Do you low carb?
All this talk about Dr. Bernstein, A1C's below 6, and low carbing for better diabetic health, I was wondering how many people on this board actually low carb.
I know what carbs to avoid, etc, but for the most part I do not low carb, do you?
I know what carbs to avoid, etc, but for the most part I do not low carb, do you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I rely on carb restriction (under 60 grams carbs per day) and 60-90 minutes of exercise per day to get and keep my A1c below 6.0%. Current A1c is 5.7%. Am scheduled for test end of October and based on estimator (spreadsheet), I may make it down to 5.3%. I eat no grains, almost no fruit (berries primarily), no sugar, no starchy vegetables, no processed foods. Lots of non-starchy vegetables, animal protein (emphasis on wild Alaskan salmon and other non-farmed fish and shellfish). My lipid profile (which never was bad) is now ideal. My blood pressure is 108/70 (was 138/79) and I feel better than I have in years. I'm currently taking 1000 mg metformin, but may be able to start to reduce the dose in a few months. When I was diagnosed in January of 2007, my A1c was 9.1%.
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Permalink Reply by Karen on -
Wowsa Sarah, very impressive. :)
I just low carbed my dinner tonight and yesterday's lunch, I am going to try to do better.
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Permalink Reply by Libby on
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I do low carb but not as extreme as the Bernstein plan. I eat about 100g a day. I used to do the meat/cheese/eggs thing but didn't like to eat so much fat. I was almost a vegetarian before diagnosis. I use my insulin to allow me to eat some foods which Bernstein avoids, such as tomatoes, fruit, an occasional ear of corn and yogurt. I completely gave up rice, bread, baked goods, anything made with flour, pasta, potatoes, etc. My A1C is now 5.6, and I'm betting my next will be lower still. I recently started sprouting foods and absolutely love that I can now eat sprouted peas, lentils, beans and grains. I have sprouted whole grains with yogurt and fruit for breakfast and a big sprout salad for lunch and have found my BG has gone way down as a result. I am having to reduce my insulin because I am going low. I love how I feel when my BG is normal (between 80 and 100 all the time.) I need less sleep, am full of energy and generally feel great. So it is worth it to me to have made such a huge change in my eating habits. I don't even want to eat high carb foods anymore. They just don't appeal to me.
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Permalink Reply by Karen on
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My bgs were perfect at my low carb lunch yesterday and again tonight after my low carb dinner and I feel wide awake, but I have to go to bed now as my hubby is getting up at 2:30 a.m. to catch a plane at 5:30 and I have to be with my mom in the a.m. for a surgery we have been waiting to perform since May.
Hmmm what will be my low carb in the a.m., thinking and sleeping.
Sweet dreams all. :)
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Permalink Reply by Daena on -
I do have carbs but I don't consume more than 45g per meal. In fact, 45g is stretching it, unless I am out and I'd like to treat myself. Such treats are a rare occasion anyway. My biggest carb intake for the day is breakfast which is 25g of carb. If I'm having fruit for a meal, I forgo the starchy foods. This doesn't work for some, but I choose lower glycaemic load foods when I'm having starchy foods. There are some carbs I totally avoid. Namely, yoghurt, certain fruits, short-grain rice, jasmine rice, egg noodles, and pasta and the most evil of them all, potato.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on -
I eat about 130 grams of carbs a day. My last A1c was 5.8%, but I am also a pumper and I think the control with a pump is far superior to that of shots. Which alows me to enjoy life and eat a bit more freely without being so concerned about carbs!!!
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Permalink Reply by Ed Parma on -
I try to hold my carb intake to well below 180 grams a day. It has really helped keep my average BG numbers down. I think this is what the ADA recommends as well.
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Permalink Reply by Windy on -
I just started Dr. Bernstein's book after reading Dana Carpender's "How I quit my low-fat diet and lost 40 pounds".
I've been eating less than 20 carbs a day for almost two months now and I feel phenomenal! I've lost some weight, my mood has leveled out, haven't been low in a long time, haven't been high either. Its pretty great. I'm a little bit sad to hear he doesn't like the pump. I'm on a pump, but I haven't gotten to that part of his book yet.
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Permalink Reply by Megan S on -
I'm not officially on a low-carb diet, but am eating pretty low carb anyway. I have 90g of carbs a day. I stick to low GI carbs.
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Permalink Reply by Sam F on -
Low carbing has been so helpful for controlling my blood sugars.. I'm usually between 80 and 110, sometimes up to 120 or 130, and I haven't had a low in about a month (I've only had diabetes since July mind you), and I've only gone over 140 a couple times since I started low carbing. I only need 6 units of insulin a day. My doctor had prescribed 30, so I was all over the place in the beginning.
One unit is 15 carbs for me, so that's how many I eat for pretty much every meal. I don't have syringes so I can't dose 1/2 a unit, though I'll switch from my pen soon. I make it work because I prepare most of my own meals.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on
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Wow, I responded to this post a year ago and so much has changed since then. I am now doing the low carb thing, as a pumper I started to slowly gain weight and for me that is unacceptable. I have always been thin and have never been concerned with my weight but as the pounds slowly crept on it was time to do something about it.
I have cut out bread, rice, potatoes and pasta from my diet. Sure I eat a little portion of bread or potato once a week but the days of eating sandwiches, bake potato's or pasta are gone. I now use about 10-12 units less of insulin per day. My basal rates have come down and managing my BG is so much easier now. I eat a lot more vegi's and salad and I stick with lean meats and if I do eat beef it is once a week or not at all. Since I have been doing this over the last 5 weeks I am down about 9-11 pounds. I look better and feel great and in another 2 weeks I will get my A1c checked. I am expecting it to be down from 6.1 to around 5.5 or less. We shall see!!
Low carbing it is not easy. As a former chef and someone who loves to eat everything it is has been a challenge but I want to live a long and complication free life and this is one way to help insure that I keep with that goal.
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Permalink Reply by Karen on
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Wowsa David, I am very impressed. I was always thin as well and since pumping have put on a ton of weight, well not a ton, but at least 20 lbs, and that is a ton to me. I have really cut back on my carbs for breakfast and lunch, but dinner still does me in. :(
I am so impressed with your weight loss and look forward to hearing about your A1C.
Great job. :)
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