Easy low carbs snacks

[Clarkey]

Ok, i've been trying to find some easy to eat low carb snacks which i can snack on throughout the day without having to do extra injections.

I thought i'd try nuts. I was eating walnuts, brazil nuts and almonds, but i soon discovered that in the evenings I would get very wheezy. So I stopped eating them because clearly I have a reaction to them.

So now i'm back to square one. I have done some research online for low carb snacks and I keep finding recipies or things like egg and meat etc. Well I need a snack i can just eat at work, not have to cook or bake or whatever. Nuts was very easy, buy them and snack on them.

Does anyone have any ideas for easy low carb snacks I can just buy and eat at work?

 

[MeanMom]

Hi
As you say 'buy' rather than 'make' - you could try the small packs of ready prepared fruit - usually grapes and/or apple- which are under 15 carbs, or the packs of cheese and 'toast' called 'Chedds', which again are under 15 carbs. Lots of cereal bars are under 15 carbs and some aren't too full of nasties - check the packs. Also mini packs of biscuits (like hob nobs).

Obviously most of the above arent super healthy, but they are easy to transport to work and you could keep a 'stash' at work.

Otherwise things like carrot sticks, celery etc which would be no carbs to speak of. And a small tangerine at this time of year I would also keep experimenting with the nuts and/or seeds. If you think you are allergic/intolerant it might be an idea to get this confirmed by your Doc.

There are quite a few options for low carb snacks - do you have access to a dietician - we were given a sheet of snack suggestions when K was diagnosed.

Hope that's given you some ideas - it's made me hungry🙂

 

[HOBIE]

Fish & more fish love oily type & good 4u ! 😎

 

[Northerner]

Fish & more fish love oily type & good 4u ! 😎

I doubt it would endear Clarkey to his work colleagues though if he was continuously snacking on tins of pilchards! 😱

I suppose it depends on what your tolerance for a small amount of carbs is. Some people can manage around 10g without needing to inject. I have a slice of Ryvita with raisins and cranberries (part of the biscuit, not additionally!) which are around 10g, or as I have said elsewhere, a two finger kit-kat is only 11.8g, with 8.5g sugars. 🙂 Most of the time I go for the dry-roasted peanuts, but I do get a bit bored of them at times!

 

[MeanMom]

Fish & more fish love oily type & good 4u ! 😎

😱 how would you have 'fish' as a snack at work HOBIE? And don't know what type of work Clarkey does (sorry) but other people there might not be too impressed.🙂

Do you have some fishy snack receipes you could share HOBIE?

Edit- Northerner got there first - as usual 😉

 

[slipper]

I get a packet of low fat crackers, 4 carbs each and 18 calories, and a packet of wafer thin pastrami slices, no carbs and 10 calories each. Easy to keep at work if you wished, and very tasty with no preparation.

 

[Clarkey]

The other reason I chose nuts is because they're quite good at helping a little with some weight gain. If I could i'd just eat all day.

 

[Robster65]

Bear in mind nuts contain a good amount of omega 3 and 6 but are also VERY high calorie, so in small amounts they're good for you but if you have a problem with weight gain, then they will add to that.🙂

Rob

 

[Clarkey]

I knew nuts were very high in calories and that's why I chose to snack on them and I do believe I saw an improvement in my weight for a while. But sadly I had to stop eating the nuts and have seen my weight drop and I can't get it back up. That's why i'm looking for something to replace the nuts but be just as easy to eat at a desk at work.

I mean get this, I was eating walnuts, brazil nuts, hazel nuts and almonds. I bought the 90g bags from Sainsburys and I ate 2/3 (60g) of the pack per day as a snack at work. 60g of that pack was giving me 400+ kcal. Now I have to find something to replace that 400+ kcal.

 

[Northerner]

Have you always had a problem maintaining your weight Clarkey, or is this a recent problem? I took quite a while to gain weight after diagnosis but have been stable now for a couple of years. I see that you have had diabetes for 15 years, so was thinking if it was a recent problem then there might be other things that need investigating.

 

[Robster65]

Sorry. I misread your post as being overweight ! 😱

Do you keep a food diary and are you a big exerciser ?

And what are your BGs like generally ? If you're struggling to gain wwight it would normally mean that you're either undereating in general, over-exercising or your BGs are running high and converting your fat/muscle to glucose.

Rob

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Boiled eggs, cheese, cold meats?

 

[Clarkey]

I've always been slim even before diabetes. But although my weight has dropped recently, it is not continuing to drop, it's just difficult to get back up. I've always been on the edge of underweight, and I would love to one day be sitting in normal weight without worrying about maintaining it.

 

[Robster65]

I've always been slim too, but until recently I didn't realise how much of it was down to not maintaining proper BGs.

Do you mind me asking your latest HbA1c and how many hypos you have in an average week ?

Depending on your height, you should be aiming for about 2000-2500 calories per day but most people would underestimate their intake, so it's less likely to be that.

Rob

 

[Clarkey]

Sorry. I misread your post as being overweight ! 😱

Do you keep a food diary and are you a big exerciser ?

And what are your BGs like generally ? If you're struggling to gain wwight it would normally mean that you're either undereating in general, over-exercising or your BGs are running high and converting your fat/muscle to glucose.

Rob

I had a food plan set out in the summer and it was working out to about 2,700 to 3,000 calories a day, this was good. This was when I was eating nuts too. I've revised the plan now as it kind of dropped off especially when my sugars were getting high and there's always the money issues. Now that i've revised it to what I eat now, my calorie intake has considerably dropped by 800 to 1,000 a day. So this is what I need to focus on first to replace those missing calories.

As for exercise I do very little.

 

[Clarkey]

I've always been slim too, but until recently I didn't realise how much of it was down to not maintaining proper BGs.

Do you mind me asking your latest HbA1c and how many hypos you have in an average week ?

Depending on your height, you should be aiming for about 2000-2500 calories per day but most people would underestimate their intake, so it's less likely to be that.

Rob

My last HbA1c in July was 8.1 and was 7.9 in January. i don't have hypos that often. There were a few occasions last month when i woke up low, but as I found my sugars tended to be low in the mornings/overnight i reduced my lantus.

 

[Robster65]

My Hb was 8+ in Jan 2010, then came down to 7.9 and plummeted to the 6-6.5 region once I started properly writing things down, testing 6 or 7 times a day and adjusting insulin properly. I always used to half-heartedly do it due to fear of hypos and change in general.

I would suggest that you're probably running a bit too high here and there and if you could tweak your basal and your bolus ratios, you might be able to get your Hb to sub-7 without many hypos and your weight may stay on.

I'm 5'10" and weigh about 11st 2lbs and have varied by no more than 2 or 3 lbs for about a year. When I got my Hb down, I started to develop a belly which I had to eat about 1800 cals/day for a few weeks to lose and now I go for 2100 cals to maintain.🙂

Rob

 

[MeanMom]

If you are really struggling to keep your weight up I would try to get access to a dietician - there should be one available to you at your Diabeties clinic.

Im no expert but I think you would probably need a diet higher in protein and/ or having larger snacks that you inject for - I understand that you would wAnt to avoid this but it may be the way to maintain a good weight if you a 'grazer' (like me)

IMO you need the advice of a dietian if you can. Good Luck🙂

Edit: I see you comments above about Eating Plan (wish I was a faster typer) Think you need to go back and get it revised to allow for lack of nuts.

 

[Northerner]

I've always been slim even before diabetes. But although my weight has dropped recently, it is not continuing to drop, it's just difficult to get back up. I've always been on the edge of underweight, and I would love to one day be sitting in normal weight without worrying about maintaining it.

I have always been slim too, probably at my heaviest now I am at the grand old age of 53. When I was 25 I weighed 8st, which for my height was a BMI of 16.5. When I was 40 BMI was 20 and currently my BMI is about 23.5. Basically, I haven't changed my diet a great deal over the years, but probably gained muscle due to exercise and therefore gained weight. I could probably happily lose about 10 pounds from what I am now and consider myself very healthy - as I did at 25 when I was supposedly very underweight! So I tend to be a bit sceptical about the 'ideal weight' thing unless I'm not feeling well.

So, what do you consider 'normal weight' for you, and how does it sit on the BMI scale?

 

[trophywench]

I'm thinking cheese and eggs here.

I'm also thinking I used to work with a bloke who ate a great plate of tinned fish and salad for his dinner every day. We had to ask him to desist. I mean a lot of us even liked eg sardines - but the stink was awful and pervaded everywhere even though he was banned from anywhere except the kitchen - the pong from the bin met you whenever you opened the door.

Not a good idea!