% of fat v % of protein v % carbs - do you work towards a certain % of each?

[Molly M]

I have been trying really hard to work out what I should actually be eating rather than just very low carb (I know it doesn't have to be as low as I do). I just fell upon foodmed.net and they were saying that T2 diabetics are all different but ideally the diet should be split along the lines of -

5% carbs
20 - 30% protein
60 - 70% fat

They also said 'The sicker you are the more fat you need as fat is insulin neutral' which does make sense to me.

So, I put my food for today into myfitnesspal and my percentages for today are

13% carbs
53% protein
34.5% fat

So, I am wondering if the 'explosive' toilet problems I am having (just moved over from Metformin to Sukkarto which is the slow release version) are exacerbated by the fact I am having too much protein and half the fat I should be having????

Does this make sense to anyone?

Do you try and control the split between the make-up of your food? Or do you just try and work to a certain amount of carbs each day?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Mx

 

[Gwynn]

The short answer is yes I do control the three, but in accordance with NHS (and other sites) guidelines.

I do it in reference to being male, my weight, number of calories consumed and for me I am looking at

Ideal weight maintenance calories 1450
All fats between 40 to 80g a day. Ideal is 50g (but saturated fats less than 30g a day)
Protein between 40 to 90g a day. Ideal is 60g
Carbohydrates between 50 and 150g a day. Ideal is 125 but to be honest I keep it to less than 100g a day

Interestingly, I couldn't do it on 5% carbs, but that's me I guess. My split is closer to 33% each way but trying to reduce the carb portion to less where possible.

So for today I have

Fats 24.9g (saturated fats 11.1g)
Protein 60.1g
Carbohydrates 73.2g

Overall calories a down for the day though as I overdid things on a day out yesterday. 892 calories today. Normally I am around 1200 calories (just ending a weight loss phase of my diet control) so maybe today is a bad example. But it is what I have decided to do today.

Hmm how about a more normal day

Calories 1187
Fats 46.6g (saturated fats 16.7g)
Protein 69.9g
Carbs 98.9g

I am on no medication for diabetes now and my tummy is very stable. What helped me the most was getting my fibre intake increased from (around diagnosis) 20g a day to more recently 30+g a day. Mind you having said that, I changed so much in my diet and meds (came off metformin) that it could really have been anything or a combination of things that setted things down. The biggest suspect should have been the metformin except that I had been having tummy troubles for months before I started taking it. And taking it didn't seem to make things any worse. I stopped because I did not like the sound of some of the possible side effects and the DN said it was fine to do so. Of course it could have been the very high BG. HbA1c at diagnosis was 140 now it is between 30 and 40.

Going forwards I will be keeping carbs on the low side, increasing protein slightly (have to be careful not to have too much as apparently that can cause problems), and increasing the fats (the main controller in future I guess).

The percentage split is different from your take on things. I got mine from doing a lot of reading on the internet.

Does that help at all?

 

[Maca44]

A typical day for me is

Fat 40%
Protein 42%
Carbs 18%

Working for me so far and data is from MFP I log everything.

 

[rebrascora]

I have absolutely no idea about my fat and protein intake numerically, but fat will be quite high and a lot of saturated fat. I don't put any store on NHS dietary advice as they are so behind the curve with diabetes advice that I don't feel like they have credibility in this field so I listen to my body and eat to feel healthy. I only keep an approximate eye on carbs and look to keep them between about 40-70g a day but I don't generally do a daily tally, i just avoid high carb foods and after a while you just settle into a routine of low carb without too much thought. I absolutely could not be bothered worrying about percentages of macro nutrients. There are enough things in life to stress about and balancing my levels with insulin and food is as much as I have spare mental capacity for.

 

[helli]

Having Type 1 and not type 2, I eat "normally". I don't track my macros/ratios.
I just ensure I eat a variety of fresh fruit and veg cooked from scratch. This may be accompanied by carbs (pasta, rice, couscous, noodles) or may be a large bowl of stir fried or roasted vegetables. It usually has some fat either in terms of cheese or sauce. Protein-wise, I eat fish, nuts, tofu, eggs and cheese.
I eat very little processed food and no meat.

I enjoy eating but I don't enjoy treating it as a science and I get bored if I have the same thing repeatedly. I rarely have the same breakfast two days running and, if I have sandwiches, I vary the bread and filling.

Following this approach, I am not overweight, my diabetes management is good (albeit more complex than if I had less variety) and I have plenty of energy for work and play.

 

[Gwynn]

I agree about some outdated NHS guidelines which is why I trawled the internet for guidance and advice and have not just relied on NHS.

This thread is interesting because it will (and does) show different peoples approaches. Everyone is different. I like counting things, others hate counting things. As already mentioned, there are better things to occupy ones mind over and there are enough other stresses to deal with. Except, for me, I would stress more if i didn't count everything and I have little else to do with my time because of my wifes illness.

 

[Inka]

@Molly M I’d eat what suits you and not worry about that. That website is a low carb high fat one so it’s not surprising it pushes those percentages. Those are the LCHF percentages. It’s like going to a Lib Dem website and finding out someone like you should vote Lib Dem. Quelle surprise…

You’ll equally find other websites that are based on a low fat diet so will list a far lower fat percentage.

Eat a normal diet and concentrate on eating plenty of veg and unprocessed foods as much as possible.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Eat a normal diet and concentrate on eating plenty of veg and unprocessed foods as much as possible.

Absolutely!

 

[Molly M]

The short answer is yes I do control the three, but in accordance with NHS (and other sites) guidelines.

I do it in reference to being male, my weight, number of calories consumed and for me I am looking at

Ideal weight maintenance calories 1450
All fats between 40 to 80g a day. Ideal is 50g (but saturated fats less than 30g a day)
Protein between 40 to 90g a day. Ideal is 60g
Carbohydrates between 50 and 150g a day. Ideal is 125 but to be honest I keep it to less than 100g a day

Interestingly, I couldn't do it on 5% carbs, but that's me I guess. My split is closer to 33% each way but trying to reduce the carb portion to less where possible.

So for today I have

Fats 24.9g (saturated fats 11.1g)
Protein 60.1g
Carbohydrates 73.2g

Overall calories a down for the day though as I overdid things on a day out yesterday. 892 calories today. Normally I am around 1200 calories (just ending a weight loss phase of my diet control) so maybe today is a bad example. But it is what I have decided to do today.

Hmm how about a more normal day

Calories 1187
Fats 46.6g (saturated fats 16.7g)
Protein 69.9g
Carbs 98.9g

I am on no medication for diabetes now and my tummy is very stable. What helped me the most was getting my fibre intake increased from (around diagnosis) 20g a day to more recently 30+g a day. Mind you having said that, I changed so much in my diet and meds (came off metformin) that it could really have been anything or a combination of things that setted things down. The biggest suspect should have been the metformin except that I had been having tummy troubles for months before I started taking it. And taking it didn't seem to make things any worse. I stopped because I did not like the sound of some of the possible side effects and the DN said it was fine to do so. Of course it could have been the very high BG. HbA1c at diagnosis was 140 now it is between 30 and 40.

Going forwards I will be keeping carbs on the low side, increasing protein slightly (have to be careful not to have too much as apparently that can cause problems), and increasing the fats (the main controller in future I guess).

The percentage split is different from your take on things. I got mine from doing a lot of reading on the internet.

Does that help at all?

That's an amazing amount of help - I was starting to think I was driving myself mad thinking there should be rough % splits between things. You have done absolutely brilliantly working on all your stats and coming off meds etc. Huge kudos to you. Just hope I can head in the same direction. Weight is coming off but I have just a long way to go. I am the sort of person that once I have things worked out in my head and know what I should be doing then I will do my best to get there. Especially when it is Diabetes and my health at stake - mind you, I should have thought about that before putting on all the weight I have. Sometimes it just takes a crisis to make you (ie ME) 'wise up' so to speak.

 

[Molly M]

I agree about some outdated NHS guidelines which is why I trawled the internet for guidance and advice and have not just relied on NHS.

This thread is interesting because it will (and does) show different peoples approaches. Everyone is different. I like counting things, others hate counting things. As already mentioned, there are better things to occupy ones mind over and there are enough other stresses to deal with. Except, for me, I would stress more if i didn't count everything and I have little else to do with my time because of my wifes illness.

I think we are very similar in some ways @Gwynn - I am a numbers/process person and we are also carers to family members that have Dementia and I run a Dementia charity so on the go too many hours in every day so more time than the average person to 'try' and work things out.

 

[Molly M]

@Molly M I’d eat what suits you and not worry about that. That website is a low carb high fat one so it’s not surprising it pushes those percentages. Those are the LCHF percentages. It’s like going to a Lib Dem website and finding out someone like you should vote Lib Dem. Quelle surprise…

You’ll equally find other websites that are based on a low fat diet so will list a far lower fat percentage.

Eat a normal diet and concentrate on eating plenty of veg and unprocessed foods as much as possible.

A good way of putting it @Inka - yep my diet has totally changed. I used to live on M&S processed dinners (all incredibly tasty I have to say) but we always cook everything from scratch now. OH is veggie so there's always plenty of green things kicking about in our kitchen 😛 😉

 

[nonethewiser]

With Rebrassco on this one, life to short to worry about such things.

Simple fact is if weight increases cut back on food, if weight decreases eat more.

 

[Gwynn]

Thank you. It was a very steep learning curve, and a lot of weight to lose. But, each step in the right direction gets us closer to our goals, even if they seem a million miles away. One step at a time. Step by step. Its knowing which is the right direction that's the trick.

I started at 94 Kg and am now into my last 'diet' Kg (goal being 55 kg). Its taken since the start of the year.

Like the HbA1c at140 needed to go down to below 42, and it has (well at the last two tests). Next one I hope will be even l9wer.

Huge lifestyle changes for the better too. All good.

We can gain a successful outcome even from daunting starting positions and, yes, I wish I had taken notice of things falling apart before needing an ambulance. There was plenty of warning but busy complex life, stresses, denial, ignorance, you name it blinded me. But as you say, we live and learn.

Best things you can do is get an App, calculate everything (if that's your thing), keep that food diary, do the blood glucose tests to see how things are going and how you react to different foods, have a plan/strategy/some short and longer term goals. Be strong, its a long journey that lasts a lifetime. But it can be a great journey.

I love my food now and always cook everything. We had chicken, green beans and mushrooms for tea tonight, oh and some raspberries and strawberries. It was all delicious and so easy to prepare.

Remember to treat yourself kindly on your journey. Every down eventually becomes an up.

Oh, and enjoy this forum. There are some great people here. Lots of knowledge and experience in all areas of diabetes and life.

 

[Gwynn]

I can't disagree with nonthewiser. There are as many ways as people.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. First ignore NHS diet guidelines as they are based on bad science; also ignore Calories as the same applies. I would suggest you keep the carbs down to a level where your weight is a good BMI and stable and also your blood sugar is good. You can eat fats and proteins fairly freely to suit your taste. The latter two contribute a small amount to weight gain and BS but no-where near as much as the carbs. Everyone has a different metabolism and lifestyle so you can't define the best split.