Ask a Dietitian Forum Topic

FloridaJim 01/14/15
I am having a lot of bloating with this plan. Is that normal

Dietitian 01/14/15 replied to Dorry
Hi Dorry, You mention your carb levels are fine - do you mean your meal and snack total carb grams are within the range that was recommended for you?

If you are not eating enough calories, then that is something the dietitian can review with you, given your carb goals per meal and snack. If you need to gain weight and are struggling to get enough calories, you can focus on adding healthy fats (avoacdo, nuts/seeds, nut butter, extra virgin olive oil, and other good quality plant oils) to meals to help bump up calories without affecting blood glucose. Also look at your carb intake by meal and snack and see if you are using all of your carbs. Sometimes people go lower than they need to given their BG ranges after a meal.

Speaking of which, the standard is to test blood glucose 1-2 hr after the first bite of the meal, with the goal being < 180 mg/dL. Another common method is to test 2-hr after the first bite of a meal and have a goal of < 140 mg/dL.

Fasting BG - this refers to the first reading after rising from your sleep. It should be at least 8 hr without food/drink (water okay).

If you are testing before a meal, the standard is generally 3 hours without food/drink (except water) and the goal is typically 70-130 or 80-130.

You might find this blog post helpful: http://www.mynetdiary.com/tips-for-testing-your-blood-glucose-blood-sugar.html

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Dietitian 01/14/15 replied to FloridaJim
Hi FloridaJim, increasing fruits/veggies means an increase in fiber as well. You'll get used to the change in diet over time (and will have less gassiness). Drink plenty of non-caloric fluids and get daily exercise. Since you are tracking, you can determine if some foods cause more gas than others. For instance, I have a lot more bloating with legumes (dried beans and peas) unless I cook them for a long period of time. To find such patterns, write how you felt after meals in the Notes section.

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Dietitian 01/19/15
Hi Folks, I'll be posting replies on Tuesday. Best, Kathy

Dietitian 01/20/15
Omega 3's - I liked Brenda's blog post today on fish consumption and omega-3s. And her links are very helpful too.

Blog: http://www.mynetdiary.com/fish-oil-fish-tale-or-not.html

Fish choices that are lower or low in contaminants: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Fish-101_UCM_305986_Article.jsp


Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Dietitian 01/23/15
Hi Folks - I don't see any questions or posts for me in this forum area. Please post your questions to me here!
Best,
kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Fabiolavcg 01/26/15
Hi! Im 5 foot 3 inches and weigh 139 pounds. I am currently eating 5 times a day small portions but on average it adds up to like 800-900 calories per day. Is this bad?

Dietitian 01/27/15 replied to Fabiolavcg
Hi FaFabiolavcg, consuming only 800-900 kcal per day without medical supervision is too low. The only situation where I see an average intake this low is when I work with adults who have had bariatric surgery (e.g. gastric bypass or gastric sleeve) or when they are on a medically supervised protein-sparing modified fast (e.g. Optifast).

Please note that MyNetDiary allows flexible planning but the target calories could be too low if you are already at a healthy weight or close to one, and you set your weight loss goal to 2 lbs/wk wt loss without accounting for exercise.

Read the calories article so that you understand how the settings work (also available via Library tab): http://www.mynetdiary.com/customizing-calorie-goals.html

Let me know if you have questions!

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Chell 02/04/15
Question about meats.
When a diet plan requires 4oz's of poultry, are you suppose to weigh the meat before or after cooking?

Dietitian 02/05/15 replied to Chell
Hi Chell, typically, the meal plan is referring to 4 oz cooked. And be sure to log that food item as consumed in the amount consumed (e.g. 4 oz cooked chicken breast, etc.).

To learn more tips about food items, check out this post: http://www.mynetdiary.com/tips-and-tricks-for-entering-and-correcting-foods-in-mynetdiary.html

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

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