A question for all of those foodies out there who like to experiment a lot with their diet. Does anybody phase diets in and out for periods at a time to help their numbers? For example, most of the time i follow high fat low carb and it works great until i find my body getting used to it. I then tend to stray towards mostly veggies and green smoothies (I am wheat free, legume free, dairy free, and fruit free at all times.) I am just wondering if switching diets helps with the numbers. if so, why? and does anybody else find this?
I also do low carb/high fat/moderate protein Been doing this for over 3 years & haven’t found my numbers increasing. I like that my body has become efficieint at converting protein to glucose. For me, keeping things pretty consistent works best. Whenever I’ve changed (vacation, visiting friends & family), my BG takes a beating though I never eat high carb stuff (no grains, legumes, fruit, starchy vegetables). My two cents is that diet regularity helps.
Curious, how long have you been low carb & after how long did you feel your body got used to it? When you say used to it, does that mean your numbers aren’t as good?
thanks for the response. i cut out all grains, fruit, beans, etc on new years day. i have been eating this way since January 1st so 8 months. I’ve lost 15 pounds and my numbers came down a lot. when i say my body gets used to it i mean that my numbers seem to hang a bit higher…still very very stable, but they will hang at a solid 160 rather than 105. Sometimes i find that stitching to mostly greens, moderate nuts, and occasional eggs seems to help. but i always find myself back at high fat low carb.
Interesting. Do you think you may not be accounting enough for protein? Maybe your body has become more efficient at converting & you need to raise your doses & adjust pumps settings. Takes a while to digest protein regarding the high.
I’m not an insulin user, but from reading posts here, it seems that peoples insulin needs vary over time irregardless of diet. Perhaps when your numbers rise you just need to adjust your dose. If it is in fact cyclical at some point your dose will need to be adjusted back down
do different proteins cause levels to raise differently. i always bolus for my proteins and i usually do it an hour after but i am still finding myself in the 180 range. i will have to up my lantus, i am no longer pumping, i switched to shots 6 months ago when i started low carb.
What I do is use split boluses for meals to catch the high when the protein hits. I’m also on MDI. Since you’re already doing that, it seems that you need to increase your bolus.
I had a difficult time with Lantus. It had peaks & it never lasted 20-24 hours as claimed. If you’re taking one shot of Lantus, that might be the problem. Before I changed to Levemir, I used Lantus in two doses–one before bed & another after breakfast.
I haven’t found that different proteins cause different rises, but some are more slowly digested than others because of the fat content. Red meat takes longer than fish or chicken for me. I try to keep the amount of protein fairly consistent.
thank you for bringing up lantus. i was taking one dose of 20 units for a very long time. i then split it into two doses 10 and 10 (12 hours apart. 8am and 8pm). were your before bed and after breakfast doses equal?
i did try levemir but could not get the hang of it. i think 3 small doses of levemir would be best for me and i am willing to try it again, just need to plan the timing wisely due to my school schedule.
I took slightly more Lantus at night because of dawn phenomenon. Of course, they don’t have to be equal or near equal doses. I take a little more Levemir before bed also.