After hearing for years that a high-carb, low-fat diet is the only real road to weight loss, you might be wondering how a low-carb diabetes diet can help you finally drop the pounds and help you get control of your blood sugar. Let us explain.
The high-carb, low-fat idea basically oversimplified how food works once it enters your body. It ignored the fact that not all carbs are good, and glossed over that not all fats are bad. Therefore, we loaded up on all the breads, pastas, and low-fat goodies, never realizing that it was making us fatter.
Here's how it really works. All carbs are converted to glucose and raise your blood sugar, but they aren't all converted at the same rate. How fast they are absorbed--and how much--is what affects your weight.
There are two general classes of carbs--refined and unrefined. Refined carbs (white breads, white flour, pastas) are essentially refined sugars, meaning once you eat them they are quickly turned into glucose in your system.
Unrefined carbs are the kinds found in whole grains, beans, fruits, and many vegetables. The fiber in these foods helps to slow down your body's absorption of carbs, therefore slowing the process of turning carbs into glucose. The problem comes in when you eat too many carbs--especially too many refined carbs. If you eat excessive amounts of quickly absorbed carbs, you create a situation where more glucose becomes available than your body needs. That excess glucose gets turned into fat.
The Carbs/Diabetes ConnectionWhat's the problem with eating lots of carbs if you have diabetes? If you eat excessive amounts of quickly absorbed carbs, you upset your body's precise balance of blood sugar. Simply put, eating too many carbohydrate grams may cause a situation where more glucose becomes available to the cells than the body needs.
Obviously, for people with diabetes this is a dangerous scenario. But it also affects your weight because, as stated before, the excess glucose gets turned into fat.
Consequently, blood sugar goes down because the glucose is going into the body's cells as fat. And when your blood sugar begins to drop, you feel hungry. If, like many Americans, you eat a lot of refined carbs such as soft drinks and candy bars--or even pretzels and crackers--you are feeding a vicious cycle in your body that never really satisfies your hunger because you get only short-term relief.[pagebreak]
The Right Low-Carb Plan for You
By limiting yourself to a low-carb intake, eating less of the quickly absorbed carbs, keeping moderate amounts of lean proteins and healthy fats, and getting a reasonable amount of physical activity, you set the stage for safe and effective weight loss.
The following is a plan tailored to fit your calorie and low-carb diabetes diet needs for you to lose weight--about 1 to 2 pounds per week. Before you know it, you'll be dropping the pounds and loving your new low-carb lifestyle! Here's how to get started.
Determine your current calorie intake. If you have no idea, here's an easy way to find it. First, decide how active you are.
Sedentary means that you have a job or lifestyle that involves mostly sitting, standing, or light walking. You exercise once a week or less.
Active means that your job or lifestyle requires more activity than light walking (such as full-time housecleaning or construction work), or you get 45 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week.
Very active means that you get aerobic exercise for at least 45 to 60 minutes four or more times a week.
Choose the description that best fits your current lifestyle, then find your activity factor on the table below.
Multiply your activity factor by your current weight in pounds. The resulting number is the approximate number of calories you currently need to maintain your weight. The math looks like this: activity factor x weight in pounds = current calorie needs
Here's an example for an active woman who weighs 150 lb: 15 x 150 = 2,250
Pick a new calorie level. Rather than choosing a goal weight, simply reduce your current calorie intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day. (Note: Never go below 1,500 calories per day unless under the supervision of a doctor.) This will lead to safe, effective weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week. For instance, if you currently take in 2,300 to 2,500 calories a day, try reducing your daily intake to 1,800 to 2,000 calories.
Determine your current carb intake. Carbohydrates in the average diet supply 50 to 60 percent of total calories. Based on your calorie level that you just calculated, check the table below to find out the approximate grams of carbs in your diet. You might be surprised by how many grams of carbs you actually eat now. This table is based upon 55 percent of the calories from carbs--the average percentage consumed by most Americans. If your diet is more heavily weighted in carbs, the figure may be on the low side.
Cut back to 125 g. Most people who now consume a high-carb, low-fat diet (the standard American weight loss diet) will likely lose weight by cutting carbohydrates down to 125 g and replacing them with protein and healthy fats. To do that, follow "Your Low-Carb Daily Serving Guide". Simply eat the daily number of servings of food listed under that plan. For example, if you follow the 125-g plan at 1,800 to 2,200 calories, you should eat 14 servings of protein foods, 8 servings of fats, 1 serving of nuts, 5 servings of veggies, 4 servings of starches, 2 servings of fruit, and 0.5 serving of dairy foods. Note: If dropping to 125 g per day is too much too fast, cut back to 180 g carbs for a few weeks first.[pagebreak]
What's a Serving?
Protein 1 oz cooked lean beef, pork, lamb, skinless poultry, fish, or shellfish; 1 oz hard cheese (preferably reduced-fat); 1 egg
Fat, Unsaturated 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter); 1 teaspoon oil (such as olive, canola, walnut, or flaxseed); 1 teaspoon regular mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon oil-and-vinegar dressing; 5 large olives; 1/8 medium avocado
Fat, Saturated 1 teaspoon butter; 1 slice bacon; 1 oz salt pork; 1 tablespoon heavy cream; 1 tablespoon cream cheese; 2 tablespoons sour cream; 2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
Nuts 1 oz nuts without shell; 2 tablespoons peanut butter
Vegetables Â½ cup raw, chopped, or cooked; Â¾ cup vegetable juice; 1 cup raw, leafy greens
Starches 1 slice whole wheat bread; Â½ whole wheat bagel or muffin; Â½ cup cooked whole grain cereal, or pasta, brown rice, or other whole grain; Â½ cup cooked beans, corn, potatoes, rice, or sweet potatoes
Fruits 1 small to medium piece; 1 cup whole strawberries or melon cubes; Â½ cup canned or cut fruit; Â¾ cup fruit juice; Â¼ cup dried fruit
Your Low-Carb Daily Serving GuideSimply choose the calorie level that is right for you, then eat from the food groups listed below. This will automatically make you cut back on your carbs yet make sure you get enough of the right foods. To choose your calorie level, see the previous page. To find out what is considered a serving, see the top of this page.