I have a Marathon Sunday too Nel! I’m sorry to hear about your weather forecast but have a great race! I have had a rough week as i’ve been trying to load up on some extra food and am not running a lot to rest up for race time.
Well, Lynne, the title of the discussion is “Question for Low-Carbers”, and doesn’t mention insulin or weight gain at all. We’ve gotten off topic here. Please start a new discussion on this topic. I’m sure there are a lot of people who would like to weigh in, forgive the pun. 
what do you mean by “rise a little bit”? I would say if it’s 10-20mg/dl higher post-prandial, then no biggie. If it’s an issue where you need to add insulin to cover your greens, then it might be “counteracting” the potential benefits of a low-carb diet. In terms of the peppers…Red peppers definitely taste sweeter to me. According to calorie king, a large red pepper has 10g and a large green one has about 8g total with about 3g fiber. I usually don’t count peppers, but probably would if I was eating a whole one. It does seem like peppers have more carbs than other green leafys like spinach (which I also eat massive amounts of to the point that people have commented on it… “where are the eggs in your omelet? I only see green and cheese.”) Note: I am not currently on a low carb diet, but am interested in rounding up the self-control to try it!
Wow, I guess a “normal” diet is different things to different people. If I ate yours, I’d weigh 300 pounds in no time.
Hey thanks for this answer Gerri! I am uber-carbing this week (already up 5 lbs…) w/ the race on Sunday but am having surgery (umbillical hernia…) a couple of weeks after that and want to answer “no exercise” with “low carb” and see how it goes but wasn’t sure what to aim for? I agree about the unpredictability of lower carb “doses” too. This summer has been a lot of work with all of the running. The two week “taper” has been great but I don’t want to blow up again either!
I don’t think that it’s “the food” as much as the “portion size” that gets me bigger? I think about what I used to eat (15U boluses of R, talk about a roller coaster…) and am sort of grossed out!
Hi Andrea:
I eat very low carb, lots veggies, and I do count the some carbs in them; I have figured out what works for me by trial and error. My diet is very similar to yours, and I do not eat meat. But, the reson for my response is to ask that you be very careful with fish. I am a New Englander, loved my fish, and started consuming it almost daily to make up for my lack of carbs. About 8 months ago, I found out I had acute mercury poisioning! Had to give up almost all fish, and it took until last month to have my mercury level within the normal range. Anything over 11 is considered high, and mine registered at 50 when they tested me. And that was after I had stopped eating fish for a month. I had read an article in some magazine to the effect that “My Healthy Diet Was Killing Me”, and I asked my PCP for the test. So, please be careful.
Sue
Wow, 5 lbs. I’m not a runner/biker like you. I eat protein about an hour before & immediately after exercise. Let me know how it works for you.
thanks i will watch my fish intake. are you dairy free and carb free?
Unlimited greens will not counteract the low carb as long as you continue to carb count for them in your daily amount. Strange…bell peppers spike me too!
interesting! i think that being extremely low carb has made me more sensitive to the carbs in veggies. red bell peppers are like candy to me, i love how they sweeten up a salad. Do you find dairy spiking you too?
Judith …Indeed …we do the best we can or else … I am learning from YOU all , I am learning from me , one step at the time …just the way I will cross the finish line this Sunday !!
I have to dose for raw Green Peppers and that is about the only veggie that I have to. I’m low carb now and mixed baby green salads with Chalula hot sauce and chicken breast are my best friend!
What an interesting conversation…Weight gain and insulin and low-carb and red and yellow peppers and why some of us old school diabetics who “peed on a stick” ( lol-I am one of them , Lynne) and do not do low-carb ( I do about 80-90 carbs a day) and do not have significant complications … I totally agree that YMMV… We are all SO individual…
God Bless,
Brunetta
That’s part of my confusion as to me, I am “low carb” at around 130-150, as the dietician had recommended quite a bit more than that? I have ramped up to 200 this week and it’s been a crazy roller coaster although it also occured to me that perhaps not drinking usual brewskis @ night might be contributing to dawn phenomenon flaring up? Taubes’ books cites one study that suggested 75 would get the job done. I am having surgery in a couple of weeks and will be on the DL so I will be doing that to avoid blowing up too much and to see what sort of results I can get, if I can get them?
I heard something, don’t know if it’s accurate or not, that Atlantic fish are the ones high in mercury, but that Pacific fish (and fish from other places) are OK. Can anyone confirm or deny that?
Dairy DEFINITELY spikes me, but I refuse to give it up because it has clear nutritional benefits, and I LIKE it – it’s my number one comfort food. That said, it’s important to limit portion size, and to eat other foods with it. I know there’s going to be a spike, so the goal is to keep it as low as possible.
We saved some “toddler” cups from IKEA from when junior was little that only hold 4-5 oz of milk/juice that are useful for portion sizes of milk, juice, etc.