Carbs


(Patrick) #1

So im fairly new to Keto and I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 18 months ago. I went thru all of the emotional issues most probably go through when they receive that diagnosis. denial, etc. I am choosing to fight now and have been doing keto and crossfit for 6 1/2 weeks. I have lost 22 lbs down to 229lbs. I feel great but im trying to understand the keto diet better. I feel like my carbs are a bit high but the sugar content is around 5g a day mostly from Some veggies. I am having trouble staying in ketosis is 55g of carbs to much? do you subtract the plant fiber from the total carb count? I also feel like my fasting sugar levels are a bit high, 112 in the morning. ANy help will be greatly appreciated.


(Chris) #2

Try to keep it below 20g a day, I think most people subtract fiber here, but personally that didn’t work for me at all and I just used total carbs. Intermittent fasting is another tool that can be very helpful for weight loss. An easy way to get into that is just simply skipping breakfast, eating your other two meals within an 8 hour window, and not snacking.


(Crippie) #3

This is the recommended amount. it does vary by person, but 20g is pretty much going to get anyone into ketosis, some people 50g may work, and some it may not. So to be safe most of us just do 20g.

I subtract fiber, make it net carbs. Most do, but as Dread said, for some they find it works better to do total carbs.

Make sure you avoid “hidden carbs” a lot of things will have 0 carbs on nutrition facts, but have some fraction of a carb in it which add up. Perfect example is Mayo. It says 0 Carbs, but look at the ingredients and listed right in there it will say “sugar” It has a small serving size so its less than a gram and they round down, but if you have more than that serving it adds up quick. So read ingredients! Not just nutrition facts. And sugar has tons of hidden names too, heres a post that lists 121 different names for sugar on nutrition labels: Maltodextrin goof

Beware of the dawn effect, where most people tend to have a higher blood glucose level in the morning. Sort of a way our body kicks us into gear or something. I would check a couple hours after waking up


(Patrick) #4

20g of carbs seems impossible. 1 medium avocado has 12grams. Is there some diet information on what to eat to keep your carbs that low?


(Crippie) #5

As I said most people do net carbs.

So a medium avocado has 12g carbs, but 10g fiber, so that’s 2g net carbs.


(Crippie) #6

I started out with my number at 30g. In the first few weeks I was around that just about every single day. Now i checked my food logs last week and I have been under 10g net carbs just about every day for the last month, It gets easier with time, as you don;t crave them anymore. I also started doing IFing without realizing which helps cut numbers now.

The best way to keep them down is to focus on the fat. It fills you up and you wont be hungry.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

I noticed an immediate benefit from just removing table sugar and sweet foods from my diet, not worrying about grains and other carbs, but the weight loss didn’t really begin in earnest until I cut out bread, pasta, rice, oats, and the like, as well. There is a list running around teh Interwebz of vegetables and their carbohydrate percentages; that will give you some idea of what you’re dealing with. The best veggies for going keto are the cruciferous ones—the dark leafy green lettuces, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and the like. Root vegetables tend to be high in carbohydrate, carrots in particular. Potatoes can be a good delivery vehicle for butter and sour cream, if you keep the amount of potato small, and you can eat the more carb-loaded veggies, but it means cutting other stuff out if you want to stay under 20 net grams.

All those carbs you’re not eating? Replace them with delicious fat, and eat fat until you’re not hungry any more. It will work, no kidding!


(Chris) #8

Well personally some of us just don’t eat any plants at all, sorts out the carb issue. Might sound a bit extreme to someone so new, though.

Basically what Crippie said, use net carbs for as long as you can unless you find it’s not working for some reason.


(Carpe salata!) #9

"Potatoes can be a good delivery vehicle for butter and sour cream, if you keep the amount of potato small, "

That is true but I stay away from potato. One (150g/5oz) will be over 20g carbs already. The carb is starch which will turn to sugar as you chew it and possibly cause spiked insulin and cravings in some people.

You can get a lot of lard or butter onto broccoli :slight_smile:


(Crippie) #10

Oh yes you can! Thats my delivery of choice. Fry it up in bacon grease, with bacon bits, and throw some cultured butter on top at the end. And of course some garlic.


(Edith) #11

It seems to me that it is better to start with your carbs at 20g, make sure you are in ketosis, and then start playing with your macros once you are keto adapted.
55g of carbs may be high since your were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Btw, you can eat a lot of leafy greens for very few grams of carbs.

Good luck,
Edith


(KCKO, KCFO) #12

Under 20 g, net or total will work to get most people into ketosis. Once you feel you really are burning fat for fuel, slowly add in 5g at time till you notice weight gain or just not feeling great. The New Atkins for a New You, book by Phinney, Westman and Volek goes into great detail about doing this, they refer to it as a ladder, you go up a rung at a time, if it doesn’t work come back down and try another item til you are comfortable with what you can eat and are seeing results.

If that is too much for you, then I suggest you grab a copy of the diabetes and nutritional ketosis food list from www.optimisingnutrition.com and listen to the podcast with Marty Kendall, episode 43. My husband is T2D and I am trying to stay in nutritional ketosis for weight loss and maintenance, so I really appreciate the work Marty has done. Just eat from that list and you should be successful. Both the book and Marty’s list have helped me. Adding fasting was the magic bullet to get me to goal weight and lower.

All the best to you on your Journey to kick diabetes to the curb!


(Jim Russell) #13

Cauliflower can be a decent substitute for potatoes, especially mashed.


(Patrick) #14

Thanks for everyones help. I was having a hard time grasping that low of carbs but since I am new at this I listened. It worked and I was still able to get in a great workout at crossfit last night. I had a little more protein then normal and thought that might be the issue. Again thanks for the help!!!


(Patrick) #15

Hi paul I wasn’t eating any grains, bread, pasta. my total sugar count for the day was very low. I was however eating a bunch of leafy greens, broccoli, and cucumbers with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It seems to have worked just reducing those. im still struggling with the concept that any fat is good fat.


(Patrick) #16

Thanks dread, I think net carbs wasn’t working for me so im going with the 20g total for now and see how I feel.


(Crippie) #17

Just be prepared that you may see a dip in performance when working out. Part of your body adapting to a new fuel source. It hit me bad enough I had to take 2 months off working out all together! Still lost 40 lbs though. I am working out again and it feels better than before, could be moving around less weight or burining fat for fuel rather than carbs, or both.


(David Cumming) #18

You should try fasting as long as possible and do it regularly - keto prevents damage from being done - fasting fixes past damage (I’m simplifying obviously)


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #19

@Peter You’re right. I generally stay away from potatoes, myself, but have found that a small quantity is okay, once in a while. French fries don’t work for me, but good roast potatoes are hard to resist. They’ve become my restaurant treat.


(Carpe salata!) #20

I checked the rule book and you’re right if it works for your n=1. :slight_smile: