What figure do you count?

Difficult question, made more so because of the lack of information on the package.

It doesn't really matter as long as you stick to one method and see how it goes. You should see a drop in BG so, if you don't, reduce your carb intake.

I've never quantified the amount of carbs but have always looked for low GI foods. Consequently, I eat things like brown rice, barley, wholewheat pasta, wholegrain rye bread and so on. I will eat an apple, plum, pear etc but will think twice about eating a yoghurt with 7g or 8 g of sugar. The idea is to try and get into a mindset where selection of foods is automatic. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with a calculator in hand.

If you are going to include non digestible carbs in your 120 - 160, you won't be over eating on carbs but make sure some of the digestible carbs are also slow release. Then just monitor your BG levels over a period of time and reappraise the diet later. Everyone is different anyway so you don't 'know' how you will react until you try. These things are only guidelines.

barrym said:

Hi

I'm T2, and have been using a 'below rda' lower carb diet plus meds to have a predictable but not controllable BG.

Typically I have around 120-160 carbs per day. But do I? I'm counting total carbs and not making any allowance for non digestible ones, i.e. fibre.

Should I? Should I use total carbs less sugars?Total carbs less fibre?

I know which figure I count won't change by BG, but it will make comparison with what others quote more realistic.

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I think that generally people refer to 'carbs' as in what's on the packet, weight/quantity eaten and its GI value rather than percentage of sugar, fibre, vitamins, minerals etc. But it's a good question as we probably all think we are speaking the same language.

As far as i know American packing include the fibre within the total carbohydrates hence they deduct the fibre to get to net carbs. In UK the amount of fibre is shown separate from the amount of carbs hence there is no need to deduct it

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