Need some "expert" advice

[ronpozoromo]

Hi there, prediabetic or Type II (6.3 A1C) on 2 x 500 metformin daily for a month. My dietician has me on 30-45 carbs per meal and it's seems to be working-I've lost 5 lbs in a month. FBS was 108 this am-down from 120 a month ago and my 1 hr is usually less than 150 & 2hr is usually around 120. today for lunch I went to a chinese buffet & loaded up a to-go container with lots of chicken & brocoli, beef & peppers, and less than a cup of fried rice. My one hour bs was 171! Two hour was 127. The 171 really surprised me. i know white rice is bad but dietician insists I eat carbs every meal and while I got nothing fried or sweet I know chinese food is thickened with cornstarch. I also overate-old habits die hard and I've always seen an all you can eat buffet as a challenge-but I felt as though I at least eating healthy food. Does this sound as bad to you as it does to me?

[jillybean]

The first thing I would do is question a dietician who "insists" you eat carbs at every meal.

It sounds to me that, in this case, you've answered your own question. You have food that likely contained many "hidden" carbs (such as in the sauce - you really have no idea how carby - or not - the sauces were) in addition to quite a bit of rice (3/4 cup of cooked rice would have roughly 30g of carbs in itself, not to mention it was fried rice that could have snuck in some other carby ingredients).

[MCS]

Chinese rest. are notorious for adding sugar to all of there sauces. We go to the rest were they cook the food in front of you, I tell them no sauces, just oil and hot sauce.

[ShottleBop]

Yep. Gotta watch those sauces.

[Moonpie]

Sauces are likely to have sugar added. I would not go to a nutritionist who told me I "have" to eat carbs. It is your choice.

[dice22]

That is bad after one hrs 1/2 c. regular rice would been enough or no rice at all would been preferable, I'm sure the chicken ^& broccoli would have been enough carbs ( you also have to watch out for hidden carbs) as well as "straight forward" carbs such as rice ,potatoes , bread etc. Carbs keep you fuller longer just try to choose low-glycemia carbs. 30 -45 carbs per meal is about right. But don't beat you self over this learn form you mistakes (* as I'm sure you have) remember life's too short to deny yourself of you're favorite foods &/or meals.

[Wwroam]

I guess that's why we test.
I'd eat 120g carb a day, but don't feel compelled to eat carbs every meal. I'd say you had 60-70g whereas I don't go over 50 at a time.
Corn starch to thicken and added sugar is a problem with chinese. I'm not all that fussed on Chinese anyway. I regularly eat rice but my limit is one third a cup. That's my threshold. I'll only eat basmati ( which you won't get at a Chinese rest.) rice, well rinsed ( to get rid of excess starch) , unbroken and steamed . I'd say that fried rice would use low grade rice( broken which releases starches faster). Just too variable and best to avoid.

[ronpozoromo]

I appreciate all of the responses. Yes I question the amount of carbs too, but I am trying her diet for only one month to see if it helps with my carb cravings. So far it's been a tossup-some days I'm ok while others I'm starving. I'm new to metformin but not to low carb-I've been on it off & on for 20 years-I just can't stay on it for long periods of time. I've ordered a book "the Insulin Resistant Diet" which sounds a lot like what the dietician has me on. Have any of you heard of it-it has GREAT reviews. My main issue is my weight-I think if I could lose 50-60 lbs my blood sugars would improve dramatically

[Bountyman]

My main issue is my weight-I think if I could lose 50-60 lbs my blood sugars would improve dramatically

I think so, too. It's like a Volkswagen Beetle pulling a 40 foot travel trailer. You get terrible gas milage, the engine sounds like it's gonna blow, you're always holding up traffic...when everything would run a lot smoother if you just unhooked the dang trailer.

[Hooterville]

I read that amount of rice and thought that I'd have been over 200 easily. IF I eat any rice, it's one or two level tablespoons that I actually measure out with an otherwise low carb meal. I don't think I've had any rice in about a month.

I do eat Chinese food. I get the green bean chicken special at my favorite place. Yes, it has a sauce but after testing this meal many times, my BG is awesome after having it. The sauce is thin and oily so I think there is no or very little corn starch in it. It's also not sweet but savory.

The rice alone that you ate had about 33 carbs. I have around 60 carbs per day to keep my BG in line. The fewer carbs I have, the less I crave them.