Diabetic and carb count

Lenco007 · April 2016

I am an overweight, Type 2 diabetic and have just begun actively changing my life over the past 6 months months. MFP seems to be a great resource to help me keep on track. My dietician-prescribed daily carbs are 180. However, on days when I do my strenuous exercise classes, MFP often adds extra calories and thus carbs into the equation. I attempt to add the extra calories without increasing carbs, but it is difficult. Are there any diabetics out here who have experience with this and how do you handle it?

rw4hawks · April 2016

Sorry I don't have any suggestions-but hoping to follow your post.

tlflag1620 · April 2016

I'm not diabetic, but I do follow a LCHF diet to control appetite and for general health. If you need more calories, but without the carbs, add some fat to your foods (butter your fibrous veggies, opt for full fat dairy whenever possible, eat fattier cuts of meat, etc). That will add extra calories without any extra carbs.

jonjaxmom · April 2016

Not sure if this will help, but
I am a type 1 Diabetic since 2007. I am insulin dependent. I have worked closely with my endocrinologist, and (with her OK) I no longer follow the 180 carb count that my dietitican originally put me on anymore. It is too many carbs for me. My daily goal is 100 or less carbs. And try to have protein with all meals and snacks. Handful of almonds with an apple, or some PB2 on a whole grain english muffin. It is not always easy to do, but I have found with less carbs, I take less insulin. And I feel really, really good. A1C still hovering 6.9 (booooo) but I cant wait for my next visit, because Im doing much much better these last few months.

Weight loss is slow for me, about 1/2 pound a week. I am trying to lose the 25 pounds that i very slowly put back on over the last 2 years. During that time, I got the diabetes burnout, and kept thinking I was doing OK when I wasn't listening to my body, and weight slowly creeped back on. I've now kicked my buns back into it again. And seeing the results, even if its slow, the scale is moving.

What has been a tremendous help for me is cardio exercise as well. I either ride a bike, walk, or do some exercise 5 days a week. Dr. and I agree that I HAVE TO. If I don't, my numbers jump up. My dr. is right, I don't need to kill myself to get the blood sugar results from exercise, but I have to at least exercise 45 mins a day, and get the heart rate up. That is hard. I have 2 kids who play sports and I am the stereotypical soccer mom. So I workout after they are done with their days, usually after 8pm. Crazy? yes. Helpful? YES. Tough sometime to motivate? YES. And I 100% get it, you exercise... you get HUNGRY or your blood sugars tank and then you need to eat again.

Best way to add food without adding excessive carbs... eat snack of protein and vegetables. Lots of veggies still contain carbs, but there are much less amt of them in a serving than chips or bread or something like that and will keep you from going sky high. When the boys eat snacks I will eat something like hummus and cucumbers, and if I need it... just a COUPLE wheat thins with it to get over the feeling that I need to eat XXX carbs. Or make my own guacamole fresh and dip veggies in it. Cheese stick and piece of fruit. things like that.

Do I fail some days? You bet!!! But I find I succeed more than I fail. And that is what motivates me to continue. My endocrinologist is awesome which also helps. Very lucky in this regard. She sees that I really want to figure this out, so she allows that flexibility I need to discover what works and what doesn't. And what still continues to puzzle us both!

Shells918 · April 2016

I am insulin resistant/prediabetic and my dr has put me on a diet of 50 carbs. I have been able to stay around that range by eating lean meats, eggs, low carb vegetables, avocado and 1 fruit per day. It gets easier the longer I do it and I'm motivated by my continued weight loss as well as by not wanting to become diabetic. My weight loss is also slow but it's steady.

Lenco007 · April 2016

Thanks everyone. My endocrinologist and I talked about this Friday. He basically said don't become obsessed with limiting all carbs. They are not the enemy. Avoid getting carried away, but as long as my blood sugars are doing well, don't sweat it. Stay within the initial range for carbs (150-180) and balance it out with fat and protein. Since I check twice a day, I can easily track my highs and lows to look for patterns. I have blood work done every 3 months to gauge how my body is handling things.

Now that I am participating 3 times a week in a strenuous exercise class that covers cardio and strength and eating better, my weight loss has been slow but steady (1/2 to 1 1/2 pounds per week). These are the keys to controlling my type 2 diabetes. Since November I have dropped 44 pounds and my A1c has dropped from 13 (ugh!) to 7.2

I am approaching May with a better idea of how to handle my eating habits. Not making things totally off-limits, which makes my cravings even worse. Instead allowing myself to indulge a little sometimes. Last night we stopped by our local ice cream shop where I had a small cup of orange sherbet. Yummy and my blood sugar was minimally affected. Not something I will eat every day.

itsbasschick · April 2016

i, too, am a type 2 diabetic. i eat no more than 20 grams of complex carbs per meal, but i eat 6 small meals per day. i find that's what keeps my blood sugar lowest. MFP will count fiber as carbs, but i don't - after crashing hard a few times without enough complex carbs, i find that nothing really replaces them. i avoid sugars most of the time, as i'm controlling my blood glucose without meds.

for a tasty snack, a dannon light & fit cherry (they have other flavors but i LOVE the cherry) yogurt is a win that i can keep in my fridge. not eating them now, but as soon as my BS is fully controlled again, i'll be eating them in the future.

btw, you don't mention whether you're on medication or not, which can make a difference.

Diabetic and carb count

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