Nutrition % for Type 2

flyrobinfly57

What are the Diabetic Educators recommendations for Carb,Protein,Sugar and Fats for daily allowances? It will be March 12 before I see my own DE and Endocrinologist. I am alarmed my sugar on the present setting is almost maxed out for today and Heck I got lunch, dinner and snacks left to go..8-) I don't understand the allowance stuff..my brain blocked the word. Also any one out yonder have to do mealtime insulin as well as basal? I do 20 U of Lantus and it has helped over 3 moths..but it is not enuff. Been on med since 2006

bdubya55

Hi there and welcome.

I'm in the US and was was dx'd T2 in 1986 and recently joined MFP in Dec.

Although having not gone to DE nor and Endo myself, I hope to offer you some help with the info below.

Here are a few links to sites that were very helpful to me at the beginning of my diagnosis. There's alot of information out there along with different recommendations and it was very confusing to me at first.

I too am using meal time (Novolog) insulin on a sliding scale along with Lantus (basal) insulin 35u at bedtime to control my blood sugars. Ultimately, it's been up to me to educate myself and take control. It's my diabetes!

I found this book by Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE on amazon to be extremely helpful to me, after some online research; in learning how to calculate my pre-meal and snack carb intake to insulin ratios to treat my numbers accordingly and correctly.

http://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Pancreas-Practical-Insulin-Completely/dp/0738215147

Additionally, I found this site http://www.bloodsugar101.com/ to be extremely informative and helpful too.

And this site http://www.joslin.org/ has been very helpful to me.

Maybe someone else will chime in with their thoughts was well. My diaries are open to friends feel free to add me.


There's alot of great, knowledgeable and supportive help, so any questions? ask away!


Good Luck!

CRody44

Another very informative website http://bloodsugar101.com/ (oops, saw that this was already suggested.)

You don’t need to track sugar. Carbohydrates = sugar and the more you eliminate carbs, the lower your blood glucose will be.

Don’t try to fit your carbs/sugar into a chart. “Eat to your meter” and start eliminating anything that puts you to 140 or over after an hour. I had to eliminate processed sugar, breads, starches, pasta, pizza (killed me) and of I have a piece of fruit, only in the morning.

I personally have my fat at 60%, protein at 35% and carbs at 5%, but that number for carbs isn’t for everyone.

jessiekanga

CRody is right, everyone's percentages look different. I use a 35% Carb, 30% fat, 35% protein. Most folks in this group tend to eat fewer carbs than this, but for some reason my body, right now, is processing it. I have mostly whole grains, veggies and some fruit. I may need to change it over time to better meet my needs, who knows. You can find your own level with your meter as your best friend. Try to think of testing as data, not the pain in the *kitten* (or finger - hee hee) that we tend to default to thinking. You'll learn quickly if you need to slowly decrease carbs... or if you start with few and add them in if you can handle it. Good luck!

The carb macros on here are high though, for most diabetics. They start at 40% carb. You can personalize them.
Good luck!

CRody44

ps: I used to do both basal and bolis insulin, but after four months of low carb, I was taken off all diabetes meds. After a month, I started having Dawn Phenomenon (the liver dumping sugar into your blood in the middle of the night) with readings 15 to 25 points higher in the morning than my before bed reading, so I put myself on Metformin to control this.

robert65ferguson

Hi Robin and welcome to this group. One of the frustrating thing about diabetes is that there really is no one size fits all. What works for one person may not work for another. There are also a number of different views which adds to the condusion and frustration. It really is a case of trial and error to find what works best for you. It's great to hear that you have made arrangements to attend a diabetes education course. Many people have found them to be very helpful.
Having said all of that, there is a consensus view that a reasonable general target to aim for would be approx 45 net carbs per main meal with say 20 net carbs for snacks if required. Be aware that the MFP carb targets are a little high for diabetics and need to be adjusted dlownwards. In terms of nutrient proportions a reasonable target for Carbs, Protein and Fat would be 40:30;30. Take your time and read over the various boards in this group. When you're ready to ask questions you will find the people in this group to be very helpful and supportive. Send me a friend request if you think I may be able to help you.