Setting MyFitnessPal numbers for a diabetic

hocknell
hocknell Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
TY in advance! Want to know what carb, fat and protein numbers for a newly diabetic 50yo male. Calorie intake should be about 2450 calories a day. I have set some numbers though not confident with them. Also any tips on using My Fitness Pal app to the max for a diabetic.

Replies

  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Personally I find that carbs per meal are more important to keeping my blood sugar in range than carbs per day. I try to aim for about 45g net per meal, but every diabetic is at a different place in the disease and you may be different. It also depends very much what medication you are on, since if you are on a med that drops blood sugar you will need to eat completely differently.

    I had very poor luck with my doctor-recommended dietician (I kept her handout so I can share it with people and make them gasp with shock at how bad the advice is) but a dietician is a good starting point.

    One way to optimize MFP for a diabetic is to set it to read net carbs, which requires premium. However, even without premium you can add fiber to your dashboard and subtract it from carbs yourself to get net carbs.

    The most important thing you can do as a newly diagnosed type 2 to get your numbers under control is to lose weight until you are at a normal BMI. The second is to moderate carbs, and the third is to exercise regularly. Timing your cardio exercise to after meals will help lower your blood glucose more quickly - three ten minute walks timed after meals is more effective than a single 30 minute walk. Strength exercise also improves insulin resistance, so you should be doing both strength and cardio.
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,991 Member
    edited August 2021
    Preface: Get proper advice from a registered dietitian. Ask your doctor for a referral to a diabetic education class also.

    That said.. My husband -72 years old. 5’ 8” about 180.
    Insulin dependent and using metformin. Sedentary due to disability, but he does 40 minutes on the recumbent elliptical every day.

    He gets about 45 carbs per meal, and an allowance of two 15 carb snacks per day if he wants them.
    This is not a weight loss diet for him.

    Anyhow, definitely ask your own care team.

    Also there’s a T2D group here. Not terribly active, but I’m hoping it will become more active with more members.

    Feel free to join!
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1772-type-2-diabetes-support-group
  • moonshine123rpb
    moonshine123rpb Posts: 1 Member
    Is there a place TO WRITE YOUR NUMBERG ON THIS AP
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,198 Member
    moonshine123rpb wrote: »
    Is there a place TO WRITE YOUR NUMBERG ON THIS AP

    You could add a single number daily by going into the web version of MFP and creating the measurement type you want. After it's created, you can update it or report it in either the phone/tablet app (Progress menu option) or in the web version. In the spoiler, I show where to set it up.
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    If you need more than one number daily, you could put it in the Notes part of your daily food/exercise diary (near the bottom of the diary page).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    edited August 13
    hocknell wrote: »
    TY in advance! Want to know what carb, fat and protein numbers for a newly diabetic 50yo male. Calorie intake should be about 2450 calories a day. I have set some numbers though not confident with them. Also any tips on using My Fitness Pal app to the max for a diabetic.

    You may need to get more information from your PCP if you want to manage your diabetes properly which will determine things like type, 1 or 2, making you aware of lifestyle options including nutritional therapy, exercise activity, understanding glucose levels and controlling them within a target range and of course pharmacologic therapy which would include medication and or insulin. You haven't mentioned any of this but hopefully they discussed all this and you just didn't offer up any additional information.

    If I was diagnosed with diabetes I would without a doubt get a continuous blood glucose monitor and track my responses to meals and individual foods. Reducing carbohydrates will reduce your insulin response, kind of a no brainer, right, which increase insulin sensitivity and other health markers that correspond to the usual suspects that dictate diabetes so it's up to you how you want to manage your carb intake. My n=1 experience has totally reversed my insulin resistance which is also an extreme carbohydrate restricted diet which is not necessary if your only problem is diabetes and a whole food diet like the Mediterranean diet would imo work very well over time, my situation was different and dealt with other health problems that have also resolved. Wishing you the best results. :)
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,991 Member
    moonshine123rpb wrote: »
    Is there a place TO WRITE YOUR NUMBERG ON THIS AP

    You might have better luck linking your glucose monitor with your phone and also linking your phone to MFP.

    Here’s what my One Touch Reveal app shows from a few days back.
    I log my meals and snacks. That syncs with the health app on my phone.
    And that syncs with my glucose monitor’s app. The exercise (when I remember to turn the exercise mode on my watch on!) also syncs with the glucose monitor.

    Easy peasy. It’s all in one spot.
    z7di8acgkh29.jpeg

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