# Daily Carb Intake



## Joanne5 (Jan 22, 2012)

Hi all
What is the average daily intake of carbs. I am on pump and carb counting.
Thanks


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## Robster65 (Jan 22, 2012)

Hi Joanne.

I've removed your other thread in Pumping since you may get 2 sets of replies otherwise. Not a problem.

In answer, I'm eating maybe 250g on an average day but it can be anywhere between 200 and 300g I would think.

I'm on MDI, carb count and my BGs remain ok as long as I don't sit around for too long and I don't need what I consider an excessive amount of insulin to cover it.

Rob


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## trophywench (Jan 22, 2012)

130g a day give or take.

When I was originally diagnosed they asked me to write down what I'd eat all day in a typical day at work - we were on one or at most 2, jabs a day of mixed insulin then, so they tried to work out a dose to match lifestyle and eating preferences.  I was 22 at the time and hadn't a clue what the carb-count was, but I knew from experience it was a diet that kept me at 8st 2lbs - if I ate much more than that very often - I'd put on weight.

Walking was and is the only exercise I have regularly done.  Sedentary job, no kids to run around with. 5ft 4ins.

The hospital agreed that my menus demonstrated a pretty well-balanced diet so didn't need much tweaking at all, and it just happened to work out at 130g.  And 40 years later, it's never needed to be more.  Quite often now it can be less - which is great having that flexibility without suffering diabetically for it.

But everyone's metabolism is quite different, so like many other things about diabetes, it's very personal to each of us - so don't get thinking you are at all 'odd' if you aren't the same as anyone else!


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## Northerner (Jan 22, 2012)

My carb intake is between 140-180g per day, usually towards the lower end of that range - always shocks me when I see that someone has had over 200g in a single meal!  Don't feel restricted at all, although sometimes I fancy a carby snack instead of my usual cheese or dry roasted peanuts! I don't think I've ever taken insulin just so I can have a snack though.


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## novorapidboi26 (Jan 22, 2012)

I am about 200 - 300 g also, however I should really be reducing that amount as tests so far on smaller amounts have been good for the old BG................

But I am a big strong boy................


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## trophywench (Jan 22, 2012)

Not quite sure how you mean that last bit Alan?

I don't regularly snack but if I just really fancy something that does require insulin, then I shoot for it and eat it.  But if I'm wondering 'Can I really be bothered to shoot for that?' - then that tells me I can do very well without it, so I usually don't indulge.

Is that what you meant?


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## Robster65 (Jan 22, 2012)

trophywench said:


> Not quite sure how you mean that last bit Alan?
> 
> I don't regularly snack but if I just really fancy something that does require insulin, then I shoot for it and eat it. But if I'm wondering 'Can I really be bothered to shoot for that?' - then that tells me I can do very well without it, so I usually don't indulge.
> 
> Is that what you meant?


 
That's how I read Alan's comment too and your summary summarises my feelings too 

The thought of a jab acts as a brake on the greedy gland. If I want it so bad that I'll jab for it then I must REALLY want it. Otherwise it can't be all that exciting. Or I'll wait until next mealtime and tack it on the end.

When I was diagnosed at 13, the dietician produced a sheet totalling 230g. That was my diet from then on. Once MDI happened, during the 90s I think, I just upped or downed to suit. I'm not a big lad like NRboi (modesty forbids ) but I am quite greedy ! 

Rob


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## Northerner (Jan 22, 2012)

trophywench said:


> Not quite sure how you mean that last bit Alan?
> 
> I don't regularly snack but if I just really fancy something that does require insulin, then I shoot for it and eat it.  But if I'm wondering 'Can I really be bothered to shoot for that?' - then that tells me I can do very well without it, so I usually don't indulge.
> 
> Is that what you meant?



Yes, I don't 'bolus for a biscuit'  What I do do sometimes though is bolus extra at a mealtime (usually lunch) so that my levels will be low enough and with sufficient circulating insulin to allow me a choccy biscuit later on - a 'premeditated snack' if you like! I used to snack all the time pre-D and I can always remember a bloke I worked with who would never eat outside of mealtimes - I couldn't understand how he could possibly get through the day!


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 22, 2012)

Recent averages suggest 150-170g a day, though I can (and do!) eat 120g or so in a single meal every once in a while 

I'm another who tends to avoid snacks-that-require-a-bolus on the whole. Too many experiences of stacked insulin/mis-guessed amounts etc. Not that I don't ever do it, but I certainly recognise it as more of a 'treat' and slightly high-risk strategy BG-wise.


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## HOBIE (Jan 22, 2012)

I am on pump & do about 150g a day & in quite ofter miss dinner, Love breaky 50g & tea 50g others different every day. Have a manual job & dont get time to have dinner (test).  Every bods different !


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## FM001 (Jan 23, 2012)

Approximately 140g a day - sometimes more sometimes less


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## MeanMom (Jan 23, 2012)

'Official' line is about a third of the daily intake of calories should be from carbs, so if having around the 'average' 2000 Cals a day then this would be about 300 ish carbs.

I have no idea how many I have but I would say most days K has around 200 carbs - on a Saturday more as it's her Drama class so more active plus it's Pizza night! 

Interesting that people seem to have quite a lot less - is this because having less than 2000 Cals a day or because getting Cals (energy therefore) from other foods? My understanding was that this can lead to a diet too high in fat?

Or is everyone on Atkins?


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## Robster65 (Jan 23, 2012)

MeanMom said:


> 'Official' line is about a third of the daily intake of calories should be from carbs, so if having around the 'average' 2000 Cals a day then this would be about 300 ish carbs.
> 
> I have no idea how many I have but I would say most days K has around 200 carbs - on a Saturday more as it's her Drama class so more active plus it's Pizza night!
> 
> ...


 
It depends on what you read and what they're trying to sell !

Most people find that a lower level of carb enables a lower insulin dose, which helps some to gain better control. There are also possible health benefits from having less circulating insulin.

It is difficult to make up the calories without a heap of carbs but clearly it can be done. I've never tried reducing my carbs but sometimes feel I should. Protein is a good substitute but you'd need to be a big fan of fish and meat. Eggs are another possible. From what I've read, providing you're fairly active and don't exceed your daily calorie goal, it shouldn't matter too much how you get your calories. But clearly, cholestorol and other factors have to be considered. Polyunsaturated fat is going to be better than saturated for example.

But so far, I've seen no bad side effects of 200g+ per day carbs.

34 years and counting 

Rob


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## trophywench (Jan 23, 2012)

Mine was based on 1500 cals, which was the 'maintenance diet' level for a 5ft ish sedentary girly in 1972.

Oh look, I haven't died yet ..... and I can assure you I ain't emaciated either.

If I eat more, I put on weight, so I don't !


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## MeanMom (Jan 23, 2012)

trophywench said:


> Mine was based on 1500 cals, which was the 'maintenance diet' level for a 5ft ish sedentary girly in 1972.
> 
> Oh look, I haven't died yet ..... and I can assure you I ain't emaciated either.
> 
> If I eat more, I put on weight, so I don't !



 -yep,  1500 would be about me too TW but thinking about it I must get more than half my calories from Carbs as I am veggie - if I have protein it's usually from something with lot carbs in too - beans, lentils - do have dairy but very little -just enough to keep the bones from snapping -so my meals naturally low fat too. Don't know why I dont waste away! ('bread!' came a shout from the back, 'wine!' came another... )

K certainly eats more than me now - has a healthy appetite -  (thank goodness she didn't take after me) but she's preety sensible mostly.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 23, 2012)

I have no idea what my calorific intake is!

I have enough to worry about counting carbs and trying to keep BGs under control. My weight is stable and I'm happy enough with that as an indicator.

I'm not entirely convinced by the fat police (either anti- or pro-) so I have some low fat things but happily eat cheese etc too.


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## HOBIE (Jan 23, 2012)

Hi mean mam i personaly dont like pizzas because alway hungary after 2 bits (high carbs). I never have worked on calories but try not eat unsuitabe things.  I do a manual type job could be up scaffold in morning & ladders etc afternoon. Lifting & puting cables in all day.  Not iterested in calories


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## MeanMom (Jan 23, 2012)

HOBIE said:


> Hi mean mam i personaly dont like pizzas because alway hungary after 2 bits (high carbs). I never have worked on calories but try not eat unsuitabe things.  I do a manual type job could be up scaffold in morning & ladders etc afternoon. Lifting & puting cables in all day.  Not iterested in calories



 I seem to have given the impression that I am a bit of a calorie counter - nothing could be further from the truth!

Have never counted a calorie in my life - was just quoting calories as that is the way I have seen carb intake worked out -as % of total calories eaten. And I know I don't eat 'enough' most days, so guessed my intake as 1500 Cals (as 'enough' is 2000 allegedly) 

Because of my (largely self imposed) restricted diet what I am interested in is
balancing the foods I do eat because it is as much of a balancing act as a diabetic 'diet'

But it has been all good practise for trying to balance K's blood sugars over the last (nearly) two years.

And no I rarely eat pizza -even on 'pizza night'


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## Northerner (Jan 23, 2012)

I'm another one who never counts calories, although I will step away from extremely high calorie food these days - usually because it's either way too carby and I don;t want mega doses of insulin to cover it, or way too fatty formy palate these days so I wouldn't enjoy it


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## lauraw1983 (Jan 25, 2012)

This is interesting, I am going to start keeping records of this kind of thing - I have no idea how many carbs a day!

So far though, the thought of "do I want to stab myself so I can eat that?" is doing a good job of stopping my being greedy - which was an issue before, as was portion size!

I will definitely be low(er) carbing from here on in though!


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## Mark T (Jan 25, 2012)

I kept records for a couple of months where I was writing down everything I ate plus either the actual calories/carbs or a good guess depending on what information I had available to me.  It got very laborious after a while so I stopped.  I think I was on about 140g/carb a day and somewhere around 2500 kcal.

I suspect I?m eating slightly more carbs now ? my primary method of control is to weigh myself once or twice a week and either allow myself something extra or cut back depending on what it says.


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## Subdanni (Jan 27, 2012)

I got a good app on my phone which is free called "food scanner" you can search food and scan barcodes on it.  It tells you carbs, cals, fat etc and you add it to like a food diary. You can also add food favourites. It has loads of foods on it and although I don't use it daily anymore I used it for a couple of weeks to work out average calorie and carb intake.  It also helped working out insulin. My consultant also recommended Carbs & Cals app which I also have but that was ?4 I think


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## schmeezle (Jan 28, 2012)

I'm near the 130-140 range with +/- 40'ish spread depending on day.


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

This is a really interesting thread.  I average about 30-50g carbs a day, although usually at the lower end of the scale.

I have an insulin pump and (obviously) follow a low-carb diet which has given me very tight control.  

k.


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 7, 2012)

ScottyK said:


> This is a really interesting thread.  I average about 30-50g carbs a day, although usually at the lower end of the scale.
> 
> I have an insulin pump and (obviously) follow a low-carb diet which has given me very tight control.
> 
> k.



WOW, that is really low................a low carb diet is definitely positive for BG control, but that is practically non existent, you can sometimes get more in a couple of slices  of bread.......

Do you need to go that low..........?


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## delb t (Feb 7, 2012)

*carb intake*

are we doing something wrong ? we were told 300g carbs  per day for my 15 yr old son- he has 140 g at breakfast alone!!!!!!!!


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

I'm also coeliac so haven't eaten bread for 15 years!  (which maybe helps - I have no desire to eat bread/pasta etc as I associate it with ill health)

To be honest, I don't find it difficult to stick to such low carbs - it's amazing how you can substitute things.  I have a lovely diet full of lots of delicious veggies, meats, cheeses etc (yum!).  There's a bit of a low-carb 'movement' happening with other type 1's at the moment but I absolutely can understand why it wouldn't appeal to everyone!  

I have the full support from my consultant and actually spent an awful lot of time taking about it with him as he's very interested in the results.  I guess for me it's just become habit.   I'm not saying I might not up the carbs in the future but I've found it so easy to do and the results have been great so I'll stick with it for now


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

Delb t - no, as long as you find a regime that suits your son and he can have stable blood sugars then your not doing anything wrong. 

There's no wrong or right - just what works for the individual diabetic


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 7, 2012)

ScottyK said:


> I'm also coeliac so haven't eaten bread for 15 years!  (which maybe helps - I have no desire to eat bread/pasta etc as I associate it with ill health)
> 
> To be honest, I don't find it difficult to stick to such low carbs - it's amazing how you can substitute things.  I have a lovely diet full of lots of delicious veggies, meats, cheeses etc (yum!).  There's a bit of a low-carb 'movement' happening with other type 1's at the moment but I absolutely can understand why it wouldn't appeal to everyone!
> 
> I have the full support from my consultant and actually spent an awful lot of time taking about it with him as he's very interested in the results.  I guess for me it's just become habit.   I'm not saying I might not up the carbs in the future but I've found it so easy to do and the results have been great so I'll stick with it for now



When injecting, if you injected, where you on similar amounts of carbs and what were your results then?


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## delb t (Feb 7, 2012)

ScottyK said:


> Delb t - no, as long as you find a regime that suits your son and he can have stable blood sugars then your not doing anything wrong.
> 
> There's no wrong or right - just what works for the individual diabetic



well he is sporty and no couch potato -his first HBA1c  7.5 -we were diagnosed 8th dec-  god  I suddenly panicked I was over feeding him !!!


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 7, 2012)

delb t said:


> well he is sporty and no couch potato -his first HBA1c  7.5 -we were diagnosed 8th dec-  god  I suddenly panicked I was over feeding him !!!




You could be a big muscly Olympian and need 6000 calories a day, and therefore a considerable carb load, and still have good blood sugar control............

Wouldn't be easy though......


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

Delt t - Goodness no, he's a growing boy!    I think the best is to stick to the consultant's advice, esp. in teenage years.  

Novo - It was when I was on MDI that I started on the low-carb diet (for about a year before I got the pump.  My hba1c dropped from around 10% to around 6% within that year eating similar amounts of carbs.  For me (and I stress for me - everyone is different) it completely leveled out the peak highs and lows (less carb = less insulin = less margin for error).  My consultant was amazed! 

But again, this worked for me and I did a lot of research into it before I changed my diet.  It may not be for everyone - I stress I'm not handing out advice! 

k.


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 7, 2012)

I am currently in the process of cutting my carbs, no carbs for dinner Monday to Friday and the results are good, good enough to continue doing it.......

but I would expect elevated ketones, at least at the beginning of an almost carb free diet......

Did you experience this?


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

I sometimes have very, very slightly raised ketones but not enough to worry about (I test using a blood ketone meter).  Bearing in mind that having trace ketones is not the same as ketoacidosis which is generally caused by a lack of insulin (which I always have 'on board' - I average around 25-30 units of novorapid a day - using a pump this covers basal and bolus).


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

Oh, and I just noticed you have a baby due in May - congratulations!!  Myself and my partner are going to try for our first this year (so the carbs may have to go up for at least 9 months!)


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## everydayupsanddowns (Feb 7, 2012)

novorapidboi26 said:


> I am currently in the process of cutting my carbs, no carbs for dinner Monday to Friday and the results are good, good enough to continue doing it.......
> 
> but I would expect elevated ketones, at least at the beginning of an almost carb free diet......
> 
> Did you experience this?




I might be wrong NRB, but I wouldn't expect ketones if still having some carbs and having insulin to cover them and basal requirement.


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## ScottyK (Feb 7, 2012)

^^^ Yup, as I said, I haven't found this to be an issue due to having a constant basal of insulin.


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## Ellie Jones (Feb 8, 2012)

I think it's about 150g's on a high carb day, I don't do a daily allowance, just count what I'm eating for a meal or snack to adjust my insulin..

I don't buy into the low fat this high what ever that dogma's just a little of everything is good for you to much of one is bad theology with fresh and scratch cooked is far healthier than processed.. 

So I'm just as likely to have a fry-up, pasta (home made pasta) roastie or a nice omelet or cauliflower cheese on my plate, the only thing I would say isn't standard is bread, not keen on sandwiches so don't often eat bread.

Control wise, I've just checked my data, which is showing an average of 5.4mmol/l, SD 1mmol/ charts are showing, 89% in range, 4% hypo 7% above range, but highest reading is 7.2mmol/l 

I do use a pump, because I'm pretty sensitive to insulin and have a basal profile that can't be tamed by 2 background injections a day..

As to extreme low carbing more beneficial for T1's is there a more of a up take  and does it  reduce medication...

I wouldn't say that there is a increase of T1's going extreme low carb, as in truth it's actually works along the lines of any Fad diet, it comes and goes just the same as Atkins, the cabbage diet the F-plan diet etc etc.. very few turn it into a long term lifestyle..  And the handful that I know have are mainly T2 diabetics, and the T1 funny enough take a lot more medication than I do, even the insulin is a lot higher than mine..  And so far none have achieved their weight goals long term..

I think I rather do as I do, I don't crave anything nor fall of the wagon, because if I want it I can have it and still maintain the control I desire.. without much hassle


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## Mulberry (Feb 8, 2012)

Maybe a silly question but is there a ball park figure for how much carbs a day a T2 should have to get good BS levels?


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## Northerner (Feb 8, 2012)

Mulberry said:


> Maybe a silly question but is there a ball park figure for how much carbs a day a T2 should have to get good BS levels?



There is no single figure I'm afraid, because it will all depend on what type and what quantity of carbs a person can tolerate and retain good control of their blood sugar levels. It will also depend to some extent on how active you are as you can mitigate the effects of extra carbs through exercise. 

Sorry I can't offer you a more precise answer but it really is a very individual thing - some may manage happily on 150-200g, or maybe even more, others may have to be very strict on 30-50g, and some may need extra medication even if they go as low as they are able. There are lots of factors, unfortunately!


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## Ellie Jones (Feb 8, 2012)

Sadly no ball park figures...

You get the RDA of 210g of carbs for the average females which is something like 15000 calories and 300g carbs for the average male around 2000 calories...

But are you Mr or Mrs average, of height, build, age and activity levels with a average metabolic rate!

You could start from these points, and then use your meter to work out how meals/snacks impact on your system the go through a process of perhaps changing aspects of your diet, such as a grain bread instead of white, lower GI index value..  Reducing the carb portion, 4 potatoes spike you BG, so try 3 then 2...  Until you find the sweet point (excuse the pun) where you match carb level with good control and if necessary a medication level you'll happy with..


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