Finding it difficult to limit carbs
Options
Replies
-
StatChicBayes wrote: »I was told I had pre-diabetes back in Feb (also have issues with high LDL cholesterol, but normal triglycerides and high HDL). I was working with a lipids specialist who recommended reduced carb (but not keto or Atkins) - recommendations were pretty close to 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat (the Mediterranean diet??) which translate to about 130g of carbs for me in a 1400 calorie diet. Carbs were supposed to be primarily low glycemic index fruits, vegetables, but pasta and bread on occasion were OK within the macros. Brown rice rather than white rice if possible, legumes for carbs, protein and fiber, steel cut oats, oat bran, etc. Wine was also OK. Healthy fats: avocado, olive oil, etc were fine, but should limit saturated fats (this is related to lipids more than the pre-diabetes) from meat/dairy. I tend to avoid processed foods and do most of my own cooking so find it easier to eliminate sugars or other added carbs.
With this I have been exercising (cardio +strength training and have lost 48 pounds so far - still a ways to go but getting there! It has been pretty easy to adhere to, and something that will work for me long term. Mostly it has been limiting the more refined carbs (pasta, pizza, fritos). Fortunately, I don't really like sweets so that has not been a problem :-)
Tests yesterday indicate that fasting blood glucose is now in the normal range. LDL cholesterol results tomorrow.
So do ask for more specifics - you can change this with reducing carbs and weight. Feel free to add me as friend.
this is pretty much what the doctor told my dad. Dad walks more as exercise now (coz of high blood pressure too) and has just swapped some things out in his diet like white rice for brown and the white (even though mainly sourdough) bread for grainy/rye other types of bread. No more chocolates and ice cream all the time, but he eats yoghurt in moderation for his sweet tooth, as well as fruit.3 -
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »It’s like doctors shouldn’t even exist according to the majority of posters here. Bit concerning really.
Not really. But what is concerning is people who think that doctor's words should be taken as gospel and everyone should follow them no questions asked.
Most doctors recieve very little nutritional training. Nutritional advice is not their areas of expertise. That is why we have registered dieticians. The truth is even with years of medical training, most areas of medicine are not any particular doctor's area of expertise, because the field of medicine is so vast. More than you think, doctors rely on Google like the rest of us.
And they also beleieve plenty of wrong information. My dad's endocrinologist told him he needed to stop drinking diet soda because "your body doesn't know how to process it and it all gets stored in your gut." That's not a real thing that happens. It's not true just because a doctor said it.
Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America. The world is undoubtedly better off because it has doctors in it, but people would be bettter served by not putting their doctors on a pedestal, and questioning advice that seems suspect.
I agree re the doctors thing. I've had heaps of instances where doctors gave me or people I know crap advice. For example, husband had kidney stones, Dr told him to just take paracetamol. Daughter had a freaking bee sting, dr wanted to give her antibiotics (instead of anti-inflammatory), I had IBS - pretty bad IBS - dr wanted to cut out half my guts and have me live off cortisone for the rest of my life. I fixed IBS with diet/herbs. Dr when I was fatter telling me what to eat to lose weight - peanut butter on toast for breakfast - me - SURE! never having actually weighed out a tablespoon of peanut butter, which we all know is NOT 20g, no wonder I wasn't losing weight considering i was eating "healthy" food and peanut butter on toast for breakfast, but just HOW MUCH OF IT was I actually eating?! Way more than necessary.
Nothing wrong with OP looking into second opinions from other doctors/nutritionists/etc.
It's great that the dr found the pre-diabetes condition - wonderful - now OP just needs to look around and ask teh questions and research exactly how much and what type of carbs can she eat? Good job OP for asking the question.9 -
deleting - double post0
-
No, you do not need low carb, you need to count carbs and distribute them throughout the day. This is just an assumption from my part, but I assume your dr said to limit carbs and not to eliminate carbs? Even a diabetic can eat bread daily, as in have a sluce of bread with cheese for breakfast, but not have the entire loaf of bread for breakfast, and not have also bread as snack, at lunch and at dinner.
The usual plan is something like one small serving of carbs per meal/snack, paired with protein. So even though a peach is definitely good for you and you should eat, diabetic or not, do not eat 10 peaches at once, but eat 1 peach and pair it with a plain yoghurt or a cup of milk to have a snack, and not with more carbs. Similarly at main meals, eat one serving of rice or whole grain pasta or bread or beans etc with meat and a green salad, but do not eat a serving of beans and a serving of potatoes and a couple of slices of bread. Of course you need to figure out what a serving is per food, your dr should provide resources, otherwise the American Diabetes Association has a lot of info.
Usually several servings of fruit, vegetables and grains are encouraged for diabetics, and reducing overall fat is also encouraged. You can check here: https://www.diabetes.org/nutrition/meal-planning , there is a lot of detail. It requires some reading, but it looks very close to what my local hospital advises diabetics and prediabetics.
Also keep in mind that losing weight and adding exercise (walks are good, you do not need to find anything more complicated) are key to controlling and even reversing diabetes.[/quote]
4 -
I have only glanced through some of these comments but I wonder whether you clarified with the doctor what he/she meant by low carb. Low carb can be anything under 150 grams of carbs a day by definition and does not have to be keto. If that is the only information you got then I'd be seeking further advice, either from the doctor or better yet, a trained dietician who specialises in diabetes.7
-
"Cut carbs" doesn't mean keto by default. For a prediabetic it most likely means "watch the carbs". It could mean reducing them, not necessarily to keto levels, or just regulating them paying attention to carbs per meal and types.
I had prediabetes, and I was dangerously close to official diabetes, meaning, I was diabetic by some measures and pre-diabetic by others. Completely limiting carbs did not feel like something I could keep up long term, and since health is an ongoing management effort, imperfect but sustainable is way better than perfect but unsustainable. What I did was regulate carbs, not cut them down drastically. I made sure to spread them evenly over the day, which allowed me to eat carbs, but not too many carbs in one sitting. I also made sure to eat balanced meals with protein and fat because that produces a less steep blood sugar spike. This helped regulate my blood sugar short term as evidenced by my glucose meter. Becoming more active also helped. What ultimately helped me long term was losing weight. I'm no longer prediabetic because I lost a lot of weight. I wouldn't have lost the weight nor improved my blood sugar long term had I attempted an unsustainable program.9 -
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »I’m just going to tell myself that all the woos mean the people love my advice
I didn't woo you but my life is DEFINITELY worth bread.11 -
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »Hannahwalksfar wrote: »It’s like doctors shouldn’t even exist according to the majority of posters here. Bit concerning really.
Not really. But what is concerning is people who think that doctor's words should be taken as gospel and everyone should follow them no questions asked.
Most doctors recieve very little nutritional training. Nutritional advice is not their areas of expertise. That is why we have registered dieticians. The truth is even with years of medical training, most areas of medicine are not any particular doctor's area of expertise, because the field of medicine is so vast. More than you think, doctors rely on Google like the rest of us.
And they also beleieve plenty of wrong information. My dad's endocrinologist told him he needed to stop drinking diet soda because "your body doesn't know how to process it and it all gets stored in your gut." That's not a real thing that happens. It's not true just because a doctor said it.
Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America. The world is undoubtedly better off because it has doctors in it, but people would be bettter served by not putting their doctors on a pedestal, and questioning advice that seems suspect.
My doctor saved my life so I’ll trust doctors over internet people. Especially when it comes to potentially life-threatening issues like diabetes.
Getting a few woos for advice that includes a lot more than "follow your doctor's advice" does not mean "the majority of people here say doctors should not exist." (I did not woo you, btw.) That's a really over-the-top reaction than makes it seem like you aren't even reading what other posters are saying.
Pre-diabetes is not diabetes, it's not even a well-established diagnosis. It's basically a risk factor for developing T2D. For those who think it would be very hard to deal with, there are many other more typically recommended dietary responses. Most T2Ds do fine with fruit, which is healthy, so having to give that up, for example, is a pretty drastic response to prediabetes when other options, like simple weight loss and moderate carb, have not even been tried.
Keto is not the currently ADA recommended treatment for T2D. It can be a viable one, especially for those who can't control it in other ways.
Most significantly, saying "get a referral to a registered dietitian" is not saying "ignore your doctor." It's saying "have your doctor refer you to someone who specializes in nutrition, and especially nutrition/weight loss approaches to treating medical issues. Pretty much any doctor will concede that doctors are not experts in nutrition and that they normally will refer to RDs for significant nutritional/weight loss issues if the person needs help. I suspect the RD will give way more (and more sensible) options than the doctor, but if there really is a medical need to do keto (however unlikely that seems) the RD will support the doctor's recommendation and help the person struggle less in implementing that.
Suggesting there's some harm in this advice or that we are telling OP to ignore the doctor and follow "internet advice" is absurd.30 -
Oh, also, keto isn't even just eat meat and eggs and veg, and have bread once a week (jumping out of ketosis once a week isn't a great idea, and there are a variety of other foods one should also eat for good health on keto), so it doesn't really sound like a prescribed diet. It sounds like the doctor or someone the doctor knows has lost weight that way and the doctor is trying to give weight loss advice. REAL medical treatment with a dietary component would be more specific, include handouts, and usually be supported by an option to see an RD.5
-
I think they should just listen to their doctor. You disagree. And so the world turns. Each to their own. Peace21
-
Hannahwalksfar wrote: »I think they should just listen to their doctor. You disagree. And so the world turns. Each to their own. Peace
There is a world of difference between "listen to your doctor" and "interpret your doctor's recommendations to mean keto". keto is NOT the default dietary recommendation for diabetes, let alone prediabetes, so I highly doubt the doctor recommended it specifically. What most likely happened is that because "cut carbs" has come to mean "do keto" recently due to its popularity, something must have been lost in translation.16 -
As others have said I am not a doctor. I am a person who was diagnosed as prediabetic and medicated with metformin to try to save my pancreas. My doc recommended low carb as well. I had tried low carb many times and simply could not adhere to it so I was just going to take the meds and live with it but I decided to count calories instead. I admit that I do better with less refined carb and try to limit them but walking daily and losing 100 pounds has put me firmly into the non-diabetic group. I no longer take the medication and my doc is very happy with my progress. So to answer your question, yes you can probably do it by just losing weight. HOWEVER, you may need to take the meds until you get it under control and you can't ever go back to your old way of life. In other words eating healthy and exercising daily are not just until you lose weight it is for the rest of your life. If you want to do this and make it as easy as possible I recommend limiting the refined stuff. Avoid sugar and white flour as much as you can. Note that I did not say eliminate it. I don't know what your normal eating habits have been but I can tell you I ate lots of white flour and sugar before. Unreasonable amounts. I don't anymore. I'm happier and healthier and probably feel about 10 years younger since quitting.
It's all worth it in the end. Do what you can live with for life. Be open to new foods and try stuff. If you don't like it you don't have to incorporate it into your lifestyle but at least give it a try. I thought my son was nuts when he used greek yogurt on baked potato instead of sour cream but now I often use it. I had to try it to find out it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Also over time your tastes will change so if you don't like it now you might 6 months from now.
Finally try to work with your doctor. Never quit medication without their help. I think they get pretty fed up with patients who are unwilling to follow their advice so they just dish out the same advice to everyone because no one listens anyway. It's better if you ask questions and tell him/her what you want to try. I think seeing a dietician if you can is helpful. Don't give up. We all had to find our way with what worked for us personally. You can too. Good luck.13 -
i think clarification is needed as typically this is not recommended. or get a second opinion from another doctor or specialist.
drs are human. one said i had crohns, i clearly do not. second opinion=correct diagnosis. one told me to cut out sugar and carbs to lose weight. i eat ice cream nearly every night and have lost 60lbs. etc etc9 -
Bread always has been my "trigger food" - meaning when I was unhappy / frustrated / depressed I could easily eat a loaf or two and whatever I managed to put in between the slices. Finally I have realized that bread is not the healthiest food for me - I have learned to replace it and with that my weight is also coming down.2
-
I'd ask for a referral to a registered dietitian. I've never heard of keto being necessary for pre-diabetes, it's not even the default recommendation for actual T2D, and many people on MFP have controlled T2D without medication or gone into remission (not getting into the debate on that) by controlling carbs and sticking to moderate carbs eaten with fiber and protein, but not even going fully low carb.
I don't have IR or T2D, but I enjoy eating lowish carb from time to time (around 100 g to 120 g), and that did not require me to cut out fruit or starchy carbs, just watch portions.
Another vote for getting a referral for a registered dietitian.
The best thing you can do for pre-diabetes when you are 100 pounds overweight is to lose that weight, and you need a plan you can stick to. Eating meat, eggs, and vegetables only is clearly not that plan, so you need help crafting another one.
(Don't tell your doctor that - just ask for a referral to a RD.)9 -
get to a registered dietician. my ex had T2 diabetes and was allowed carbs daily. where does this one piece of a bread a week BS come from? I think his limit was 80 or 90. exercise (even just walking) also helps reduce your risk factor and when combined with a permanent change in the way you eat, and how many carbs you eat, can work miracles for getting those numbers back to where they should be.4
-
Thank you everyone for your replies! To clear up a few things - my doctor did not specifically tell me to do keto, he simply said "eat mostly meat, vegetables, and eggs and limit bread to once a week". I had tried keto in the past and asked him if I should do that again - he said that would be fine. But I didn't really get any more specific guidance than that, which is honestly why I'm a little confused now.
I have started to incorporate exercise into my lifestyle, which is apparently a good way to control high blood sugar. In terms of food, I never really ate a ton of refined white carbs to begin with, so it's not really a matter of just switching to wheat bread or brown rice. But it sounds like limiting carbs to maybe 100g per day would be a good place to start? It would certainly be more sustainable for me than doing keto. Thank you all for your help - getting a diagnosis like this is scary and it's nice to hear from others who have had the same experience.11 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »I have only glanced through some of these comments but I wonder whether you clarified with the doctor what he/she meant by low carb. Low carb can be anything under 150 grams of carbs a day by definition and does not have to be keto. If that is the only information you got then I'd be seeking further advice, either from the doctor or better yet, a trained dietician who specialises in diabetes.
This. 1. Ask doctor to provide recommended daily grams of carbs. Their statement is very nebulous. 2. Ask for referral to a registered dietitian (not a nutritionist), preferably one who specialized in diabetes education.
I am diabetic and follow a low calorie, lower carb diet. But this doesn't mean no carbs. My dietitian recommended maximum of 150 to 180 grams of carbs per day, with 30 to 60 grams of carbs per meal, 15 to 30 grams of carbs for snacks. I test my blood glucose, and over time, I have determined that 30-40 grams of carbs per meal, and 15 grams per snack works best with my blood sugar, resulting in about 120 grams of carbs daily. My dietitian is happy with this. The key for me is spreading those carbs out throughout the day.
Other dietitian recommendations are cardio to help with insulin resistance (5 days or more per week, totally minimum of 150 minutes), and strength training 3x per week. And for my situation, weight loss.
Also recommend researching the American Diabetes Association website for more information.5 -
Also just wanted to add in case this matters - my dr said that I am not yet close to T2 diabetes, just over the line into prediabetes territory and I am not on any medication at this point.3
-
concur with the request for a referral to a RD - but even before that, if you aren't already log your food intake - so that way when you see the RD you have good insight into what you are eating - that will help them to provide more guidance9
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 922 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions