Low carb advice . . .

[Viki]

Right Guys - at the risk of opening a can of worms id like some advice.

Im sick of having huge spikes between meals, even though I come back in range for my next meal as per DAFNE rules. My A1c remains higher than ideal and i still feel the effects of the hypers every day.

So . . .I am considering going LOW carb (not no carb). Can low/no carbers give me some advice pls . .

1. Does it mean Ketoacidosis is a bigger risk?
2. Does it help you lose weight?
3. Am i going to be tired?

and most importantly . . .

4. What the hell do you eat every day?? My only idea for a low carb meal is an omelette which i have if i have to have a very late dinner! I have cholesterol issues so i dont eat red meat and only have 2-3 eggs a week.

Are fruit and veggies good or bad due to sugar content?

????????????????

 

[AlisonM]

I can answer the second question, yes you will. At least I am, slowly at around a pound a week, which is about right. I bulk up my meals with lots of veg so I don't feel like snacking in between. I haven't noticed I'm any more tired, in fact during that part of the day when I'm usually at my best I actually seem to have more energy not less. Oh, and my skin is clearer too. It may be different for type 1s of course. Try and see, it certainly won't hurt I don't think.

 

[Steff]

hiya hun i cant help much on the thread as i aint a no or low carber but i think they are a few threads floating around where this topic has been discussed x

 

[Steff]

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=2316

and here is the thread , i hope it helps

 

[Viki]

Thanks Hun! Will have a proper read when i have 5 hours on my hands 😛

 

[Steff]

PMSL sorrryyyyy

 

[Northerner]

Hi Viki,

1) ketoacidosis isn't a higher risk if you low-carb. You may get ketones as your body breaks down fatty tissue for energy, but this is perfectly normal and as long as you have sufficient circulating insulin to help process the ketones then you will be fine - you'll know you're OK if your BG levels are normal. DKA occurs when there is a lack of insulin - in this case the body tries to flush ketones out in the urine, or out through the breath (pear drops smell). If you have insufficient insulin, the ketones build up in your blood making it acidic. Enough insulin and they don't build up, so it's ketosis rather than ketoACIDosis (my understanding, anyway!)

2) Yes, you should lose weight! You'll also be reducing your insulin (less carbs) and insulin is a growth hormone.

3) Can't really answer the last one. I eat plenty of carbs because I am very active, and carbs are more easily converted to energy (than fat). Hitting the wall in a marathon occurs when the body's store of glycogen runs out and converts over to using fat - it's much less efficient. I guess it's another case of trial and error. I have heard that some people feel less tired on reduced carbs.

Good luck! I wouldn't really know where to start with low carb food every meal, every day!

 

[rossi_mac]

Hi Viki,

I don't truely low carb but pass though that town sometimes.

I think someone said to me once write down what you are having now to give you an idea of the amount of carbs you are munching on now (maybe you've already done that) then it'll be easier to see what happens maybe.

Everyone is different but there are many out there who are healthy living on such a diet, I think Dodger is the gospel here.

The obvious answers when ever I asked Ann Marie this kinda stuff was bacon and eggs for breaky (or just bacon for you) salad, fish and meat for other meals. Some low carbers avoid certain veg's maybe read the values of them in one of those carb value tables and decide to cut out those over value x? Likewise with fruit. It might be easier working on one meal at a time, as it's a big change in a way.

A low carb meal is all relative to what you used to have, I would consider pork chop and couscous with some veg to be low carb, but others wouldn't, but yes omlete is a favourite with low carbers I believe.

Good luck with it, But don't do anything too drastic too quickly your body is used to what you do now?

Rossi🙂

 

[shiv]

i really want to go low carb but as a veggie i think i'd be pretty limited.

 

[AlisonM]

I now eat very little in the way of pasta, rice, spuds and bread. I avoid high sugar fruit and veg like grapes, bananas, parsnips and so on and have a fair bit of high fibre things like carrots or pineapple and loads of green veg. Couscous is a fairly common occurrence in my diet these days, as is oatmeal. I cut down on the portion sizes of meat and fish too and bulk out my meals with the veg. I haven't actually tried formally counting either carbs or calories*, as long as I'm losing weight, I'm not going to.

*When I saw the doc on Monday, she said not to count calories because while it works well, it's not really a great idea for diabetics where the main idea is to find a healthy food regime you can live with forever and lose weight that way. She thinks that once you get on the calorie treadmill, you'll never get off it and it might be counter productive in the long run. First time I've heard a medic say something like that. Now if only I can persuade her that testing is a good thing for all diabetics...

 

[katie]

In regards to point number 3... I doubt it will make you tired if you are lowering your carb intake, rather than going ultra-low carb. If you do feel it's making you tired you probably aren't eating enough carbs.

Shiv why don't you try just reducing your carb intake? When I was seriously doing low carb I ate lot's of veggie mince, sausages and burgers.