Low Carbs?

gr8xpectationz

I saw a bariatrician for the first time two weeks ago. She said for the first month:
Stay under 1500 calories.
Do some kind of cardio for 20-30 minutes five days a week.
Drink my eight glasses of water.
Use MFP to log everything.
And "keep carbs low".

I'm doing fine on almost all of these, but I didn't ask what "keep carbs low" means. I've cut out processed carbs, including sugar and flour, and even potatoes and rice. Most of my carbs come from steel cut oats, Ezekiel bread, or fresh fruit. My carbs are still anywhere between 35-55 g per meal.

Is this low enough? Is this what she meant? Where should my carbs be?

I'm female, 36, 275lbs, and have PCOS, if any of that matters to your answer.

gr8xpectationz

Anybody?

singer201

I lost the first 70 lbs keeping carbs just under 100 g/day (per marksdailyapple.com). Now to lose the last 10 or so pounds, I'm trying for 50-70 g/day. You should probably ask what your health care professional had in mind. Salad-type veggies have fewer carbs than fruit. I ate a large salad or container of cut-up veggies every day, but only two small servings of fruit and one small serving of something like quinoa or sweet potato. Those carbs add up fast! Eggs, meat, and good fats (olive oil, butter, full-fat dairy, nuts, and avocado) round out the meals.

gr8xpectationz

Thanks!

That's kind of what I was afraid of.... only 100 g of carbs a day seems hard, because as you pointed out they do add up fast. But I like your suggestions and might give it a try until I go back and get clarification from the doctor.

JanetLynnJudy

Join this MFP group. There is a lot of great discussion in this group regarding lowering carbohydrate intake. My macros are set up for low carbohydrate and I have an open diary for friends so feel free to add me if that would help.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-group

albertabeefy

With PCOS you're insulin-resistant. All carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the bloodstream, some take a little longer to digest than others, but all (with the exception of the fiber amount) are converted to glucose.

Glucose requires insulin to drive it into our cells to ultimately feed them, but in insulin-resistant people (whether from PCOS, diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc.) our cells insulin-receptors are 'resistant' to insulin and as such blood glucose levels elevate (because the process isn't working properly) and it takes MORE insulin (your body will release more repeatedly) to 'drive' the glucose home (so to speak).

As such our pancreas gets overworked by producing MORE insulin than should be required to do the work of getting glucose into cells. It can even get overworked to the point of 'burning out' those beta cells that produce insulin, really complicating matters. (Because now you're insulin-resistant, but produce less insulin... so your glucose goes even higher.)

It's a vicious circle UNLESS you reduce carbohydrate to the level your body needs. We're all different in that regard. Whether diabetic (like myself), PCOS, whatever - our degree of insulin-resistance varies among each individual.

If your glucose is doing fine at 35-55g a meal (are you testing with a meter at 1 and 2hr intervals after meals?) then that's working for you. If your glucose is EVER going near 140mg/dl (7.8mmol/L for non-USA folks) then you're at risk for damage to your circulatory/cardiovascular system and NEED to reduce carbohydrate. (Personally, I am to keep mine under 120mg/dl - about 6.7mmol/L)

If you're blood glucose is remotely high, limit fruit - replace it with non-starchy vegetables, and consider fruit a treat. Eat lower-GI (glycemic index) fruits like berries and cherries as opposed to higher-GI fruits such as bananas, pears, etc.

As for the steel-cut oats and other grains ... they often don't spike you as 'high' as more-refined grains, but they DO cause you to be elevated longer. As such, overall glycemic control is the same as any other carbohydrate...

... Please don't buy into the myth of "slow-released" 'complex' carbohydrate being better for you, because a gram of carbohydrate is a gram of carbohydrate.

Believing 'slow-released' is better than say high-fructose-corn-syrup is like saying you can eat 2 snickers bars a day if you cut them into 12 pieces and eat those 12 pieces every two hours... sure, it might not 'spike' you, but you'll be elevated all day and have the same long-term blood glucose (ie: HbA1c measurement) as someone who ate them in one sitting in 5 minutes.

Feel free to message me anytime on low-carb eating for PCOS or Insulin-resistance - I've spent years researching it.

Just FYI I have diabetes, was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 12.2% and fasting glucose of 267mg/dl (14.8mmol/L) and told I'd need insulin for life. Thanks to a low-carb lifestyle I have a perfectly normal HbA1c of between 5.1 and 5.4%, fasting blood glucose almost always under 100mg/dl (5.5mmol/L) and do not take any insulin at all, even though I naturally produce very little insulin. Most days I eat 40-60g of carbohydrate per DAY, fyi.

mamosh81

With PCOS you're insulin-resistant. All carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the bloodstream, some take a little longer to digest than others, but all (with the exception of the fiber amount) are converted to glucose.

Glucose requires insulin to drive it into our cells to ultimately feed them, but in insulin-resistant people (whether from PCOS, diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc.) our cells insulin-receptors are 'resistant' to insulin and as such blood glucose levels elevate (because the process isn't working properly) and it takes MORE insulin (your body will release more repeatedly) to 'drive' the glucose home (so to speak).

As such our pancreas gets overworked by producing MORE insulin than should be required to do the work of getting glucose into cells. It can even get overworked to the point of 'burning out' those beta cells that produce insulin, really complicating matters. (Because now you're insulin-resistant, but produce less insulin... so your glucose goes even higher.)

It's a vicious circle UNLESS you reduce carbohydrate to the level your body needs. We're all different in that regard. Whether diabetic (like myself), PCOS, whatever - our degree of insulin-resistance varies among each individual.

If your glucose is doing fine at 35-55g a meal (are you testing with a meter at 1 and 2hr intervals after meals?) then that's working for you. If your glucose is EVER going near 140mg/dl (7.8mmol/L for non-USA folks) then you're at risk for damage to your circulatory/cardiovascular system and NEED to reduce carbohydrate. (Personally, I am to keep mine under 120mg/dl - about 6.7mmol/L)

If you're blood glucose is remotely high, limit fruit - replace it with non-starchy vegetables, and consider fruit a treat. Eat lower-GI (glycemic index) fruits like berries and cherries as opposed to higher-GI fruits such as bananas, pears, etc.

As for the steel-cut oats and other grains ... they often don't spike you as 'high' as more-refined grains, but they DO cause you to be elevated longer. As such, overall glycemic control is the same as any other carbohydrate...

... Please don't buy into the myth of "slow-released" 'complex' carbohydrate being better for you, because a gram of carbohydrate is a gram of carbohydrate.

Believing 'slow-released' is better than say high-fructose-corn-syrup is like saying you can eat 2 snickers bars a day if you cut them into 12 pieces and eat those 12 pieces every two hours... sure, it might not 'spike' you, but you'll be elevated all day and have the same long-term blood glucose (ie: HbA1c measurement) as someone who ate them in one sitting in 5 minutes.

Feel free to message me anytime on low-carb eating for PCOS or Insulin-resistance - I've spent years researching it.

Just FYI I have diabetes, was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 12.2% and fasting glucose of 267mg/dl (14.8mmol/L) and told I'd need insulin for life. Thanks to a low-carb lifestyle I have a perfectly normal HbA1c of between 5.1 and 5.4%, fasting blood glucose almost always under 100mg/dl (5.5mmol/L) and do not take any insulin at all, even though I naturally produce very little insulin. Most days I eat 40-60g of carbohydrate per DAY, fyi.

what an amazing post thank you! You helped me understand much better my insulin resistent pcos my doc already explained it to me but this is very clear and simple to understand.

symonspatrick

BUMP

XXXMinnieXXX

I usually do 100-120 carbs. Peek at my diary if you like. It's a little 'off' because I had hand surgery so lots of it is snacks, but the macros add up. Seems a big adjustment at first, but now I love this way of eating.

Vegetable wise anything green is super low carb

Lowest carb fruits.. Berries. Pineapple, melon and grapes are also low on the GI index.

Good snacks...

Nuts, Jerky, cheese string, Fage Greek yogurt...

If you have any questions on my diary just ask...

Zara. :-)

XXXMinnieXXX

With PCOS you're insulin-resistant. All carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the bloodstream, some take a little longer to digest than others, but all (with the exception of the fiber amount) are converted to glucose.

Glucose requires insulin to drive it into our cells to ultimately feed them, but in insulin-resistant people (whether from PCOS, diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc.) our cells insulin-receptors are 'resistant' to insulin and as such blood glucose levels elevate (because the process isn't working properly) and it takes MORE insulin (your body will release more repeatedly) to 'drive' the glucose home (so to speak).

As such our pancreas gets overworked by producing MORE insulin than should be required to do the work of getting glucose into cells. It can even get overworked to the point of 'burning out' those beta cells that produce insulin, really complicating matters. (Because now you're insulin-resistant, but produce less insulin... so your glucose goes even higher.)

It's a vicious circle UNLESS you reduce carbohydrate to the level your body needs. We're all different in that regard. Whether diabetic (like myself), PCOS, whatever - our degree of insulin-resistance varies among each individual.

If your glucose is doing fine at 35-55g a meal (are you testing with a meter at 1 and 2hr intervals after meals?) then that's working for you. If your glucose is EVER going near 140mg/dl (7.8mmol/L for non-USA folks) then you're at risk for damage to your circulatory/cardiovascular system and NEED to reduce carbohydrate. (Personally, I am to keep mine under 120mg/dl - about 6.7mmol/L)

If you're blood glucose is remotely high, limit fruit - replace it with non-starchy vegetables, and consider fruit a treat. Eat lower-GI (glycemic index) fruits like berries and cherries as opposed to higher-GI fruits such as bananas, pears, etc.

As for the steel-cut oats and other grains ... they often don't spike you as 'high' as more-refined grains, but they DO cause you to be elevated longer. As such, overall glycemic control is the same as any other carbohydrate...

... Please don't buy into the myth of "slow-released" 'complex' carbohydrate being better for you, because a gram of carbohydrate is a gram of carbohydrate.

Believing 'slow-released' is better than say high-fructose-corn-syrup is like saying you can eat 2 snickers bars a day if you cut them into 12 pieces and eat those 12 pieces every two hours... sure, it might not 'spike' you, but you'll be elevated all day and have the same long-term blood glucose (ie: HbA1c measurement) as someone who ate them in one sitting in 5 minutes.

Feel free to message me anytime on low-carb eating for PCOS or Insulin-resistance - I've spent years researching it.

Just FYI I have diabetes, was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 12.2% and fasting glucose of 267mg/dl (14.8mmol/L) and told I'd need insulin for life. Thanks to a low-carb lifestyle I have a perfectly normal HbA1c of between 5.1 and 5.4%, fasting blood glucose almost always under 100mg/dl (5.5mmol/L) and do not take any insulin at all, even though I naturally produce very little insulin. Most days I eat 40-60g of carbohydrate per DAY, fyi.

what an amazing post thank you! You helped me understand much better my insulin resistent pcos my doc already explained it to me but this is very clear and simple to understand.

I certainly wouldn't liken eating a snickers in small parts to eating complex carbs. Complex carbs do made a difference to my losses and will help you energy wise. I had type two diabetes and reversed it by eating 100-120 carbs. Totally possible to get it all under control!

Zara

witchy_wife

I mostly eat a keto diet, very low carb (under 25g a day), high fat and moderate protein. I do it because I like how it controls my cravings and I feel in control, unlike when I eat lots of carbs, where I feel like I need to stuff my face all day lol. I don't always follow 100% though as it isn't for medical reasons.

My diary is open to friends to feel free to add me

crenee014

You should eat around 190-200 gr a day eat every two hours. 30 breakfast, 15 snack, 45 lunch, 15 snack, 60-75 dinner, 15 snack change according to your weight hope this helps

albertabeefy

You should eat around 190-200 gr a day eat every two hours. 30 breakfast, 15 snack, 45 lunch, 15 snack, 60-75 dinner, 15 snack change according to your weight hope this helps

Please completely ignore this advice. From a medical standpoint, it's so incredibly wrong it's just not funny.