Eating carbs when type 2

[lucy123]

Sorry I have been on the forum for some time now, but I have a question I just don't know the answer to although I am sure I should know.

Why do type 2's have to eat carbs (small amount) at each meal?

My PT is considering whether I should cut my carbs down to twice a day and asked me why I need to eat at each meal and i just don't know the answer.

Yesterday I had a spinach and mushroom ommelette for breakfast instead of porridge and have to say I felt fine, although maybe a little hungrier earlier.

Thanks

 

[Northerner]

Hi Lucy, my understanding is that carbs provide the readiest form of energy for our bodies, so under normal circumstances they are an important constituent of diet. They also provide different vitamins and nutrients. A lot of diabetics, particularly Type 2s believe in extremly low carb diets, increasing the amount of fat and protein as a replacement - they find this helps either lower their medication needs, or stay off it, or improve their levels by it. A lot will depend on the body's ability to produce it's own insulin as to how much carb you can tolerate in your diet.

Given your propensity to get low blood sugar during exercising, I would have thought a reasonable amount of carbs with each meal would be better than no carb, but I'm no dietician - it just seems logical to me. Certainly, carbs are better for low intensity, aerobic exercise like distance running, although strength building types do go high protein/low carb I believe.

 

[lucy123]

It would be just one meal - probabaly tea that would be reduced.
There is no way I could drop carbs prior to exercise. i can go in at eight and come out at 4 or below!

I suppose it is worth experimenting by testing?

Strangely I played a match again today and had porridge before and then 5 sets in hypo'd.

 

[Northerner]

Why is the PT suggesting it? Is it to help you lose weight? I'm a little worried about your propensity to hypo after or during exercise, given that you are not on any medication - have you discussed it with your doctor? I guess it could be due to your increased insulin sensitivity from weight loss and exercise and your pancreas hasn't quite figured out that you don't need as much insulin as you used to - it has yet to catch on and reduce output accordingly! I'll have a read through my copy of the Diabetic Athlete's Handbook and see if it says anything useful on the subject 🙂

 

[lucy123]

Hi Alan

Yes I went to the docs on Thursday and she is having to discuss with a consultant and call me back. She did mention insulin sensitivity and the fact that it might sort itself out. She has also noticed that as well as low bs I do have high (10's and 9's) too and is wondering why I can go in the gym at 8 and fall to below 4 within one hour.

I think the PT is just trying to help increase weight loss and thinks for a normal person I am eating too much carb - but doesn't want to mess about unless he is sure it won't affect my diabetes.

thanks for looking into it for me.

 

[Northerner]

I suppose the insulin sensitivity is a lot more obvious for someone injecting, as you quickly find you need less! I have some modicum of control, after a fashion, but you are reliant on your own body's response and it does what it thinks is best! Out of interest, have you recorded how many carbs you eat each day?

 

[lucy123]

Average about 170 per day. This is before cutting down.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I've read a lot of t2s on various forums whose own experience suggelsts that they certainly don't 'need' carbs at every meal, and others for whom carbs at every meal actually presents a problem in bg terms. Nevertheless it remains the NHS dietary recommendation. I have heard that the research which suggested the starchy-carbs-with-every-meal approach is thought to be fairly seriously flawed (certainly by those who see significant control benefits with a managed/moderated carb approach). Very low carb diets seem to require quite careful handling as the body gets better at turning fat and protein to glucose, but moderate/lowish seem to present fewer problems.

M