Absolutely:) I switched a few years back and between the diet change and CGMS my HgA1c dropped to an amazing level. More importantly, my BGs did not bounce around. I do not eat a lot of saturated fat and consume a fair amount of low CHO vegs. My cholesterol improved. I hope you find what works for you:)
Re: "Sure, If you have the Self Discipline , but I doubt it will last". Although undoubtedly many have a problem with the self discipline aspect, I wouldn't use this as a reason not to try the plan. Speaking for myself, I have never been disciplined around food, but after 2.5 years of low carbing I have no problem sticking with the plan. Fast acting carbs are addictive and once I got over the initial cravings. I found it easy to resist. The payoff is better blood sugars and this is a constant positive reinforcement.
Okay, I LOVE carbs, but I KNOW they'll screw up my blood sugars like nobody's business.
Is there any advice out there for carb lovers who want to, at least, partly convert to a Dr. Bernstein style/Paleo style diet?
I just don't know if I can do it. After living abroad in Asia for so long, I'm addicted to carbs.
Up to you to decide how many carbs you want to eat daily:) Not sure what you mean by partly convert. How many carbs do you typically eat? Dr. Bernstein's recommendation is 30 carbs daily--6 breakfast, 12 for lunch & dinner. Not everyone follows this to the letter, of course. As a former carboholic, I promise that the less carbs you eat, the less you'll crave. If you keep eating a lot, you'll just want more. You can do it, if you want to. I used to live on pasta & bread. Low carb is moderate protein/high fat. Portions are still required. With sufficient protein & fat you won't be hungry. Eating high carb is what keeps us hungry.
Yep, I am exactly the same place as you.
Last A1c was 6.2, started back on Bernstein 8 days ago..
Most I have done is 6 weeks in the past, I lost 15kg and my cholesterol went up, also friends and family were turning into bread rolls before my very eyes.. Just smelling a carb would make me salivate ha ha.. Pavlov's dog anyone?
I made the mistake of literally not consuming any carbs on my first attempt, which just isn't healthy or sustainable. I have been getting about 50g a day from leafy green veg this time round. I am also running pretty much every day which I hope will reduce cholesterol..
I can't deny his approach works, my insulin requirements have halved, I have pretty much been flat lining for a week. Every time I check my BG I smile as it seems to be sticking between 4-6.5.. Lows have reduced as I am having between 2-3.5 units with each meal, so with less insulin in me, less hypos..
I just hope I can keep it up.. Have decided that every second Friday I will have a carb heavy meal and bolus the hell out of myself. Just to remind me that carbs don't taste as good as I think they do and to keep me on the wagon..
Good luck with it Cindy.
I am not on Dr. Bernstein's plan however I have cut carbs out here and there in my diet. I think that you can see progress w/ diet if you look at what you eat and sort of arbitrarily cut out carbs. If you have a sandwich for lunch, try 1/2 a sandwich and toss in some vegetables. If you have cereal for breakfast, switch it out for a piece of bread and some eggs. Yes, you have to get up a few minutes earlier but the flip side is that you can toss different stuff into the eggs to liven them up? Or just have plain eggs? Another thing is to look at the labels at the store. There are breads that have > 20G of carb/ slice, often the heavier wheat breads that seem healthy. There are also breads w/ 8G of carbs in them. If you go lighter, it can give you more options?
At dinner, take a smaller portion of rice or noodles or potatoes. These can be problematic since my inclination is to make "a box" of noodles or fill up our rice cooker, which leaves a big heap of leftovers but they are better left over. I still eat about 100G of carbs/ day but it is probably less than 1/2 what I used to eat and I have gotten some ok results with it, both BG wise and weight wise. Over a pretty long period of time, going on maybe 6 years now?
I am a big fan of jumping in the cold water. That is what Atkins suggests. The transition is the hard part as your body has to adjust to burning fat rather than carbs. Many people crave carbs or feel tired.
What I would suggest is that you prepare yourself for your "cold turkey" by learning what to eat and developing a wide range of things which fit into the diet, that you like and can have on hand. Try to cook the dishes. Try to buy the food. And then when you start, you won't have to drive yourself crazy with questions about what to eat, how to cook and what to buy. But once you start, just jump in.
ps. I like the induction recommendations in the book "New Atkins for for a ew You," which include things like taking in extra sodium during the first weeks.
Hi:
I am also extremely sensitive and follow a very low carb diet; <40 carbs during the week, but I splurge a little more on the weekend. Being very sensitive, and living alone is risky, but I have adjusted to my very boring diet. Weekdays I live on plain Greek yogurt for breakfast, (8 carbs), huge green salad for lunch (18 carbs) and for dinner, usually an Egg Beater omelette w/cheese, sometimes a side of veggies (8 carbs) or an Original Vegan Boca Burger (8 carbs). I know others will probably gag at this combination, but I like to play it safe. And, as I said, I do splurge a little more on the weekends, when I have friends around. This has kept my A1C between 5.4 and 5.8. Sue
I have to caution you, one downside of following a particular diet is that your body becomes accustomed to it. You are advised to "carb up" before taking an OGTT and you will likely find the same thing happens, you will become more carb sensitive, perhaps taking more insulin to cover the carbs and you may have some gastric distress trying to digest high levels of carbs suddenly. Just a warning.
ps. Asl a vegetarian who suddenly started eating meat. They will tell you that initially it is not a pretty sight.
I can relate. If u eat out alot i would say 99% of restaurantshave the nutritonal value info available upon request so try not to guess that can be life threatening alone
I've noticed too a lot of really high fat/high carbs at two hours out I might be ok, but those carbs 4 or 5 hours later come back to kick you in the butt. Me personally I really try to limit high fat/high carb combinations. I just can't bolus correctly for it, and whatever enjoyment I got out of it 4 to 5 hours later when Im chasing down a high that has crept up on me, its just not worth it. It also depends what time of the month it is for me...when those hormonal changes kick in...Im lucky if I can eat anything. I crank the basal up and keep the carbs real low during that time.
I agree smileandnod, I think the longer you have been diabetic the harder it is to handle those carbs as well. I shoot for around 30 grams of carbs per meal and do ok at that range, but if I go much higher it gets more difficult, and I imagine as time goes on that carb intake will become less. Im just a couple of years shy of 30 years with D now.
Only chain & fast food restaurants have nutritional info available, if theirs is even accurate. No one is verifying their nutritionals, as far as I know, but at least it's a start in figuring out carbs. Restaurants that aren't corporate chains don't have this info.
Well, Maybe you'd like an update. I fell off the wagon. We had friends visit and we all went to a local spaghetti house. 2 hrs pp I was 284 and took a big bolus. 3 hrs pp I was still 284. Then I got mad and bolused again. I went to bed (big mistake) and (lucky for me) woke up with a bs of 28! I felt like road kill the next day. Long story short, I'm back on 10-10-10 and my numbers have been GREAT. I have proven to myself that it works. Well, you can all say "I told you so!". I'm a tough customer, but maybe now I will stay off the mega-carbs. Hard lesson.
BTW Thanks for all the replies. I just reread them and appreciate them so.
I don't get this.
Insulin sensitiveness with a micro pump should be a non-problem, it doses 0,025 units.
As for carbs, if you count them and know your CHO/U ratio, you can eat them and stay relatively flat as much as their glycemic index and lunch-timing is right for your insulin action over time.
So it's better to take care building a mixed menu with "slow" carbs and fiber and protein, and keep (sometimes) high GI carbs at the very end of a meal, when insulin is at its highest strength and they are slowed down by that other food.
Carb counting is difficult, ok, but at home it's more than achievable.
Health people has normally BG spikes, is this actually a problem ?
A boring diet is ... boring: you don't have to live for eating, but food is an important part of our lives.
I'm biased, because I'm father of a little type 1 and celiac child, and I fight her BG while keeping her healthy and happy. I know many type 1s which enjoy rich foods while keeping their A1c in the six.
How can tips and experiences given when there was no micro pump and insulins were way much slower be kept the same today ?
Shouldn't they be taylored to match todays tools and knowledge ?
Diet is an important tool for type 1 people, but as much as medical therapy and excercise.
Sadly, counting carbs is an imprecise science, even when cooking everything at home from scratch. If we were perfect with dosing and timing our insulin we could match our food exactly and have a perfect "flatline." Sadly, life is full of the unexpected. That is where the "Law of Small Numbers" comes in. If you want small errors, generate smaller blood sugar swings. That is why we eat fewer carbs.
I hardly find my diet "boring." I actually feel like I can enjoy hugely satisfying meals that are often the envy of the carb addled masses. You should try my "real" ice cream made from heavy cream.
You should try my "real" ice cream made from heavy cream.
I would be pleased !! I'm from Italy, near a valley where people is well known to be good at making ice creams.
I agree, if you misscalc 10% of carbs you take 10% more/less insulin than required, and the smaller the bolus, the smaller the quantity of insulin, the smaller the BG error.
But usually I measure BG at 1,5 hours past meal, and such small errors can be recovered by adding insulin or carbs, or doing nothing if you target BG is not so low.
If you are happy with your diet, ok, but someone wrote about it being boring, or difficult to keep up, and I think there are other ways to achieve a good A1c.