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 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%.
Wowsa Sarah, very impressive. 
I just low carbed my dinner tonight and yesterday’s lunch, I am going to try to do better.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don’t low carb. I do my best to smart carb. I stay away from overly processed foods, junk foods, etc. I cook most meals from scratch, using whole grains & pulses, lots of veg and fruit, lean proteins and fats such as olive and canola oil. It’s not uncommon for me to eat anywhere from 100 to 200 carbs per day, and I maintain a healthy weight and great A1C’s. It’s not by diet for me, but also insulin and exercise.
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.
I low carb maybe about 120 carbs a day if that. I am trying to cut back, lol since using the POD I have gained about 10 pounds…lol I am at my normal weight. I just want to get rid of 5 pounds:)
I don’t, and my diabetes is under great control. I really enjoy eating, and I’ve found that as long as I control my portion sizes, I can eat anything I want. When I say anything, i don’t mean as much as I want either, I just mean any kind of food. Restricting food isn’t good for my mental well-being, so I’ve found a way to balance my physical health needs with my social and mental health needs without compromising my diabetes management. My diabetes is under the best control it’s been in the 30 years I’ve had it, so it’s working well for me.
I do. It has more effect on my BG than any meds (despite what my doctor says). My last A1C was 6.0% down from a high of 10%.
great job Erik, my biggest problem with low carbing is breakfast, what do you usually eat for breakfast
Usually bacon and scrambled eggs or an omelette (sometimes leftovers on weekends).
First off, this is a great site, and a great thread! Thanks for all the info. My first year with diagnosis was all Atkins, but I’m having a hard time sticking to it, so thought maybe Bernstein’s method would work better.
Secondly, I always find breakfast to be the easiest meal, as it’s all eggs and omelets. LUNCH, on the other hand, is tough for me, as bread really makes a convenient holder for stuff I can eat. Sandwiches are tough to get away from, esp. in this fast food culture.
What do you guys do for quick and easy, less labor intensive, lunches?