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Carbs & Cals

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KTNIC

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
has anyone used this app and the accompanying book? Looks good to me but I know nothing ! But the fact that it uses real simple food is encouraging. I'm not a cook, more of a prick & ping gal! My husband is the chef & likes his chips!! Recently diagnosed T2, no medication , yet. How many carbs a day is a good recommendation & should I buy a BS monitor? ( getting the lingo already ! )
 
Hi @KTNIC, welcome to the forum 🙂 I don't use Carbs and Cals myself, but I do know that many of our members do and find it invaluable 🙂

As for carbs and testing - the answers are to consume the carbs your body can tolerate well to maintain good blood glucose levels, and the only effective way to do this is to test before and after eating 🙂 Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to find out how to test efficiently 🙂 If your GP/nurse won't provide a meter and strips (they will often not if you are not using certain type of medication, unfortunately - it's a flase economy, as many people her will agree), then it is worth getting your own. The cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50.

I would highly recommend reading Maggie Davey's letter, which will give you a good overview of how you can set about managing your diabetes well, and also getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns - there are loads of friendly, experienced people here who will be happy to help, and no question is considered daft, so whatever it is, ask! 🙂
 
Thank you. What a brilliant letter from Maggie. I have downloaded the kindle version of the book. Off to buy a monitor later.
 
Thank you. What a brilliant letter from Maggie. I have downloaded the kindle version of the book. Off to buy a monitor later.
Be aware that most of the High Street shops will sell monitors that use expensive test strips (up to £30 for 50 strips), even though the meters may seem cheap - it's the ongoing cost of the strips that need to be considered as you need to do quite a lot of testing, at least initially, so do make sure you compare costs there 🙂
 
Thank you.are ones from Amazon ok?
Yes, the SD Codefree Meter is used by lots of people here 🙂 All meters have to conform to the same safety and accuracy standards, so the main consideration when self-funding is the cost of the consumables i.e. test strips. Some meters have more bells and whistles, but they're not really necessary for most people 🙂 If you do order from amazon, make sure you choose the mmol/l version (for UK readings), and select 'I have diabetes' option so you won't be charged VAT 🙂 Same as the Home Health site that @Pine Marten gave, although I think that site allows you to make further savings by buying strips in bulk 🙂
 
Hi @KTNIC, welcome to the forum 🙂 I don't use Carbs and Cals myself, but I do know that many of our members do and find it invaluable 🙂

As for carbs and testing - the answers are to consume the carbs your body can tolerate well to maintain good blood glucose levels, and the only effective way to do this is to test before and after eating 🙂 Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to find out how to test efficiently 🙂 If your GP/nurse won't provide a meter and strips (they will often not if you are not using certain type of medication, unfortunately - it's a flase economy, as many people her will agree), then it is worth getting your own. The cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50.

I would highly recommend reading Maggie Davey's letter, which will give you a good overview of how you can set about managing your diabetes well, and also getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns - there are loads of friendly, experienced people here who will be happy to help, and no question is considered daft, so whatever it is, ask! 🙂



My carbs and cal book has arrived I have been trying to download the Health Diabets Software as mentioned in Maggie Davey's letter with no success. Any ideas? Or suggestions for something similar? I'm a bit of a 'let's put in a chart & analyise it gal. Old education habits die hard, that and the pressure of Ofsted! How I miss all that.....NOT!
 
You can get the Carbs and Cals app for your phone and iPad. It’s very good and calculates your daily totals. Very hand when eating out.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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