I was glad to read a post from someone eating a higher-carb diet! I never gave up carbs to manage my type 1, despite reading so many posts of how it changed peoples’ lives for the better. I love carbs, even the “junky” ones! Like you, Marilyn, I eat 300 grams and sometimes more each day and am able to keep fast-acting insulin needs to 12-20 units/day (in addition to a baseline of 7 levemir in divided doses-I use MDI). I felt like kind of a bad boy for not going low carb, so it’s good to hear I’m not alone. Like you, I use exercise to make my diet work - cross country skiing each morning in the winter and hiking or maintaining the ski trails the rest of the year. I only have 38 years of diabetes behind me, but the exercise has enabled me to maintain A1c within normal limits throughout those years. Happy cycling to you!
Oh yes, on the carb ratio, it’s not really fixed. I need about 35-40grams/u to start the day. Then by 3:00 or so I must be down to 26 or 27 and by the end of the day I need to have averaged 21-27 grams/unit over the course of the whole day in order to make it safely through the night. (Varies based upon activity level.)
Bob10, something else we have in common is that I too do MDI and have a non diabetic A1c. When I was doing the Bernstein diet, I never dreamed that I could eat 300 carbs a day and still use a low amount of insulin and have a terrific A1c. I just didn’t think it was possible.
Course I also never thought I would be spending an hour at the gym most days. I feel so much better when I exercise.
Yeah - Your explanation makes more sense than the lab explanation.
There is a whole lot more going on in the human body then simply:
“producing insulin or not producing insulin”
Maybe your Endo is more suited to basic management and you need a new Endo that has more advanced training?
I use 3, one for each meal. I eat what I want and bolus for it.
I have 7 different insulin:carb ratios throughout the day. Timing of physical activity, meals (I often skip if I am not in my “eating range”).