Hello
Can i just ask a quick question that i should really know the answer to by now……

when calculating carbs do you deduct fibre content to get the total carbs please…..

i.e. if kidney beans per serving are i.e. 11 carbs and 6 fibre would i deduce that the serving is actually 5 gramms of carbs please or would it still me classed as 11 out of my 20 gramms.

many thanks

ps sorry – i am trying to put on weight – lost a stone through low carb and now only 7 stones so trying to up my calorie intake whilst still keeping carbs low….so weight not an issue jsut prediabetic and trying to keep arbs at around 20 gramms….thank you.

Hi worried! If you are in the United States you subtract the fiber grams from the carbohydrate grams for the effective carb number.
In the UK I believe the fiber grams have already been subtracted and you can just rely on the number quoted on the package.
It will be interesting to see how carb reduction affects your unique situation. I would also add in some exercise and stress reduction — those could make a big difference too. Keep us posted.

Hi – Many thanks. Can i possibly just clarify please…so if a serving of porridge says on the box 22 carbs and for instance 11 fibre. would that indicate there was originally 33 grams of carbs but they have taken the fibre content of 11 off ???

To be honest i wish that i could eat more carbs as i was never overweight when i started very low carb and a stone just fell off….
I interview the public with my job and just interviewed a fitness instructor – I need to gain weight and he said that the only way for you to gain muscle (which is what i want to do and very beneficial for somebody with pre diabetes) is to eat carbs otherwise, as you have very little fat you are just going to burn what little muscle you have when you exercise and also you dont even have a sedentary job….even though i explained about my BG problem he was aghast at eating just 20 gramms of carbs a day…..hating this whole situation to be honest…..I eat lots but try to keep to 20 gramms of carbs but i am constantly hungry and so need to gain some wieght – i dont think i will ever regain any weight unless i up my carb intake…..

Hi again worried! I believe that you are correct if you are in the UK — 22 grams of carbs and 11 grams fiber means the original carb count was 33. However, that does NOT matter because the number that counts is the 22 number.
Thus high fiber foods are very beneficial. They allow you to eat more carbs with less effect on your blood sugar levels.
So I was pondering your situation while I was out in the veggie garden planting onions this morning — I think you might give a re-think to your idea of going strictly low carb. Remember, as a physician researcher noted, “carbohydrate drives insulin drives fat”. In other words, if you want to gain weight, you need to have higher insulin levels because insulin is your fat storage hormone.
It sounds as though you have possibly lost too much weight. You did not mention how tall you are but you did say 7 stone and that’s pretty small. And, you stated yourself that you think you are too thin.
The very extremely limited carbohydrate intake of 20 or less grams per day is designed for losing weight. Perhaps you can add back in more HEALTHY and fiber rich carbs to help you gain some weight and combine that with some weight lifting classes to build muscle — do you have a good place for weight training?
You can probably eat more fruit, more beans and pulses and lentils, some whole oat porridge, more yogurt and milk in your tea. Also more carb rich vegetables such as beets and tomatoes and onions and some sweet potatoes and carrots.
What you do NOT want to add are any highly processed carbohydrates or floury things because they spike your blood sugar. So no sugar, no jam, no breads, cakes, cookies, pies, anything with simple sugars.
You want good fats, avocado, olive oil, walnut oil, nuts, seeds — you can eat more cashews which are higher in carbs. Eat meats that are grass fed and wild fish. Eggs are excellent.
Why do you believe you are “pre-diabetic”? Was that an actual diagnosis? Maybe it was a one-off and you are better than you think.
Well, that’s my thought process — maybe it will be helpful. Let us know how you get on!

Dear Worried: your situation sounds rather unique if you have prediabetes AND are not overweight, even needing to gain weight.

Normally to gain weight you do need the action of insulin which is the primary hormone for allowing glucose to be tranported into cells. I would also be very careful about taking nutrition advise from a fitness insturctor. They have no special education on the metabolism of carbs and the action of insulin let alone for someone diagnosed with prediabetes.

The BSD is designed to help overweight individuals reduce weight to help restore the function of a fatty liver and pancreas. Are you sure you need to be on such a low carb diet if you do not need to lose weight? If you are only prediabetic and not overweight might a simply lowish carb diet of 50 g be sufficient for you rather than the ultra low carb 20g diet many of us are following for weight loss?

And if you are reading labels, normally it will list total carbs and then fiber. For many (not all) who do not metabolize fiber fully, they can subtract the fiber from the carbs and count only the net carbs. For carb tracking websites, in the UK I understand the websites are already doing that work for you and publish the net carbs. But for package labels you need to do the subtracting.

Good luck sorting all this out.

Hi Californiagirl and luvtcook.
Many thanks for all the advice. Very grateful to you both.

My situation is a bit strange really. I was always only ever between 8 and 8.5 stones….never skinny just normal size slim..small boned…petite…..53` I have always eaten healthily . Always active and no diabetes in my family.

I feel I know exactly why i have pre diabetes. For 15 years i took a combination of three drugs that are well documented to cause diabetes. (a beta blocker, diuretic and a statin – each one individually puts you at risk of diabetes but the combination is a time bombe for it). I also have a very stressful job etc…and i think a combination of those drugs plus stress has been the driver in my case.

My surgery were sending all those over 60 with raised blood pressure for an HbA1c test. I was called into the surgery to be told that I was not glucose tolerant (had no idea what that meant and they had the cheek to want to send me to an educational session toeducateme on healthy eating….which i made quite clear i wasnt attending. I think they are paid incentives for sending patients for the test and they must then send them on an educational sesssion to receive their rewards)….
My HbA1c was 6.1% but my annual fasting had consistently been over 5.5 for years. Immediately two of the offending drugs were dropped and one was halved. they would not admit to the drugs but were happy to drop them asap. I do still take a beta blocker as i have adverse reactions to other bp meds and some are contraindicated as i get angioedeama….a throat swelling reaction…so still on one of the offending drugs which isnt ideal.
Immeditely i did a lot of research and dropped carbs…..i never did sugar at all…the very odd piece of cake but i did eat mounds of fruit……i always ate wholemeal bread and pasta but dropped all bread, pasta, pastry, rice, potatoes etc etc…even dropped my beloved fruit and porridge…changed milk to almond milk……i was determined to turn this around…….exercised more……added to my supplement regime those touted to be good for blood glucose problems….

and basically all that has happened is that i am now skinny……a stone just fell off me in the space of about two months…..(so scary actually as i have never dieted in my life before…and my follow up HbA1c taken a couple of weeks ago had risen ! to 6.2% – however my fasting alongside this was better than it has been for years and was 4.9…..also my tryglicerides are a really good 0.5….i was mortified as i would think that anybody going low carb and losing a stone would see improvements. (in my medcal records they have put it down as impaired glucose tolerance).

My diet is pretty much grass fed beef and salmon and chicken and loads of eggs…never eaten so many eggs in my life…i do eat cheese and masses of vegetables like cauliflower, brussels, asparagus, cabbage, brocolli….loads of salady stuff….watercress, bell peppers, onions, cucumber, radishes….hummous….i eat a copious amount fo nuts and an avacado every day….i sometimes even put it in a bowl with chopped up walnuts and pour extra virgin olive oil over it all and eat with a spoon…..anything that might help me put on some weight…….I have never drunk alcohol..the very odd glass of wine at special ocassions and it lasts me all evening……i drink gallons of green tea and 100% cacoa…use spices cinammon and turmeric , ginger etc……(i do the very odd treat where i will make a couple of muffins using coconut flour and ground almonds…..i sometimes use beans…kidney beans etc in dishes……but thats about the highest carb that i go to…………….and i cannot do any more and none of this makes sense to me any more…….my stomach is flat…i dont even have a sedentary job…………i dont know what else i can do to try to turn things around….i pour olive oil over my vegetables…..sometimes when my tummy can take it i will drink some very diluted apple cider vinegar before a meal…..i take fenugreek before meals as well………….

The only thing that i can think of as to why despite all my efforts my test results had risen – is that to be honest, i still feel quite traumatised at this diagnosis…its come as a real shock and even my GPsaid i am sure its a shock given that you are slim with an excellent diet……..maybe i have been so traumatised and shocked by the diagnosis that stress has caused more blood glucose surges..cortisol…but to be honest, i bought a testing machine and strips initially (i dont do it any longer as it was making me anxious and taking over my life) and i had some scary post meal and once when i was unwell with a virus it was 11………..

i am truly at a loss to know what to do any more….certainly i am probably soembody who needs to eat more carbs to maintain weight and i cannot continue to be this weight…i hate it and i have a wedding to attend soon and worry what people might think who have not seen me for a while……i know that i could put that stone back in about 2 weeks…i have a good apetite and love food and to be honest, since finding out that my results were worse after all my efforts twice i have thought blow this…and binged on cake…..and i never did that before i had this diagnosis…its like forbidden fruit and to be honest, low carb leaves me hungry all the time…..i long for bread and substantial food…….no matter how much i pile my plate with low carb and protein i never feel satisfied…..and obviously my body isnt happy eating like this…..its ultra healthy but not satisfying…….i do use mayonnaise on things..i will mix half and half with olive oil and i have started using butter as well………..i am at a complete loss..i would love to just reverse this whole situation…they say that pre diabetes can be reversed and i fear that if i eat too many carbs i will never do that……

anyway rambling….its so nice to have people understand and i do appreciate your advice…..i also think i should up my carb intake…..slow release high fibre ones……..even porridge…always only ever eaten steel cut etc…….but so many carbs in one bowl….more thtn the 20 gramm recommendation…i just fear it will spike my BG but i adore porridge…..but scared to eat it…the company rude ehalth sent me a complimentary pack of their naked barley porridge to try and i am even scared to eat this…i do eat thier buckwheat and chian crackers – 4 gramms each………i didnt realise that the 20 gramms was just for weight loss…i thought it was to help reverse things…….so confusing……but very grateful indeed for your help both of you…..

best wishes to you both

Hi worried — I ran your story by my sister who is a doctor (in Oregon) and she said go back to your doctor and ask for a full work up to see what’s really going on. She thought maybe endocrine issue or thyroid issue might be going on — she thought they could maybe pinpoint the problem and help you turn it around.

Hi Californiagirl…..many thanks indeed. I must confess that i have always had a slightly dodgey thyroid. When i was young going back about 40 years my GP sent me for a test of my thyroid where you are at the hospital for hours….he said it came back borderline for being over active. About 15 years ago whilst an ent doctor was examining me for sinus issues he said do you know you have thyroiditis…..i was sent for a scan and they said i had some cysts on my thyroid but they were fairly common and not to worry about it……i have a thyroid function blood test every year and i think that one is always near the high end of the graph and one towards the low.

i will speak to my Gp but they are not my favourite people at the moment……they allowed the pre diabetes to fester for years and they think that one size fits all and wanted to just send me on a session to lose weight !!!! and eat healthily….and they have said its my age……well none of my friends or family in my age group or older have it…….i do tend to get very stressed and i have often wondered whether i have an over active thyroid…..thank you again….i will definitely speak to my GP when i go in.

really kind of you to take the trouble…thank you again.

best wishes

Hi Worried,
Just a very quick note to say you could explore Dr Jason Fungs YouTube videos on fasting because it does incredible things to your insulin levels but allows you to eat normally at other times, although he likes the keto/low carb way of eating, many of his patients eat higher carb, the fasting keeps the diabetes in check when done properly. he uses fasting not just as a weight loss tool but for other complaints so you can tailor it to your particular needs. It’s all to get your pancreas cleared out and insulin back to normal levels. If low cab isn’t working 100% this might be another tool. He also is knowledgeable about other things like cortisol and it’s effects. Worth a look.
I’m writing this on the fly and I’m sure if I have gotten something wrong someone will kindly pop in and correct me.
Best of luck!

Hi Inka12

Many thanks for that. I do actually like the idea of fasting. I was going to do it every sunday as only day off work. I like Jason Fungs theory/knowledge that you have to treat the actual disease and not just the symptoms of high blood sugar. (in fact i worry the drugs that i took for my blood pressure for all those years have actually damaged my body…the beta cells, whatever). it sees to me that if the cause of diabetes isnt fat around the pancreas and liver etc……(i could be a skinny fat person but i just cannot see this being the issue)…you have to regenrate the beta cells to become more receptive to insulin. I think that i read with fasting that old cells get sort of eaten away and then new, working cells can develop. (something like that – i think!!) and i feel strongly that i need to repair what has gone wrong in my body.

I subscribed to diet doctor website just so that i could ask jason fung a question….it only costs 9 dollars a month…the first month is free and you can unsubscribe at any time. I explained my situation and his reply was like his response to many questions……He said that he was unable to answer personal questions (obviously he cannot make any comment about your own health situation etc) and said however, fasting is relatively contraindicated in being underweight……..and i just felt that is another route that is blocked to turning this around….

However, I see no harm in fasting for 24 hours (if i can make it) on sundays and then as you stated….eat sightly higher carb and more food the rest of the time…….of course i dont know whether just one day is enough to start repairing things. I have only done it twice from my last meal on saturday evening to the same time on sunday evening…and i would obviously be doing less than 800 calories (which michael mosley advocates) on sundays as its just one meal…..If i didnt work i might even do two days a week.
When i look into fasting on his website people seem to do it for days on end!!!! and i think i read that it has to be for over 16 hours for it to be beneficial. Also all i read about on his website and anywhere regarding getting your body working properly again regarding BG is weight loss, weigh loss and weight loss .

I think that my best bet is to try the fasting on sundays and tehn up my calorie intake the rest of the rest of the time with more carbs…say take it to 50 gramms a day. i would not go back to wholemeal bread and potatoes or pasta etc but slow release high fibre like beans and maybe quinoa etc and add those extra carbs to a meal……one thing i have learned is that fat does not make you fat so there is no point eating even more of this…..Maybe also start doing some resistence working out to build some muscle….at the moment there isnt enough of me to build anything….need to get my weight back up..

many thanks again…..best wishes

Hi Worried. I am far from an expert but I follow an18/6 daily fasting pattern. If I was in your unique position of wanting to gain weight, I would do 18/6 daily (for the fasting benefits), 50 g carbs, 1200 cals/day for a week and see what the scales register. Are you drinking plenty of water? If so, is your salt intake enough? A few walnuts, some full fat cream in a coffee would help up your cals whilst still fitting in with a healthy lifestyle. It’s a bit quiet on a Sunday but I’m sure someone with more experience will also post here.
All the best.

Hi Kazzuk
Many thanks. That does sound a really good idea. 50 g of carbs and up caloried intake as much as pos…..but I couldnt do an 18/6 daily fasting patern because of work. I am out and about with work and literally eat in my car if i do. I leave home at around 12.00 and get home about 9.00 pm…so eat around 9.30 – 10.00 pm which isnt very healthy. I skip breakfast now and eat lunch before i go out….i always have a snack of walnuts, buckwheat and chia cracker and one of those small babybell cheeses half way through the day. Also i dont feel that i could go out to work without eating lunch as i dont have a sedentary job and would be too flagging.

I may be able to manage 16/8 fasting pattern but dont know whether this would be a long enough time without eating to make any significant difference. I must admit when i was trying to do this during the week before…i found myself getting dinner ready with my coat still on and then eating it as quickly as i could so it would leave enough fasting time……

Thank you again. I hope your fasting pattern is helping you.

Best wishes

Hello

I just thought that i would ask the real experts I need to put on weight…..would the odd sweet potato be bad for bloodglucose levels?……i know eating sweet potato isnt ideal but despite eating healthily and lots of it i cannot seem to get above that 7 stones mark and i would like to put a bit on asap for a social event. i dont want people thinking i must be terminally ill or anorexic. I would love to put a stone back on but the only way would literally be all the no nos like wholemal pasta and bread etc…..
sweet potatos?? (maybe piled with cheese…maybe half of one each day?)

many thanks