I try to shoot for no more than 50 gr per meal and shoot for under 200 total per day. But reading in Jenny’s blog, I am thinking I should be shooting for less.
How about the rest of you?
The basic chemistry of what constitutes a carb is quitee complex, possibly hard to understand if you didn’t grasp chemistry at school or college
Hana
Hello to all. I was wondering about what amount of carbs in takes to raise the blood sugar. However, I see that everyone has a different number. Dietitian said I should try to stay around 50 for breakfast. 15 to 20 for snack. 50 for lunch 15 to 20 for mid-afternoon snack. 40 for dinner. I have basically cutout all sugars ( white bread, white rice etc ) I have lost 20lbs since I left the hospital. This is all an experiment I have had no symptoms what so ever.
Sounds like you may need to get your thyroid checked it may be low.
I average 35-40 carbs per meal, and 150 per day. If I eat more than 150 per day, I use too much insulin and then I gain weight. I gained 57 pounds in the 1990s and did not know why. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and had to start using a type 2 med, along with my insulin. I reduced my carb intake to 130g per day and increased my exercise. I lost 34 pounds. Now i am only 8 pounds overweight. Since that time, increasing my carbs to 150 per day has not caused me to gain weight, but I have to keep up my exercising.
I shoot for no more than 75 g a day, or 25 per meal. I don’t always make it, but I am never more than a little over.
That helps me meet two goals, one is that with my medications 75 g a day keeps my BG to normal levels. Below 120 usually, below 140 almost always. Second I am trying to lose a pound a week. 100 obs in two years. So far I am a little ahead of schedule.
Even with that, if I eat my 25 g without any protein, my blood sugar will climb up.
If I exercised more, I could probably eat more carbs. I try and walk and do free weights, but I have to work all day in front of a computer and then go home and sit at a desk to pay bills and fill out insurance forms all evening, so how I am going to get more exercise in I am not sure.
I was eating about the same, keeping it to under 200 a day. Ive never had good control (A1C ±7.6) and been T1 for 25 years that way. Upon getting active in this site, a good number of folks reccumended low carb eating plans on a thread I posted.
So, Ive been doing that for a few weeks (a cronic disease takes a cronic solution) now and my meter 30 day is 146, 7 day is 131. So I think its a lot better than the 170-180 avg I had before. I dont think its done coming down either. =^)
Wow…what a great thread.
For a period of time I was doing the low-no carb thing and while my mind was clear and I felt full of energy…not to mention I had amazing bs readings (between 75-90)…kidney and salivary gland stones stopped me from continuing down that path.
This morning I had 2 eggs scrambled w/water, a banana and 2 cups of coffee with milk. It worked out to be about 36 g. of carbs and to be honest…I think it was too many.
I’ve been trying to not go beyond 40g. per meal, sometimes less, but I’m stuck in a rut with my food choices. I also need to lose weight so I’m looking forward to my visit to the dietician in a few weeks.
In the meantime…I’ll continue to read threads like this one, look for recipe ideas and count carbs.
I’ve stopped eating flour (i.e. bread, crackers, tortillas, etc.) for the most part, to keep my blood sugar from going so high in the two hours after a meal. Now I’m getting my carbs from small portions of whole grains or fruit (~30 grams/serving) and my post prandial blood sugars are much lower than before…and I don’t feel tired after meals…and I brought my A1c down to 6.2. Eating whole and raw foods really make a difference in my energy level and how I feel emotionally, as does eating slowly…like spreading my carb intake out over 20-30 minutes.
I find I need to keep my carbs VERY low to keep my BG on target. My personal target is{ no more than 6[108] at any time} Being human, I miss sometimes, but get angry with myself if I do. My HbA1c has been in the 5%s for the last 2 years.
I emphasise that these are my personal targets, not set by a healthcare professional. However I also score 10/10 on all my foot tests and my Lipid profile is excellent. Most healthcare professionals tell me Idon’t need to be as tight as this, but I still come out with HbA1c a little above non-diabetic, which is where I’m aiming.
I really cannot see sense in targets which are higher than non-diabetic and if you are to believe the ACCORD study[which many medics in Britain do] All the non-diabetics should be dropping like flies, because their Hba1cs are too low.
I eat 25 grams carbs breakfast, 25 for morning snack, 15 for lunch, 10 afternoon snack, and 10 for dinner for a total of about 85 per day eating every 2 hours and no food after 5pm (my blood sugars seem to get higher as the day goes along and lowest after breakfast) and I walk or bike 3-4 times a day
When I was diagnosed I was the same way around 300. My doctor started me off on pills, and a low carb diet , this didn’t seem to work for me especially when my daily routeen would change, like more physical activity than normal, and when this happened my bg would crash which would make me feel lousy the rest of the day and/or I would get a hugh headache. During this period my bg was up and down like a yoyo. To make a long story short I couldn’t control my bg. until I learned to control carb intake and I went on an insulin pump and could also control my insulin dosage depending on my carb intake. I try to keep my carbs around 35 per meal.
Everyone should read this paper.
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0899-9007/PIIS0899900710002893.pdf
It’s an eye opener!
I would have a hissyfit if my A1c climbed into the 6s. Non-diabetics are in the 4s mainly, so 7 is FAR too HIGH by my way of thinking
this isn’t easy even for a T2 on minimal medication, diet and exercise It takes real committment from anyone using insulin.
Thanks!!
I’ve been keeping my carbs under 60/day but my CDE just accused me of ‘not eating,’ saying I should be taking in 120 carbs per day because ‘your brain needs 120 carbs/day to function.’ She has said a lot of other things that indicate that she’s not a fan of tight control - for instance, recommending that I set my target range at 130-170, telling me that a BG of 200 on a particular occassion was ‘not bad’. Her accusation that I was ‘not eating’ really rubbed me the wrong way. But I took it, I listened and I’m going to take her advice just to see what happens.
Low carbing doesn’t seem to be working for me. I’m on the pump but I’m very sensitive to insulin and pretty active. I average about 22 units per day (basal + bolus). My BG’s have been a roller coaster for years and it’s a struggle to level them out. When I go low, I rebound into a gross high. Then I correct and come down too fast and rebound again. I feel like the Roadrunner on a pair of Acme Spring-Loaded Shoes.
My new strategy will be to first level out my BGs, trying to stay within a 40 point range. Second step will be to lower the entire range, keeping the 40 point spread. Third step will be to reduce the spread.
After about a week, only a week, it seems to be working. I’ll say this, too - eating is a lot less stressful. I’m still counting the carbs, but now instead of keeping it down to 15 or 30 a meal, I’m looking at about 45 per meal. Whoo-hoo!
Keep on keeping on.
Terry
I recently read about some work on the effects of gastric banding. It is reported to reverse T2 in a number of cases. The work I read suggests that it’s cutting food down to 600 calories per day which has the beneficial effect and if you’ve had the surgery you are more likely to be able to stick to that. I would prefer to try restricted diet, rather than undergoing surgery[I wouldn’t get the treatment under the NHS, my BMI wouldn’t be high enough <b>:o)</b> ]
Thus why anyone should be advising diabetics to INCREASE their food, when 600calories has been shown to be beneficial, boggles me.
I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT sacrifice my non-diabetic blood chemistry, because someone says I need 120carbs per day for my brain. WHICH my liver can manufacture easily. I wish they’d remember it doesn’t have to be dietary carbs. As you can see I am known as a “non compliant” patient. BUT I am the ONLY one who attends my clinic, who has an A1c in the 5s. Apparently there are a couple in the 6s too.
After all, It’s I who has to take the consequences if it all goes wrong. The CDEs, Nurses and Doctors will live on to blind, kill, cause amputations, or kidney failure in MORE patients. If they had to take the risks on their own behalf, what would they do?
I started out this year in July as a brand new diabetic, following a plan as recommended by my nutritionist, using ADA guidelines, 60grams (4 carbs) per meal and 30grams (2 carbs) for once a day snack. I also started out only testing early morning fasting. Everything looked to be under control.
Due to blogs like TuDiabetes, I decided not to follow the advice to test so little and learned:
I was spiking at 150-170 at lunch, apparently everyday.
I couldn’t handle 60 grams meals. Now I aim for 45 grams or less for meals and 15 grams for snack.
I had to switch the time I take my Januvia pill from 3 pm to 8 am, so all three meals are covered.
I can’t have a 45 gram meal that is high in fat. My liver will just convert it all to glucose.
The only thing that seems to help late evening BG rise is exercise some time after dinner.
Test, test, test …and then you know what to eat.
Your liver won’t convert a lot of fat into glucose. If you think this is happening, look to whatever else you have with the meal. You could even try a “fat only” meal and see what happens, for example eat a portion of Camembert cheese with some salad leaves and see if that spikes your BG. If it does, then you ae converting fats, but most people don’t do this. It’s the principle on which Atkins’s Fat Fast works.
Hana
Ps protein converts to glucose quite easily and a fat with carb meal is the worst.
45 gram carb with fat, will cause quite a spike in most people, but it’s the carb NOT the fat. In fact, the fat will slow the spike and perhaps moderate it.
Fat pretty much doesn’t affect blood glucose.
Hana’s right, only about 10% of fat will be converted.
Protein on the other hand will convert at a rate of 58%; though some say this rate could be less. Also quantity of food consumed will affect gluconeogenesis. We release glucagon when we eat, and the more we eat the more we release. Fasting also seems to affect this release. For more insight, read Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution
Many of us are now doing high fat low carb diets. I try for at least 60% fat, 30% protein, and at most 10% carbs. I usually do less carbs than that, about 30g per day or 120 cals.
I’m too busy to count my food, but I eat very little carb, loads of salads and some meat and dairy. I also like to keep the ttotal quantity small as I have weight to loose, which after 3 years of working at it is VERY slow.
I don’t control fats at all. I add cream to the home-made soup we have for our evening meal most days and happily fry eggs and other things.
hana