Confused about carbs - type 2 diabetic

[Kelsie23]

Hi, I’m looking for a little help. My hba1c is 97 . The doctor told me I need to loose weight and cut down on the carbs. I just don’t know where to start. Any ideas? TIA

 

[Lucyr]

Take the carbs you eat now and cut the amount down gradually until you’re eating a level that gives good bgs.

 

[Kelsie23]

That’s a good place to start. Thank you. I find this so confusing. I just don’t know what to eat that won’t have a negative impact on my bloods. I feel hungry because i feel like I'm starving myself cutting out all the bread, potatoes, rice and pasta etc

 

[Leadinglights]

That’s a good place to start. Thank you. I find this so confusing. I just don’t know what to eat that won’t have a negative impact on my bloods. I feel hungry because i feel like I'm starving myself cutting out all the bread, potatoes, rice and pasta etc

Yes those are the food you should be cutting down on as well as all the sugary foods like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks as they convert to glucose.
Your HbA1C is pretty high so have you be prescribed any medication as that would be usual with a level as high as yours.
There is still plenty you can eat by basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, dairy, vegetables and salads and fruit like berries.
Have a look at this link for some good explanation of a low carb approach which people have found successful in both losing weight and reducing blood glucose. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/product/freshwell-low-carb-manual/
Low carb is suggested as being no more than 130g per day as a good starting point. It does not mean NO carbs.
Portion control is important of the high carb foods but compensating with protein and healthy fats as that will help you not to feel hungry.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is useful as it gives the carb value of different portion sizes of a whole range of foods so helps making better food choices.
You will find there are substitutes for some of those high carb foods once you get the hang of it.

 

[Kelsie23]

Ok thank you. This makes sense. I am now on 3 different medications. I will definitely be looking into low carb. 130g carbs for the day, should I be counting the carbs in everything i eat, I.e. protein? Fruit, veg etc?

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Kelsie23

If you are eating carbs at a meal your body will ignore the protein, so no need to take account of that.
Fruit and veg will have some carbs in but not as much as the more obvious sources such as pasta, potatoes, rice. Processed meals with sauces will also have carbs in, especially in the sauces they use, which are often sweetened. Many foods will have the info on the packaging (although not always in an obvious way - think of it as brain gym) and for loose veg weighing what you use, along with googling the carbs per 100g will enable you to work out how many carbs you are eating at present.

I hope that helps

 

[Inka]

Hi, I’m looking for a little help. My hba1c is 97 . The doctor told me I need to loose weight and cut down on the carbs. I just don’t know where to start. Any ideas? TIA

Start from where you are now. Write down an average day’s food for you, or maybe two or three days, then first look for obvious things to cut out, eg carby snacks like biscuits, chocolate, etc, and any unnecessary extras. Then look at your meals.

You don’t need to cut out all carbs. Just reduce them. You also don’t need to count carbs in things like green veg. They do have some carbs but the amount is minimal. As long as you’re cutting down on bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and the other main carbs, you should be ok. Count the carbs in fruit and try to stick to less carby options like berries. You could also use an app like MyFitnessPal to help you.

 

[Martin.A]

That’s a good place to start. Thank you. I find this so confusing. I just don’t know what to eat that won’t have a negative impact on my bloods. I feel hungry because i feel like I'm starving myself cutting out all the bread, potatoes, rice and pasta etc

There are alternatives you can try. I have riced cauliflower, which has a fraction of the carbs of long grain rice; cauliflower or celeriac mash instead of potatoes; celeriac chips and red lentil pasta. You can also find low carb breads - I'm currently trying my wife's gluten-free seeded bread that's not far off half the carbs of regular bread. And, as others have said, simply reducing portion sizes will also help reduce your carb intake.

 

[lizzieK]

Ok thank you. This makes sense. I am now on 3 different medications. I will definitely be looking into low carb. 130g carbs for the day, should I be counting the carbs in everything i eat, I.e. protein? Fruit, veg etc?

The book mentioned above - Carbs and Cals is excellent and a daily resource for me! Initially I felt a bit like you describe but things do start to fall into place - and the support you get here is amazing! Never worry about asking anything! Good luck!

 

[Eponine]

Ok thank you. This makes sense. I am now on 3 different medications. I will definitely be looking into low carb. 130g carbs for the day, should I be counting the carbs in everything i eat, I.e. protein? Fruit, veg etc?

I will second the carbs and cals app, I had no clue about anything till diagnosed with pre diabetes. I stick to the 130 carbs, since end of January lost 2.5 St, my reading then was 45 which put me in the pre diabetic range, blood test results yesterday 40, would not have done it without the app. Amazing what you learn about where your weight has come from, good luck

 

[lizzieK]

I will second the carbs and cals app, I had no clue about anything till diagnosed with pre diabetes. I stick to the 130 carbs, since end of January lost 2.5 St, my reading then was 45 which put me in the pre diabetic range, blood test results yesterday 40, would not have done it without the app. Amazing what you learn about where your weight has come from, good luck

Really well done! It is so good to hear when people do well....it encourages us all! 🙂

 

[Lurcher67]

Hi, I’m looking for a little help. My hba1c is 97 . The doctor told me I need to loose weight and cut down on the carbs. I just don’t know where to start. Any ideas? TIA

Hi, I was diagnosed in March with Hb1aC of 81. I did not know what I could eat, other than reducing/ cutting out biscuits, crisps etc. I changed my breakfast from toast to cereal or porridge, but after joining this forum, soon realised that these were high carb options. I try to eat Greek yoghurt with berries or eggs with mushrooms and bacon, today I had an omelette. This is the place to find help and advice. I have bought the book carbs and cals, which is very useful in visualising portion sizes and nutritional information of lots of common food types. I havent started calculating my daily carb intake or cut out bread etc totally, I am still working on adapting my diet. In 3 months I have lost over-a stone in weight and HbA1c is now 52 so I am still a work in progress, but heading in the right direction. My advice would be to start slowly and reduce some of the high carb foods, read the forum and also look at the learning zone. If you have a finger prick monitor, that will tell you which foods are raising your BG level.