Hi, I'm a newbie...

[Lori M.]

I've been recently diagnosed t2 and I'm confused on how many carbs I should be allowed each day. I'm hearing everything from 60 to 235. Can anyone help me out here? :confused:

[camjen1]

I've been recently diagnosed t2 and I'm confused on how many carbs I should be allowed each day. I'm hearing everything from 60 to 235. Can anyone help me out here? :confused:

Hi and Welcome,

I am T1 and have been for 6 years now. The amount of carbs a person should consume in one day does vary from person to person. The best thing to do is set up an appointment with a dietician or nutritionist. They really helped me out when it came down to finding and eating the healthy food.

[liz32]

Hi Lori and welcome, how many carbs to eat is a personal thing..so a visit with a dietitian it important. I was dx'd in january of this year and so far I stick to anywhere from 150-200 grams of carbs a day, depending on how much excersize I get..I'm very sensitive to excersize. I also find that for me, protien makes a huge difference in my numbers..when I eat without a protien my sugars are way up and with protien they're good. I hope you can get into a dietitian soon. hope this is a little helpful.

[jeggeman31]

I am on 45 Carbs for Breakfast, 75 Carbs for Lunch and Dinner and 45 Carbs for a bed time snack.

[MarkMunday]

I've been recently diagnosed t2 and I'm confused on how many carbs I should be allowed each day. I'm hearing everything from 60 to 235. Can anyone help me out here? :confused:
Lori,

I really don't know why there is so much confusion about this. Essentially, if you have diabetes, you are are not able to process carbohydrates properly. Everyone agrees on this. And it goes almost without saying, that by eating a high carbohydrate-diet, you increase the size of the problem. Conversly, if you eat a low-carbohydrate diet, you reduce the size of the problem.

There are no generally accepted definitions here. But I would suggest that a high-carb diet is 150+ grams of carbohydrate a day. And a low-carb diet is 60 or less grams of carbs a day. I eat 50-70 grams of carbs a day, depending on how much fruit I eat.

Ultimately, you need to do what works best for you. But be aware, especially as you are a T2, that while a high-carb may work for you in the short term, it could come back to haunt you later on. The more carbs you eat, more quickly your beta cells will wear out.

Cheers,

Mark

[Peter Lee]

Lori,

I really don't know why there is so much confusion about this.
The addditional problem Type 2s have to cope with and for which one gets sometimes confused and sometimes conflicting advice from medical teams, is the fact that if we don't eat enough carbs our liver starts pumping glucose. Unless our medication includes insulin, there is nothing we can do to combat this except try and exercise the glucose off.

The core message for Type 2s is balanced carbs and in particular it seems to be a good thing to eat complex carbs which provide a slow release of glucose and stop the liver thinking that it needs to put out glucose.

I only started to hear a story that I could understand and relate to was when I was referred to a specialist diabetes consultant. After that I could interpret what my diabetes nurse was trying to tell me and what my GP was trying to achieve with his prescribing.

The world of a Type 2 diabetic is not the same as that of a Type 1 (as well as the fact that we are all different in any case) and sometimes I get the feeling that the only similarity between the two is that the word diabetes appears in the description of their relative conditions.

[HeatherP]

Welcome Lori, I'll let the T2's advise you on the food thing as I'm a T1 and it's a little different. Definitely see a dietician as soon as you can. I just wanted to say hello and I hope you make some new friends while you're here!

HeatherP

[MarkMunday]

The addditional problem Type 2s have to cope with and for which one gets sometimes confused and sometimes conflicting advice from medical teams, is the fact that if we don't eat enough carbs our liver starts pumping glucose.
Peter,

This happens to T1s too. Remember, the release of glycogen into the bloodstream as glucose is stimulated by Glucogon. And Glucogon is secreted by the alpha cells in the pancreas. A T1's beta cells have all gone AWOL. But the alpha cells still work fine.

Having said that, I consider myself relatively fortunate in that I don't have to deal with insulin resistance. High levels of insulin result in various long-term problems. And I can see how insulin resistance complicates what is essentially a predictable control process.

Cheers,

Mark

[Lori M.]

The doctor has been doing alot of tests on me this week. My A1C came back 11 (ouch). She's going to put me on 500mg x2 of Metformin when she gets the lab tests back on my kidneys and Lipitor because my cholestrol is slightly elevated (215 total). I've got an appointment with the dietician on the 29th. I am learning more about this each day. ;)

[Cinnabon]

hello....
11 , yes its high, but you can bring it down :) . I have been there... keep us posted and ask away if needed.

[Jamie]

Hi Lori and welcome ...

I'm type 2 and try to stay less than 100 grms of carbs a day. Its not always that easy. You will get some really good info from your dietician. I needed to lose weight to get my A1c down. When I started introducing carbs back into my diet, I would test to determine its effect on my levels. Now I know where my limit is to keep my levels under control. As stated earlier "everybody is different" and you will need to find whats best for yourself. The best advice I can give is that if your not sure whats happening in your body; Test before eating and two hours later.

Jamie

[ADE]

Hi Lori,
When I was diagnosed last year, I was introduced by a friend of mine to read a book by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein 'Diabetic Solution'. In that book, it explained the amount of carb we should eat and the kind of exercise we should do. I think the amount of carb that the book sugest is very low like 30 grams perday (6 for breakfast, 12 for lunch and diner). Latter on, I discovered another good book by Gretchen Becker 'My first year'. I also removed potato, rice, pasta, noodle, and bread from my diet. Most of my meals are vegetables, all the berries, and few meats. Take care yourself.