# Weight, carbs, & fat



## zuludog (Jan 27, 2021)

I've been watching YouTube videos during Lockdown (no, not porn, I assure you) and re - reading some of my books on diabetes

Because of the way YT works I found myself watching videos on obesity & the obesity epidemic, losing weight, controlling diabetes, and the politics & finances of the food industry, mainly in the USA
Some of the information is a bit involved, but I've worked out the general message

It seems that fat, and even cholesterol, is not the bogeyman we thought it was, as long as you don't go eating great buckets full of lard
A reasonable consumption of healthy fats is OK. This means things like nuts, avocado, olive oil, oily fish, and some butter
But definitely not hydrogenated fats as found in some margarine, cakes, and biscuits

The real culprit is too much carbohydrate.
We know about this for diabetes, but it is also true for weight, which goes against the advice on healthy eating that we've had for years

As several problems are all related, strictly reducing carbohydrate will improve excess weight, diabetes & its side effects, blood pressure, sleep patterns, cardiovascular problems, depression, and overall health

As I've mentioned before, many people take a diagnosis of diabetes as the motivation to improve their general health, and find that as they change to a diabetic diet their weight goes down automatically


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## AndBreathe (Jan 27, 2021)

zuludog said:


> I've been watching YouTube videos during Lockdown (no, not porn, I assure you) and re - reading some of my books on diabetes
> 
> Because of the way YT works I found myself watching videos on obesity & the obesity epidemic, losing weight, controlling diabetes, and the politics & finances of the food industry, mainly in the USA
> Some of the information is a bit involved, but I've worked out the general message
> ...



The quickest way I look at the carbs, fat debate is that there are no bogeymen, if you have a fully functioning metabolic system.  Sadly, many, many people - whether living with diabetes or not, so ideally would consider their diet in their overall lifestyle planning and management.

To my super-precis, I see things as that we need to moderate our carbs, to satisfy our blood testing results, and adjust fats to satisfy the weighing scales.

For those living with T2 in particular, but also for some other conditions, carbs need to be pared back to satisfy the blood glucose meter, but paring back too far on the fats can lead to hunger - in some cases quite extreme.

My take is therefore, when initially cutting back on the carbs, don't go too mad on the fats, because weightloss often happens anyway when the carbs are cut.

Yes, we can get into lots of granularity, and lots of fine tuning, but for many folks, it's best to keep things fairly simple, in the early days at least.


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Hello,

I suffer from Type 2 and have had this for over 5 years (known).

Am struggling with letting go the high carb intake and my hbA1c reads have been very high 102,, 102 and 104.

Unfortunately, my eyes have been affected and have had recent Vitrorectpmy in one eye and suffer macular edema in the other.

Also, I am maxed out on tablets and do not see a way out other to cut out the carbs and reduce the amount I eat.

I look at what little food people eat  on this forum and am gobsmacked on how people can survive. I guess it is all about being disciplined.

I have never experienced being hypo, this being one of my big scares as I used to work away from home on my own.

Also being Asian, I find comfort in Indian food, for which Carbs plays a big part.

I have already been given excellent advice and have found this forum very useful indeed.

Also I have been foolish not fully understanding Carbs and the fact they are everywhere and not just in the starchy type.

I will now cut back on my carb intake, increase my protein and see what happens.

I also realise that just taking my blood sugar in the mornings does not reflect the truth about my diabetes, even though some days I get reads if 5.5 or lower,  I now realise my reads shoot above 15 after a meal and sometimes after 2 hours, hence why my hB1ac is so high.

Still learning loads, especially about carb replacement food.

Any advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks


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## grovesy (Jan 28, 2021)

Not everyone on here eats low carb. 
Why not make small changes and build on them overtime.


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Thanks, I agree and t am more likely to keep to it.

I think I also graze a lot during the day and will keep to a small amount of nuts or a small apple or perhaps blueberries and Greek yogurt.

My eyesight is the big issue and am only 49, I do not want to lose my eyesight, so this is s a big wake up call!


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## Yorkshirelass61 (Jan 28, 2021)

I have difficulty cutting down on carbs as when I was diagnosed with type 2 about 16 years ago I was told to have carbs at every meal.  I do like my bread and potatoes and rice but not a lot of pasta.  I did   watch the low carb  videos a year or so ago and found them very interesting but I did fine dome of the recopies a bit fat filed.  As I am thinking again about my weight having been injured last year and using crutches and not getting the knee op till last August I am slowly recovering and having to do exercises which is making me think about weight and food etc.  I thank you for the above chats as I think I will start to look at low carb again and as advised take it slowly but start cutting down.
Thank you


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Hello, hope you get better soon.

At the moment I cannot walk or jog due to my Vitrorectpmy, but this does help with blood sugars and blood pressure.

I am looking at carb alternatives now


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## Drummer (Jan 28, 2021)

I have always been amazed by the large amounts of food people eat when they are relying on carbs. When I was eating a high carb diet I was always hungry as I was unable to eat enough to satisfy my hunger. I broke my teeth clenching them so hard due to the anxiety I felt and the nagging hunger. At the same time I was putting on weight - I was practically spherical at diagnosis.
Now, four years from diagnosis I can go long periods without eating if I am not careful. My schedule is to eat every 12 hours, but on only 40 gm of carbs a day it doesn't trigger hunger if I don't eat.


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Wow that's impressive, I do need to lose some weight as I am 81,kg and 5ft 8, so perhaps 1 stone. But I never feel under pressure to do so.

We need a new thread Carb is the enemy!


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## zuludog (Jan 28, 2021)

There is a lot of information and advice on YouTube and books about eating low carb; the reasoning or explanation behind it can get involved and complicated but it helps if you can understand a bit
Again, there are loads of diets, recipes and meal plans, but it can get rather overwhelming

This is what I do; i'm not saying it's perfect or wonderful but as the saying goes, it works for me
It's based on Exante diet plan and evening meals from Step 1 of 'Life Without Diabetes' by Professor Roy Taylor
Thanks to the Lockdown and my own natural idleness I haven't done any walking or exercise, but I intend getting out more this year

Breakfast - I've never eaten much early in the morning so usually it's just a couple of cups of coffee
Sometimes I have a cup of tea and a single oatcake with a smear of Marmite.
As far as I can tell, oatcakes have the lowest amount of carbs of any sort of bread, crackers, crispbread or similar, and the fibre helps with the bulk

Mid morning -  An Exante shake = MRP = meal replacement powder

Dinner - Cup a soup. Just the ordinary ones from a supermarket, not from Exante
             an Exante meal bar
              pudding/snack = natural yogurt, Greek or otherwise, and a Kiwi fruit

Tea -    a meal from Step 1 of Roy Taylor's book
          yogurt & kiwi fruit

Snack - a few nuts; yogurt & kiwi fruit; cups of tea & coffee, an oatcake.
But not all of those! Just one or two occasionally

Plenty of water - 3 or 4 pints, or about 2l per day besides your usual intake. This can put off hunger for a short while, and as there isn't much bulk in this diet, it keeps things moving

Don't have all of the courses (such as they are) at once; spread them out during the day if possible
That way you might be slightly hungry or peckish, but don't get absolutely desperately hungry

I take a multivitamin tablet every couple of days or so
My treat is one square of dark, high cocoa chocolate 2 or 3 nights a week

This is hard for the first few days as you feel hungry, but you get used to it and the feeling goes off, as well as the weight


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## zuludog (Jan 28, 2021)

NEWBIE777  This might interest you

I have found a YouTube channel by Richard Vobes. I've posted about this before, so my apologies to anyone who's getting tired of seeing this
He goes on short easy walks, chatting as he walks along, and sometimes has longer talks and discussions from his house

They show how you can find interest and enjoy short, easy walks in ordinary surroundings

But finally I've got to the point!
He only has one eye, and discusses it on this video -

Do you know I have a prosthetic eye? by Richard Vobes

He has a few channels - Richard Vobes; The Bald Explorer; The Vobes Show; The Naked Englishman


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Thank you, some great advice there.

i think for me is getting away from the need to eat when I am not hungry and getting away from Carbs.

in the past I would have soup but I would have at least 4 pieces of bread with butter.

i know I have would struggle with the meal replacements, I don’t have the will power for that yet.

Also, I realised today, my issue is eating chapati at linchtime as my sugar spikes around 15 and that is after 2 hours, did not have any this lunchtime and it was 8.9 after 2 hours, so looks the chapati must contain about 200g of Carbs!


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Thank you,

will check it now,

 I think this is what I need, as I could lose my eyesight, I have to take it serious NOW


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

I have just one seen of these videos how he lost his eye, very scary indeed!

Due to the recent gas bubble and the Vitrectomy I cannot walk or exercise at the moment, but I do have treadmill at home and a few ago had a routine doing aerobic stuff, interval training, so walk, jog an run and back to walk again. Keeping my heart rate around 130bpm. It is very in current times get out and walk as I have to shield at home.


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## zuludog (Jan 28, 2021)

Newbie777 said:


> Thank you, some great advice there.
> 
> i think for me is getting away from the need to eat when I am not hungry and getting away from Carbs.
> 
> ...


Like it or not, it is a fact that people from Indian and Asian backgrounds are prone to develop diabetes

Go back to the Home Page and then at the top of the page click on 'Preventing Type 2' then 'Ethnicity and T2'
There are several sections of advice, including Healthier Food

Besides that if you contact Diabetes UK they might have an information pack


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Thank you very much.

I will do definitely.

Yes, BAME people do suffer and also get like me the other 2, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

I worked away from home for over 5 years and did not cook,so eat out every night.

Although, I would  speak to my GP on the phone, the Nurse would do my yearly checks, and it was always high like it started at 153 then it has been 102 for last few years- I was just given more medicine!

I realise that it is my fault and I should have confronted this many years ago and wished had joined the forum earlier.

But I will do my best now and keep using this fantastic forum


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## zuludog (Jan 28, 2021)

Newbie777 said:


> Thank you very much.
> 
> I will do definitely.
> 
> ...


I, and I'm sure everyone else on this forum, wish you good luck with improving your situation

Please ask again if you need any more information and advice, or just a chat and encouragement


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Thank you,

I am slowly gaining the knowledge I need,

I look forward to making a worthwhile contribution when things get better.

For now, I will carry on seeking good advice.

Kind regards 
Niaz


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## rebrascora (Jan 28, 2021)

I was like you @Newbie777 that my appetite was out of control pre diagnosis. I could happily eat 4 slices of wholemeal bread toasted with a whole large tin of baked beans for lunch and still be hungry afterwards. It isn't that you are actually hungry, it is that carbs can become addictive and the more you eat, the more you want. Now that I have stopped eating bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and breakfast cereals etc I eat much less and don't feel hungry and it doesn't take will power anymore. It was tough for a few weeks but once I figured out what to eat instead and started eating more fat, it became a lot easier. Fat is slow to digest, so it keeps you feeling full for longer. 
If you are a grazer, finding low carb snacks to eat when you get the munchies will help. A boiled egg with a spoon of mayonnaise, a chunk of cheese, a handful of nuts (peanuts and cashews are both higher in carbs so go steady on those and choose Brazils or hazelnuts or almonds), proper sour cream and chive dip with veggie sticks is another good option or a pot of olives if you like them, a chicken thigh or drumstick. 
You do need to start looking at nutritional information on everything you eat so that you can see where the carbs are. As you now realise they are hidden in many foods other than the obvious sweet and starchy stuff but once you get to know how much is in different foods, you make better choices and it becomes easier and the less you eat of them, the less you crave them. 
I am actually type 1 so I could inject insulin to cover whatever carbs I want to eat, but having broken my carb addiction I do not want to risk going back to the way I was eating and I enjoy my food more now even if it does take a bit more thought and planning. I start my day with coffee with double cream and often end it with a chunk of cheese and a small glass of red wine or port. Having plenty of leafy veggies usually cooked with butter (or ghee) or cream or cheese with some meat or fish is enough for me these days. Creamy natural Greek yoghurt for breakfast with a few berries and mixed seeds works well as a breakfast option.

So sorry that your sight has been affected but good luck taking control of your diet which really is key to managing Type 2, and bringing your levels down and hopefully stopping any further deterioration in your sight or other possible complications developing.


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## zuludog (Jan 28, 2021)

Newbie777 said:


> Thank you very much.
> 
> I will do definitely.
> 
> ...


I've just re - read this post

Nothing in the body acts in isolation, everything is connected and has an effect on everything else

So things like weight, diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, very high cholesterol are all related
As you change your diet to control diabetes you will probably find that other things improve, as well as less specific things like poor sleep, tiredness, and depression


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

It all makes sense. Thank you for the insight and advice.

I am more of a spud guy or bread with lurpack butter, beats cakes any time 

Unfortunately,  a lot of the damage has been done to my eyes and this is coming out...I had my cataract removed in July and had near perfect vision, but then it started to get worse and worse, I think it was down to the years of high sugar rather what I was doing now, but a big lesson learnt by me.

However, it is now about coming to my senses and realising that I do have a choice and can make it work, just like many have on this forum and like yourself who provide inspiration.

Also, I think when I start walking again, I may be able to burn, the little carb I am eating.


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## Newbie777 (Jan 28, 2021)

Yes thank you that makes sense.

I think the worse think is when I go hospital I see many older people 80 or older and I am not yet 50.

However, my eyes are a wake up call and I need to do something now.

I have started now and no looking back


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## Ditto (Feb 2, 2021)

> I am more of a spud guy or bread with lurpack butter, beats cakes any time



Yup!  Lurpak mmm


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