How many carbs should he have?

[Hellybelly17]

Hi all,
Going to be working with my hubby to get him back on track to hopefully avoid medication for his prediabetes to stop it becoming type 2.
We have been recommended to write everything down and work out how many carbs he is eating but what should we be be aiming for carb wise? How much is good and how much is too much and do we just use carbs listed on packaging to work it all out?
Thanks.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi all,
Going to be working with my hubby to get him back on track to hopefully avoid medication for his prediabetes to stop it becoming type 2.
We have been recommended to write everything down and work out how many carbs he is eating but what should we be be aiming for carb wise? How much is good and how much is too much and do we just use carbs listed on packaging to work it all out?
Thanks.

The book Carbs and Cals is a good guide for carb amounts of various foods and meals or use the internet and search for carbs for x usually it will tell you per 100g. Packaging will also give you the information but look for the total carbohydrate not the sugars in the traffic light info as this will be misleading.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. That is the "Big Question" here on the forum and all I can tell you is that less than 130g carbs per day is considered to be "low carb" but how much your husband's body can tolerate is very individual and something that only a BG meter and trial and improvement can show you. Some people can get away with 100-120g a day others need to go below 100 and some people need to stay below 50g to keep their diabetes well managed. 50-70g works well for me.

A system of testing before each meal and then 2 hours afterwards will indicate if the amount of carbs in that meal was too much, if the rise in BG as a result of that meal is 3 or more mmols. If it is less than 3, then it would appear that your husband's body coped well with that meal but it is often best to retest the same meal a few times as other things can affect the results

Yes, the nutritional information on the back or side of packaging is where you will find the information on carbohydrates and it is usually in tiny print so make sure to take reading glasses or a magnifying glass when you go shopping. It is the total carbohydrate content you are looking for and it will be expressed as g of carbs/100g of product and may also have the carb content of the suggested portion size. Things like fruit and veg, the information can be found via google.

I know it all sounds terribly complicated at first but once you get into the swing of it and learn what to buy and what to avoid and how best to cook it, it will slowly become second nature. I can remember when I was first diagnosed, the thought of not eating bread was mind blowing because bread is used as a carrier for all sorts of foods and I used to love bread. Just over 2 years down the line and I don't miss it at all and I have found lots of other nice foods which don't affect my BG levels which I enjoy instead. The game changer for me was to include more fat in my diet once I stripped back the carbs. Fat keeps you feeling full for longer so it stops you feeling hungry and slows down the release of glucose from the carbs you do eat.... so on the very rare occasion that I treat myself to half a banana, I have it with some double/whipped cream or creamy natural Greek style yoghurt. Fat also tastes really good, so it compensates in some way for the carb rich foods we have had to cut back on and it provides slow release energy over many hours.

Anyway, I hope that helps explain things a bit, but if you don't understand or need more info, just ask.

 

[Drummer]

I have a small notebook with the percentage carb of various veges written down - but the amount of carbs to aim for is the amount which can be coped with, eaten and not getting high spikes..