[Shalyndria]

Posted by portok on 11-26-2004 12:46 PM:


I want to ask you all if you have a certain amount of carb per day?
My doctor said that i have to eat 200 grams of carbs/day, but i feel that this is too much so i only eat 190 grams/day.
I eat 40 grams at breakfast then a snack of 20 grams, at lunch 50 grams then another 20 grams snack, at dinner 40 grams and for the bedtime another 20 grams snack.
I also have 3 shouts of humulin per day before each important meal, in total amount of 40 units.

Thank you for having patience with an unexperienced person in diabetes, but someone who wants to control it in the best way.


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Posted by duck on 11-26-2004 12:54 PM:

I am trying to sort some things about my diet out too, Portok, but I disagree with anyone advising we need a certain amount of carbs per day without qualifying it. Why do you 200 g a day? Are your energy requirements being met by less than 200 g a day? Are you gaining weight at that rate? Losing weight?

And then lifestyle issues come up to: If you were a bodybuilder, 200 g a day may not be sufficient. If you were very sedentary, 200 g a day would be too much. And in my mind, 190 vs. 200 a day is nothing.

What I am trying to sort out with my diet is that I let my food dictate the amount of insulin I take: In other words, I do not plan what I am going to eat, I merely react to what I am going to eat as I decide. I wonder if maybe I should plan more carefully and then reign in my insulin intake (currently averaging between 55-70 units a day).

It's always a challenge with this disease, DO NOT be afraid to ask questions, regardless of how much 'experience' you have with it!

__________________
Minimed 508 Sapphire Blue Insulin Pump...
It changed my life, so I didn't upgrade it!



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Posted by portok on 11-26-2004 01:11 PM:

thank you duck for your response.
For the moment i always eat the same amount of carbs and just adjust the insulin amount when i have highs and lows. I don`t know if this is the right way to do it but it`s the only way i know to do it.
My doc decided that for my life style this amount of carbs is the necesary one, so i just obeid.


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Posted by notme on 11-26-2004 03:05 PM:

portok, How many carbs you eat is a very individual. Everyones carb to insulin ratio is different. If I ate 200 carbs per day, I would gain weight. However, much of this is based on your exercise level, body metabolism and just plain genetics. I generally try to limit my carb intake to about 100 per day. The less carbohydrates I eat, the less insulin I have to take. I have found that when my blood sugar is stable, I have an easier time keeping staying stable. When I am on the rollercoaster, it is hard to get off.

I am currently using about 40 units of insulin per day. I would like to cut that back to 35, but won't be able to do it till a few more pounds come off.


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Posted by Batty on 11-26-2004 04:44 PM:

i really dont understand how any of you know how much carbs you get a day. :|


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Posted by HeatherP on 11-26-2004 05:15 PM:

200 grams of carbs a day sounds like a lot, but as others have said it's an individual thing. I eat mostly less than 100 grams a day.

If you learn how to count carbs, you will be able to add a lot more variety to your diet. It's very easy to do and I think it's something most of us do. Once you learn to do that, you will figure out how many grams of carbs are covered by 1 unit of insulin (this is your carb to ins ratio). Then you can manage your doses accordingly to what you're eating.

Please note that not all carbs are equal: meaning that sometimes one food compared to a different food may have the same grams of carbs but because of what it is and what you ate with it it will be digested differently. For example, some of us can eat potatos with no problem, while others can't. Pasta is something that screws up my blood sugars every time, but others here can tolerate it w/o any problems.

HeatherP

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