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Permalink Reply by Terry on September 19, 2012 at 11:16am

Carbs 10% (about 50 grams/day)
Protein 25%

Fat 65%

Since I adopted this eating plan on May 1, 2012, I've lost 24 pounds (13% of my body weight), stopped taking my blood pressure meds, cut my daily insulin dose in half, and dropped my A1c from 6.8% to 6.2%. Like many diabetics before me, I've discovered that eating too many carbs puts me on the unending BG roller-coaster and exposes me to too many lows. I've gone from 2-3 lows (<70 mg/dl) per day to to 3-4 lows per week.

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Permalink Reply by Terry on September 19, 2012 at 11:50am

I haven't had to defend this diet with my doctor yet, but I expect some kind of negative pushback. I will tell the "experts" that this is my diabetes. I have lowered my average blood glucose, drastically reduced my hypos, lost weight, and relieved my hypertension. By any modern medical measure, this change in eating has been an incredible success! If it took a "fad" diet to accomplish this, then so be it.

By the way, I don't think that a low carb diet is a fad diet. If anything, the modern high carb, low fat diet is the fad diet. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that the "experts" simplistically decided that fat clogs arteries and causes heart disease. That conclusion has not stood up to scientific scrutiny. The human species did not develop agriculture (and all the carbohydrates that implies) until 10,000 years ago. For millions of years before that man lived on a low carb diet.

I am following and will continue to follow a diet that promotes health, not one that pushes me toward the inevitable cascade of diabetes complications.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on September 20, 2012 at 9:38am

I do about 10, 45, 45.

Some argue that our ancestors ate a low/no carb diet, so it must be safe and healthy. Unfortunately, it is hard to gather any sort of reliable data, regarding diet and health today, much less thousands of years ago. For various reasons, most of our ancestors did not live long lives.

It seems there are examples of PWD that have done well on LC diets for long periods of time. I feel there isn't enough data to be conclusive.

In my own experience, the LC diet has improved my BG control dramatically. I have also noticed some physical improvements.

Will my diet cause problems for me later? There doesn't seem to be enough evidence one way or another, but there is convincing evidence that poorly controlled BG does.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on September 20, 2012 at 1:37pm

I don't really follow a paleo diet per se. Basically, I eat the same as I used to eat, excluding foods that raise my BG quickly or drastically (Bernstein's suggested exclusions). I didn't raise fat or protein to compensate. I just eat a lot less. I was a vegetarian for 10 years, and am still not a big meat eater. Sometimes I cook with soy protein or tofu, and I do eat plenty of fish, salad, and green vegetables. Weight was never a major concern, but I'm someone who used to be able to easily eat a whole pizza, but have gotten my appetite under control. So far, so good.

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on September 19, 2012 at 11:54am

Olé! well done!

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on September 19, 2012 at 11:57am

That sounds like a huge improvement. Just reducing the lows is probably enough of a win to justify the diet. I've also eat about the same proportions. I've been a fan of low carb diets and Dr. B for some time. In practice, I strictly restrict my carbs and basically ignore fat and protein (I try not to overeat protein). I make no effort to restrict calories and have not changed weight in 2 years.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on September 19, 2012 at 12:39pm

I have to say that you need to be careful about just accepting "expert" advice. A hospital is a terrible place for diabetic nutrition. My father in law was hospitalized and prescribed a diabetic diet. Under that diet, he was allowed to select a serving of veggies along with a meat and starch. At this leading hospital, one of the veggie selections offered was "rice." Many of the so called experts are far from experts.

Fad : Definition - An intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, esp. one that is short-lived; a craze.

The low carb, high fat diet was a staple of treatment for Elliot Joslin and other diabetes pioneers. The Atkins diet was popularized in 1972, fourty years ago. The American Diabetes Association now recommends low carb diets like Atkins for weight loss (I would admit they still are searching for a clue). If someone is naive enough to call a low carb high fat diet a "fad diet," you probably don't want to listen to their advice.

I've had plenty of "medical professionals" offer me dietary advice. I've given up trying to help them. I'll gladly "listen" to their advice, but that is all I'll do "listen."

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on September 19, 2012 at 12:10pm

can you tell me what you eat fat-wise? im low carbing it but dont know what percentage my breakdown is, just trying not to eat carbs very much. but what do you eat for 65% fat? a stick of butter? do you count things like cheese as fat? whats a typical days meals?
my doctor does not approve of this kind of diet but i agree with you wholeheartedly that this way of eating is more natural and healthier. although i jumped on the low carb wagon because of the fabulous advice on this site, this past summer i read dr b and gary taubes´book "good fat, bad fat" and they changed everything for me!

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Permalink Reply by Terry on September 19, 2012 at 12:30pm

The fat part of my diet includes eggs, grass-fed beef, bacon, pork, butter, coconut oil, heavy cream, whole milk yogurt, beef jerky, pork jerky, almonds, macadamia nuts, peanut butter, mayonnaise, and cheese. I also eat berries, tomatos, onions, peppers, avocados, and tuna fish.

Your summer reading is similar to mine; two weeks ago I finished Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.

Isn't it amazing that not only do we as diabetics have to deal with all it takes to manage our blood sugar, but we also often have to do it with the skeptical support of the so-called medical professionals!

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on September 20, 2012 at 9:21am

terry. thanks foryour reply. so youre counting this meat and cheese as fat and not protein? what counts as protein then?

i know, re me profs. my gp is great but got a bollocking couple of weeks ago when i told her i was eating low carb. labs are fabulous, i dont know shes complaining about...like somebody else does here, i just listen to advice. ill not b following it. i go to my endo next week and probably get an earful from her, too.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on September 19, 2012 at 12:45pm

I use lots of butter, bacon fat, olive oil and coconut oil in my cooking. I get fatty cuts of meat and prepare them so all the fat can be consumed with the meal (I really like braising). I've been on a roasting kick, tossing veggies like brocolli in olive oil. It is easy to consume a 1/4 cup of olive oil this way, that is like 50g of fat. And I do eat lots of cheese.

ps. And I make my own yogurt, using half heavy cream and half whole milk.

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Permalink Reply by FHS on September 21, 2012 at 1:01pm

That's pretty close to what I eat currently. My comprehensive metabolic panel is fine. My HDL is up to 72 from 54, and was the toughest data point for me to get into a good range. I'm not sure if anything I've actually done has made a difference, but I did change to steel cut oatmeal for breakfast and added a glass of red wine with my dinner.

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