peter the fat man's Journal, 06 July 2017

I've just be diagnosed with Type 2 (AC1 of 6.7), so I have been researching a lot. I read yesterday that 20g of sugar is recommended for a normal person. I looked back on my food diary and see that I have been taking in 3-4 X's that since I have started on my road to getting blood levels back to where they should be (only been about 2 weeks). So I have set the 20g of sugar as my goal. It takes planning and watching. I will monitor blood levels to see if this makes a difference.  

I think I would start off at 100g of carbs. I started here and then gradually go down to about 50 or 60. I think those would be better. That's where I'm at. I'm not a diabetic but I was very very close to being one before I lost some weight. I hope this helps. 

I was diagnosed as T2 a year ago...didn't follow the recommendations of the AD A because they seem to be getting major funding from the pharmaceutical companies. I started researching ways to reverse diabetes...found the Diet Doctor on line and was overwhelmed with the abundance of info and testimonials. My numbers have normalized, I have lost 40 pounds, and I am hoping to be off medication come Sept. The research is out there...Good luck! 

Diet Doctor does have a wealth of information! 

For our diabetics we look at 45-60 grams of carbs per meal. Higher carb foods are typically around 15gm/carb per serving and lower carb options being 5gm/serving. This is not written in stone, but for starting, advise patients if vegetable is pasty when mashed between fingers then it is higher in carbs, ofcourse with some exceptions and corn being one of these that is high carb. Hope this helps and wonderful to see someone striving and wanting to master and conquer this!!! 

I've often seen people on this site no longer needing their type 2 diabetic medicine. it's doable and a very worthwhile effort. Diabetis is a serious medical condition. not to be taken lightly. 

Someone else on here a while back complained that the typical medical approach to diabetes will KEEP you diabetic and ON medication. Last Fall I was told I was borderline, approaching T2 and actually had an appointment to meet with the nutritionist. (I know what it's like to track blood sugars and take insulin because I had gestational diabetes during one pregnancy). Anyway, I stumbled upon the concept of the ketogenic lifestyle BEFORE my appointment quite accidentally and I am eternally grateful. Since then I have read probably over 100 testimonials if T2 people who have been able to toss all of medicine and hassle just by learning to adapt to a delicious and healthy diet high in fat and at or under 20-30 carbs per day. It seems many professionals either don't believe the average T2 diabetic can achieve this lifestyle or they are not well educated in this approach. Anyway, if you try it out- be prepared for a whole slew of problems to dissipate - after the Keto flu goes away. Anyway, needless to say I cancelled my appointment to meet with the nutritionist because I've done both approaches to high blood sugar management and a ketogenic diet wins by a landslide over the ability to eat 45 carbs at a meal and get stuck taking insulin. Just some info- food for though for you. Hope it helps with the # of carbs dilemma. 

I agree with Bluecoaster. My Type 2 diabetes is under control with a keto diet alone (I was diagnosed Sept. 2016), and I have lost 30 lbs since starting keto in January. My other blood test results are wonderful now, cholesterol down to great numbers. My cravings are WAY down. It's worth looking at! 

Ditto on DietDoctor dot com. Also, look up Dr. Jason Fung on YouTube. T2 diabetes is curable. Keto and fasting is the way. 

Actually, Peter, your question is not unreasonable. What is unreasonable is the the medical profession can't/won't give you a definitive answer. My next older sister stroked4-5 times over a period of about 1 month. She was at least 100 pounds over weight and had un-managed High Blood Pressure. She was also, at that time, officially diagnosed with T2 diabetes. That's when I found out that no one she was seeing, not even the dieticians could give her anything other than, 3-4 fruits, 5-6 veggies... balance your carbs with your proteins, blah blah blah.... Frankly, what in the heck does that mean on paper when one is trying to create a meal plan? With all that said, this March I was diagnosed with Acute Pancreatitis ... which of course means no Keto dieting for me; however, somewhere I found some guidelines and use them to keep my blood pressure and my sugars in check, along with making my pancreas happy too. Oh, I've not be diagnosed with Diabetes ; however, it definitely runs in my family, so I pay heed to that. And, also, I was probably 60-70 pounds over weight when I started this journey back in March on Fatscecret. I use these guidelines: try to stay around 20grams of sugar per day and between 45-60 grams carbs per meal. (I have rarely hit 40 carbs per meal) Get my 30-35 grams of fiber... and for me, with the pancreas thing, protein is hit or miss since I'm limited in fat grams to 20 grams per day or less (so far). I'm certainly not a dietician, but this is working well for me and I am losing weight, too. Last check up I got 1st of June - my sugar was excellent, bp was tolerable, cholesterol was tolerable and my personal issue, the pancreas, was playing nice with all the rest of my internal organs... Now that I've spilled my guts and rambled on .... good luck and keep googling until you find the answer.... I'm pretty sure it's out there even if the medical profession doesn't know.  

There's a website called "Authority Nutrition: an evidence-based approach" that I love because everything on it is supported by research, and research from recognized, authoritative, reliable sources: peer-reviewed medical journals. The best guidance I've ever had on how to control my T2 diabetes came from this article on the blog: https://authoritynutrition.com/diabetes-carbs-per-day/ . In particular, pay attention to the section near the end, "How to determine optimal carb intake." Using the info on Authority Nutrition, I got my blood readings down over a 3-month period to the following: total cholesterol 172 (should be <200), LDL 110 (should be <130), and triglycerides 119 (should be <150). My HbA1C is higher than I'd like -- 7.1 (should be 7 or lower) -- but given that I started this process three and a half months ago and my initial reading was 13 (!!!), it's still pretty damn good. This morning's reading was 103 -- excellent. Read and learn, my friend ... 

Thank you for all your replies! I am truly humbled by the response, obviously I am not alone on here with my fixable condition. Though still the question is unanswered (What is the RDA for a T2 diabetic in relation to Carbohydrates of which sugars) all of you mention carbs, but not these ones. further to my message yesterday, the dietician from the clinic at the major hospital where I live phoned me back, and once again I got the speech about how I can have portions of this and that, and use the food pyramid, but nothing about an official figure. If a doctor wants you to go on a low fat diet, he will tell you to limit your grammage daily to a certain amount by looking and adding up the grams on the nutritional facts on most food labels.if it is a low salt diet, they will tell you to do this with salt. Yet I am told that I must concentrate on Carbs of which are sugars by my clinic, then they can't give me an amount for an RDA! I have heard that maybe 36g might be the amount, but then it would depend on whether you are M/F, active, your weight, height etc. Surely there must be a number cast in stone somewhere? That is all I am looking for. 

Also, further to what I have just written, the major supermarket chain does have an RDA for 'normal' people which is 90g of Carbs(which are sugars) so therefore there is a guideline amount for 'normal' people, but not #2's.  

Nope, you're asking a good question. Sadly we aren't given answers by the people who are trusted to be looking after our health and welfare with us; the same individuals that should in all honesty be able to answer just that kind of question. My own doctor did the same exact thing to me several years ago after being told I was prediabetic and that I needed to fix things quick. I never got an answer. I mean how difficult is it to plug in the numbers for us and give us that info that pertains to us. Isn’t that their job? Gee, I really thought it was. Instead, he just said I can eat everything in moderation. Uhm, no that doesn’t always work. I ended up doing a lot of research and finally found what worked for me. I got lucky because while I didn't deal with it at the time and put it off, I finally lost weight and managed to get a 5.0 Ac1 and no longer have issues, not to mention I found what type of eating works for me. We are all so different so of course there is not going to be a set in stone number that works. We each have to plug in the numbers to get our own info because age, activity level, weight, and height all play a part into what amounts we are able to put into our bodies macro-wise, specially so if you are diabetic. And watch the RDA because that can be hugely deceptive...2400 mg of salt recommended as an acceptable amount in a day? :O No worries that that is actually more, way more than what a person should be taking in. I had hypertension so I had to figure out for myself that I should have not have more than 1300 mg a day...scary that the doctor failed to mention this and yet I stumbled on it by myself in my research. Again though, age, etc will play a part in that because if you are seriously active and knocking back fluids you will need extra sodium that an inactive person does not need. Today I am issue-free and medication-free...of my own doing, not my doctor. I’ve since changed doctors and have one that works for me and that answers my questions, no matter how large, small, weird or crazy they may seem, and if he doesn’t have one, he will get back to me. I think today we all have to push to get what we need and should have from our doctors, and if we don’t get those things then we need to find one who will do so. If more people did this and really demanded what is right then a lot of this nonsense wouldn’t be taking place...complacency is a dangerous thing and we are the ones who pay the price. Keep pushing for those answers...I hope you find what you are needing to get you to your goal!  

Thank you very much repsgoddess, very inspiring words, I have never come across it in all my half century on earth, and was dumbfounded that they cannot answer the question, but yet other things they can give you minutest detail, and yet something so major to me, and many others, not a sausage. Sad to think what you went through too, but you turned the right corners, and on your own too, this is something we all need to do, research, self confidence and self awareness are surely the way forward for all of us, if we are just losing a few pounds, building up the body, to something as serious as trying to get rid of, or cope with a medical condition. From the comments I have seen today, it has been a wake up call for me today, thank you and best wishes :)