Carb intake

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Suky R

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Good evening
I just wanted to find out how many grams of carbs a typ2 can have, my blood result was 49 in August
I have cut down quite a bit especially my beloved crisps I have one packet a week if that
I still need to make adjustments but needed but of guidance
I looke it up but got conflicting answers
Still lot to learn
 
Anything under 130g per day counts as low carb @Suky R Some Type 2s can eat 100g a day but some need to keep carbs much lower. It’s an individual thing. Your guide will be your blood sugar. Are you testing at home?
 
When I asked my nurse when I first was told she said I didn't need to as I was on the low side, my blood pressure was only 118 on the last six checkups
I actually cut out all biscuits, chocolate etc
I have sandwich once a week with carrots and cucumber on the side instead of crisps
I feel I needed to do more because I feel I wasn't doing something right.
I exercise 5 days a week
 
Hi
My day starts at 5am
I have cereal....Weetabix, Cheerios, oatibix or Cheerios
Snack I have banana or 10 almonds
Lunch I make salad lettuce, cucumber, onion,avacado, sweetcorn, red cabbage, beetroot usually with turkey or chicken
Snack I have two satsumas
Dinner I cook chicken/fish, veg, little homemade sweet potato fries
I usually finish dinner about 6-6.30
I don't eat after that...been hard but trained myself
 
Any numbers you have seen are purely what works for a single Type 2 or an average for a group of Type 2's.
We are all very individual. Plus our bodies can handle different amounts of carbs at different periods in our journeys.

Is 49 the HbA1C level that you were diagnosed at? If so then you can probably handle more carbs than the average Type 2. But if you have fought your way down from an HbA1C of over 100 to achieve one of 49, well then you probably can't handle many carbs at all.

It also depends upon your goal, do you just want to be below the diabetic range, and will accept pre-diabetic and the level of risks of diabetes complications that still exist at those levels, or are you determined to get all the way down into the so-called normal HbA1C range? [Note that pre-diabetic in the UK is higher i.e. more relaxed , than in the USA. So I'm considered non-diabetic in the UK but in the USA would just barely be pre-diabetic].

Some examples from people I know of (online forums):
A person eating keto-carnivore eats a max of 15gms of carbs per day.
Another eating keto but nearer the border a max of 25gms per day.
Myself - flirting with keto but relaxed about it between 20gms and 40gms per day.
Somebody who is relatively insulin sensitive (can eat porridge) 80gms to 120gms per day.
All the above are just under or around an HbA1C of 40.

In all those cases, it depends a lot on which foods we eat - all carbs aren't equal and many T2D's get very different results when eating the exact same quantity of the exact same carby food.
I have a personal diabetes expert to guide me on my diabetes, it's the only expert I trust. It is my BG meter !
 
Hi
My HbA1C is 49, this was the reading at time of being diagnosed
My aim is to get it down firstly to pre- diabetic when I achieved that goal then carry on to see much more I can get it down
I want to make changes for long term and adapt this way if eating
 
Suky R said:
Hi
My day starts at 5am
I have cereal....Weetabix, Cheerios, oatibix or Cheerios
Snack I have banana or 10 almonds
Lunch I make salad lettuce, cucumber, onion,avacado, sweetcorn, red cabbage, beetroot usually with turkey or chicken
Snack I have two satsumas
Dinner I cook chicken/fish, veg, little homemade sweet potato fries
I usually finish dinner about 6-6.30
I don't eat after that...been hard but trained myself
Click to expand...
Wow, @Suky R I would have an HbA1C of over 50 if I ate those foods.
Why do you start the day (at a time when most people are at their most carb intolerant) with cereals. Wouldn't a no-carb breakfast of eggs or bacon & eggs be better?
Almond aren't too bad for a snack, but Brazils or walnuts would be better. As for a banana - LOL possibly the worst fruit for a Type 2 diabetic.

Lunch is OK except for the sweetcorn
Dinner: are you sure that you can handle sweet potato fries? I know there is more fibre than in ordinary potato, but still relatively high in carbs.

Did you test these meals an snack so you know they don't raise your BG by more than 2 mmol at the 2hrs post prandial mark ?
 
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Another thing I notice is that your diet appears to be Low Fat - why is that? - Are you afraid of fat?
Eat fatty fish, olives, olive oil, eggs, cheese, full fat dairy like butter and Greek yogurt.
Those things help satiate you and initially are very useful in helping your body adjust into 'fat burning mode' which then mean you can start using your own body fat as energy,
 
Hi
I start work at 6am so have a little something to eat cereal does keep me full. I am not a big fan of eggs I struggle to eat them.
How many Brasil nuts can I eat.
I only have some sweet potato fries as I am struggling to give potato up but I definitely eat less then I used to I load my plate with vegetables
I didn't realise I couldn't have banana
 
ianf0ster said:
Another thing I notice is that your diet appears to be Low Fat - why is that? - Are you afraid of fat?
Eat fatty fish, olives, olive oil, eggs, cheese, full fat dairy like butter and Greek yogurt.
Those things help satiate you and initially are very useful in helping your body adjust into 'fat burning mode' which then mean you can start using your own body fat as energy,
Click to expand...
Hi
It's not intentional
I'm just confused what I should be doing low fat or low carbs
I'm intoducing fish into my diet, I don't eat yoghurt, I do have cheese once a week, eggs I struggle with but am trying to eat more
 
Suky R said:
Hi
It's not intentional
I'm just confused what I should be doing low fat or low carbs
I'm intoducing fish into my diet, I don't eat yoghurt, I do have cheese once a week, eggs I struggle with but am trying to eat more
Click to expand...
You may find this link useful https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/ as there are some do's and don'ts as well as some meal ideas, it is low carb approach and that will vary for different people. A starting point is no more than 130g per day but many do find they need to go lower.
49mmol/mol is just into the diabetic zone so some small tweaks may be enough to nudge you down a bit more. May be some full fat Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast would be lower carbs and be filling- forget that just looked above at your post sorry. Any reason you don't have yoghurt?
Eggs made into an omelette with some cheese may be more acceptable to your taste.
There is no need for low fat as fats do not convert to glucose.
 
Leadinglights said:
You may find this link useful https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/ as there are some do's and don'ts as well as some meal ideas, it is low carb approach and that will vary for different people. A starting point is no more than 130g per day but many do find they need to go lower.
49mmol/mol is just into the diabetic zone so some small tweaks may be enough to nudge you down a bit more. May be some full fat Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast would be lower carbs and be filling- forget that just looked above at your post sorry. Any reason you don't have yoghurt?
Eggs made into an omelette with some cheese may be more acceptable to your taste.
There is no need for low fat as fats do not convert to glucose.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your help
I just don't like the texture of youghurt...I know it's silly, also I have never been a fan of fruit....again I know weird
When I WFH I try to have egg for lunch
I will try cheese omlette, I wasn't sure if I could have cheese
 
Suky R said:
Thank you for your help
I just don't like the texture of youghurt...I know it's silly, also I have never been a fan of fruit....again I know weird
When I WFH I try to have egg for lunch
I will try cheese omlette, I wasn't sure if I could have cheese
Click to expand...
No reason not to have cheese it has virtually no carbs.
 
Suky R said:
Hi
I start work at 6am so have a little something to eat cereal does keep me full. I am not a big fan of eggs I struggle to eat them.
How many Brasil nuts can I eat.
I only have some sweet potato fries as I am struggling to give potato up but I definitely eat less then I used to I load my plate with vegetables
I didn't realise I couldn't have banana
Click to expand...
If you find 10 almond to be satiating, then try 7 Brazil nuts (while each Brazil is much bigger than an almond, they are much lower in carbs).
Instead of potato or sweet potato, if you can het them, try Celeriac fries or fries from Swede. You would have to make them yourself, but they are much lower carb. Also instead of rice try riced cauliflower or instead of mashed potato try mashed cauliflower. Substitutions like those can make a big difference to carbs while not much change to flavour (courgetti or bean pasta rather than spaghetti. aubergine slices instead of pasta for lasagna etc.)
 
ianf0ster said:
If you find 10 almond to be satiating, then try 7 Brazil nuts (while each Brazil is much bigger than an almond, they are much lower in carbs).
Instead of potato or sweet potato, if you can het them, try Celeriac fries or fries from Swede. You would have to make them yourself, but they are much lower carb. Also instead of rice try riced cauliflower or instead of mashed potato try mashed cauliflower. Substitutions like those can make a big difference to carbs while not much change to flavour (courgetti or bean pasta rather than spaghetti. aubergine slices instead of pasta for lasagna etc.)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the ideas I will try them
 
Suky R said:
When I asked my nurse when I first was told she said I didn't need to as I was on the low side, my blood pressure was only 118 on the last six checkups
I actually cut out all biscuits, chocolate etc
I have sandwich once a week with carrots and cucumber on the side instead of crisps
I feel I needed to do more because I feel I wasn't doing something right.
I exercise 5 days a week
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum @Suky R

Well done on the changes you have made already!

With a starting point of 49mmol/L you are only just over the ‘line’ into diabetes territory, so a few sustainable tweaks to your menu may be all that is required.

We have a variety or members using different approaches on the forum based on their own needs, but you may not to limit or restrict carbohydrate intake to the lowest levels.

Breakfast cereals do have a bit of a reputation for raising BG among our T2 members unfortunately. Porridge seems to be the least spiky of the cereal options. Others manage OK with a single slice of seedy toast. But reaction to carbs can be very individual, so it can be tricky to know for sure what happens for you without checking for yourself.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Welcome to the forum @Suky R

Well done on the changes you have made already!

With a starting point of 49mmol/L you are only just over the ‘line’ into diabetes territory, so a few sustainable tweaks to your menu may be all that is required.

We have a variety or members using different approaches on the forum based on their own needs, but you may not to limit or restrict carbohydrate intake to the lowest levels.

Breakfast cereals do have a bit of a reputation for raising BG among our T2 members unfortunately. Porridge seems to be the least spiky of the cereal options. Others manage OK with a single slice of seedy toast. But reaction to carbs can be very individual, so it can be tricky to know for sure what happens for you without checking for yourself.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
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