cakes, pastries, biscuits , chocolate bars etc.
Better carbs are those that are in foods that are high in vitamins,minerals and fibre.
Vegetables, fruits, dairy produce,pulses and cereals contain varying amounts of carbs.Eating a wide variety helps ensure a good mix of nutrients.

All carbs will raise your lood glucose levels, but some will do it more quickly than others, if they are absorbed slowly your body will have time to deal with them causing a lower rise in blood glucose levels. Many carb containing foods have been tested and ranked, the ones that act slowest have a low number, those that are fast a higher number (pure glucose is 100) This is the glycemic index. Sometimes the results are very different to what one would guess and different varieties of the same food have very different gis.(eg some rice has a gi of almost 100 where other varieties are half that)
Many people use t the gi index, coupled with their own meter to select the best foods for them . Portion size needs to be taken account, a large portion of a low gi starch will still raise blood glucose high.

People have also lost weight and controlled blood glucose levels very sucessfully using the GI. The glycemic index website is a source of lots of information about it,

Others have also mentioned using diet books . One often mentioned being really effective is by Ricky Gallop, Another diet that has been recommended on here is by Nigel Denby, the link below is to a book about the Glycemic load diet, this incorporates portion size. The amazon page lets you look at the first few pages which explains it well,
info on the glycemic index
http://www.glycemicindex.com/
Gallop Gi diet
http://www.gidiet.com/en-gb/faq.php
GL diet
http://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-Diet-Nigel-Denby/dp/1844541126
 

FordPrefect

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
Take a look at the GI diet its a very good place to start. The methology is good although every person is different. You need to consider your portion sizes and make sure you eat a variety of foods. Try to have smaller portion sizes for a start. Then you really need to test for yourself. My experience is that oats dont affect me badly. Wholemeal bread is pretty much the same as white bread so I try to avoid them both now. I normally have the burgen soya and linseed loaf or a grannery loaf both of which have a limited effect on my blood sugar. I find that potatoes are very variable but are nowhere near as bad as the GI diet suggests however rice of an sort including basmati is a no go for me as my levels go through the roof need to try again now I am on byetta but still its something I am going to avoid. Pasta again I find to be OK except I normally really like my pasta and have too big a portion!

Dont forget energy density though as losing weight is the possibly the best thing you can do to affect your situation.
 

hismom

Well-Known Member
Messages
114
my sons diet is mainly wholemeal carbs,whether it is pasta,rice bread but he mainly likes tortilla's. these seem to keep his levels really stable.