The end of my post got deleted and I wanted to ask for help. How many carbs a day do most of you eat?
The Dr. Bernstein route of 6-12-12 is too low for me…I need to be realistic. How many carbs do you eat per meal? Do you eat snacks? I know it needs to be a lifestyle change…and I am willing to do this…but I need some suggestions as to how to do it. Do I eat to my meter…Help???Thanks Patty
There’s a discussion here “How Many Carbs Do You Eat per Meal, per Day?” with a ton of replies to your question. You can search the title to read the posts.
How many carbs are you eating now? More important than what other people do, is what will work for you. Everyone’s metabolism, level of activity, sensitivity to insulin is unique. Of course, the best way is to lower carbs & test for yourself. Set a carb goal that you’re comfortable with to see if your numbers improve. Some people find that eliminating certain foods completely helps lower BG. I don’t eat any grains because this sends me soaring & it’s not worth it.
Exercise helps tremendously. It doesn’t have to be anything overly strenuous. Walking is great.
With a 12.4 A1c, are your doses correct? Sounds like this needs to be adjusted.
My meter is my guide, but I eat very low carb. I do correction shots if I’m high before eating (& eat a normal meal), space meals about 4 hours apart & rarely snack. I’m just not much of a snacker & if I eat enough protein at meals I’m not hungry between meals.
Honestly this comes down to more than “just” food. Yes, not controlling your carbs can make it “more” difficult to control your BG, but not at a level of a 12.4% A1C (which is an average BG of 300+, not just occasional spikes that high, I would presume your spikes are much higher) - that sounds like there is definitely more going on, and most likely some things that you can change or fix, and that’s before you consider what you are eating.
How often do you test? What insulins and oral meds are you on? Can you describe your typical diet? Are you able to exercise? Are you already?
If you want to go lower carb, that will definitely help, but NOT if other parts of the equation are not in place. In terms of limiting your carb intake though, I suggest picking a total for the day (say 100g - that may not be low enough compared to some, but it could be a very good place to start to ease yourself into it) and then dividing that up between meals and snacks, and then making yourself a menu of stuff that “fits” within that. With the 100g example, you could plan on having 20g for breakfast, 30g for lunch and dinner, and two 10g snacks… and see what things you can come up with that you would want to eat, and ways to fill up without loading up on carbs. Come up with ideas for “carb free” snacks, or those with very few carbs, so that if you do find yourself wanting another snack or hungry in-between meals, you don’t necessarily have to go without.
I wouldn’t go as far as planning each meal for every day, but maybe have a list of a dozen or so 10g snacks you can choose from, and a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options so you can be flexible with your meals, rather than sticking to a schedule.
Pat, you will get as many different answers to your questions as there are replies. Every diabetic handles things differently. What works for one may not work for someone else. If you can afford the extra test strips the best way I have found is to record all your food intake. Test 1-2 hrs after eating and see where you are and adjust to that. For me, personnaly, I try to have very little to no carbs for breakfast but for lunch and dinner can handle anywhere from 30-55 as long as I have enough protein with it.
If I test high then I know for the next meal I may need to limit carbs.
You need to see what amount and type of carbs work for you. Some people can eat bananas without too much of a raise while others can not touch them. While I liked all the information in Dr Bernstein’s book I know that there is no way I could follow his 6-12-12. Some people love his “lifestyle” while others disagree with it. You need to test and log and see what is right for you. It has taken me almost 4 years to get my mondset right and start doing what so far is working for me. If things go right the next 2 days I get to do a trial run about stopping my glyburide evening dose.
I also usually have 1 of 3 snacks every night that range in carb amount from 5-22. As long as I have been “good” at dinner this does not seem to bother me too much and my fasting is 89-118.