[JackWagon]

I don't have diabetes but I do the diabetes walks in my friend's memory every year in Columbus to raise money for treatment.

Doc says for me to go on a diabetes diet for some hypoglycemic symptoms I've been having, plus I'm concerned because diabetes is in my family.

I'm not asking for advice but rather curious what meal plans work for you. If any of you are doing several small meals/day, would you please share how many grams of carbs you're taking in at each meal? What's for breakfast, how bout last meal of the day?

 

[foxl]

I am a vegetarian and I am aim for 15 - 20 g twice per day. It seems to keeping me stable. Mostly. Minor upward drift ... in weight and also insulin needs. But I have antibodies, too.

 

[JackWagon]

So you do 2 meals/day or you just do 2 meals/day with carbs, and they fall between your protein meals? So total per/day you're only taking in 30-40 grams of carbs?

 

[Shanny]

The way-of-eating for me is low-carb/high-fat. I'm not organized enough to know how many meals or how many grams each meal - I'm a bit of a grazer, but I just don't eat high carb foods. My breakfasts are strictly zero carb, because, like many diabetics, I'm ultra carb-sensitive in the morning. Lunches might be a big rib of celery stuffed with cream cheese, peanut butter, or any of several cream cheese spreads I keep handy. Dinner? Hard to tell about dinner . . . tonight it was prime rib roast with sweet potato fries. Sometimes it's chicken or fish with tossed salad, sometimes it's burritos or other wraps using low-carb/high-fiber tortillas. But my per diem carb intake runs about 40g . . . 45-50 at the very most, and that would be rare.

Go to the Diabetes Forum Lounge and check the sticky threads at the top. You can tell a little about how we eat by checking those "what's for ___ " meal threads.

 

[Patdart]

As I've said, I eat about 30 g. of carb each day, but I've begun wondering if I do better BG (fasting) if I eat my larger amount at lunch. Two mornings I've waked up vaguely hungry and have great for me fasting numbers and have eaten just a few for dinner rather than the larger amount I normally eat at dinner, so I'm trying it right now. I still don't want b'fast tho'.

Just a test on my body...YMMV....

 

[jwags]

I think most of us design a diet around our bg meters. If you are having hypoglycemic symptoms I would suggest smaller, higher fiber meals more often during the day. Most of us started out as hypoglycemics. It is one of the first symptoms of diabetes and insulin resistance. What happens usually is when you eat carbs , they immediately turn to glucose raising our bgs. The insulin your pancreas produces is not always accepted by your cells, so your pancreas keeps cranking out insulin which usually hits your system all at once, crashing your bgs. The way to avoid this is to lower the carb intake at meals and make the carbs you eat real food. I usually eat between 5-15 carbs per meal. Usually breakfast is the lowest carb meal, usually under 5. I also eat a couple of snacks a day in the mid afternoon and late evening, again usually under 5 carbs. Avoid foods like flour, bread, crackers, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. Opt to get carbs from veggies, nuts and seeds.

 

[synger]

I am pre-diabetic, and I eat moderate carbs (aim for fewer than 80 or so a day, usually end up much fewer).

I use the Insulin Resistance Diet as my framework for regular days. This allows me up to 30g carbs per meal, so long as it is linked and balanced with protein (link = don't eat carbs alone, and balance = for every serving (15 g) of carb, eat at least one serving (7 g) of protein). 30 grams carbs is enough to give me flexibility in my eating, but not so much that it spikes me more than I like.

Within that framework, I avoid certain foods because I know they are more prone to spike me. Like oatmeal. And I tend to avoid carbs at breakfast because I'm more sensitive to carbs in the morning.

Also within that link/balance framework, I count calories and calorie cycle (lower calories one day, higher the next). This is because after losing 40 pounds just by lowering my carbs, I have stalled for over a year, and I still have over 100 pounds left to lose to be a healthy weight. Low carb is not enough for me for weight loss... I also need to focus on calories.

most of my carbs come from veggies. Sometimes I'll split a baked potato with my husband (30 grams carbs, lots of potassium, which I am low in). Occasionally I'll have a slice of bread or some pasta, but by and large I avoid wheat and other grains.

 

[silvertiger]

I don't count calories, but I keep carbs under 50 per meal (usually under 30) and under 15 per snack. If I do eat carbs, I try to eat them with fibre or fat to moderate the BG effect. This is a huge improvement over my old diet, and for now it's working for me. I may have to restrict carbs further, but I hope not.

 

[David Burke]

I'm the oddball on this forum. I aim for about 70 grams of carbs and 20 grams of fiber each meal while keeping calories at 500 or less per meal.

This gives my body the energy for my exercise regimen and controls my BG. As long as I don't eat something wild, I stay fairly consistent.

 

[Shanny]

You aren't the oddball, David, you are an insulin-dependent diabetic. Exogenous insulin is what allows you to eat that many carbs and still maintain low blood sugar.

 

[David Burke]

You are probably right about the insulin.

I was meaning oddball in respect to amount of carbs I eat in relation toots others on this forum and that I still pretty much follow the ADA guidelines...for now anyway. That may change in time, especially if my HDL stays low.

 

[jwags]

We have all types of diabetics on this forum from early pre diabetics - type 2 on diet and exercise- type 2 on oral meds- type 2 on insulin at meals and basal and type 1's who need insulin to match any carb they eat. So you are going to get a lot of different answers to your question. What you want to do is stabalize your bgs. You do not want spikes and crashes. I would suggest you go out and buy a meter and test 2 hours after meals. You will be able to tell pretty quick which foods keep your bg stable. The general rule is the more carbs you can take out of your diet the more even your bgs will be. My bgs range from the high 80's to the mid teens-120, most days. So not a lot of fluctuation. That is the way I feel my best.

My dad is an elderly diabetic and he probably eats at least 75 carbs a meal if not more. His dietician told him to to pick out 5 carb items at a meal. So he will have a potato, 2 slices of bread, glass of milk, fruit cup, some type of dessert , soup and vegetables. No one has ever taught him to count individual carbs. He is only on Januvia and they only test him 2 x a week, none of them after meals. I've argued with him until I am blue in my face about his diet and testing, but since I am not a doctor , I am not allowed to say anything. He already has developed severe neuropathy in his legs and feet and some heart problems.

 

[Shanny]

You are probably right about the insulin.

I was meaning oddball in respect to amount of carbs I eat in relation toots others on this forum and that I still pretty much follow the ADA guidelines...for now anyway. That may change in time, especially if my HDL stays low.

And if you weren't taking insulin, you'd have to lower those carbs just like the rest of us who aren't insulin-dependent, in order to keep your blood sugar under control.

 

[manunamdev1]

Should we you count Total Carb OR net Carb ( Total Carb- Dietry fiber )?

 

[David Burke]

That depends on which fiber counting method you use. I subtract half of the fiber content of each food as long it is 5g or more.

So if I have two foods, one with 8g and one with 3g, my total fiber is now 7g and that is what I subtract from my carb total.

Other diet plans subtract all fiber and others subtract all over 5.

This gets confusing when using protein/fiber/energy bars I know.

Find one that works for you and stick with it. Make sure you read labels carefully and adjust advertised levels per your calculations.

 

[David Burke]

Lol. See confused myself. Lol

Should 4g total in my example since I wouldn't count the 3G food at all. Stupid phones and autocorrecting brains.