Daily allowances

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Bertieboy

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I’m a little or a lot confused , what are the daily allowances or recommendations for carbs , sugar and fat , I understand I think carbs is 40g a meal , not sure on the other 2 and when they are split into saturated and unsaturated fats and carbohydrate and sugar ,on labels which do we need to look at am I right in both being 10g a day ,
 
Bertieboy said:
successful I’m a little or a lot confused , what are the daily allowances or recommendations for carbs , sugar and fat , I understand I think carbs is 40g a meal , not sure on the other 2 and when they are split into saturated and unsaturated fats and carbohydrate and sugar ,on labels which do we need to look at am I right in both being 10g a day ,
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There are people who go into the detail about carbs, protein and fats but many find that too onerous and just keep a watch on their carbohydrate (not just sugar) intake.
The suggested amount of carbs per day (but divided between meals, snacks and drinks) is a good stating point and if you are in the 'at risk' zone then that is likely to be sufficient.
The way you do that is very much personal choice, cutting out certain high carb foods or reducing portions.
Whatever you do has to be enjoyable otherwise it is not going to be sustainable.
Personally I found following the principals in this link https://www.freshwell.co.uk/ successful and it is now my new normal way of eating.
 
Leadinglights said:
There are people who go into the detail about carbs, protein and fats but many find that too onerous and just keep a watch on their carbohydrate (not just sugar) intake.
The suggested amount of carbs per day (but divided between meals, snacks and drinks) is a good stating point and if you are in the 'at risk' zone then that is likely to be sufficient.
The way you do that is very much personal choice, cutting out certain high carb foods or reducing portions.
Whatever you do has to be enjoyable otherwise it is not going to be sustainable.
Personally I found following the principals in this link https://www.freshwell.co.uk/ successful and it is now my new normal way of eating.
Click to expand...

I expected to have to count carbs, but at the beginning it was too much for me as I was learning about everything, getting used to finger pricking, etc. So I just started with something I could cope with which was just stick to individual foods with less than 10% carbs. As it happens I never did progress to anything more sophisticated as my BG reduced and eventually got to non-diabetic levels. @Leadinglights point about the approach being sustainable indefinitely was key for me.
 
Bertieboy said:
I’m a little or a lot confused , what are the daily allowances or recommendations for carbs , sugar and fat , I understand I think carbs is 40g a meal , not sure on the other 2 and when they are split into saturated and unsaturated fats and carbohydrate and sugar ,on labels which do we need to look at am I right in both being 10g a day ,
Click to expand...
I try and stick to 130g of carbs per day, split 30g each for breakfast, lunch and evening meal with the other 40g for snacking. Doesn't always work out that precisely but I always end up a little either side of 130g for the day.

Sugar - ideally none. Since all carbohydrates are turned into glucose it's the carbs that matter. That's why we are told to ignore the 'of which sugars' information on nutrition panels.

The RDA for saturated fat (the 'bad' fat) is 30g for the average man, 20g for the average woman. I've never seen an RDA for unsaturated fat (the 'good' fat) but have often read that unsaturated fat intake should always be higher than saturated. That's why nuts are so good as although they're mostly fat it's predominantly unsaturated. They're my preferred snacking option, especially as they are also low carb.
 
There are no allowances.
Each person has different requirements and tolerances, so if it turns out that you need to keep to a low carb diet you'd need to check to see what level of carbs results in a normal blood glucose level.
For me that is less than 50 gm of carbs a day - that was what I found when I did Atkins long before I was diagnosed, but when checking what I ate after diagnosis I found a strange disparity between my responses and the carb content listed for peas and beans. Some others have found the same thing, the listing is less than the rise in glucose levels would indicate. I have to calculate the carbs in legumes at 180% of the listed value.
The other nutrients don't seem to be all that important, I eat the fat which comes with my protein choices, plus a bit of butter and olive oil.
I eat twice a day, am never hungry, don't eat between meals and am gradually shrinking down and regaining strength.
 
I think allowances is the wrong word as that implies it is something imposed on you whereas because everybody is different in how their metabolism handles carbohydrates, fats etc then the amount people choose to have can be very different and it is only by testing their blood glucose with a home monitor that they determine what their own personal limits are. For some it is as low as 40-50g per day but for others they may manage perfectly well with 100-130 g or somewhere in between. People do find low carb successful but it definitely is not NO carbs.
 
I don’t really give myself an allowance as such. What I tend to do is stick to low carb foods. Today, for example, I’ve had chicken (no carbs) and carrots (carbs I know I can tolerate).

No sugar at all and I don’t particularly count fats either but don’t have trans fats at all. Today’s ‘fats’ have been yogurt for brekkie and cream in coffee.
 
I also don't really count anything. I just opt for low carb foods and I only eat natural fats and don't worry about how much saturated fat I have because those are mostly natural fats. Like @Deb_l I have full fat yoghurt and cream in my coffee and lots of nice cheeses and eggs and I like fatty meat. Interestingly, since going low carb and eating a lot more saturated fats, my cholesterol has reduced, which is totally contrary to what we have been lead to believe. I do make sure to have plenty of veggies and I take an extra fibre supplement of chia seeds and psyllium husk and I thicken soups and stews with oat bran, which is the oat fibre which is the healthy bit, without most of the carbs that whole oats contain. Fibre is good for gut health and lowering cholesterol.
 
As others have said just keep the carbs down. I try to aim for 130g/day or less. Have enough fats and proteins to keep you feeling full. There is lots of discussion on the web about saturated fats and the fact that the original Ancel Keys research saying they are bad was found to have been wrongly presented. The way the digestive system works for fats is worth studying. Your choice of course to stay with 'healthy' fats.
 
I found that the bigger carb count the bigger my post meal rise, so brought down our carb target for each meal to about 30g of carbs. This also reduces the amount of insulin I need to inject. It works for us, and has helped us develop a better diet. It is also just a target, we go below it and above it at times (having just eaten my last chocolate from the advent calendar)
I don’t think about fats or protein.
 
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