Carbs

[sec13]

hi, my husband was 1 point into being pre diabetic a few months ago. He tried really hard with his diet and has now dropped to one point below being pre diabetic.

The problem is that he is 6ft tall and weighs 11st 3lbs, so certainly not overweight. Both his parents had type 2 and his father died at 61 from a heart attack (my husband is 73) Before he was diagnosed he’d started to lose weight, which continued as we reduced his carbs after diagnosis, in the end he lost over a stone. We sought advice from our GP practice and were told he should start snacking, toast, crumpets etc. my fear is he’s having too many carbs, which might be causing spikes in his glucose levels.

We’ve bought a glucose monitor and I got him to do a test 2 hours after he’d had 2 crumpets and it was 9.2 which I find slightly worrying.

Does anyone know which snacks are best? He has put on a few pounds but still needs to gain weight, which he’s finding difficult. He has porridge for breakfast with 2 slices of toast, oatcakes or something on toast for lunch, usually some toast or crumpets as a snack in the afternoon, then tea, which might be salmon, lots of veg and jacket or roast potatoes.

Am I worrying needlessly?

 

[Eddy Edson]

Unsaturated fats are good for putting on weight and improve cardiovascular health: nuts, avocados, seeds.

A post-eating read of 9.2 is a bit higher than most, but not all, non-diabetics would see. By itself isn't a huge issue, if his HbA1c is OK - nothing to stress about, I think.

 

[Sharron1]

hi, my husband was 1 point into being pre diabetic a few months ago. He tried really hard with his diet and has now dropped to one point below being pre diabetic.


The problem is that he is 6ft tall and weighs 11st 3lbs, so certainly not overweight. Both his parents had type 2 and his father died at 61 from a heart attack (my husband is 73) Before he was diagnosed he’d started to lose weight, which continued as we reduced his carbs after diagnosis, in the end he lost over a stone. We sought advice from our GP practice and were told he should start snacking, toast, crumpets etc. my fear is he’s having too many carbs, which might be causing spikes in his glucose levels.

We’ve bought a glucose monitor and I got him to do a test 2 hours after he’d had 2 crumpets and it was 9.2 which I find slightly worrying.

Does anyone know which snacks are best? He has put on a few pounds but still needs to gain weight, which he’s finding difficult. He has porridge for breakfast with 2 slices of toast, oatcakes or something on toast for lunch, usually some toast or crumpets as a snack in the afternoon, then tea, which might be salmon, lots of veg and jacket or roast potatoes.

Am I worrying needlessly?

I didn't want to lose any further weight and as I was low carb I really didn't know what to do. I spoke with a dietician and she advised me to eat some almonds and avocado .But go easy on them as they can pile on the weight. .l took her advice and haven't lost any further weight but neither have I put it on. But as she advised go easy. Hope that is of help.

 

[sec13]

Thanks Eddie,

We do eat nuts, seeds and avocados as part of our diet. Maybe I'm worrying needlessly.

 

[Kaylz]

So his diet is relatively carb heavy anyway already without adding the carby snacks

I was severely underweight when I was diagnosed and got worse after developing an eating disorder, I started snacking on boiled eggs and cheese throughout the day and am now a healthy weight so I no longer bother with snacking
xx

 

[Gabrielle95]

Hello, guy how are we all?
Anyway does anyone knows anything i can do to help with lowing my carbs? because i love food too much and finding it hard to cut down.
Does anyone have insulin and tablets form?
As i am really struggling like I'm 24 and haven't got to understand my diabetes because no one really explain it me i have been diabetic for almost 3 years and haven't had a good reading or good at low carbs diet.

 

[sec13]

So his diet is relatively carb heavy anyway already without adding the carby snacks

I was severely underweight when I was diagnosed and got worse after developing an eating disorder, I started snacking on boiled eggs and cheese throughout the day and am now a healthy weight so I no longer bother with snacking
xx

Yes, that’s what worries me that he’s already having quite a lot of carbs, yet diabetes nurse seems be encouraging more.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[sec13]

So his diet is relatively carb heavy anyway already without adding the carby snacks

I was severely underweight when I was diagnosed and got worse after developing an eating disorder, I started snacking on boiled eggs and cheese throughout the day and am now a healthy weight so I no longer bother with snacking
xx

Thanks for your ideas, they are helpful.

 

[Kaylz]

Hello, guy how are we all?
Anyway does anyone knows anything i can do to help with lowing my carbs? because i love food too much and finding it hard to cut down.
Does anyone have insulin and tablets form?
As i am really struggling like I'm 24 and haven't got to understand my diabetes because no one really explain it me i have been diabetic for almost 3 years and haven't had a good reading or good at low carbs diet.

What kind of things do you generally eat? Like what is a day's menu?

Are you on insulin and tablets? if so what insulin and tablets?

What are your readings generally like?
xx

 

[rebrascora]

The problem is that Health Care Professionals are terrified of encouraging people to eat fat, because the standard health advice for the past 50+years has been that dietary fat is bad and causes cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, it is now looking like that advice was based on bad/limited and/or cherry picked research data and there is a new school of thought that fat is actually good for us and the carbs that we have been encouraged to eat over the whole of our lifetime may actually be responsible for the diabetic epidemic we are now seeing.
Oddly it is eating surplus carbohydrates which make you fat and they also make you hungry, which encourages you to eat more.
Eating more fat and a lot less carbs, stabilises your weight and stops the hunger and cravings.
Things like cheese and nuts and cream and olives and avocado. Cooking veggies in butter or cream cheese or olive oil is a good way to eat more fat and it makes those veggies taste even better. Kale and cabbage are both improved with butter, leeks and spinach are improved by cream cheese, as is cauliflower. Courgettes and aubergines and peppers and tomatoes are gorgeous roasted in olive oil and topped with cheese. Creamy Natural Greek Yoghurt with a few raspberries and some chopped hazelnuts makes a nice dessert. Omelettes with cheese/ ham/mushrooms/onions and a side salad make a good filling breakfast or lunch without the need for bread/toast. Coffee with cream instead of milk. These are all ways of increasing your fat intake in a very enjoyable way.

At the moment your husband is eating a pretty high carb diet (even without the crumpets) and considering that he has already had a pre-diabetic reading, continuing to do so may be putting him at risk of developing full blown diabetes.

 

[Drummer]

How about steak or chop with a stir fry of low carb veges, chicken thighs roasted on a rack to crisp the skin would be another option.
My son is well over 6 ft and weighs just less than 11 and 1/2 stone - he looks skinny until you realise its all bone and muscle. He was brought up eating low carb and has a very low percentage of body fat.
Since returning to low carb eating myself, my strength has increased a lot - my muscles are growing. - rather a surprise at my age - 68.
Protein and fat are essential foods and they taste great, plus they keep the metabolism on the right tracks.