No or few carbs?

[April Prince]

i have been type 1 for 50 years now. I am struggling with my weight at the moment. I am pretty active: 2 dogs I walk every day, and a member of a health club.
My question is Is it safe to cut out most carbohydrates as a type 1 diabetic in order for me to lose weight? How would this affect me as far as exercise goes?

 

[Northerner]

Hi April, welcome to the forum 🙂 What insulin regime are you on? I don't think that there would be any problem in following a very low carb diet as long as you adjust your insulin doses to account for it. Many people find that going very low carb means that they have to inject for protein, which can make it a bit difficult when working out doses, so probably a good idea to ease into things and do plenty of testing to see how things affect you 🙂 I know a couple of people, also Type 1s, who have found it really helps to go very low carb. One thing to bear in mind is that an increase in protein can cause extra stress for your kidneys, so it might be something you want to discuss with your GP or nurse.

 

[DeusXM]

Depends entirely on your insulin regime, how intensely you monitor yourself, and how comfortable you are adjusting your doses.

But yes, it can be perfectly safe. I shoot for less than 50g a day (the equivalent of one sandwich), ideally try to get less than 30, and I'm on track for an A1c of between 5.7 and 6.0 at the moment.