So, yah, low carb good. But for those of us with that opinion/MO, what do you count? Salad?(5g/cup) cooked veggies? (10 g/ cup) Avacado? (15-18g ea) Cheese? Eggs? Tofu? Whiskey? (??) etc. etc. Thanks in advance.
I think low carbing is very individual and depends on how strict you are and what goals you want to obtain. I plan to eat as “reasonably” as possible while limiting my post paradinal BG spike. I find sticking to about 140 carbs a day (less corrections) is a good fit for me. I stay under 55 carbs per meal and tend to do better when the meal is less than 40 carbs per meal.
My CGM has also helped me identify food that is very difficult for me. I have greatly limited fruit, especially bananas from my diet. Reason being is that fruit hits my BG too slowly for corrections and too fast for my insulin to keep my BG in range.
I like using calorie king (http://www.calorieking.com/) for my carb counts and think they do a pretty good job. They have an app for my smart phone that has made eating out much easier.
Another issue to explore if you are low carbing is TAG (total available glucose). The main idea is that 50-60% of protein eaten can be converted to glucose and about 10% of fat can be. Protein and fat effect your BG much later than carbs, but if a signifigant amount is eaten, then you may need to account for them. TU has a group devoted to TAG here: http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/tagers.
As for whiskey: Calorie king says it is carb free so I do not bolus for a wiskey and diet soda, but YMMV.
I have never been able to count carbs, too mind-boggling. So, I just don't eat any. I eat my proteins--chicken, fish, eggs, cheeses, steak, etc. Then I eat lots and lots of green, leafy vegetables and salads of all kinds--greek, chef, ceasar, garden, cole slaw. For cooked vegetables, I stick to the low carb stuff like, egg plant, summer squashes, spaghetti squash, turnip. I stay away from all of the following: potatoes, processed corn, cereal, breads, pasta, rice, noodles, stuffing, light on any gravy, cookies, pretzels. I have never been been able to count those carbs so I just stopped eating them. Ever since I did that (about two years ago), I have had A1C's consistently at 6.2. I could probably go lower, but fear of bottoming out while driving, etc. is always my concern.
Thank you so much! When I am as stringent as both of you, I do really well. I am asking because my husband, not diabetic, is attempting to join me in low carb. He is down around 80? or? but not losing weight as hoped. So I was looking for ghost carbs? He is also vegetarian which seems impossible to me combined with low carb. He does eat fish so that helps. Anyway, thanks for your input.
I've lost weight but it has been 1) long and 2) slow. I haven't done "low carb" to the 30G of carb degree, like ever, but have consistently cut carbs out here and there and generally lose weight when I do so. But it's maybe a pound or two/ week when I was heavier and maybe a couple lbs/ month now.
I count everything I can count, but a lot is unaccountable. Went to dinner tonight with friends: simple salad, almost non exsistent salad, two 3/8 inch slices of baguette, six shrimp cooked in pesto, and roasted veggies. If it was 25 carbs, I would be amazed. My ratio is 1:15 and I have taken 3.2 units, with a correction. After 4 hours am still 175. I hate eating out--they truly sprinkle carb powder on all food, just to fool us! :>)
You really have to watch the high fat carbs, like avocado--can take hours to metabolize: low, low, and the HIGH, HIGH. I love and hate fat.
Hi earthling. I count every last bite. I have to to figure my I:C. Cottage cheese, 6; 1 slice povolone & a wiener = 2 for tag purposes. 3/4" of cream cheese = 2, Eggs = 2, too. Cooked veggies, yes. If I don't count it all I end up having to give correction doses. I enjoy every bite, too! Unfortunately for me, a salad always ends up about 15. Guess it's the dressing + the tomatoes and I usually cut up a date (5) in it. Or a couple almonds and craisins. I like meaningful salads. Cesar's dressing is great.
That just sounds so disciplined and sensible! Good for you acidrock- it must give you a great sense of accomplishment. Mr. earthling climbs trees for a living (arborist) and has to haul his own butt up there via saddle and rope. He turned 60 last year, so it's not so easy as it once was! In winter there's less work/exercise and more time netflixing with beer and chips... we all know where that goes. Usually he will stop eating almost entirely sometime in late winter/early spring for 8-10 days. Drinks a little juice, broth, tea. Loses 10+ pounds fasting, but puts it back on so quickly afterward. Bums him out. Hence his interest in low carb, being able to eat enough not to be hungry all the time but still able to climb trees.
Lol! --->>Secret canister of invisible carb powder discovered in restaurant kitchens worldwide!!<<--- This happens to me too. I can order Salmon w/Ceasar, a giant plate of lettuce with a couple croutons and a huge chunk of grilled salmon, and it's 3X the carbs it should be if I were to make it at home?? Grrrrrrr.
Ok, so you are counting every single carb and not subtracting for grams of fiber the way some sources suggest? Do you have many lows? And how many carbs, counted like that, do you aim for daily? Your A1c rocks, by the way.
I reduce fiber grams but not alcohols. I cannot reduce fiber grams on my bread. You see every time I make a generalized statement, there's a discounter!
It takes trial and error, a recording of what happened in a 4x6 booklet, and a willingness to banish foods that spike.
Breakfast is 12; Lunch is 19-20, including 3-6 for sandwich spread if it's a sandwich (low carb bread); and supper is 24 or so. I am less a total counter than an eat/enjoy each time. I have protein every meal.
The A1c stays there through cortisone shots, prednisone, extreme exercise. No, I do not tolerate having lows. If I go down to 70, I take enough glucose tablets to put me back at 100. 2 grams raises me 13. I had one unawareness episode back when I had diabetes only a year, and I decided from the research that resetting my target upward was in order. I'm able to do this because I don't eat out a whole lot.