Carbs

angel2874

I know I eat way to many carbs, and I have tried to cut them down but I can't seem to get them down, and I can't believe how many carbs are in EVERYTHING!!!!! How many grams of carbs do you eat a day, and how do you stay away from them. I think if I could cut back on the carbs I could lose my weight even faster and control my diabetes even better, but I do have to say that my blood sugars have been excellent, but any advice or suggestions would be awesome thanks everyone!!

Gergal73

Hello Angel,

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic of nearly 37 years so I know the frustration of low carb eating.

I am on a 135 grams per day diet and it's working great for me. My sugars are better than they have been for years.

I have become accustomed to just not eating anything I know will spike my blood sugars. For me, it's not worth the feeling having a high blood sugar. I do have a taste of a treat on occasion, but never an entire serving.

I have found two items that have become staples in my diet. Both of these items I purchase at Walmart.

1. Bread is always a problem as it is very high in carbs. I found Sara Lee 45 calorie Light Wheat bread and carry that with me everywhere. I even take it into restaurants and use that instead of a bun or roll. 2 slices contain 90 calories and 14 grams of carb. It's wonderful because I can have an entire sandwich and not feel guilty due to the carb content.

2. La Banderita Low Carb Tortillas are my other favorite. I use these tortillas for many items such as quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, pizza crust, sandwich wraps. One tortilla contains 81 calories and 11 carbs.

Another suggestion that I have tried and like is using grated cauliflower as a rice substitute. I like cauliflower so it works great for me. I also use spaghetti squash to replace pasta. I love this, even more so than the pasta.

I also eat a lot of vegetables as they don't contain many carbs. I tend to shy away from most fruit because it spikes my blood sugars, but I find that I can eat a small apple or strawberries and be ok. Every person is different so it may take some time to figure out what you can eat without a blood sugar spike.

Basically, keep your eyes open and look for items labeled as light or low calorie. There are more and more items in the store that are being labeled low carb. It took me a while to find these items, but it's been well worth the search.

Best wishes to you! Hang in there, I know you'll get it figured out.

keithgi

Good Day Angel,

I've had type 1 diabetes for a little over 43 years and try to limit my carbs to 120 per day; 30 - 30 - 60 (B - L -D). As you can tell, I have my biggest meal at dinner, probably not the best, but by eating complex carbs it seems to work for me.

One quick suggestion and a recent discovery for me was to use sauteed cabbage instead of pasta. I personally like it better than spaghetti squash and find that it has a very nice, subtle flavor. We mince the cabbage very fine and then use just a little Olive oil in the pan and saute the cabbage until its almost translucent and mimics al dente. Then plate the cabbage, pour over your favorite spaghetti sauce and enjoy. I find that I don't miss spaghetti noodles by doing this and the carb count is virtually nil.

HTH and congratulations on your weight loss! Great going! And to Gergal kudos to living 37 successful years w/T1D! I always enjoy reading about others that have had T1D since back in the early days.

beckajw

I eat 100-150. I find that if I go lower than 100, my sugars drop too low. Over 150, they go too high (even when ensuring that I am taking the proper amount of insulin).

I try to get my carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. I eat very little bread, white potatoes, etc.

KLK1986

I don't have a particular carb goal (I tried that and it didn't work), but I try to eat a lot of fruits/veggies/other high-fiber foods as much as possible. I also eat a lot of protein because that's usually low-carb. So instead of cereal for breakfast I'll eat string cheese, eggs, lean turkey sausage, etc. I used to eat a lot of rice/pasta as a side dish at dinner, but I started subbing in cannellini or black beans - not so starchy, and much higher fiber.

tracyjh01

I like the idea of beans as a side dish instead of pasta.....

Italian_Buju

I try and stay to 250 carbs a day (with at least 30 of those being fiber)

on bad days, I can eat up to 100 carbs over

everything I eat seems to have carbs....

hotlilteacher

Does anyone follow an exchange diet? I haven't been to a diabetic dietician in over a decade at least, so I don't know if my 1400 calorie exchange plan is even relevant anymore. I really need to figure out how many carbs per meal I should be eating. Getting an appointment with a dietician through Kaiser Permanenente has proven to be difficult!

tinko1

Hi everyone I have had juvenile diabetes since 1990 and started clean eating on May 29, 2012.
I have noticed that increasing my protein and decreasing my carbs and sugars has worked miracles.

My Dexcom monitors my blood sugars, and they have never been this good - a constant, steady 130 mg/dL and the lowest is between 70 and 90 mg/dL.

I start off my day with egg whites and 1/2 cup of Quaker oatmeal (mixed with water).
I generally eat every 2.5 to 3 hours and my snacks consist of Chobani yogurt (26 g total carbs), cheese sticks, hard boiled egg whites, protein shakes (mixed with water), and raw almonds.

I rarely go over 45 g of CHO per day. I live off of turkey, bacon, eggs, Fiber One Wraps (maybe 15-20 g CHO per serving), plain chicken, and fish.

I am hardly ever "starving," or "hungry," and I never feel like I am depriving myself. I allow myself one day to cheat, like eat 6-8 pieces of pizza to myself, and then end up regretting it all night and the next day, because the carbohydrate and sugar content put me over the edge.