Grant, you and I seem to agree on everything. Diabetics should start insulin early (why wait until you have permanent nerve damage?), and it should be fast-acting insulin. In your case, you are using a very fast-acting engineered insulin; in my case, I am using regular insulin (I don't have insurance here in the U.S., and regular is cheapest). All this means is that you can eat one large meal on your shot, whereas I can eat two smaller meals on my shot. It's really the same thing. A lot of people take Lantus because they are in love with the idea of taking one shot a day, but Lantus is designed to cover your body's fasting needs, not your meals. Most type-2 diabetics have enough pancreatic function to cover their fasting needs; it is their meals that their pancreases can't handle. (When I took Lantus, I discovered that I would have to take a daily shot of 90 units to cover my meals adequately.)
I agree also about carbs. What the fast-acting insulin does is it turns our bodies back into more-or-less normal bodies. A middle-aged non-diabetic can't eat 250 grams of carbs a day without gaining weight. On insulin, we have to watch what we eat just as we did when we were younger. And I agree about the numbers you quote also. My experience is this: If I average more than 200 carbs a day, I gain weight. If I eat about 180 carbs a day, I plateau (but then, I need to lose weight). If I eat about 150 carbs a day, I lose weight very, very gradually. 150 carbs a day is my goal. My problem is that I'm an emotional eater, and sweets are my best friend. I've just gone through 3 months of eating over 200 carbs a day, and I gained 5 lbs. I am trying to get my carbs under 200 now.
I've had some thoughts about the original topic of the thread. How low is too low for an A1c? Someone said that Bernstein recommends 4.3%, but in my opinion, Bernstein is an extremist. A normal person's BS may be 90 (5.0) with peaks of 125 (6.9) after meals, but Bernstein wants his patients to be at 83-90 at all times (4.6-5.0). Thus, the A1c that he considers to be optimal is lower than even a normal non-diabetic would have. So my view is that 4.5% is low enough for anyone. (Just a reminder: The A1c test measures a different blood factor than a glucose test measures, so the numbers are not equivalent -- an A1c of 4.5% is equivalent to an average blood glucose of 4.6. An A1c of 6% is equivalent to an average blood glucose of 7.)