New to type II diabetes, are carbs a good thing or bad. Need to gain weight, not lose it.?
To answer your question directly, if you eat a balanced diet and excercise regularly, and to keep your blood sugar in check by monitoring it frequently you should gain an appropriate amount of weight in a healthy way. If you do this and don’t gain weight, then consult your dr. because there could be something else that is hindering you from gainning weight.
Doctors can give you a basic idea (text book way as it were) on how to control your diabetes, but you have to try different things to see what works for you or doesn’t. Doctors are there to give you results and to help you if you are off the right path.
Regarding cabohydrates, to understand how they work with your body, you must test your blood sugar quite frequently to see how your blood sugar reacts to different foods (carbohydrates) and the potency curve of your insulin (or other medication that regulates your blood sugar). To start, you want to wait until your blood sugar is below 150 and your blood sugar medication is nearing its peak within two hours from when you begin eating. Then, check your blood sugar once every hour for 4 hours to see how your blood sugar curves. It should peak in 2 hours from when you eat (your body could be different, by testing your blood sugar like this, you will see when your body’s blood sugar will peak). I know test strips are expensive, so do this as often as you can, but at least once a week until you get a feel for what your body does with different types of foods.
I’ve had diabetes for over 20 years, and I still check my blood sugar on an average of 5 times a day. I always get a clean bill of health at each dr. visit.
DIABETIC’S CHECK LIST
Be consistant
Monitor your blood sugar regularly (especially before you go to bed because during the night is the most common -and most dangerous- time to have hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, and is also recommended when you get up to give you a foundation for the day)
Always have sugar (i.e. sweets of some sort) available in case of a low blood sugar reaction
Examine your feet daily
Excercise regularly
Eat a balanced diet (lots of vegetables, a piece of fruit instead of juice, a serving of lean meat or source of protein, a serving of high-fiber bread or cereal, and a serving of dairy)
If your blood sugars are running over 250 two hours (or whenever your body’s blood sugar peaks) after you eat, adjust your medication under the guideance of your dr. to get it in the appropriate area. Always eat a snack or a meal when your blood sugar drops below 140. A glass of juice or a spoon full of jelly is recommended if your blood sugar drops to a dangerously low level (i.e. below 80), then eat a snack so it doesn’t drop down again.
It’s a balancing act. Knowing when your medicine peaks, knowing when your blood sugar level peaks, knowing how much to eat, and knowing how much to excercise, are all a balancing act towards keeping you healthy as a diabetic.
admin on October 23rd 2009 in Carbohydrate Counting Diabetes Diet
msamerica75 responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 5:30 am #
bad! people make the mistake of thinking candy and stuff is bad, which it is, but carbs are worse. they are loaded with natural sugar.
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Kelly responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 5:57 am #
Bad
Loose
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chick-a-dee responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 6:35 am #
Everyone needs to eat carbs but for us we hav to eat a controlled amount of carbs. If you need to gain wieght you don’t necessarily need to to load up on the saturated fat but you need to load up on starches and good fat. I hope this helps. good luck. it’s tough.
Please do not listen to ms america 75. she has noo idea of what she’s talking about. natural sugars are GOOD FOR YOU!!
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Diabetes, Type 1, 5 years
Brian responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 7:04 am #
I’ve been a type two for over 15 years now and I have learned to have a love/hate relationship with carbs. When I am getting really low then they are a good way to get a little bit of fast energy into you, but they also burn off very quickly. Try to stick to foods high in protein, you will stay much more stable sugar wise and you will also have the protein to gain weight.
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MornGloryHM responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 7:38 am #
Get a book on the glycemic index. That explains the difference between good carbs and bad. You want to eat more whole grains if you can. 100 % whole wheat, whole grains, stuff like that. Carbohydrates with low sugars and high fibers are the kind of thing you’re looking for.
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matilda_chew responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 8:03 am #
Carbs are an essential part of our diet. But because you’re diabetic, you do need to watch the amount you take every meal. So yes, carbs are good, but only when taken in the appropriate amount, even for non-diabetic sufferers. You should really have a talk with your dr and ask how best to gain some weight while taking into account your condition. Try some muscle-building exercises to add bulk, and you may even increase your protein intake, since that’s what muscles are made of essentially, not carbs.
Good luck!
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XenonAudio responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 8:30 am #
To answer your question directly, if you eat a balanced diet and excercise regularly, and to keep your blood sugar in check by monitoring it frequently you should gain an appropriate amount of weight in a healthy way. If you do this and don’t gain weight, then consult your dr. because there could be something else that is hindering you from gainning weight.
Doctors can give you a basic idea (text book way as it were) on how to control your diabetes, but you have to try different things to see what works for you or doesn’t. Doctors are there to give you results and to help you if you are off the right path.
Regarding cabohydrates, to understand how they work with your body, you must test your blood sugar quite frequently to see how your blood sugar reacts to different foods (carbohydrates) and the potency curve of your insulin (or other medication that regulates your blood sugar). To start, you want to wait until your blood sugar is below 150 and your blood sugar medication is nearing its peak within two hours from when you begin eating. Then, check your blood sugar once every hour for 4 hours to see how your blood sugar curves. It should peak in 2 hours from when you eat (your body could be different, by testing your blood sugar like this, you will see when your body’s blood sugar will peak). I know test strips are expensive, so do this as often as you can, but at least once a week until you get a feel for what your body does with different types of foods.
I’ve had diabetes for over 20 years, and I still check my blood sugar on an average of 5 times a day. I always get a clean bill of health at each dr. visit.
DIABETIC’S CHECK LIST
Be consistant
Monitor your blood sugar regularly (especially before you go to bed because during the night is the most common -and most dangerous- time to have hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, and is also recommended when you get up to give you a foundation for the day)
Always have sugar (i.e. sweets of some sort) available in case of a low blood sugar reaction
Examine your feet daily
Excercise regularly
Eat a balanced diet (lots of vegetables, a piece of fruit instead of juice, a serving of lean meat or source of protein, a serving of high-fiber bread or cereal, and a serving of dairy)
If your blood sugars are running over 250 two hours (or whenever your body’s blood sugar peaks) after you eat, adjust your medication under the guideance of your dr. to get it in the appropriate area. Always eat a snack or a meal when your blood sugar drops below 140. A glass of juice or a spoon full of jelly is recommended if your blood sugar drops to a dangerously low level (i.e. below 80), then eat a snack so it doesn’t drop down again.
It’s a balancing act. Knowing when your medicine peaks, knowing when your blood sugar level peaks, knowing how much to eat, and knowing how much to excercise, are all a balancing act towards keeping you healthy as a diabetic.
References :
bedroomeyes#1 s responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 9:03 am #
carbs are bad and you need to exercise and keep your weight down. Exercise will help lower your blood sugar, and thats a good thing
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im_not_psycho_im_cute89 responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 9:50 am #
Bad. You need to lose but not a whole lot what you need to do is just stay as active as you possibly can. Excercise and eat healthy food. It will help you . We all need some carbs but don’t eat to many like if you eat whole wheat bread eat 1 piece or a half don’t over indulge. Always check labels make sure you have foods that are low in carbs with 20 or less carbs it’s hard I know but you can find them.
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sugars_that_heal responded on 23 Oct 2009 at 10:11 am #
look into low glycemic foods on my page.
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