Daily Sugar and Carb Limit?

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Recently diagnosed with extremely high cholesterol and pre diabetic. My doctor's office told me to limit my calories to 1800/day, carbs to 80-100/day and sugars to 5/serving. How many grams of sugar should I limit myself to per day and how many total fat grams? I am trying to lower my cholesterol, not become diabetic and lose weight. (At least, 25 pounds) Looking for any honest, helpful feedback and input I can get. Thank you in advance.:smile:

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  • tsaalyo
    tsaalyo Posts: 7 Member
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    I set my daily sugar limit to 134 grams. Sugar is not the devil. It's just not. Yes, you shouldn't drink five 2L bottles of Pepsi a day, but a can or two a day, and whatever sugar is in whatever the typical person eats, is just fine. I'm sure people will jump down my throat over this, but I'm just speaking from my healthy, complication-free life.
  • TigerBite
    TigerBite Posts: 611 Member
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    Uh, if your pre-diabetic, you shouldn't be drinking soda at all ... :\ ...

    Focus on low glycemic carbs w/ plenty of fiber (fruit, veggies ... there are lists online, Google will be your friend) ... Just as an FYI, grains, even whole grains, can spike blood sugar just as much as a candy bar in some people ...

    ETA: eat your carbs w/ a protein source (like fruit with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt) to lessen any blood sugar spikes ...
  • darkangel45422
    darkangel45422 Posts: 234 Member
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    While I agree sugar can be worked into healthy lifestyles for treats and stuff, pre-diabetics and diabetics are even better off limiting it than people without these health concerns. My advice personally would be to limit sugar as much as you feel you comfortably can; if for example you currently drink a dozen sodas a day, going to none might not be feasible. If you already drink only 1 however, try none. It's about your personally, but I do agree that if you're pre-diabetic, watch the sugar (and carbs, since carbs get broken down into glucose which is blood sugar)
  • MamaPirate
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    I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, in a year I jumped from non diabetic to diabetic. If he has not offered it, ask your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist or a diabetes educator. I did a lot of research beforehand but meeting with one was huge. She could look at my self assessment and speak to my lifestyle, diet, family history and help set a plan that should work for me. Right now carb counting and exercise are the most important things for me. 30 g of carbs at a meal, 15 in a snack. She stressed having some sort of protein with every snack/meal. Also no soft drinks or juices. I hate low fat products and artificial sweeteners. She said many low fat products increase sugar content for taste. Good luck on your journey to being a healthy, non diabetic person!
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
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    Uh, if your pre-diabetic, you shouldn't be drinking soda at all ... :\ ...

    Focus on low glycemic carbs w/ plenty of fiber (fruit, veggies ... there are lists online, Google will be your friend) ... Just as an FYI, grains, even whole grains, can spike blood sugar just as much as a candy bar in some people ...

    ETA: eat your carbs w/ a protein source (like fruit with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt) to lessen any blood sugar spikes ...

    ^^^^This^^^^

    The Glycemic Index should help out quite a bit. You can look at all kinds of different foods and see their glycemic effect on your blood sugar. It is not perfect, but a very helpful tool. And increasing your protein with carbos has an added positive effect.

    Also, with high cholesterol, you may want to go online to one of the calculators that looks at all the factors : HDL, triglycerides, LDL, etc to determine where your lipids are actually at (mine, for instance is 271 - but it is not unhealthy because of my low triglycerides and high HDL - I have reduced it since by simply dieting though). If they are considering putting your on statins, you should look into that as well. I was appalled when my GP suggested them for me. Where I was going with this...fish oil supplements. Wow, that was the long way around to them.

    Good luck. And good timing, too. You really want to catch these before they become true life long health issues. You can do it and have made the first right steps.
  • littlelaura
    littlelaura Posts: 1,028 Member
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    Being pre diabetic I would lose your weight in a reasonable fashion, but fruits and soda limit to almost none. Stick to berries and eat veggies and lean protein. I am diabetic and I wish when I was pre diabetic I got myself educated and under control sooner. Don't mess around with it. Take it serious. You only get one shot at reversing , saving and protecting your future health.

    Also go ask anyplace else but in mfp. Too many people who do not have diabetes will answer you claiming there is nothing wrong with carbs or sugar, which for the majority of people it isnt a problem. But for you it is a problem or else you wouldn't have become pre diabetic with high cholesterol.

    For diabetics carbs/sugars are the same as if you were an alcoholic and someone said oh no worries its okay to drink everyday in moderation so long as it fits in your calories. Completely laughable. Take that advice at your own risk or trust me and eat balanced meals, keep your carbs balanced, you might not need to eat low carb or you might, test out your own levels to see what affects your sugar. Balance the grams of carbs you eat at each meal/snack so as to not have big spikes of them to make your sugar numbers swing out of control.

    Good luck to you.
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 475 Member
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    Excellent advice!
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
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    I don't separate out my carbs and sugar since sugar is a carb. But I was told by a nutritionist to not eat any more than 60 grams of carbs for a main meal and 30 grams for a snack. (I think with men the numbers are different but since I'm a broad those numbers went in one ear and out the other. LOL) You have to wait at least two more hours if you want to eat something carby if you are near that 60 gram mark - the body needs that time to process the carbs that are in your system. Going over that will cause your blood sugar to spike. By following this mantra I've gone from having a Hemoglobin A1C of 9 (bad) to to 6.1 (well controlled for a diabetic) in a little over 3 months. My NP was super proud of me. I've noticed my morning blood sugar readings go from the 200s (sometimes as high as 265) down to between 93 and 125 (normal). I don't avoid sugar - if it's in something it is not a dealbreaker (since processed foods seem to add it and salt to everything), but I am mindful of my total carb count. As a side benefit this method of eating has really made me take a look at labels and has been an eye opener in regard to portion size.
  • JstJae
    JstJae Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you to everybody who has responded so far. I actually stopped drinking soda way before I was diagnosed. I basically drink water all day every day. Every so often I may drink unsweetened tea. (Rarely) I am trying to keep my sugar intake as low as possible but was just looking for a roundabout number that I should limit myself to daily.

    Going to a nutrionist is great advice. I plan to do this but until that time ..........
  • JstJae
    JstJae Posts: 4 Member
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    To LittleLaura : Thank you so much for your input & honesty. I truly appreciate it.