I’m newly dx. in Jan 11. I have been doing low carb diet for the past 8 weeks 30 -40 carbs per day. Thus far I have only experienced positve effects BG down to what I believe is normal range 85-120, lost 20 lbs. and feeling good. Has anyone been low carbing long term? Have you had any negative problems arise? What do your doctors say about a low carb diet?
My doctor is supportive. I was doing South Beach diet for 2 yrs before getting t1. So Bernstein was just the next step. I can’t follow perfectly, but the wisdom to try is there!
All the best to you. Keep up the good work. We need good examples in this life!
I’ve been eating 40 to 50 g of carbs since August of 09. I went cold turkey and drastically cut my carbs all at once. Had some short term digestive problems due to the change in diet, but they cleared up in a few weeks. If I had to do it all over, I would do the same thing. The quick reduction of blood sugar had a very noticeable effect on my mental sharpness which had deteriorated noticeably.
I feel so much better since getting my sugar under control and feel its a healthy diet. Considering a third of the population has insulin resistance I feel reducing carbs especially fast acting carbs would benefit even those who are not diabetic.
There are even non diabetics who have adopted a neolithic diet (which is similar to Bernstein without the dairy) because they say it makes them feel better.
When I was diagnosed I started reading extensively various forums on the web. I read horror story after horror story about peoples doctors reacting extremely negatively to their patients going low carb, to deal with their diabetes. So when I announced to my Dr. , in my first follow up visit, that I was cutting carbs drastically and eliminating whole food groups (grain, fruit etc.) I prepared to defend my choice. But he was very supportive, something I am eternally grateful for.
Glad that you too have had success.
I’ve followed Dr. B in some form since 2006. I would point out two concerns. One is the suggestion that low carb over time will result in a downregulation of your thyroid. But I’ve never observed this downregulation myself. The other issue is exercise performance and in particular the ability to get nutrition to recover from exercise. One of the things I had found over the last two years is that I had basically “stalled” in my weightlifting performance. Since starting insulin and specifically eating carbs before and after workouts, I’ve broken through some of those stalls and made progress.
So glad you posted this! I have only been using his low carb diet for one week. Happy to see that others have been able to stay with it for long periods, without problems. I have only had great results so far, nothing bad.
Congratulations, and I hope it continues to work well for you!
I would say the only negative is occasionally being hypoglycemic. I’m still getting used to the low carb diet and trying to following Dr. B’s recommendation to stay ~90mg/dl all the time, so I’m experiencing more lows than highs, actually. My doc really doesn’t like to see all those lows on my glucose meter. I personally feel more comfortable with lows than highs, I’ve always been able to take care of lows (even “super lows”) with a half a glucose tablet. Good luck!
I have been low carbing for one year now and the only side effects I have had are lower blood sugar levels and less brain fog so all positives! My doctor did not tell me NOT to do it but has asked me many times to increase my carbs and insulin because I am underweight but I think that if I were of a normal weight he would have no problem with it.
Question, Question Question!! I haved only been using this low carb diet for 10 days. I noticed that 2 days ago my BG was higher. I have been having the same elevated readings after meals for the 2 days, with no change in diet. I am not sick, that I know of, and I have not changed anything else. None of my readings went to 200 or over, but the highest was 185.
Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for your help!
From what I have read, sometimes the size of your meal can make your reading go higher. A very large meal could cause an increase even if it is low in carbs. What did you eat on those 2 days?
Another possible cause is that in LADA your pancreas can put out variable amounts of insulin over time. Hope things have settled down for you.
How many carbs did you up your intake to bsc?
Could just be the anabolic effects of the insulin.
I started taking in a shake with milk before workout and then one afterwards. I will then have a a meal with 30-45 g of carbs afterwards. So some more carbs, not a lot by most standards, but more than I was taking in before.
I have been doing this for a few weeks. Today I had more carbs than usual for lunch and my BG went crazy. I took my Novalog before I ate, but it still went in the high 200’s. I felt like my entire body was yelling “What are you thinking? You can’t feed us that crap!” Needless to say, I will not be doing that again! Low carb is so much better for me.
I went low carb 2 years ago. So far been doing fine. A1C went from 14.1 to 5.9 in about 4 months. My fasting blood sugar was 366 when diagnosed. My numbers were in the 300 plus range and it took about 6-8 weeks for my numbers to approach normal numbers. I quit all meds after 7 weeks and have been meds free for 2 years now. I figure there’s more harm in high blood sugar and meds than eating low carb. I started at about 30 grams a day and now eat about 70-80 grams of carbs per day. Most of the carbs come from low carb vegetables, chana dal, seeds and nuts. All A1C’s since the first have been below 6. Doing great so far.
I have not read Dr. Bernsteins book yet, but I was wondering how everyone keeps up with grains? Carbs are suppose to be the biggest part of most diets, but everyone eats the wrong kind of carbs… No whole wheat bread or fruit? I mean 1 banana has 30 carbs in it so you would be done after that…
If you have not read the books “Good Calories, Bad Calories” and “Why We Get Fat” by Gary Taubes, they really are an interesting perspective on carbohydrates and the controvery surrounding healthy diets. Our ancestors were hunter gatherers, they ate mostly meat. For 99.9% of the existance of humans, we have eaten low carb diets, yet somehow we now need to eat carbs, and in particular grains and fruits?
In order to fully appreciate an approach like Dr. B, you are going to have to take several steps. The first one is to simply accept that you can reduce the carbs in your diet without dying, compromising your health or falling over in fatigue. Try an Atkins style maintenance diet, try 100-150 g/day and see how you do. My bet is that you will be surprised at the increased level of control you get with a low carb diet and you will become “lean.” And despite claims otherwise, you will become healthier and have plenty of energy.
ps. A banana is a genetically engineering perversion of a fruit. I don’t eat them. I’ll perhaps eat some berries.
I would 2nd bsc’s recomendation of Gary Taubes. Why We Get Fat is more for a general audience but is based on science.
There are no nutrients in grain that you cannot get from meat, fish, nuts, cheese, and non starchy veggies. Many of us find that whole wheat etc. still cause major problems and must be eliminated. You will also find many here that eat slightly more carbs than Dr.B recommends and are still able to meet their goals.
T1s find they use dramatically less insulin so they make less errors an can gain tighter control. T2s remove the source of their blood sugar spikes and thus gain tighter control.
Check out some of the old threads in this group to learn how different people have adapted Dr.B’s principals and by all means read the book. By the way this group is also a great source for low carb recipes, you’ll find you don’t have to feel deprived eating this way.
Interesting… I will definitely look into that, but I would argue that we are stronger, faster, bigger than our ancestors. Have you seen Ryan Reynolds in Blade Trinity? I would say he is pretty lean at 3% body fat and he said carbs were crucial. I just got the book The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris and a low carb diet is preached in that book too so I am sure it has great results. I look forward to reading into that thanks for the advice!
Simply put, we don’t eat grains or fruits! They are completely removed from the diet. We replace grains with nuts (i.e. nut “flours” for other flours), meats, vegetables, and cheeses. I would highly recommend reading Dr. B’s book to get your answers. I know that it’s hard to believe, but the American Diabetes Associate diet is incredibly misleading and unfortunate. I have a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Michigan and I’m a professor of Biology, and I am telling you, the total “bunk” out there that you need to injest this high amount of carbohydrate with or without diabetes is false. bsc is right. you are not going to faint, have reduced athletic performance, etc. In fact, I’ve never felt healthier. I am able to work out for an hour a day, vigorously. After 4 months on the diet, I have pretty much totally lost any cravings for carbs. I am eating the most decadent, luxurious, delicious food of my life. I am cooking more than ever and have more of an interest in cooking and what my family is consuming than I’ve ever had. Anyway, sorry for the long response, but staying away from grains is the way to do it, and it is totally possible. The results are in your blood work! (Oh, I did just reintroduce one kind of fruit to my diet, small numbers of blackberries. Like, 2 at a time).
type 1, phd ,
It’s really refreshing to hear this from an academic. My understanding is that the science has been there for time, but the myths about us needing grain seem to have a life of their own.
If you like strawberries or blueberries, they also have a minimal impact on my blood sugar. YMMV of course.