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Hi to everyone

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I have figured out by testing that my system can cope with about 120 g of carb per day. So my view on anything tends to centre around how many carbs are in it and what proportion would that be of my daily intake.

When it comes to carbs there is no difference between brown rice and white rice. Some of the food warriors would suggest that carbs from brown rice get absorbed more slowly and it is therefore "better" but I find that looking at total carb is good enough because the errors in assigning a carb level are bigger than the differences between the types.

Are you talking tinned pilchards in tomato sauce? If so, look on the tin and somewhere it will tell you how many carbs are in it. Check out different brands and you may well find different amounts of carb. Two main reasons for that. First is that the number they come up will is a bit of a guess! Measuring carb content of food is very difficult and the labelling regs allow estimates (guesses) to be used. The saving grace is that the guessing is being done by people who know what they are doing and so what they get is probably a pretty good guess. Second is that different manufacturers might formulate the sauce differently and so might come up with different estimates.

Lets come back to your total carb target and lets use mine of 120g/day. This is divided between three meals, so say 40g/meal.

Uncooked rice is around 80g carb/100g. So, start with the 40g of carb target and lose the 10g for the pilchards in tom sauce. This leaves 30g carb from the rice.... around 35g uncooked weight. This gives you your portion size, which might be a bit meagre for some.

So for me, pilchards in tom sauce with rice would be OK provided I kept control of the size of the portion of rice.

All sounds a bit laborious but you don't need precision, rough estimates will do and after a bit, as you build up experience, it will become second nature. Use your meter to check things out and if you get you calcs hopelessly wrong then it will show. If you do, there is no need to panic. Make adjustments so next time you get it nearer right. In a month or two you will get a good feel of those things which have the potential to give you big rises and the portion sizes of them that you can tolerate.

I don't use rice much, I tend to go for couscous. What I know from testing is that two tablespoons of dry couscous is acceptable for me and because that looks a bit small, I usually add some chopped fried onion and mushrooms perhaps with a teaspoon of Moroccan spice mix. Would work well with your pilchards and easier than faffing about with rice.

Don't worry about asking questions....most of us like answering them!
 
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Hi ya, to be honest Ive been bombarded with info which although is great but a bit over whelming at times, I know and appriciate the help Im being given but I think Im going to take a break for a while and try and work out some of the info Ive been given. Ive seen my GP and now have a blood sugar test meter, Ive used it a few times and now I need to find out what the readings mean, like what is a good sugar level reading for a diabetic, Ive used it 5 times already and my readings have been 7.7 10.1 6.6 7.4 and 7.9 at the moment Im in the dark as to weather the'er good or bad. Ive started to eat better like yougart and berries for breakfast, and chicken with vegatables or salad for main meal with some fruit and cheese if Im peckish in between meals. I guess some out there will say that is not a good choice but its what I like and its so much better than what I used to eat throughout the day so Im sticking to it.

It sounds as though you have made a great start, Phil, and I'm so glad you have managed to get a meter from your GP.

I know all the information can be a bit overwhelming, but don't worry, you don't have to change everything all at once - people often say on this forum that diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint - and the most important thing is to find what works for you, no-one else can do that for you.

It will help if you can get into the testing patterns that people have suggested so that you get an idea of how different foods effect you (and this may be different at different times of day) but so far the readings you've got are fine, the 10.1 is just a little high, but nothing to worry about at all.

Please don't feel you need to keep replying to posts here if you need a break, we will understand, just come back another time if you have more questions or need someone to talk to.
 
I have figured out by testing that my system can cope with about 120 g of carb per day. So my view on anything tends to centre around how many carbs are in it and what proportion would that be of my daily intake.

When it comes to carbs there is no difference between brown rice and white rice. Some of the food warriors would suggest that carbs from brown rice get absorbed more slowly and it is therefore "better" but I find that looking at total carb is good enough because the errors in assigning a carb level are bigger than the differences between the types.

Are you talking tinned pilchards in tomato sauce? If so, look on the tin and somewhere it will tell you how many carbs are in it. Check out different brands and you may well find different amounts of carb. Two main reasons for that. First is that the number they come up will is a bit of a guess! Measuring carb content of food is very difficult and the labelling regs allow estimates (guesses) to be used. The saving grace is that the guessing is being done by people who know what they are doing and so what they get is probably a pretty good guess. Second is that different manufacturers might formulate the sauce differently and so might come up with different estimates.

Lets come back to your total carb target and lets use mine of 120g/day. This is divided between three meals, so say 40g/meal.

Uncooked rice is around 80g carb/100g. So, start with the 40g of carb target and lose the 10g for the pilchards in tom sauce. This leaves 30g carb from the rice.... around 35g uncooked weight. This gives you your portion size, which might be a bit meagre for some.

So for me, pilchards in tom sauce with rice would be OK provided I kept control of the size of the portion of rice.

All sounds a bit laborious but you don't need precision, rough estimates will do and after a bit, as you build up experience, it will become second nature. Use your meter to check things out and if you get you calcs hopelessly wrong then it will show. If you do, there is no need to panic. Make adjustments so next time you get it nearer right. In a month or two you will get a good feel of those things which have the potential to give you big rises and the portion sizes of them that you can tolerate.

I don't use rice much, I tend to go for couscous. What I know from testing is that two tablespoons of dry couscous is acceptable for me and because that looks a bit small, I usually add some chopped fried onion and mushrooms perhaps with a teaspoon of Moroccan spice mix. Would work well with your pilchards and easier than faffing about with rice.

Don't worry about asking questions....most of us like answering them!
Good morning DOCB, Hope your well, I dont want to bore you today so I wont take up too much of your time. I would like to give you a run down of what Ive had for breakfast this morning to get your feedback if im heading in the right direction with my Diabetes. I got up at 6.00am and the very first thing I did before eating or drinking anything was to do a sugar test which read 7.8 three days ago my morning test read 10.1 so I dont know if thats a good thing or not. Ok, back to my breakfast, I had Greek yoghurt which was 10g carbs, then cheese omelette made with 3 eggs ( no milk or butter ) that was 0 carbs so I had to consume more carbs to reach my goal of 40g carbs per meal 3 times a day so I added half tin of baked beans which was 30 carbs and that was it for breakfast. Am I doing the right thing? Many thanks - Phil
 
Morning @Phil C DUK. At your stage of the game, heading in the right direction is what you are aiming for. Your lower morning reading suggests you are doing that but I would be looking for a trend downwards over a week or two to be sure. Don't know if you are technically minded but putting the numbers in a spreadsheet and plotting a graph helps to see that.

Thinking about your breakfast. The carb intake per meal you are aiming for is a guide, not a target. You do not want it to be higher than your target, but lower is OK. Adding the beans to the omelette keeps you under your target so is basically OK but there is no need to do so if you do not need them.

One question. Could you do with losing a pound or two? If you do, then losing the beans could help with that. If you don't (like quite a few of us on here) then enjoy them.

PS, you don't bore me at all. Gives me stuff to put my mind to. My brother refers to such activities as Adult Sudoku. It gives the brain a bit of a workout and hopefully, unlike the other sudoku, some of the output does not finish up in the waste paper bin!
 
Morning @Phil C DUK. At your stage of the game, heading in the right direction is what you are aiming for. Your lower morning reading suggests you are doing that but I would be looking for a trend downwards over a week or two to be sure. Don't know if you are technically minded but putting the numbers in a spreadsheet and plotting a graph helps to see that.

Thinking about your breakfast. The carb intake per meal you are aiming for is a guide, not a target. You do not want it to be higher than your target, but lower is OK. Adding the beans to the omelette keeps you under your target so is basically OK but there is no need to do so if you do not need them.

One question. Could you do with losing a pound or two? If you do, then losing the beans could help with that. If you don't (like quite a few of us on here) then enjoy them.

PS, you don't bore me at all. Gives me stuff to put my mind to. My brother refers to such activities as Adult Sudoku. It gives the brain a bit of a workout and hopefully, unlike the other sudoku, some of the output does not finish up in the waste paper bin!
Hi, thank you for replying. the only weight I want to get rid of is my belly, I look 9 months pregnant Lol. so baked beans are not so good if you want to loose a pound or two. Yoghurt and eggs alone will be no where near enough carbs for breakfast. If I leave out the beans can you sugest something else I could add to my breakfast to build up my carb intake?
 
Might be a daft question Phil, but if you have T2 and could do with losing a couple of pounds, why do you want to build up your carb intake?
 
Might be a daft question Phil, but if you have T2 and could do with losing a couple of pounds, why do you want to build up your carb intake?
I dont know, Im confused and a bit peed off with this whole Diabetes issue. Maybe I should speak to my GP again. wont bother you anymore ok. Thanks for all your support over the last few days. I need to take a break now from Diabetes UK.
 
I dont know, Im confused and a bit peed off with this whole Diabetes issue. Maybe I should speak to my GP again. wont bother you anymore ok. Thanks for all your support over the last few days. I need to take a break now from Diabetes UK.
@Phil C DUK I presume that you were given a target for carbs because of taking Gliclazide (you may be on other diabetes medications, but if so I haven't seen you mention them).
Most of us prefer to avoid the medications where we can (because all medications have side effects whether we suffer from them or not). I think you said you take 40mg of Gliclazide once per day ( I presume that is taken with your breakfast). That is the normal minimum dose, so it should be relatively easy to come off the Gliclazide if you can reduce your carbs per meal to around 20gms per meal or less. However coming off a medicine is always hard because you don't want your Blood Glucose to go too low or too high, so it will need cooperation from your doctor.
 
Status
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