update on my "zero carb" experiment
I'm still doing it! I think I started on april 28, so it's been 2 mos now. I feel great and I'm going to stick with it for the foreseeable future.
So, first I should say, I don't actually eat zero carbs, but I normally eat 2 g cho a day, so pretty close. When I have 2 meals a day, it's 5 slices of bacon and a burger w/ cheddar for my 1st meal and 2 burger patties with cheddar for my second meal. More often now, though, I just eat once a day and I have 4 slices bacon, 2 patties, and cheddar. Eating this way, I just don't get very hungry. When I only have one meal, I often lose my interest in it half way through, but I try to finish it because I like that it gets me through the whole next day. I may experiment with less food or eating even less often, though.
This way of eating is so unexpected for me because I normally have a large appetite and want to eat all the time. But now I think that was just a side effect of the carbs for me. And even 25 or 30 g a day was enough to keep that going. But on near-zero, I am not very interested in food at all. It's so liberating!
Blood sugar has been pretty good (would probably be better if I would stop forgetting about it, I have been missing shots here and there). When I'm paying attn, though, it's quite good. And I'm using a tiny amount of insulin most days (total of 13 to 16 units and I think I'm needing less, been going low more this last week).
The real shocker for me, though, has been that my dawn phenomenon has disappeared! It used to be that if I got up to get my son to school and didn't do any insulin or eat beforehand, I would go from 80ish to 300ish by the time I got home. I would normally do 3 units of humalog at 7:30 to keep it in line if I didn't eat. Now it really doesn't happen at all. The other day, I tested every hour until I had my evening meal (fasted all day) and it did go up steadily all day, but the highest it got was 141!
I think I may need to lower my lantus shot again because I've been waking up low the last few days (which I hate bc I feel like having those recovery carbs makes me feel really off all day, especially bc it's been first thing in the morning). So I'm crossing my fingers that I continue to stay steady in the am if I decrease it. But when my dawn phenomenon was in full swing, a bit more lantus was not helpful, so I think there has been a real change.
Does anyone know if Dr. B has anything to say about low carb effecting DP? I don't recall seeing that anywhere, but I haven't listened to the podcasts.
I have lost about 20 pounds since I started, but gained a few back just in the last few days since I've been having these lows.
So, first I should say, I don't actually eat zero carbs, but I normally eat 2 g cho a day, so pretty close. When I have 2 meals a day, it's 5 slices of bacon and a burger w/ cheddar for my 1st meal and 2 burger patties with cheddar for my second meal. More often now, though, I just eat once a day and I have 4 slices bacon, 2 patties, and cheddar. Eating this way, I just don't get very hungry. When I only have one meal, I often lose my interest in it half way through, but I try to finish it because I like that it gets me through the whole next day. I may experiment with less food or eating even less often, though.
This way of eating is so unexpected for me because I normally have a large appetite and want to eat all the time. But now I think that was just a side effect of the carbs for me. And even 25 or 30 g a day was enough to keep that going. But on near-zero, I am not very interested in food at all. It's so liberating!
Blood sugar has been pretty good (would probably be better if I would stop forgetting about it, I have been missing shots here and there). When I'm paying attn, though, it's quite good. And I'm using a tiny amount of insulin most days (total of 13 to 16 units and I think I'm needing less, been going low more this last week).
The real shocker for me, though, has been that my dawn phenomenon has disappeared! It used to be that if I got up to get my son to school and didn't do any insulin or eat beforehand, I would go from 80ish to 300ish by the time I got home. I would normally do 3 units of humalog at 7:30 to keep it in line if I didn't eat. Now it really doesn't happen at all. The other day, I tested every hour until I had my evening meal (fasted all day) and it did go up steadily all day, but the highest it got was 141!
I think I may need to lower my lantus shot again because I've been waking up low the last few days (which I hate bc I feel like having those recovery carbs makes me feel really off all day, especially bc it's been first thing in the morning). So I'm crossing my fingers that I continue to stay steady in the am if I decrease it. But when my dawn phenomenon was in full swing, a bit more lantus was not helpful, so I think there has been a real change.
Does anyone know if Dr. B has anything to say about low carb effecting DP? I don't recall seeing that anywhere, but I haven't listened to the podcasts.
I have lost about 20 pounds since I started, but gained a few back just in the last few days since I've been having these lows.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on -
My mind pretty much thinks a serving is the whole package of ANYTHING. I keep telling myself I should get a scale and actually measure out servings, but then they look so pitifully SMALL!!!!
The acid in spinach is oxalic acid. And you're right, it prevents the body from absorbing iron. But spinach does have other good nutrients in it, so I'm glad you didn't give it up altogether! :-) -
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Permalink Reply by rubidoux on -
People do seem to think spinach is healthy, don't they? ;) I don't think we *really* know, though.
I'm not saying spinach is bad for you or that it doesn't have nutrients (though there are some people who believe it is). I'm more in the mode of questioning where we got this info and whether we think about it or it is just so ingrained now that we can't see things any other way, kwim? Like all my vegan friends who like to keep their fat under some magic percentage and are worried about cholesterol. It's so ingrained in them. They could read GCBC and still act like it's a proven indisputable truth that cholesterol is bad.
I feel in my gut that spinach is good for us. But I am pretty certain that's just because I've believed it my whole life. I still feed it to my children though. More out of fear than some scientific knowledge.
I did spend years saying, "I eat low carb, but I eat more veggies than I ever had before LC'ing," like that made low carb more virtuous or something. I didn't want people to get the wrong idea and think I was sitting around eating bacon and cheeseburgers for every meal. But now I am. And I feel more comfortable with that because it is really working for me, so I'm not doubting myself. -
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Permalink Reply by andrea on -
what other foods do you eat besides hamburgers and bacon. what are your feelings about pork rinds and nuts? do you ever eat them?
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Permalink Reply by type1VT on -
my problem with nuts has been that they are SO good that I eat too many of them at one sitting. after losing a bunch of weight over the year before I was diagnosed, I gained some back (a good thing since I was skeletal), but now I am gaining more than I want. I attribute this to nuts. We bought almonds in bulk at Costco (so much less expensive) and so constantly had them on hand at home, and I would use this as my after-dinner-in-front-of-the-tv-I'm-pissed-that-I-can't-have-a-bowl-of-ice-cream-snack. Over the months, I gained weight steadily and my clothes just didn't fit right. Decided to stop buying the almonds and peanuts, and, although I haven't weighed myself (I avoid that at all costs), my clothes fit better now. That's the only thing I've changed.
having said that, I just now had a little packet of nuts that I bought at the snack bar at work for lunch (heh heh). Although it's easier (albeit more expensive) to buy a small package and know how many calories I'm consuming. I kid you not, I think it was 20 nuts and it was 250 calories, which makes me gasp in retrospect about how many calories I likely consume when I binge on them at night.
I was in love with pork rinds soon after my diagnosis and after I started following Dr. B's diet, but I'm over them now. They leave a weird film on the roof of my mouth that I don't like. I wish there was another alternative, something salty and crunchy that I could eat a lot of that fulfilled that snacky role that tortilla chips and popcorn used to fill!! -
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Permalink Reply by Cosumne Jan on -
Snacky thing I love - celery and peanut butter I make myself that has nothing but peanuts it in. But I don't make much at a time, or I'd eat it all. Nuts are just too handy.
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Permalink Reply by rubidoux on
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I don't really eat anything else. But I made up the rules, so you should figure out what works for you. I do have a jar of macadamia nuts in the house just in case I really *need* something and I have had some twice. It hasn't seemed to mess me up. But I really like eating one or two discreet meals with no snacking. It's very hard to figure out what is actual hunger and what is habitual snacking, so I assume if it's not mealtime, then I'm not really hungry. And I think that's usually true. And when it's not, and I sense that I am actually hungry, then I usually wait for my meal anyway. When I'm eating this way, I don't get the same kind of hunger that I did when carbs were involved, which was much more insistent.
Have you tried it? I'm so curious! -
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Permalink Reply by rubidoux on
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So, today I did eat something else. I was fasting today, so I ate once at 5 pm and I had buffalo chicken with blue cheese dressing. It was pretty yummy! I am actually feeling really sick of bacon and cheeseburgers! lol But for me, right now, that's okay. I am going to stick to it because I'm getting a lot out of it.
There are some people on the dirty carnivore forum that cook really impressive all-meat meals, but I kind of like not thinking about my food and being able to rely on automatic pilot for my meals. -
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Permalink Reply by andrea on
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i spent a three day weekend eating cheeseburger patties and bacon. i lost 2 pounds! last night for dinner i had some veggies and it actually made my stomach hurt. i like your way of eating. and you are right about the fullness. it was very satisfying. thanks.
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