I’ve been on this diet since november. Its a diet where you cut out all carbs and only eat vegetables that grow above the ground (all types of cabbage, haricoverts, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, aubergine, spinach, zucchini, etc, etc) all types of meat, fish, and full fat products like creme fraiche, hard cheese, cream, real butter.
I think the closest thing to this diet is the atkins diet. You basically only eat things that are below 5g of carbs per 100 gram.
I was really sick and tired of counting carbs and still having both highs and lows, it stressed me out soooo much and after reading about this diet i thought i should give it a try for a couple of days just to see what happens. I noticed that i didnt need as much insulin so i continued, and not i dont need any insulin at all and my bloodsugar stays at around 4-5. (I AM A LADA AND STILL PRODUCE QUITE A LOT OF INSULIN) so it must be that my own insulin production still covers the small amounts of carbs in the vegetables that i eat.
I started on some low carb diet before which was also low in fat, and that made me extremely hungry so i gave up straight away. But with this diet you have to add fat and that makes you feel full a lot faster and longer. So ive lost 12 kgs. Ive gone from being overweight to really slim, and feeling a lot healthier than before. What keeps me going is the fact that pasta, bread and rice contain almost no vitamins and minerals, most of what it contains is carbs that turn into sugar in our blood, and i dont need that!!!
i feel a lot more energetic and my body uses fat as energy rather than sugar. And yes, the brain needs sugar, but the body produces sugar by itself from the small amounts of carbs in the vegetables and also from the protein I eat.
Our ancestors didnt eat the same amounts of carbs that we eat.
the diet is called LCHF - low carb high fat…
forgot to say that this diet is probably a bit like bernsteins diet as well??
Hi Dolores,
Congratulations on your success! Very much like Bernstein’s recommendation. Protein, fat, vegetables. Do you eat nuts?
Never heard before about eating only plants that grow above ground. I eat turn turnips & radishes. They’re both very low carb veggies.
No one can eat low carb/low fat without starving:)
yes i do eat nuts occasionally, usually almonds, they are lowest in carbs 
but i havent had nuts for a while now, thanks for reminding me
I eat lots of almonds & also walnuts & pecans. Not a nut, but I also eat peanut butter–just not in quantity.
Almond flour is a great substitute for making pancakes, cookies, almond bread (which tastes more like cornbread than wheat bread), pie crusts, cakes & muffins. Healthy, high fiber, protein, good fats & low carb.
I tried this for a little over a week with much success. I lost 5 lbs, my belly shrank, I didn’t feel hungry and my blood sugars stabilized in the 180’s. Only problem was I ended up spilling high ketontes. My doctor said to stop immediately. It seems likes such a good thing. Any ideas?
have you read about why you go into ketosis on a low carb diet? and why low carb is good for a diabetic? if your bloodsugars are normal and you still have high levels of ketones in your urine, that just means that your body is using fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates, and that is a good thing. carbs are unneccessary, the only thing they do is make your bloodsugar rise.
someone compared eating carbs and taking insulin to being allergic to nuts and still eating nuts but taking medicine to stop the allergic reaction… nobody would give someone allergic to seafood or milk or flour those foods to eat, so why does every doctor recommend diabetics diets high in carbs??
i feel a lot better on this diet and im never stopping it because i know i am more likely to drop dead with complications from a high carb diet than on this diet.
but thats just MY opinion and how i feel
Only you know how you feel. I believe Doctors just follow proticol.
Agree with you. Dolores!
Spilling ketones–your doctor may not have understood what you were telling him about this. Ketosis is a completely normal body process. Most everyone has some ketones in the morning from overnight fasting. Yours shouldn’t have been high from low carb, unless you were dehydrated.
Protein also makes BG rise, though certainly not like carbs.
I like your statement about “What keeps me going is the fact that pasta, bread and rice contain almost no vitamins and minerals” - so true - they are also empty calories too. I read something recently, many of you may know this, but the empty calories is the reason why people eat so much of the bread, pasta etc. I don’t know if I remember this correctly but it said something along the lines of when people eat “empty calories” and get no nutrition, their body in a way is still “starving for nutrients” so it make people want to eat even more and usually people will eat more of the “empty calorie” foods. I try to remind myself of this everytime I miss bread. Thanks for reminding me how nutritional sad those foods are. Even those I still think about them - I think of them as partially responsible for my high sugar (because I ate alot of them!) and I am actually afraid of them - like they are poison. I think they should put a warning label on them like they do cigarettes!
I like your thinking.
Dolores. What about fruits?
How would this work for a type one? It was always my understanding that i had to eat carbs or i’d go low, but i have to take insulion or i’ll go high. i was told when i was diagnosed to never go on the atkins diet, because it’s prctically suicide for a diabetic. Is the low amount of carbs in the veggies enough, eating a lot of protein would help to keep it balanced right?
Melanie,
This is a great, healthy diet for T1. I’m T1 & eat 30-35 carbs daily & have for almost two years. Insulin matched to carbs properly, the best we can, prevents lows. Insulin should be dosed for food, not food eaten to match insulin.
Since carbs are what drive BG up the fastest, it makes no sense that we’re told that a low carb diet isn’t healthy. Ridiculous, really.
About 58% of protein turns to glucose, as does a small percentage of fat. The process of cells breaking down & other metabolic processes also contribute glucose. You could live without ever eating a carb, not that you should.
A good low carb diet consistents of a wide variety of low carb vegetables, sufficient fat & protein. You don’t want to go overboard on protein, but enough for your activity level, weight & age. This is a good protein calculator from Jenny’s site: http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/19058429.php
thanks!!
I just finally tried this protein calcuation and I sort estimated my carbs which have been mostly arounde 30 - 40 maybe a day normally closer to 30. I put light exercise although I have just started with in the last few weeks. I am on my third week of trying to do the low carb so I put under 3 weeks. And it said my protein is 182 grams! That seems insane! I thought normal grams of protein for women was 22-25 grams. Is it supposed to be 18.2 grams or something?
This is because you listed being low carb for less than three weeks. Change it to over 3 weeks to see the difference.
I weigh 105 lbs, eat 35 carbs, moderate exercise. This is what was calculated for me to maintain my current weight.
“To avoid loss of muscle mass you must eat 64 grams of high quality protein each day. This can be found in 10.7 ounces of meat, eggs, or hard cheese.”
Hi Delores, I am seriously thinking of trying this diet. Not much of a dieter, done it once when i had surgery in my mid twenties. I am now close to 40 pounds over weight, taking a lot of insulin and i am really tired of not getting back to my weight. I do realize i am in my mid 40’s, things do change but this is just ridiculous. I am very active. My Endo said i am taking too much insulin which he is right and also the days when i work i am needing more insulin because of stress. Trying Symlin which actully helps with my reduction in insulin but i can’t seem to get in the habit of using it everyday and i actully feel kind of funcky when i use it. Not good with medicine, even asprin makes me feel high. I have been thinking of trying high protein diet, but haven’t done it since when i run or do spinning classes i have to take carbs before the class or my run, but perhaps with careful monitoring i could do this. I will let you know how i do. This will be interesting…
Hi Dolores,
Is there a book you can recommend?
Thanks in advance!