This may have been covered elsewhere and I haven't been able to find it.
Is there a substantive difference between the Atkins diet and a healthy diet for type 2 diabetic? I mean, can I just get the Atkins book and go at it?
I suppose there is no easy answer. I wish for someone to make me the complete nutritional meal in a candy bar. Just eat one for breakfast, one for lunch and two for dinner, drink water between times, and you'll be fine. Like in the move 2001 A Space Oddesey, they had these tube foods, like from a tooth paste tube.
I just hate all the weighing and calculating and charts and logs.
Although, as a result of scrupulous calculation I discovered that I could eat one oreo cookie. And I did. And I savored it for must have been 10 minutes. (You know, eat the middle first, soak the cookie on your tongue pressed to the top of your mouth.) And my blood measurement 120 minutes later was 133!!
A “Healthy Diet for T2” is really a matter of opinion. So, given that you asked my opinion, I’ll give it. Yes, in my opinion, Atkins is great healthy diet for a T2. I have been an Atkins fan for literally years, owning most of the books. Right now, I just got New Atkins for a New You out of the library and it is even fruther improved.
I have to tell you, nothing is ever easy. You won’t find a good healthy meal replacement bar or shake. In my view a processed food like that will always be less healthy than whole natural foods. Properly done, Atkins relies on lots of natural whole foods. It does not have to be a burden and most of the difficulty one has in dealing with time pressure can be relieved by advance planning and stockpiling. Once you reach maintenance in Atkins, I found that I only had to “watch” carbs and I no longer had to worry about calories. I can eat as much as I want without weight gain as long as I kept my carbs at te right levels.
ps. I have some bad news for you, oreos are not on the Atkins plan at all.
http://www.diabetes-book.com/index.shtml
I was an Atkins junkie but found that I could never go off the first part of the diet. I found Dr. Richard Bernstein’s book and he allows you to read it on line. He has been a type 1 since 1946. I lost weight on his no carb/low carb I have also gained and lost leight several times.
I was most sucessful when I was walking 3 to 5 miles a day. I have developed arthritis in both knees and that makes it difficult to walk consistantly. I have had a partial knee replacement in my right knee and will have to have my left knee done within the next year.
My last 2 A1C’s were 5.9 (11-09) and 5.5 (3-10)
Diabetics want to live a normal life and if you try then you will see your numbers all over the meter. Every time you put a carb in your mouth you have to shoot to adjust and if you shoot wrong it starts you on the roller coaster up and down.
I guess I can add that since my diagnosis I have had two kidney stone procedures and a prostate procedure and I only have one kidney to start with. This makes a big difference in how much protein I can eat.
I would say from my experience, that a no carb diet very few seem to be able to do, myself included. Usually I try to stay in the 50 carb range per meal. Generally a eat small amounts of foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, etc. If I go out to a restaurant, I try to split a meal with someone of get them to wrap half of it to go. That way I don’t over eat and I’ve lost 10 lbs in the past two months, which is great. So it comes down to portion control. What most people don’t realize is it is very common and encouraged to over eat. Think about it, almost every fast food place has an over size option, and most portion sizes are two meals worth of food and we seem to think that unless we are stuffed we’ve not eaten enough. I’m still struggling through some of this as well but the difference is that now I am aware. Hope this helps. Lisa
I eat low carb 30-35 carbs per day & have been for a little over two years. I’ve never heard of anyone being on no carb diet. That would mean eating nothing but pure protein, no vegetables or anything to get the array of nutrients we need.
When I followed the ADA guidelines of 45-60 carbs per meal plus all that snacking, I felt terrible, had constant swings from low to high & back & gained weight for the first time in my life. After about two weeks or so eating low carb all my previous carb cravings disappeared. I was an unabashed carb junkie before.
Atkins is very good for diabetic meal plan guidance, just stay away from Atkins prepackaged junk. That’s not good for anyone.
Fortunately, low carb has come a long way from the days of eating cheese & pork rinds. There are tons of low carb forums & recipe sites. You don’t need to do the induction phase of Atkins.
Pork rinds!!! When I was questioning my diagnosis a year ago I started spending time on this website and another one. On that other website, everyone was advocating eating pork rinds! I thought to myself, pork rinds?? That is what these people think is healthy food? Oh, my god am I in the wrong place!!!
You obviously are too young to know who Owsley “The Bear” Stanley is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley). He claims to have not eaten any carbs since 1959. I won’t mention the Grateful Dead or any chemistry stuff.
The only thing I use the Atkins books for is meal ideas I basically stick with the Rule of 4’s. 1/4 of your plate is protein, 1/4 is starch (or carb), 2/4 is leafy greens.
How can you look at my face and draw that conclusion? I’ve no doubt we are both familiar with the era. Having spent so many years on a zero carb diet, he is now 75 and apparently pretty healthy.
Thanks, Jeff. Good to know I’ll have two buyers. Amazon here I come. When I’m rich & famous with my own Food Network show (they really should have a low carb show), I won’t forget you guys:)
I basically stick with the Rule of 4’s. 1/4 of your plate is protein, 1/4 is starch (or carb), 2/4 is leafy greens.