Mixed feelings about 'Type One Talks' on YouTube

[RobertJ]

Who here has seen Type One Talks? He has about 90k subscribers so is very popular. He mainly focuses on diet and fitness in relation to Type 1.

I'm not sure quite what I make of him, though, because his message is the opposite of the message I gleaned after doing my first DAFNE course in 2007. I'm not saying who is right but the message from DAFNE was: Now you can eat whatever you want and as little or as much as you want, just like everyone else.

The message of Type One Talks, however, is nothing like this. It's more like: As far as possible do not eat anything with carbohydrate because it's not worth the having a spike in BG and don't ever drink alcohol again. So the message is that rather than trying to live like your friends, you should live very differently.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads now in life. I'm approaching 20 years of Type 1, I've been diagnosed with background retinopathy (as many people have) and I'm not sure viable it is to try and operate like a normal person or how far I should become a "I have diabetes, I can't eat that" sort of person. I'm also definitely not giving up alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in trying new things and very into fitness, I just ultimately find his message quite depressing because of how strict it is.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @RobertJ

Have heard of this but not seen any, however his message doesn't surprise me, it sounds like Dr Bernstein, personally i'd take what I want out of it and leave the rest, i'd struggle with anyone telling me how to manage my diabetes, as we all have our own unique way of managing it and we all know of own bodies and systems are different from others, I would switch off from the guy if you find him depressing, I think we have enough to cope with each day without some self righteous know it all telling us how to do it !

 

[Antje77]

The message of Type One Talks, however, is nothing like this. It's more like: As far as possible do not eat anything with carbohydrate because it's not worth the having a spike in BG and don't ever drink alcohol again.

the message from DAFNE was: Now you can eat whatever you want and as little or as much as you want, just like everyone else.

I think diabetes is about what works for you, balancing the amount of work you need to put into your diabetes and the things you need to enjoy your life.
I don't watch this youtube channel, but I very much don't like people telling me what I must do.
I haven't done a DAFNE course but what they tell doesn't work for me.

What both approaches have in common is that they work for some and don't work for others.
If restricting your food as strict as the youtube guy promotes gives you perfect numbers but also makes you very unhappy, it does not work for you.
If eating anything and dosing for it gives you daily rollercoastering BG's, a lot of frustration, and complications, it does not work for you.

But if adjusting your diet this strictly doesn't bother you and helps your diabetes, it's a perfect approach.
And if following DAFNE works for you to keep you mostly stable and happy, it's a perfect approach too. (I have a friend like that, pretty jealous of how she can just dose for things like donuts and keep in range, I can't.)

For myself, I'm happiest eating quite low carb, especially earlier in the day. I don't mind skipping the potatoes and pasta, and I do get frustrated by peaks and drops so for me that makes for the best balance for a happy life.
I do drink more alcohol than is good for me but my diabetes doesn't seem to mind. Why does this man say we shouldn't?
I also exercise way too little, but again, my diabetes is rather steady.
Would I be healtier with less alcohol and more exercise? Absolutely, but not because it would give me healthier BG.

 

[RobertJ]

What both approaches have in common is that they work for some and don't work for others.
If restricting your food as strict as the youtube guy promotes gives you perfect numbers but also makes you very unhappy, it does not work for you.
If eating anything and dosing for it gives you daily rollercoastering BG's, a lot of frustration, and complications, it does not work for you.

This is where I've been having a big think in recent times. From my teens until now (age 32) I basically just thought I was supposed to be able to eat same as everyone else, i.e. go to an Indian restaurant and have curry with naan bread and two pints of Cobra. But now I'm coming round to the notion that just because, in a literal sense, I can eat what I want maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I could be making things easier for myself and improving my health and life expectancy by just eating lower carb things. I should say, even before recently, my Hba1C was sometimes quite good.

This might sound weird but until I was diagnosed with background retinopathy I didn't think of myself as a proper person with diabetes. I thought of myself more as a guest diabetic and an outsider compared to people who talk about it more and get involved with things. Therefore, for no sensible reason, I never thought of low-carb meals as relevant to me. Type 1 diabetes is now far more at the front of my mind.

For myself, I'm happiest eating quite low carb, especially earlier in the day. I don't mind skipping the potatoes and pasta, and I do get frustrated by peaks and drops so for me that makes for the best balance for a happy life.
I do drink more alcohol than is good for me but my diabetes doesn't seem to mind. Why does this man say we shouldn't?
I also exercise way too little, but again, my diabetes is rather steady.
Would I be healtier with less alcohol and more exercise? Absolutely, but not because it would give me healthier BG.

There's a video where it's somethin like '10 things people with diabetes should avoid', which includes eggs, steak, fruit juice, and places alcohol and number one. I think it's because of the idea it's bad for you anyway, plus things like beer causing spikes. But some drinks cause virtually no diabetes problems at all in my experience, such as white wine or dry G&T. Plus, life can be somewhat a balance between fun and being healthy.

 

[Antje77]

There's a video where it's somethin like '10 things people with diabetes should avoid', which includes eggs, steak, fruit juice, and places alcohol and number one. I think it's because of the idea it's bad for you anyway, plus things like beer causing spikes.

So the video should be called '10 things everyone should avoid', no reason to single out diabetics.
I have no idea what's wrong with steak or eggs either, and I'f I have the choice I'd choose fruit juice any day over yucky glucose tabs to treat a hypo.

I can also dose for beer without spiking, provided I don't drink too fast.

If someone tries to tell me what to do but doesn't provide a sound reason for it (preferably backed up with some well conducted research) I tend to ignore them.

 

[Ushthetaff]

Type 1 diabetics are like people without diabetes, we can eat what we want , whether we should is another thing, but that’s no different for anyone, the secret or the goal is to try and keep blood sugars “ within range” , as we are diabetics we have to accept that this isn’t going to happen all the time.the types of food we eat can affect this doesn’t mean we can’t eat them just means we have to find a way , whether that means splitting insulin or taking insulin after we eat, whatever , it’s all about finding what works which means experimentation , I spent many years eating to the insulin I was taking and that’s somewhere I never want to go back to , everything in moderation as my old auntie use to say,

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Who here has seen Type One Talks? He has about 90k subscribers so is very popular. He mainly focuses on diet and fitness in relation to Type 1.

I'm not sure quite what I make of him, though, because his message is the opposite of the message I gleaned after doing my first DAFNE course in 2007. I'm not saying who is right but the message from DAFNE was: Now you can eat whatever you want and as little or as much as you want, just like everyone else.

The message of Type One Talks, however, is nothing like this. It's more like: As far as possible do not eat anything with carbohydrate because it's not worth the having a spike in BG and don't ever drink alcohol again. So the message is that rather than trying to live like your friends, you should live very differently.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads now in life. I'm approaching 20 years of Type 1, I've been diagnosed with background retinopathy (as many people have) and I'm not sure viable it is to try and operate like a normal person or how far I should become a "I have diabetes, I can't eat that" sort of person. I'm also definitely not giving up alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in trying new things and very into fitness, I just ultimately find his message quite depressing because of how strict it is.

I have been drinking Alcohol steadily since 1975. Even when I was at my illest and Stephanie Amiel, the inventor of DAFNE, was head of the Diabetic Department at King's College Hospital, London, where I was an outpatient for 22 years, I have never been told to avoid alcohol. In fact in 1978 my official carb-counting diet included 1 pint of Guinness for lunch. Lucky I love the stuff! Although I was poorly controlled from 1959-1979, from then on I maintained "exemplary" BG results, with unavoidable blips due to viruses and sickness. We always used to say "Why do health food shop proprietors look miserable?" This Type One Talks wizard probably fits that bill, but I haven't watched it. I do know, however, what action I would take... Cheers!

 

[RobertJ]

So the video should be called '10 things everyone should avoid', no reason to single out diabetics.
I have no idea what's wrong with steak or eggs either, and I'f I have the choice I'd choose fruit juice any day over yucky glucose tabs to treat a hypo.

I can also dose for beer without spiking, provided I don't drink too fast.

If someone tries to tell me what to do but doesn't provide a sound reason for it (preferably backed up with some well conducted research) I tend to ignore them.

Managing beer by having the first pint slowly is a really good idea. I once managed that in a pub where I had two afternoon pints my blood sugar actually went down from 7 to 5 while it was happening. I should really remember to do that as a matter of course.

 

[Antje77]

Managing beer by having the first pint slowly is a really good idea. I once managed that in a pub where I had two afternoon pints my blood sugar actually went down from 7 to 5 while it was happening. I should really remember to do that as a matter of course.

Using a CGM or Libre really helps with tricks like this.
I dose for my beer and keep an eye on the graph, slowing down if it rises and speeding up when it drops.

 

[EllieM]

I've been T1 since I was 8, so 52 years.

I know when I was in my twenties the eye doctors told me I'd need laser treatment before I was forty, still haven't had any. The background retinopathy has come and gone for at least twenty years though I think it's stabilised at "I've got some but they don't want to treat it yet". (Goes off to touch every piece of wood I can find).

I'm reminded of the joke where the doctor tells a patient he has only 1 year to live. The patient asks whether there is anything he can do. The doctor tells him to give up sex. alcohol, smoking, any enjoyable food etc etc.
"Will that make me live longer?"
"No, but it will feel like it".

My recommendation would be to find a balance that works for you, whatever that is. It may or may not be the same as the balance that works for others, though it's always interesting to see what others do. Modern technology (cgms etc) mean you can keep as close an eye on your bgs as you want, but it's up to you what you want to do in terms of keeping in range, as well as what that range is.

Good luck.

 

[RobertJ]

Using a CGM or Libre really helps with tricks like this.
I dose for my beer and keep an eye on the graph, slowing down if it rises and speeding up when it drops.

Oh yes, I've been using a Libre every day since May 2016. It's just, until the last few months when I was too accepting of things going wrong. I was too accepting of big spikes. Now, I am trying to have a more clinical approach then ever before and I am very intrigued by the idea of low-carb meals.

I just grew up thinking carbohydrate needs to go with everything, and diabetes will just have to work around that. Now I realise that was just silly and wrong.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Who here has seen Type One Talks? He has about 90k subscribers so is very popular. He mainly focuses on diet and fitness in relation to Type 1.

I'm not sure quite what I make of him, though, because his message is the opposite of the message I gleaned after doing my first DAFNE course in 2007. I'm not saying who is right but the message from DAFNE was: Now you can eat whatever you want and as little or as much as you want, just like everyone else.

The message of Type One Talks, however, is nothing like this. It's more like: As far as possible do not eat anything with carbohydrate because it's not worth the having a spike in BG and don't ever drink alcohol again. So the message is that rather than trying to live like your friends, you should live very differently.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads now in life. I'm approaching 20 years of Type 1, I've been diagnosed with background retinopathy (as many people have) and I'm not sure viable it is to try and operate like a normal person or how far I should become a "I have diabetes, I can't eat that" sort of person. I'm also definitely not giving up alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in trying new things and very into fitness, I just ultimately find his message quite depressing because of how strict it is.

Haven't seen this YouTuber but I'd concur with his message and yes it is depressing that the information given to me when I was diagnosed age 10 i.e. be very controlled with your carbs but fill up on protein and fats seems spot on to me.
I have a pump and I have been on a Dafne style course but my cgm tells me reliably that I can't get ahead of a carb spike. If I choose to indulge, as I do about once a week, then I am going to have to accept that my line won't be in range. I started one meal at a time with it though and did believe, or chose to believe, that carbs were essential for working out! They are not.
However I've got used to the strategy and it fuels all my exercise (my job) and I've got good blood pressure, kidney health and a good trig/hdl ratio (a bad one is far more predictive of heart disease than LDL C).
Sadly the medics seem to be stuck in the paradigms of only considering blood glucose levels then medicating for the damage, and also the paradigm that doing carb/insulin maths is practical and effective. I find it hard to believe that anymore.
Ps you are right to be at a crossroads in that 20 years in can be the time for microvascular (kidneys and eyes) stuff to go awry. |type 2s get this sooner because they have too much insulin on board as well as high bgs so when I find myself having to chug in loads of bolus to correct a high, I certainly bear that in mind. Sorry if that is bit of a downer but this is what I'd say to you in real life!

For me it isn't and I see how miserable chasing their blood glucose levels makes my diabetic friends! There is always someone in my group who is experiencing 'random' highs and lows or has been told to do better yet not been given much help to achieve this on a higher carb diet.

 

[RobertJ]

Thank you for your replies @NicoleC1971 and @EllieM. I wish I'd thought outside the box earlier in life. I should have been bolder with trying meals with little or no carbs. I really think I took the DAFNE message on board too greatly and never thought about the idea of simply making it easier for myself.

Perhaps I will now start to see the really nasty and scary effects as I surpass twenty years with the condition. The crazy thing is I didn't used to think about diabetes in the context of what my life would be like in my thirties, forties and beyond when I thought about the future. I've worried about my career going nowhere, not having children and things like that, but never stopped to think retinopathy, kidney failure or nerve damage would also feature. In some ways my priorities have been the wrong way around.

Even though compared to many diabetics I take it very seriously, taking it seriously does not automatically mean good control and I think I didn't realise what tight levels of control are possible until this year.

 

[novorapidboi26]

I ran into this channel recently in my attempt to connect my Libre 2 to the xDrip app.......

I remeber seeing him going through his LibreLink logbook and all his readings were in the green......this can only really be achieved with a limited amount of carbs, which I am aware of, but I enjoy carbs so need to try a little bit harder.....

Its all avout balance.....and not all diabetics have the same fear of complications either........

 

[NicoleC1971]

Thank you for your replies @NicoleC1971 and @EllieM. I wish I'd thought outside the box earlier in life. I should have been bolder with trying meals with little or no carbs. I really think I took the DAFNE message on board too greatly and never thought about the idea of simply making it easier for myself.

Perhaps I will now start to see the really nasty and scary effects as I surpass twenty years with the condition. The crazy thing is I didn't used to think about diabetes in the context of what my life would be like in my thirties, forties and beyond when I thought about the future. I've worried about my career going nowhere, not having children and things like that, but never stopped to think retinopathy, kidney failure or nerve damage would also feature. In some ways my priorities have been the wrong way around.

Even though compared to many diabetics I take it very seriously, taking it seriously does not automatically mean good control and I think I didn't realise what tight levels of control are possible until this year.

Don't beat yourself up. there is no disease that asks more of us the patient so its good to chat with people who experience it in real time and also struggle with carb restriction in a carb centric culture. On the plus side i feel that the fact that I've got this has made me healthier in the long run than people who can get away with ignoring things until their 50s!

 

[bulkbiker]

Who here has seen Type One Talks? He has about 90k subscribers so is very popular. He mainly focuses on diet and fitness in relation to Type 1.

I'm not sure quite what I make of him, though, because his message is the opposite of the message I gleaned after doing my first DAFNE course in 2007. I'm not saying who is right but the message from DAFNE was: Now you can eat whatever you want and as little or as much as you want, just like everyone else.

The message of Type One Talks, however, is nothing like this. It's more like: As far as possible do not eat anything with carbohydrate because it's not worth the having a spike in BG and don't ever drink alcohol again. So the message is that rather than trying to live like your friends, you should live very differently.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads now in life. I'm approaching 20 years of Type 1, I've been diagnosed with background retinopathy (as many people have) and I'm not sure viable it is to try and operate like a normal person or how far I should become a "I have diabetes, I can't eat that" sort of person. I'm also definitely not giving up alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in trying new things and very into fitness, I just ultimately find his message quite depressing because of how strict it is.

You might like to take a look at this T1 GP.. he often talks a lot of sense and practises what he preaches.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1590783303380250624

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