Okay so I went to the bloodsugar 101 website to calculate my healthy nutrient levels for my ketogenic low carb diet…here’s my results:
To Maintain Weight eating 60 carbs a day I need to eat 1,854 calories, 62 grams of protein, and 152 grams of fat.
To Lose Weight eating 60 carbs a day I need to eat 1,354 calories, 62 grams of protein, and 96 grams of fat.
Even though I do not need to lose anymore weight I’m only 100 lbs now and people are starting to ask if I am sick… I can only see eating about 1,400 calories per day without raising my blood sugar too much and 1,800 calories just seems excessive to me. I have no problem getting in the 60 carbs or 62 grams of protein but I need advice on how to increase my fat intake so I stop losing so much weight. Any ideas on what to eat to increase my fat intake without raising my bg too much? It’s so hard to get all the fat I need in one day without it increasing my protein intake which in the past I have been eating about 100 grams of protein a day which I believe may have resulted in my higher bg’s at night after all of the protein from the day has digested. Most of my fat comes from my protein products, PB, & almonds, I’ve been eating more full fat dressing with raw broccoli to up my fat intake but am running out of ideas. This is all so confusing to figure out and add up on a daily basis. Any advice??
IMO, if you are exercising that much and lowering your carbs drastically in order to keep you BG in range, that you should be starting insulin - especially since your dr. gave you a LADA diagnosis. The more you wait, the harder your pancreas has to work, shortening its lifespan and your “honeymoon” period.
This aside - have you tried cheeses? I love cheese and they count as a “free” non-bolusable food for me. They are full of fat!
More nuts and flax seed. Both high fat, low carb. I eat these Flaxmeal Muffins nearly every morning. You can add some cocoa powder, nuts and extra sweetener (I use a toffee flavored liquid stevia) to make a good tasting cake. I’ve found I can even have it with a little ice cream with no effect on my sugar, all the fat and fiber seems to slow the absorption of the sugar to a pace my body can handle.
So let me be clear. You went to the blood sugar 101 site to look at appropriate macronutrient ratios for weight loss. But you actually want to gain weight, presumably lean body mass. I’m not really sure that approach is the best. That being said, good sources of fat are olive oil, butter and lard. I love to make rich flavorful sauces for my food. Brocolli with a cheese sauce made with lots of butter and cheese, yummy.
I can only say that when my niece was diagnosed at eight years of age, the nutritionist calculated we give her 180 grams of carb per day. She now eats anywhere from 150 grams per day to 240 grams per day, depending on appetite. I would say she seems to eat the 150 grams almost as many days as she eats 200 and 200 plus grams; her choice (we neither forbid food when she is hungry nor force her to eat). She weighs about 100 pounds also and does not gain weight. She does get exercise but it is not excessive. If your carbs are lowered to a great extent, your body will burn fat regardless of caloric intake (ketosis). Yes, I followed Atkins for a couple of weeks once so remember this principal. You eat a ton of calories and fat, meat, etc. but still lose weight because without X amount of carbs your body will burn fat and that is what you want to lose weight on Atkins, to induce ketosis (I am not a Type 1 or 2). Felt pretty sick on Atkins by the way. I would guess you need to increase carb intake to the point where your body does not go into ketosis and burn its own fat. I’m not sure how many carbs you would need to eat per day so this does not happen. In order to maintain good health, I would increase carbs just enough to avoid ketosis.
Avocadoes!!! Full of healthy fats and generally one of nature’s wonder foods (except maybe for innocent Aztec virgins).
Home-made guacamole is fab and doesn’t spike me. I evoke the spirit of chili beef nachos by layering guacamole, salsa, cut-up meatballs or taco-spiced meat, and hot sauce.
Avocadoes go really well with deli meats, cheeses and seafood. Try the following combinations: Smoked salmon and avocado; tuna tartare salad with avocado, shallot and gherkins; avocado and shrimp with horseradish sauce…
Olives are another suggestion. If you’re really pushing the boat out, olives with cheese, or olives stuffed with cheese.
Also, have you tried cauliflower cheese? You top cauliflower with a rich cheese sauce (I make mine with normal flour, it’s only a little, but you can reduce the carb count with soy flour I think) and bake until golden.
No I went to calculate how much protein and fat I should be eating to ensure I am eating enough and I was eating no where near enough fat and too much protein. I told my endo that if I eat more than about 60 carbs a day my sugars stay in the 200s so he told me if I was going to low carb he would be okay with that but since I am underweight I need to up my intake of fat and protein.
Careful, because most whole fat cheeses have about the same amount of protein as carbs. I believe cream cheese is one exception to that. Also oils, like butter and olive oii, are good to cook with. Make sure you read labels. I eat cheese quite a bit since I started eating low carb, but if you are trying to limit your protein, too, so that doesn’t raise your bg too much, that might be a problem.
Also, make sure you don’t eat more than 90g protein a day without asking your doctor or nutritionist. My mother was on a high protein diet, and the dietician said “the more protein the better.” She was breaking 100g of protein most days, sometimes around 120g protein, and her doctor said that was to blame for some of her confusion and dizziness. She kept it between 90 and 100g/day adn she was fine. She weighed about 120 lbs.
If she doesn’t respond to this posting, I’d ask Gerri if she knows. She’s been following Dr Bernstein’s diet (like 30g of carbs/day) for about 2 1/2 years. She is a type 1 who went low carb for health reasons, not because she needed to lose weight. She may have some ideas for you on how to keep on healty weight. Also, there is a group herefor those following Dr B’s diet. You might want to try there.
The most important and hardest part is remembering to buy the avocado a few days before you want to eat guacamole, because I can rarely find truly ripe avocado. This isn’t so difficult now in my new D-life as avocadoes are one of my few ‘safe’ foods so I now buy them on a regular basis, thus ensuring a constant supply of ripe ones.
Roughly chop the avocado and add:
a splash of lime or lemon juice
a little chopped shallot or onion
spices : I use cumin and garlic. Ready-prepared taco spice or similar works too
chilli powder or hot sauce
a little mayo or sour cream
salt to taste
sugar or Splenda to taste
Keep tasting as you go along. When you’re happy with it, let it sit for a while to let the flavours develop.
one suggestion i have is to remember you hire a doctor. If they are not doing what is needed for you remember you have the power to fire your doctor and find another. I think most people think the doctor has all the power not always the case. I agree with Jennifer you want to get on insulin sooner than later to preserve what function the pancreas currently has.
My suggestion for upping fat intake is to eat the “unhealthy” versions of things you eat. For example you mentioned the salad dressing. Most salad dressings have the same number of carbs for full, low and no fat versions (some actually have more carbs in the low and no fat version to improve the taste). Whole milk instead of skim (same carbs, more fat), regular yogurt/cottage cheese etc (careful on this one, yogurts can have wide fluctuations in carbs). Look at the labels (the nutrition info labels), you’ll be amazed at high fat foods with low/no carb content. Remember as well Fat=9 calories per gram. That means 1300 calories or so should be coming from fat. On most (maybe all?) labels they list the calories followed by fat calories. Protein and carbs, btw, provide 4 calories per gram each. Also, look at your meat (if you eat meat) choices. Fish has the healthiest of fats, but if you are eating lean meat cuts (red and white meat) switch to a less lean cut - I KNOW red meat has the “Bad” fat, but the bad fat applies to your cholesterol. If you exercise and your cholesterol is good some “bad” fat is ok to eat. And for caloric intake bad fat can’t be beat (BTW, if you are a cheese lover check how much saturated fat is in that cheese you’re munching :D).
Insofar as the insulin, get a second opinion. Regardless of the effort you are putting on your pancreas and whether or not it’s the best choice there is a major quality of life issue here. 1400 calories for a woman your size is around what you should eat to maintain weight leading a sedentary lifestyle i.e. sitting on the couch all day. Given that you exercise 1800 calories is a must to maintain weight/muscle. And on top of that it sounds like this is a major issue that is constantly bothering you which is essentially what a quality of life issue is.
How are you hanging in there? Hopefully OK. I am at 100 lbs too (I am almost 5’4" - how tall are you?). I am pretty sure I look too thin to most people although no one has really commented on it yet to say I looked sick.
I went to that bloodsugar 101 site a bit back myself to figure out my carb,calories, fat and protein. The biggest problems for me are getting enough calories, fat and protein because I am vegan. So far, I haven’t worried about the fat too much but more of the calories. On an average day, I can only get about 1350 and I supposed to be getting 1500 according to that site. I honestly think that site is more for people who want to lose weight and not gain it. I have been at a steady 100 for the past six months (I think). So as long as I stay where I am at with the calories I think I shouldn’t lose anymore. I have been gaining muscles though and I was hoping the scale would reflect it but so far it hasn’t.
Calories - eating more calories and not burning those extra ones off is what will make you gain weight not necessary fat - and those high carb foods - well, that is what makes me gain weight and unfortunatley I can’t eat those anymore. I swear that bread makes me gain weight - can’t eat the high carb bread any more sooo…
I would add oils to your dishes if you can (or products that have oils in them like butters, maragines, dressings etc). If I feel like I wasn’t able to eat all my calories for the day I will add a tablespoon of olive oil to my dinner (I could actually just eat from spoon). It is 100 calories for that 1 tablespoon. Avocadoes are high in fat and calories too - they do have carbs but a lot of fiber - I haven’t noticed that they do anything to my numbers most of the time. Nuts too are another way to get easy calories, fat and protein and you don’t have to eat alot of them. Besides peanut butter, walnuts are a good one. Chocolate too but of course in moderation because of the sugar in most chocolate. Has a lot of fat though. Coconut oil is another good oil that has a lot of fat and calories in it. You could use it in cooking. I like to put it on my popcorn (or oil pop popcorn) in it.
I can’t eat dairy myself - but cheese won’t have any carbs in it (just check the package) and it has lots of fat and calories for a small piece.
I know exactly how you feel though. It is so hard to eat enough calories and not raise the BG too much. Even when I am able to eat extra I still rarely break 1400 calories.
Yes I know that I need insulin and I have stressed to my doctor all of the things you have mentioned above, he wants me to wait it out and recheck me in March which I am okay with (it’s only 8 weeks away) and am willing to do the work as I have been this past year. His endo practice is the only one in the area and if he does not give me some kind of relief after my appointment in March then by all means I will fire him and drive to an endo in another town. I wasn’t complaining about not being able to eat or losing weight etc I was just asking for advice on high fat low carb food options to mix up my meal plan a little. And I am managing my disease. I eat sleep and breathe my diabetes and am obviously doing everything that I can.
What is he rechecking for March? the C-peptide? Glad to hear you are only giving him one more chance and he is out the door. Hope he shapes up.
Not really sure what other proof he needs that you need insulin or at least Met. Do you keep losing or have you been staying at 100?
Lynne, I just bought a size 0 jeans LOL! My size 1 were getting baggy. Even the 0 don’t really fit right, still baggy in the butt- I am glad to have wide hip bones so they don’t fall down - wish I had a butt though! Where does a woman go if size 0 doesn’t fit her? Girls sizes??
