Lower Blood Sugar Without Giving Up All Carbs | Shelly Chaudhari, RD

What should you actually eat if you have type 2 diabetes? Do you need to eliminate carbohydrates? And how do you know whether your diet is really working? In this episode of Strong After 50, I sit down with registered dietitian and diabetes educator Shelly Chaudhari to discuss a practical, numbers-driven approach to improving blood sugar. Shelly explains why people with type 2 diabetes usually don't need to eliminate carbohydrates completely, how she determines an appropriate carbohydrate intake for each person, and why sustainable changes often beat trying to follow the “perfect” diet. We also discuss walking and exercise, continuous glucose monitors, food tracking, weight loss, and the dietary advice Shelly has changed her mind about during her career. We cover: Why eliminating all carbohydrates usually isn't necessary The first dietary changes Shelly considers for high blood sugar How much carbohydrate to eat per meal Why your current diet should determine where you start How walking after meals can help Using blood glucose data instead of relying on dietary ideology What to investigate when you're “barely eating” but not losing weight Why food scales and CGMs can uncover blind spots The diabetes advice Shelly has changed her mind about Why you don't need to reach your ideal weight before improving your blood sugar One of my favourite themes from this conversation: measurement clears the confusion. Instead of arguing about whether high-carb or low-carb diets are universally best, measure the outcome and adjust accordingly. Shelly repeatedly emphasizes starting with the individual and using their response to guide what comes next. Connect with Shelly Chaudhari: Website: http://scnutritionservices.com/ shelly@scnutritionandstudio.com Strong After 50: Take the FREE Strong After 50 Assessment and discover where to focus first for the biggest health payoff: fitnesssolutionsplus.ca/strongafter50 Subscribe for evidence-based conversations about strength, nutrition, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, healthy aging, and staying strong after 50. Chapters: 0:00 Meet Shelly Chaudhari 1:51 The biggest misconception about type 2 diabetes 2:55 Small changes that can lower blood sugar 5:03 The diet you'll follow beats the “perfect” diet 7:18 How many carbs should you eat with diabetes? 9:31 Why blood sugar data beats dietary dogma 12:33 “I barely eat, but I'm not losing weight” 14:26 Food scales, CGMs and finding dietary blind spots 16:58 Why small calorie differences matter 19:22 Diabetes advice Shelly changed her mind about 21:21 Do you need to reach your ideal weight? 22:29 How to contact Shelly