Diagnosed with an HbA1c of 49 4 weeks ago. Bought a meter 2 weeks ago & levels are all well within recommended levels thanks to the advice on this forum. Lost 16 lbs so far & very hopeful of reducing my levels at my next test in 2 months time. Is there any recommended daily fat amount? I'm finding it hard to knowingly add fat after years of the low fat mantra. I'm having SKYR with berries most mornings & avocado here & there. Could eat plenty of cheese but I'm scared to risk it in case it reduces my weight loss (loads still to go sadly). Is there any problem if daily fat levels are very low? In a similar vein, is anyone using the Low carb kickstarter book (guide for beginners) sold on the Diabetes.co.uk website. Anyone know if it is good? Thanks in advance.
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Fat content in diet
- Thread starter Christy
- Start date
- Status
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Nothing whatever to do with this forum or Diabetes UK.
Last edited:
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If you need to lose a good bit of weight then probably best to keep your fat intake at "normal" levels and just avoid low fat products, so have whole milk and creamy Greek Natural yoghurt and a bit of cheese when you fancy it and oily fish etc. You can ramp up the fat intake once you have reached your target weight to maintain it at that level but at the moment your body is burning the surplus fat that you are carrying as stores, so no need to eat a lot of fat. Just enough to keep you satisfied.
Last edited:
I assumed (wrongly) that this was a UK website because of the .co.uk. Thanks for the heads up.
AndBreathe
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- In remission from Type 2
@Christy - I was diagnosed T2 in 2013, and my history is summarised in my signature, which should be at the bottom of this message. I achieved those results using a reduced carb diet.
In the initial period of adjustment, my initial dietary changes, aside from cutting back on the carbs, was just to ensure I wasn't eating any Low Fat options. Low fat options tend to contain slightly more carbs than the full fat alternatives.
Doing that I trimmed up very fast indeed, and really only thought to much more about fats, when I needed to stall weight loss.
My view on fats are that I use them to control my weight.
A very wise man once said to me we manage our carb intake to satisfy our blood glucose meter, and we manage our fats to satisfy the bathroom scales. That made sense to me.
I think whatever you choose to do, any book or website is only a guide, a thought starter or a good idea on the principles of something. You will find as you move along that living with diabetes is a very individual thing, and we each react slightly differently. Your meter is your friend and guide.
Having physically seen the book you mention there are some excellent ideas, pointers, meal ideas and recipes in it. It wasn't around when I was starting off, but I did buy a different book, from a different website (which is now a little dated), but I flicked through that many, many times when I needed a reminder or inspiration, until I "lent" it to someone who, at that point, needed it more than me.
Good luck with it all.
Last edited:
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Diabetes couk website is run by a limited company Diabetes Digital Media Ltd, registered in Coventry. Several of the directors and ex-directors share the same surname, but I don’t know if they are related at all.
I have no idea who wrote their book.
There has long been confusion about the red site ‘dcouk‘ and Diabetes UK, the national diabetes charity. Dcouk is a commercial enterprise, not a charity - though many people have got a lot out of the work they do.
There is lots of helpful information about food options on this forum (with a generally low carb approach), and also there’s the ‘enjoy food’ section of the Diabetes UK website (with a generally moderate carb approach)
Eating with diabetes
If you, or someone in your family, has type 1, type 2 or another type of diabetes, you'll know that it can sometimes be difficult to know what to eat. Start here for the key information you need to make healthy food choices for a balanced diet.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
.
Last edited:
I think that at least some people (who are probably trying to go Keto rather than just Low Carb) tend to overdo the fat intake.
The HF in LCHF just means higher fat than in the current 'low fat' dietary guidelines.
It means eating traditional 'real food' like our grandparents ate (and they had much less heart disease, T2D or Obesity) with all the fat that comes with that food. For example when eating Bacon or red meat don't cut the fat off it, when eating chicken or Turkey eat the skin as well.
But like AndBreathe says above, use restricted carbs to control the Blood Glucose and adjust the amount of fat so that you don't feel starving yet lose weight if you need to. Then when you are happy with the weight you can increase the fat a little to maintain that rather than going too low.
In my opinion people who go too low in both carbs and fat find it is unsustainable, but beating diabetes is a marathon not a sprint!
The HF in LCHF just means higher fat than in the current 'low fat' dietary guidelines.
It means eating traditional 'real food' like our grandparents ate (and they had much less heart disease, T2D or Obesity) with all the fat that comes with that food. For example when eating Bacon or red meat don't cut the fat off it, when eating chicken or Turkey eat the skin as well.
But like AndBreathe says above, use restricted carbs to control the Blood Glucose and adjust the amount of fat so that you don't feel starving yet lose weight if you need to. Then when you are happy with the weight you can increase the fat a little to maintain that rather than going too low.
In my opinion people who go too low in both carbs and fat find it is unsustainable, but beating diabetes is a marathon not a sprint!
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
OK - my mistake, thought I was 'googling' the name of the same book.
AndBreathe
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- In remission from Type 2
I've dealt with my posts too, to take out what is not "white noise". Thanks for doing that.
I have stopped having low fat options as full fat makes me feel much fuller and feels like the treats I’m missing by not having the carbs, eg I will have a spoon of double cream on some berries and will feel really full after.
I tend to go for stronger cheese so don’t need a lot but I do like the Leerdammer light cheese so still have this.
I don’t eat butter though and opt for benecol spread as have high cholesterol!
It’s hard to balance but even with higher fats I managed to lower HbA1c, lose weight and reduce cholesterol level slightly so seems to work
I tend to go for stronger cheese so don’t need a lot but I do like the Leerdammer light cheese so still have this.
I don’t eat butter though and opt for benecol spread as have high cholesterol!
It’s hard to balance but even with higher fats I managed to lower HbA1c, lose weight and reduce cholesterol level slightly so seems to work
- Status