# Low carbs, daily amount?



## Carina1962 (Jun 17, 2016)

What do most people regard as a 'low carb' daily amount in grams please?  I realise we all vary, but approx.?  thanks


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## Stitch147 (Jun 17, 2016)

I wouldnt say I 'low carb' but have definately reduced carbs. I have between 100-130g per day.


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## Carina1962 (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks.  I want to reduce my carb intake (I don't eat a lot of carbs normally) but just wasn't sure how low I should go?


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## grovesy (Jun 17, 2016)

I am the same as Stitch.


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## Martin Canty (Jun 17, 2016)

Less than 50, though I am on a Ketogenic diet


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## chili (Jun 17, 2016)

i aim around 30-40 on a good day, my carb intake is dependant on my will power work days i am fine i stick to my targets easily, my worse moments are when i have a day off work and i tend to have a little binge on stuff, however i have lost 7kg just by reducing carbs i do not exercise. i would also not say i am large 96.9kg at the moment nor do i starve myself. Trying to not eat stuff you have loved all your life is one of the hardest challenges i have faced, hence my weak days


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## Carina1962 (Jun 17, 2016)

Martin - I've heard about the ketogenic diet but not sure if it's safe or not as I believe you have to regularly test for ketones?  is that correct?


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## Martin Canty (Jun 17, 2016)

carina62 said:


> you have to regularly test for ketones


The point is to get to a state of Nutritional Ketosis, which is in the range on 0.5 to 3; at this level it is just indicating that you are using fat for fuel & these are excess ketone bodies

Many people confuse ketosis with DKA (which is life threatening).... Ketone levels of 10 or more put you in the danger zone of DKA, fortunately, as my body still produces insulin (just that I'm insulin resistant) there is no danger of that. Though I hear of Insulin Dependent diabetics following the Ketogenic Way, I would hesitate to suggest a Ketogenic Diet to them as I just don't understand the injecting insulin thing yet.

The big danger area is for people on anti-diabetic medicine, there is a real danger of Hypo events as the pancreas is forced to release more insulin than is required

BTW, yes, I do pee on a stick every so often.....


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## Carina1962 (Jun 17, 2016)

I'm considering having a go with the Newcastle Diet but am going to speak to my GP next Tues about it (I know it's a very low calorie diet and it's about the calories consumed rather than the carbs consumed)  I am on Metformin (x2 daily) and I vowed never to get to the point of taking medication but here I am.  I was diagnosed in 2009, so have been diabetic for 7 years and it states in the information that it may not work for diabetics who have been diabetic for 10 years or more so I may just make it in time!  I really want to give it a go and hope that my GP won't try and put me off.  I was also wondering how the 5:2 diet compares with the Newcastle Diet in terms of achieving the same goal?


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## bilbie (Jun 17, 2016)

It's a good idea to talk it over with the Dr.
I think a low carb diet would be more gently than the newcastle and 5+2. Both of these diets will produce ketones too. when you burn fat, you produce ketones.
Ask about if you halve the carbs you are on now and see what your BG readings are in a few weeks. you may have heard the term, eat to your meter, If your BG goes too high, reduce the amout of carbs at the next meal.

You don't have to be on a ketogenic diet, to be low carb, with lower BG and losing weight. You don't have to have high dietary ketones. A T2 is normally insulin resistant with a lot of insulin. The opposite of a T1 with DKA


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## Martin Canty (Jun 17, 2016)

bilbie said:


> low carb diet would be more gently than the newcastle and 5+2


I concur, our problem is carbs not calories, also, a low carb diet tends to be low calorie and you adjust your calorie intake by adjusting the amount of fat in your diet.


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## Ralph-YK (Jun 17, 2016)

A month ago I was on a carbohydrate awareness session.  There they said minimume (?) amound of carbs a perosn should (?) have is 130g a day.


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## Martin Canty (Jun 17, 2016)

Ralph-YK said:


> 130g a day


130g a day based on current nutritional guidelines!!! Our bodies can produce enough glycogen to satisfy any nutritional needs from the breakdown of proteins via a process known as gluconeogenesis, that and our carb intake is more than enough. It's important to note that the macronutrient ratio of carb/protein/ fat (as a percentage of calories) needs to be right in order to support good health.

My macronutrient ratio is something like 5/25/70; if I want to lose weight then I 'reduce' the fat from 70% to something lower, the body will make up the deficit from adipose fat stores.

An example of cultures which thrive(d) on  a ketogenic diet are the Inuit... However, as the western diet is starting to take over their lives then rates of heart disease, obesity & diabetes are soaring.

This is the basic concept behind all LCHF ways of eating, some push the envelope more than others (in terms of the macronutrient ratio), the Mediterranean Diet falls above the threshold of what many believe  to be LCHF (falling between 50-100) but others believe that it may still be considered LCHF. One of the main things to strive for is the quality of the foods (sometimes difficult to get all organic), also gone are fats high in polyunsaturates (except for high omega-3 oils like oily fish).

LCHF is a difficult concept to get your head around, particularly having been feed the Kool-Aid over the last 40 years; took me a while (though I have gone to rather an extreme).... Even if one does not go to the extreme of a Ketogenic diet, the information about this Way of Eating is valuable for everyone (except the "Establishment") in terms of they choices to make when grocery shopping.

A final thought, eggs used to be bad for you until just recently... Didn't they?


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## bilbie (Jun 18, 2016)

It all depends how insulin resistant you are. A T2 can have 10 times the insulin level of a normal person and still have high blood glucose, BG. The more insulin resistant, the less carb. There is no need for a blood test for this. Your belly fat will tell you, fat evenly distributed over our bodies is healthy.. High Insulin levels are now being seen as bad for our health, even before we get diabetes. It is the driver for metabolic syndrome.

@Ralph-YK By all means start at 130g a day. Give it a couple of weeks, you may find that is low enough to get good BG. If more people did that, there wouldn't be a  T2 epidemic. I put up some links and said what I would change, in your other topic

This gives a simple overview to how it works for me. The more carbs I eat the more carbs I want. They don’t give up easy and it’s biochemical
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEayi6IBjZw&list=PLCD72F4109EDC4BD8&index=6 

an introduction to low carb, no need to pay to see more, there's enough on the net.
http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

what to expect the first week, besides being starving hungry for the first 36 hours, then it stops
https://www.verywell.com/getting-through-the-first-week-2242037


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## Maz2 (Jun 18, 2016)

I have gone down to about 70/80 to 120g of carbs to try and sort myself out.  Have another test around July/August time so no idea whether it is working as yet.


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## Alison Carr (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi - I am a newbie trying to get my carbs down to reduce my blood glucose monitor levels so that I need not start the Metaformin.  Too early to say as with the  High Fat/low carb/no sugar 'WAY OF LIFE'  it takes about at least 10 weeks to show real results (so I have read). 
I am testing before and then 2 hrs after breakfast - then just having a good lunch pot of Full fat natural bio yoghurt with mixd seeds and mxd nuts and a few blueberries for lunch. Then test before and 2 hrs after dinner (I try not to have much, if any potatoes, root veg., rice or pasta) - I try to have mixed green vegetables with full fat cream cheese/tins tomatoes mixed through before serving).  
I have drastically cut down on bread, chocolate, etc., but am eating a lot more fat than I ever did.  So far along (only 3 weeks), but it does seem to be heading in the right direction.  I am restricting carbs, but working with my meter to see what works to help me the most.  As everyone rightly says, we are all different and exercise plays a big part too - burning off the carbs.
I read that the Atkins Diet was criticised for being too low carb (20g); that a daily amount should be 50-100-150g depending on the person and their daily exercise levels (that -50g per day is considered quite strict, and perhaps should be for just a couple of days per week).  I see there is a new Version (book) out on the Atkins diet, but I haven't had a look at it yet to see if they have changed the carbs etc much. 
There's loads more people here in the forum with more long-term experience than me - but I thought my present trials might be helpful.  There's also loads of books and recipe books which help.
Keep battling on love.  Rgds Alison


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## Martin Canty (Jun 22, 2016)

Congratulations, Alison, great work.

Love to see that LCHF is working and that you are using your meter to help make the adjustments necessary to your diet.

I have been LCHF (usually Ketogenic) for some 6 months with no adverse affects, I have read of people doing a Ketogenic diet for many years & they are still with us!!! It's only the medical community who are forcing the carbs down our throat! There are some interesting YouTube lectures by Dr. Stephen Phinney & Professor Tim Noakes which you might want to watch...


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## Alison Carr (Jun 22, 2016)

Thanks Martin - I will look at them later tonight (was looking at ones on diabetic peripheral neuropathy last night as my left foot seems odd (and doctor wasn't interested).
Tooooo early yet to say the keto diet is working for me, but I am hoping!  I would like to try it for the 10 weeks, then have another blood test (one due next Thursday, but whereas that should be beter than the last one, it won't truly reflect the last 3-4 week's trial HF/LC method of fighting it.  I may HAVE to start on medication, then hope to come off it in a few months, but will see.  The diabetic nurse may have more idea than the general doctor I saw last.  At least I can take my readings with me and see what she makes of them too. 
My reading was up after dinner tonight - which I hadn't expected - so a bit disappointed as I have these occassional rises some times; then the next morning it is nearly down to 7.  Frustrating, but I will keep trying; the advice from everyone to get a meter was really useful and is helping (though the doctors never volunteered one).  Yes I think they prefer just to shove everyone onto medication and keep the pharmaceutical companies well fed!  Easier for the doctors too.  Thanks for the help.  Rgds Alison


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## brileo (Jun 24, 2016)

has anyone tried the forever living ''diet'', I am considering giving it a go - my Sister and her Partner have been on it for only a few weeks (neither are diabetic), and are feeling a lot better, and
lost a tremendous amount of weight.


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## bilbie (Jun 24, 2016)

I just googled it, I think anything you need to pay money for 'special stuff' is a scam. It is a crash diet and without a permanent change of diet, the weight will yo-yo back on. I don't know any quick-fix diets that work in the long term.


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## grovesy (Jun 24, 2016)

I too don't buy into diet plans! I have learnt you have to find a way of eating that works for you and you can stick to long term!


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## brileo (Jun 24, 2016)

Thanks, yes I feel like you, I'll need to start counting carbs instead


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## Martin Canty (Jun 24, 2016)

bilbie said:


> without a permanent change of diet, the weight will yo-yo back on


I agree, I view my diet as a "Way of Eating", a lifelong change.....


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## HOBIE (Jun 25, 2016)

grovesy said:


> I too don't buy into diet plans! I have learnt you have to find a way of eating that works for you and you can stick to long term!


Nail right on the heeed !


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## Jonsi (Jul 8, 2016)

Apologies for being a total *Numptie* but ...I read a lot of posts on this site about Carbs with people saying they have 10-20, 50-70 etc. What are the units?
Are they referring to grams of carb per day (in Total or the _of which sugars_)? Is there a conversion factor?


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## DeusXM (Jul 8, 2016)

It'd be grams per day, and the total amount.

The 'of which sugars' definition used in nutritional information is entirely useless aside from providing a ballpark estimate of the GI of what you're eating - ALL carbs are technically sugar once you digest them.


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## Jonsi (Jul 8, 2016)

Thanks DeusXM


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