Advice for newbie on low carb diets please

I have been recently diagnosed with type 2 and I am following a low GI diet. This basically reduces carbs and calories which is good. I m concerned about the sugar content in tomatoes and fruit which I eat as part of a balanced diet. Do I have to cut back on tomatoes like I have done on fruit? My doctor said I do not need to do blood tests but surely this is the only way I will know if what I am doing is right?
 
A low carb diet is good, but that doesn’t mean you have to cut out all carbs, in fact doing so is almost impossible. I would be less concerned about tomatoes than fruit, how many do you eat in a day though? Doctors nearly always say that type 2s don’t need to test, but this is usually for money saving reasons because the strips are expensive. Testing can be very useful if done well, you need to test immediately before eating and then 2 hours later and you’re aiming for a rise of no more than 2-3 mmol/l. Any more than that would suggest that the meal is not suitable for you. If you want to buy a blood tester then I think the Gluco Navii and TEE2 are the ones with the cheapest strips (there’s no difference in accuracy).
 
Sally71 said:
A low carb diet is good, but that doesn’t mean you have to cut out all carbs, in fact doing so is almost impossible. I would be less concerned about tomatoes than fruit, how many do you eat in a day though? Doctors nearly always say that type 2s don’t need to test, but this is usually for money saving reasons because the strips are expensive. Testing can be very useful if done well, you need to test immediately before eating and then 2 hours later and you’re aiming for a rise of no more than 2-3 mmol/l. Any more than that would suggest that the meal is not suitable for you. If you want to buy a blood tester then I think the Gluco Navii and TEE2 are the ones with the cheapest strips (there’s no difference in accuracy).
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Many thanks for your quick reply. Tomatoes , i large or 4 small. I ll take a look at blood testers that you have recommended. I think that I will cut back on fruit. I was tested on June 5th and was advised to have another test after 3 months. I have managed to lose some weight which should help.
 
I personally wouldn’t concern myself with one tomato a day, unless you start testing and discover that they have a massive effect on your blood sugar. Fruits vary - berries are the lowest carb ones, apples, pears and oranges are in the middle and the sugariest ones are the tropical fruits like bananas, pineapple, mango etc. And grapes are little sugar bombs!
 
The temptation with tomatoes when they are home grown is if you get a split one it goes in your mouth rather than in the compost but the only way of knowing is to test.
The lowest carb fruits are berries so are good to have with Full fat Greek yoghurt for breakfast or desert.
This link may help you with some ideas if you are favouring a low carb approach. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
Goggle suggests fresh tomatoes are approx 4% carbohydrate - so a medium/large tomato (125g?) might have 5g of carbs.

I wouldn’t expect 5g of carbs to trouble my BG all that much :)
 
Sally71 said:
I personally wouldn’t concern myself with one tomato a day, unless you start testing and discover that they have a massive effect on your blood sugar. Fruits vary - berries are the lowest carb ones, apples, pears and oranges are in the middle and the sugariest ones are the tropical fruits like bananas, pineapple, mango etc. And grapes are little sugar bombs!
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Thank you for this information. I m giving myself a headache trying to find out what is best !
 
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