Carbs

[Georgiesgirl]

Hi all, as I'm learning what is best to eat and the amounts. Can you tell me how many carbs per day I should have? I'm due a delivery of kitchen weighing scales today so these should help too with portion size . Thanks 🙂

 

[Kaylz]

Hi, unfortunately that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself

We all tolerate carbs differently, so your best to test before eating and then again 2 hours later, ideally looking for no more than a 2-3mmol rise post meal level
xx

 

[Inka]

AS @Kaylz says, it’s very individual. Your guide will be your blood sugar (taking into account any meds you’re on).

It’s also good to look at where you’re starting from - ie what you’re eating now and what your blood sugar is.

You might also find you can tolerate carbs better at certain times of the day than others. Another thing that’s relevant is weight eg if you need to lose a reasonable amount.

 

[Docb]

Hi @Georgiesgirl. There is no universal answer to your question on carb amounts. It all depends.....

In principle, a "normal" will take in around 250g carbs per day, and if your system is not impaired then it will cope with that without problem.

Looked back at your other posts and see you have an HbA1c of 50. That means your system is just beginning to creak on the amount of carbs you eat now. Reduce that amount and your HbA1c should come down. The problem for anybody is to work out what that amount should be and as @Kaylz and others say, you have to work out what that is for you.

There are two ways in.

First way is to do a food diary recording all you eat now and working out what your current carb consumption is. Some weighing and packet reading and googling is needed but you just want a reasonable estimate. You will quickly work out what you need to focus on and what you can ignore. You can then set your self a carb target, maybe three quarters or half what you eat now and use your diary to figure out what changes you need to make to get there. Like as not you will find some relatively simple things you can do to get there. It's a simple and straightforward way of going about things, minimal admin and little or no cost.

Second way is to get a monitor and check your blood glucose before and after you eat. That way you can see what gives you bigger rises in blood glucose and make changes in what you eat to keep the rises in a range similar to what would be expected from a "normal" person. This route gives you rapid feedback which can a very powerful motivator but requires a bit more admin and some cost because you are unlikely to get a meter prescribed for you.

Which way you go depends on you and what you are most comfortable with.