Carbs, carbs, carbs – they can be a big problem for many.
If you’re a person with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, the issue of carbs is in managing blood glucose and A1C. If you’re not diabetic, too many carbs could be a contributing factor toward getting diabetes, not to mention too many carbs can pack on the fat!
What if there was an easy way to control and reduce carb intake?
There is. And it’s much simpler than you think!
A Typical Day On A Western Diet
Before digging into an easy carb cutting regimen, let’s just review the typical Western diet.
The average persons diet today looks something like this:
Breakfast: Toast with a glass of orange juice – carbs.
Morning tea: 1 small blueberry muffin – carbs.
Lunch: A ham salad sandwich and a coke – carbs.
Afternoon tea: A packet of salt and vinegar chips and a choc chip cookie – carbs.
Dinner: Spaghetti pasta with a ready-made bottle of sauce – carbs.
Dessert: 1/2 cup chocolate ice cream – carbs!!
Nutrition Breakdown Of The Average Menu
As you can see, carbohydrates total to around 337 g for just one day eating such a menu! Even just one day like this is problematic (for everyone), let alone eating that many carbs day in and day out.
Carbohydrate Basics
All types of carbohydrates break down to glucose, period!
As it turns out, the total amount of carbohydrates is the single most significant factor in maintaining blood glucose control.
Therefore, the higher your carbohydrate intake, the higher your blood sugar can potentially be. With a lower carbohydrate intake, your blood sugar levels will naturally be lower.
This is exactly the same mechanism for us all because carbohydrates are the nutrient that influences our blood sugar the most.
We Need Carbs
After we sent out our weekly newsletter recently, one of our subscribers sent a reply about one of the recipes saying: “Diabetics should be eating zero carbs so for that fact I am unsubscribing because your recipes contain carbs.”
If you’ve heard that a no carb diet is best, well, this is not exactly accurate.
You do need to eat some carbs, just the right kind.
The Right Kind of Carbs
Check out this video by Dr Mark Hyman. He gives the perfect explanation of the right kind of carbs.
As you heard, carbohydrates are some of the healthiest foods because they are plant foods – full of phytonutrients, flavonoids, high in vitamins and minerals and fiber!
The Easy Way To Control and Reduce Carb Intake
The easy way to control and reduce carb intake is to just eat the right types of carbs.
Don’t Eat (or eat very limited portions)
Grains and grain foods (even whole grains) – pasta, rice, crackers, noodles, cereals – although these are plant foods, these are all high carb starchy food sources. They usually won’t help you regulate blood sugar.
Sugar – in all shapes and forms (even natural kinds like honey, molasses, agave). Most people use stevia instead.
Sugary beverages, sodas and juices – this is like a fuel injection of sugar straight into your bloodstream and is simply bad news for you.
Jarred and bottled sauces and condiments – usually high in added sugar. Always read the labels and look for sugar free options.
Fruits – most are very high in carbs – stick to these low carb fruits.
Life is not over on a diabetic diet, there are substitutes for all your favorite foods, you just have to learn what they are and eat them instead.
Here’s what Cheryl said after taking our 30 Day Turnaround Program and then becoming a VIP Member:
Cheryl said: I learned that alternative foods are just as delicious as “normal” foods. I’ve lost 16 lbs since I went low carb. I’m not as fearful about eating fat. My daily blood sugar readings are slowly going down. Thank you for all of your efforts.
After 6 months Cheryl reported:
“Last week I went in for my yearly physical and my A1c was 5.5! The doctor had told me that if I could keep my A1c under 5.7 for a year he would take me off metformin. So… I’m off metformin and you could say that I’m not pre diabetic anymore!”
Please pin or share this post, then keep reading!
Do Eat Plenty Of VEGETABLES
You can eat a smorgasbord of lower carb non starchy veggies, and by doing so you make it super easy on yourself when it comes to carb reduction. Not to mention you get TONS more nutrients and fiber from vegetables.
Vegetables to choose from in abundance
Artichoke, asparagus, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, onions, beets, leeks, kohlrabi, green onions, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, cucumber, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, artichoke, okra, zucchini, yellow summer squash, radish, snow peas, mushrooms, green beans, and so forth.
Eat loads of Green Leafy Vegetables
Lettuce, seaweeds, alfalfa, bean sprouts, spinach, collard greens, kale, beet greens, mustard greens, dandelion, fennel, Swiss chard, watercress, turnip greens, arugula/rocket, endive, bok choy, chicory, radicchio, Chinese cabbage, and silverbeet.
Try and get some green leafy veggies into your daily routine.
Vegetables to eat sometimes or in smaller amounts
Pumpkin, turnip, swede – these are more starchy but still moderate when it comes to carbs.
Vegetables to avoid
Potato, sweet potato, yams, plantain, parsnip.
Beans and legumes – in small amounts. These are both a protein and a carb. They are a higher carb food compared to non starchy vegetables, so don’t overdo it. But, they also contain lots of fiber and resistant starch, which has been shown to benefit our gut bacteria and immune system in a positive way.
Take It One Step At A Time
Changing your eating plan is not easy because it takes time to learn alternatives for all your favorite foods. It also takes time for our tastebuds to change and adapt. But they do!
While going cold turkey and making big changes works for some, for the majority a slow steady pace usually works better. Choose 1-3 things in your diet that may need changing and start there.
For example, if you find most of the sauces and condiments you use are filled with sugar, try selecting quality sugar free condiments or learn to make your own.
If you’re a big mashed potato lover, swap it for cauliflower mashed ‘potato.‘ You’ll be pleasantly surprised that it tastes almost the same.
There are plenty of options and alternatives!
Just keep learning about carbs and nutrition by reading our blog or joining us as a VIP Meal Planner. We’ve always got tons of ideas to share. 🙂
Have you lowered your carb intake? How did you do it? What was your easiest or hardest carb to change? I’d love to hear your thoughts so please leave your comments below.
By the way, if you haven’t already, download our freebie pack, which includes our food list. It will help you get started with a whole range of foods that are safe to eat.
Please pin, tweet or share this info with others. 🙂
I had labs done back in march and my A1c came back at 10.5. Sucks for me. I saw my PCP in late April and I let her know I wanted to try to get it under control through diet and exercise. In the time between the labs and appointment I had already made massive changes to my diet – way more vegetables, no sweets, low carb bread, minimal pasta (the hardest change) – and dropped from 260 lbs to 240 lbs, and am currently maintaining around 230 lbs.
Around that same time I found your site and I use your food lists when shopping, and that has helped.
My PCP just has me checking my blood in the morning before eating, and it started around 178 at the high and 158 at the average. I wish I knew what it was at the time of my labs, but I didn’t have a tester.
I recently started the cheddar with apple cider vinegar before bed (I add a bit of stevia and cinnamon to the vinegar and dilute with water) and for the last three days have seen my range drop to 135-140.
My follow up will be in July, where I will have my A1c checked again. I’m really hopeful that it will be lower than it was.
My one question… Is lowering my blood sugar at night with the vinegar actually helping, or is it an artificial improvement like gaming the system and just giving an appearance of improved blood sugar?
Sounds like you are making great progress, Collin! Researchers aren’t 100% sure on the mechanisms behind the vinegar, but it’s thought the acetic acid is somehow able to improve insulin sensitivity and/or improve glucose uptake. So, to answer your question it is actually helping. Keep up the great work and let us know your results in July!
I get up in the morning and my bs may be 123. I walk around or go to the bathroom or take a shower and I am high maybe around 170-180? Or I will go take a walk and be 136 before the walk after the walk I am high maybe around 195 230. Why?
Good question! Is any food involved in either situation? Foods, particular fats and high fiber foods, can effect our blood sugar for up to ~4hrs, so it could be related to something you ate earlier in the day. What about medication? Perhaps the timing of your medication is off a bit, and not covering you all night/all day. And lastly, for some people stress can cause a huge spike in blood sugar. For example, if you are rushing in your shower because you have to get to work and know it’s going to be a stressful day, then that could be a signal you need to slow down and bring in some self care to your routine. Ultimately, working with your doctor may be necessary to get to your individualized problem.
Do you have info on portion size using a scale, measuring cup & measuring spoons not the “deck of cards, palm of hand, thumb & percentages of the plate etc” systems which are inaccurate & subject to poor control. I’m concerned about protein portions. Thank you
The average adult should consume around 3-4oz of protein at a sitting, this of course can be effected by a multitude of things including current weight, physical activity level, past medical history and health goals. If you are looking for individualized recommendations concerning your protein intake, then I would recommend scheduling a one-on-one appointment with a dietitian.
I am waking up in the morning with very high BS 250 and sometimes 280s no matter what I eat and what time I eat my dinner the night before.
Please help
Morning blood sugar rise is a common problem, mostly due to changes in hormones over night. We have an article with a few tips to help combat this rise, one in particular that works for many of our members if consuming some (cheddar) cheese and apple cider vinegar prior to bed.
A few other thoughts – are you checking your blood sugar before bed? If you go to bed high, it’s almost a guarantee you’ll wake up high as well! If you are taking any bedtime medication you should discuss with your doctor, as you may need a dose adjustment and/or an additional medication at night.
I am dumb on what carbs is and what should they be .I am so all for looking the sugar intake.First thing I look for. Can you show this to me . Thanks
Hi Myrna – Carbs are one of three macronutrients in our diet (the other two are protein and fat.) Classic examples of carbs are pasta, bread and rice.
As far as looking at the nutrition label, we recommend focusing on total carbohydrates as the best marker for making your food decisions. Sugar is already accounted for in the total carbohydrate number, so if you are choosing low carbohydrate foods then they will ALSO be low in sugar (ie. meat and eggs, most dairy, nuts, seeds and vegetables.) Our blog is full of so many great carbohydrate resources, but this article in particular does a good job of covering the basics.
I do not eat any type of seafood. Can I replace it with chicken?
Yes Liz you can.
I find it very difficult to leave white rice
Of course Gloria, the high carb foods are difficult for all to reduce or eliminate but you do get used to alternatives and they are far better for blood sugar.
I have to ask this question although it is slightly off topic. I usually have a high fasting glucose level some of which I think is because since I retired the day starts much later. The real question is, If I continued to fast, what happens to glucose level? Maybe a 24 hour fast or a 48 hour fast?
Also, how high does glucose level go?
It really just depends on the person and the level of metabolic derangement. Under normal circumstances, the body will compensate for fasting or feasting, but with diabetes, the ability to keep it controlled is compensated. It’s possible to drop too low or for them to elevate due to stress & release of glucose from muscle & liver. Then throw in medications and interpersonal variation and there are so many possibilities and can’t apply anything too broadly other than to advise against fasting. We may look at doing a more thorough article on this in the future.