Any type of carbs as you probably know are utilised as the first go to source for energy. If they are not burnt off through movement or activity they are the easiest source of calories to store as fat. I'd suggest aiming for 70g of refined carbs peday. A bowl of porridge 🥣 or oatmeal first thing will give you all the carbs required for the day. Try two meals a daythe 2nd meal 🍴 focus on healthy fats and protein😁

@A DiabetesTeam Member your blood sugar will always tell you "how much is enough or too much"

The Food Guide tells us that 40-60% of calories from carbs is where you should be

When talking about diabetics the handful of Dietitians I have talked to (or listened to) typically advocate for closer to the 40% end of things with the caveat that you will "likely" need meds to eat at that level

There is some value in that advice because you could become deficient in something eating low carb (or vegan/vegetarian) so when a dietitian gives advice they advise for "total health"

If you are counting 1500 calories then 40% would be 150 carbs a day (low carb) even at 50% (185'ish carbs) if your sugar levels could tolerate that (as a pre-diabetic) it would allow you the flexibility to eat a much more varied diet, and with a bit of "smarter carb selection" you could develop your own super healthy diet that managed your sugar levels, was super heart healthy etc

Because I eat closer to 100 carbs I do have my diet analyzed once a year. Sit with my dietitian and we look at 2 weeks of my daily logs - count the eggs, dairy, vegies/fruit servings etc to see if I'm "missing something" that should be supplemented because when you "mess with standard food recommendations" or cut out whole food groups you are forcing your body to try and function "un-naturally"

We all have the free will to eat however we want, but a couple hundred thousand years of evolution has resulted in our bodies needing certain foods to function properly.

It's important not to abandon total health by only worrying about blood sugar.

As I say to my Diabetes group - you could eat Bacon for every meal and next year when you die of a heart attack your blood sugar will be perfect 😁

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A Diabete...

@A DiabetesTeam Member Thanks for the reminder-I totally forgot about carbs being used first and don't believe I ever knew that carbs were the easiest to store as fat. So... the plot thickens....Snork! I will have to do a refresher on the topic to make sure I'm not taking in more carbs than I burn off each day, especially since I am currently struggling in the exercise dept. (The best way I know to measure that, is with the scale in my bedroom).

How long have you had glucose issues? Mine (prediabetic only, so far) are purely a result of an over-indulgent lifestyle with food, most of my adult life, I believe and only worsened with retirement. The experience of creating a healthier lifestyle (better late in age, than never) reminds me of peeling an onion. It feels like once I resolve one health issue, another one is uncovered, or at least "suspect".

My overall goal is to reach the "good nuf" point where my health is concerned but haven't quite decided what that will be. I am hoping that my target weight of 180 will be enough to get healthy bg numbers though. (30 lbs more to go) I may have to learn to focus on doing "good nuf" each day though, instead of counting on the unpredictable future. Thanks again for your reply.

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A Diabete...

Thanks, Graham, I think you're right-"fine-tuning" for me may be more about general nutrition, given my half-way decent glucose numbers. I will stay the course for now and test after my most carb laden meals to monitor. (The few I have tested so far were surprisingly good.) I would like weight loss and nutrition to become my focus, with the bg used as a guide. I may have to incorporate that focus into my "dream big or go home" plan. 😃

Thanks @A DiabetesTeam Member . According to my FatSecret app, my daily carb totals are 88-119g range currently (which I think sounds good). But the portion of the "daily pie" represented by those carbs, is in the 38%-51% range (which I think sounds bad). Recently I increased my carb allowance but kept my "total daily calories" the same at 1500. Which I believe throws off my percentages. I need to do more work on this and will tryout the formula you provided as a potential guide. Back to the drawing board.

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A Diabete...