Re: question/fiber/Judith

[Guest guest]

-

>

> I can't figure out how to do this. I need the fiber and understand

that it

> slows down the carb/sugar something or other allowing me to have

more carbs

> at each meal.

Judith,

A lot of people think we can only get fiber from cereals or other

grains. Not true, nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, fruits, and veggies

are a major source of fiber often overlooked. We are so used to

hearing we have to have breakfast cereal for fiber and yet if you look

at the fiber amount unless you eat a really high carb one the fiber

count is not that high. You can even add wheat germ to your yogurt.

Oatmeal does give a lot of people problems. I know I had to get away

from instant ones myself. But recently I discovered that McCann's

makes an instant one called McCann's Instant Sugar Free Irish Oatmeal.

Has Splenda and flavorings. 1 packet is 18g carbs. I have

discovered something intesting many instant packets will vary the size

amount to make it appear as you get more or less carbs. Not all

serving sizes are the same. If you look at the weight of the serving

on the package label rather than just the carb amount it is very

revealing. So while other instant oatmeals did not work I saw that

one reason was the sugars and also the size amount. This brand seems

to work for me. Not as refined. Even so the fiber amount is only 3g

per serving. Not really that high to be worth spiking if that happens.

Other than that I use only whole grains for hot cereals and then make

sure I have a protein with it. Milk as a protein doesn't cut it for

me. I may add a spoonful of milk rather than an actual serving. I

add nuts and sometimes peanut butter. I use berries in the morning.

Other fruits don't work for me.

There are other whole grain cereals out there like Uncle Sam toasted

whole wheat and flaxseed. It is 10g fiber per 3/4 cup and 38 carbs.

So you subtract the 10 from the 38 and it is net 28 carbs. Still too

much for me, so I eat a half portion. Sometimes I just use 1/4 c of

high fiber cereal, a tiny bit of milk or yogurt, and 1 cup of berries.

I can get more fiber from the fruit that way and less spike. It's

just a thing one has to experiment if you don't want to completely

eliminate a food, just cut back. We don't have to eat the serving

size they recommend on the box. We can customize our own to whatever

works.

Some of the low carb cereals have soy grits in it and soy bothers me.

So I avoid those. Always check ingredients, carb and fiber to see

what you prefer.

It is a challenge to get more fiber though when we are used to the

idea of cereal/grains for fiber. In reality there is a whole lot of

other ways to get fiber. I hear all the time women are supposed to

eat 7 servings of fruits and veggies and men 9 servings per day. Here

I thought I was doing good eating 5 per day. IF we all ate that many

servings of veggies and fruits I don't think we would have a fiber

problem. Plus I figured I would be too full to worry about eating

cereal and bread LOL. Now add in the nuts, seeds, legumes and beans

and you have a great source of fiber. Surprisingly these things are

packed full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and even protein.

[Guest guest]

,

this sounds terrific BUT I can't eat a 'meal' that is over 25g carb. no

yogurt either. Fruits seem to spike me too.

I don't have a clue how to schedule meals either so I can keep to an under

25g carb meal or snack or whatever in order to stay under 140BS# 2 hrs after

eating. It is hard for me to make my meals smaller to accomplish this, but

it is worth a try if I can figure it out.

Also, not eating after 7pm gives me a lower BS# in the a.m. but then how

the heck do I include a 4th meal???

If I can figure out how to incorporate fiber to allow me a higher carb gram

level at each meal/snack that would be so helpful. It would also allow me

to start also incorporating the number of calories I eat so I can keep

loosing the weight I need to loose. From what my endo team tells me, if I

get back to a normal weight my BS#s will decrease which I've already seen to

be true with my 28 lbs weight loss over the past 3 or so months.

I am amazed I've gotten this far especially with an eating disorder that

tells me to stuff my face with comfort foods when stressed. I am definitely

stressed.

ah life....

JUDITH

> Judith,

> A lot of people think we can only get fiber from cereals or other

> grains. Not true, nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, fruits, and veggies

> are a major source of fiber often overlooked. We are so used to

> hearing we have to have breakfast cereal for fiber and yet if you look

> at the fiber amount unless you eat a really high carb one the fiber

> count is not that high. You can even add wheat germ to your yogurt.

>

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[Guest guest]

--BUT I can't eat a 'meal' that is over 25g carb. no

> yogurt either. Fruits seem to spike me too.

I understand as I cannot eat over 25g carbs per meal either. What I

had to do was eliminate certain fruits, find ones I could eat and then

at that maybe eat a half portion til it works. Is there any fruit you

can eat? Did you know avocado is a fruit but has more fat so it might

not spike you? I add that to salad a lot. Yogurt? I had to switch to

plain yogurt without fruit or sugars added. It has way less carbs.

Mixing in my own stuff made it work. I understand it is frustrating.

It's not like I figured mine out overnight. It's taken probably a

year to continually perfect it. You just start where you can with

little changes here and there as you get used to one phase and are ready.

>

> I don't have a clue how to schedule meals either so I can keep to an

under

> 25g carb meal or snack or whatever in order to stay under 140BS# 2

hrs after

> eating. It is hard for me to make my meals smaller to accomplish

this, but

> it is worth a try if I can figure it out.

Well what I did was first start with breakfast. Set that time and then

made a schedule of every 3 hrs. That way you can eat small amounts

each time and avoid 3 bigger meals with higher carb amounts. Now I

find I cannot stand bigger meals that most people consider regular

sized. For instance I would have 20 carbs 3 x a day and 2 snacks of

15 carbs 2 x a day. That was in the beginning. Then on insulin I

found that I had to go 4 hrs between meals which mean at times I only

had 3 meals, 1 snack, sometimes no snack.

>

> Also, not eating after 7pm gives me a lower BS# in the a.m. but then

how

> the heck do I include a 4th meal???

Well then for you, you know you can't eat later than that. We can

offer how we do it, but in the end you experiment and customize things

for yourself. You know how your body works best. I guess it all

depends on how early you eat your first meal of the day.

As to incorporating more fiber it doesn't necessarily mean more carbs

per meal. It's just something you will have to sit down with a

carb/nutrition counting book and start with something simple. I know

what bothered me was having to figure carbs, calories and all the

rest. I started with just carb amounts, later calories, then fiber.

A lot depends on what you like to eat.

I like to make a list of meals I normally eat with nutrition facts on

recipe cards. That way when I repeat that same meal I don't have to

figure each ingredient out again. I just look thru my recipe cards

and the total per serving is already there.

Hang on to that hope your endo team gave you about getting back to

normal weight and BG decreasing. It definitely will. I am so glad

you have a team that is encouraging in this way. You are doing

wonderful so far! I know it is hard to do the opposite of what

feelings say but we can take charge and do what we must anyway. You

are going to make it. You sound like a fighter to me. Great weight

loss for 3 mos! Keep up the good work. You will find it is a

continous tweaking process. I still am doing that but it becomes much

easier.