Advice please.

[sue1309]

I’m not new to low carbing but I recently decided to embark on it again. I am a bit puzzled though. In the past I was told I could eat as much protein as I wish. All day. Every day. Is this still the case? The reason I’m asking is I’ve put on 4lb in weight in the last 3 days!!! I’m wheelchair dependant so I’m unable to do any meaningful exercise.....I’m just really struggling.
T2 diabetes on Metformin, Lantus, Empaglaflozin.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I’m not new to low carbing but I recently decided to embark on it again. I am a bit puzzled though. In the past I was told I could eat as much protein as I wish. All day. Every day. Is this still the case? The reason I’m asking is I’ve put on 4lb in weight in the last 3 days!!! I’m wheelchair dependant so I’m unable to do any meaningful exercise.....I’m just really struggling.
T2 diabetes on Metformin, Lantus, Empaglaflozin.

It's more a matter of higher fat, moderate protein, low carb... There's apps out there that'll calculate your macro's for you (keto Diet App for instance). Fats are a BG flatline, protein can raise blood sugars a little. And were you on the lantus before? That might add a bit of weight too... All day, every day, does that mean you're grazing by any chance? Because you're better off when you don't eat all the time and give your body a rest between proper meals (no snacking, maybe skipping a meal). Intermittent fating might help, but I don't know whether the medication will allow for that.

 

[sue1309]

I've been on Lantus since 2005. I think I've been giving far too much...100 units at night, sometimes more, and I do know insulin causes weight gain. I just want to eat all the time. I'm never hungry....so yes, I do graze. That could be where I'm going wrong....

 

[bulkbiker]

I’m not new to low carbing but I recently decided to embark on it again

What have you been eating (or not eating) in the interim?

 

[sue1309]

Anything and everything....unfortunately. I craved bread so I bought some. Bad idea. So it’s now gone to feed the birds.
I haven’t eaten breakfast since I was 15, lunch is usu about 2pm and consists of meat and veg.....cauliflower, sprouts; no carrots, potatoes or peas, tea time, if I decide to eat, can be 2 boiled eggs with 2tsps mayo, or a mug of Marmite.
My problem is in between. I might have a biscuit or 2 with a coffee, a choc ice, a bag of crisps.....I’m really stuck so any advice would be really gratefully received.....

 

[Chook]

My advice, for what its worth, is to keep a food diary and write down everything you is and its carb count - its frightening how it mounts up. The other thing is do you have a meter? Just seeing what carby foods do to my blood completely puts me off eating it.

Getting rid of the carbs is difficult, for me it was much harder than packing in smoking, but it really us worth it.

 

[HSSS]

Anything and everything....unfortunately. I craved bread so I bought some. Bad idea. So it’s now gone to feed the birds.
I haven’t eaten breakfast since I was 15, lunch is usu about 2pm and consists of meat and veg.....cauliflower, sprouts; no carrots, potatoes or peas, tea time, if I decide to eat, can be 2 boiled eggs with 2tsps mayo, or a mug of Marmite.
My problem is in between. I might have a biscuit or 2 with a coffee, a choc ice, a bag of crisps.....I’m really stuck so any advice would be really gratefully received.....

Well it seems fairly obvious the problem is the in between stuff. Best answer is to eat more at your meals to eliminate hunger as a cause of snacking. Where are the real natural fats in your diet? You need them to replace the carbs for energy and to stop hunger as well as being essential to life, immune response, hormone regulation, vitamin uptake etc etc then if you are still tempted it’s about habits and boredom maybe and finding distractions. Check it’s not thirst too! Have a glass of water, do some knitting, weed the garden. Surf the internet. Anything except eat junk.

 

[sue1309]

Oh tell me about it.....When you say ‘natural’ fats, which do you mean? I eat full fat natural Greek yoghurt, Cheddar cheese, milk.....what others can I eat? I can’t eat nuts of any kind as they have an adverse effect on my bowel....and I really miss them.
I live in a 3rd floor apartment so unfortunately I have no garden, and I miss that too! I’m unable to do pretty much anything with my hands due to arthritis and neuropathy.....might as well shoot myself.....

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Oh tell me about it.....When you say ‘natural’ fats, which do you mean? I eat full fat natural Greek yoghurt, Cheddar cheese, milk.....what others can I eat? I can’t eat nuts of any kind as they have an adverse effect on my bowel....and I really miss them.
I live in a 3rd floor apartment so unfortunately I have no garden, and I miss that too! I’m unable to do pretty much anything with my hands due to arthritis and neuropathy.....might as well shoot myself.....

Full fat greek yoghurt, cheeses are great... Milk has lactose so can add up carb-wise, and does so fast. If you can do cream instead? Never opt for lean meats if you don't have to. Meat with a bit of fat on tastes better anyway. And if you can't stop grazing, make sure the only stuff available to graze on is low to no carbs. Pork scratchings, cheese, olives, extra dark chocolate (85% and up, and if it's too bitter, try having some cream with it). Try keto mug bread maybe? (15 g of melted butter, 22 g of almond flour and ½ a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix in a mug. Then add an egg and mix. Microwave at highest W for 90 seconds.). You can toast it, and sometimes I make little crackers for my egg salad by slicing it really thin and popping it into the airfryer for a bit until crispy. And who knows, you might benefit from Bulletproof coffee. (Coffee with butter and MCT/coconut oil. Tastes loads better than you may expect!)

Carbs are inflammatory. When I cut them out of my diet, my reumatism got a whole lot better, as well as my irritable bowel. Same might be true for your arthritis. Neuropathy might improve too, but you might need a little help to ease the pain some. From what I hear (haven't needed it myself), medicinal cannabis can help, as well as amitriptyline, an antidepressant that happens to work for neuropathic pain as well.

So don't shoot yourself just yet eh. You still have options.
Jo

 

[EddieA12]

I’m not new to low carbing but I recently decided to embark on it again. I am a bit puzzled though. In the past I was told I could eat as much protein as I wish. All day. Every day. Is this still the case? The reason I’m asking is I’ve put on 4lb in weight in the last 3 days!!! I’m wheelchair dependant so I’m unable to do any meaningful exercise.....I’m just really struggling.
T2 diabetes on Metformin, Lantus, Empaglaflozin.

The simple way (although boring way) to look at this is your calories in needs to be less than your calories used, otherwise you will but on weight! Protein and Carbs have exactly the same amount of calories per gram (4) so having high protein and low carbs only works IF you don’t consume as much protein as you would do carbs! (Low carbs also means your body doesn’t need as much insulin, so that’s another consideration)
My advice would be to look into a ‘plans based diet’ (google it and see what you think!). This will definitely reduce your weight and bring many health benefits. I’m sure that many people will say this is extreme, but I’ve been doing it for nearly a year now and wouldn’t have it any other way! You could always look to introduce elements of it.. Good luck.

 

[bulkbiker]

My advice would be to look into a ‘plans based diet’

Mine would be exactly the opposite as PBD have been shown to be remarkably bad at reducing HbA1c in T2's.
There is a slight reduction but worsening over time which is nowhere near the remission that a well formulated ketogenic diet can bring.

 

[EddieA12]

Mine would be exactly the opposite as PBD have been shown to be remarkably bad at reducing HbA1c in T2's.
There is a slight reduction but worsening over time which is nowhere near the remission that a well formulated ketogenic diet can bring.

View attachment 41410

Plant based diet is very different to Vegan diet! I know overweight Vegans! But not a single overweight PBD person!

 

[bulkbiker]

Plant based diet is very different to Vegan diet! I know overweight Vegans! But not a single overweight PBD person!

But you are a T1 correct?

 

[HSSS]

The simple way (although boring way) to look at this is your calories in needs to be less than your calories used, otherwise you will but on weight! Protein and Carbs have exactly the same amount of calories per gram (4) so having high protein and low carbs only works IF you don’t consume as much protein as you would do carbs! (Low carbs also means your body doesn’t need as much insulin, so that’s another consideration)
My advice would be to look into a ‘plans based diet’ (google it and see what you think!). This will definitely reduce your weight and bring many health benefits. I’m sure that many people will say this is extreme, but I’ve been doing it for nearly a year now and wouldn’t have it any other way! You could always look to introduce elements of it.. Good luck.

Sorry but absolute rubbish and not based in science, just myth.
Whilst proteins and carbs may have the same calories in each they are processed by different mechanisms and hormones etc and have very different effects on the bodies multiple systems. And that is in a healthy person. Consider in a diabetic where carbohydrates mechanisms are flawed and it is even more true. Studies have shown a carb restriction when calories are maintained or raised works as well and often better than reducing calories. Calorie restriction methods over the last 40 yrs have high failure and drop out rate, cause hunger, slow basal metabolism making the fundamental problem worse and do nothing to address the problem diabetics have with carbs.
Plant based easily means highly processed, high carb or nutrient deficiency without a great deal of care to avoid these issues, and is more of an ethical/religious choice than a health or science supported one.

 

[EddieA12]

Sorry but absolute rubbish and not based in science, just myth.
Whilst proteins and carbs may have the same calories in each they are processed by different mechanisms and hormones etc and have very different effects on the bodies multiple systems. And that is in a healthy person. Consider in a diabetic where carbohydrates mechanisms are flawed and it is even more true. Studies have shown a carb restriction when calories are maintained or raised works as well and often better than reducing calories. Calorie restriction methods over the last 40 yrs have high failure and drop out rate, cause hunger, slow basal metabolism making the fundamental problem worse and do nothing to address the problem diabetics have with carbs.
Plant based easily means highly processed, high carb or nutrient deficiency without a great deal of care to avoid these issues, and is more of an ethical/religious choice than a health or science supported one.

I do feel this post has been somewhat hijacked, but I think you’re missing my point. Surely eating a snack of a salad, or crunchy veg is better for you than a choc ice!? (In more wats than one).
And a true plant based diet is the exact opposite to processed foods. It’s all about eating whole natural food, which are high in micronutrients (I’m not talking about veggie sausages or fake bacon here!).
Forgive me, but I’ve never seen a science supported paper that suggests veg is bad for you.

 

[EddieA12]

But you are a T1 correct?

Type one, and have been for 34 years.

 

[Resurgam]

Actually I was going to suggest having a large salad - but with tuna or eggs and cheese as well.
I never used to eat breakfast, but when I got a meter I could see that my numbers before lunch, having not eaten since the previous evening, were rather higher than I would have liked, so I got into the habit of eating earlier - I just started preparing my meal half an hour earlier a couple of times a week. I actually had a better appetite, but that might have been getting rid of the Metformin buildup. I only have a small amount of carbs as I am most insulin resistant in the am. I found that I did not need to eat until the evening once I got settled into eating fairly early in the day - I was not hungry, I think because my levels did not rise all that high and they settled down after eating. Those few snacks of high carb food might well add up to quite a few carbs over the course of a week, so it could be a good option to have a lot of low carb food rather than those small but dense carb snacks.
I have a mug of coffee with cream with each meal - I pour it into a jug and give it a whizz with the Bamix so it is nice and frothy.

 

[bulkbiker]

Type one, and have been for 34 years.

OK and that's fine but when advising T2's on what to eat maybe consider they have a very different condition?

 

[HSSS]

I do feel this post has been somewhat hijacked, but I think you’re missing my point. Surely eating a snack of a salad, or crunchy veg is better for you than a choc ice!? (In more wats than one).
And a true plant based diet is the exact opposite to processed foods. It’s all about eating whole natural food, which are high in micronutrients (I’m not talking about veggie sausages or fake bacon here!).
Forgive me, but I’ve never seen a science supported paper that suggests veg is bad for you.

Not at all missing your point. You stated carbs and protein were equal. They are not. You said it was about calorie deficit. It is not.

Agreed, non processed foods are ideal, including salad or veg - if they are not starchy. My point was vegetarian and vegan can easily have pitfalls (as can omnivore) and aren’t inherently healthy as many mistakenly believe, they need to be done well and carefully, as perhaps you personally are doing. Ever heard of oxalates? I shan’t continue to go off track. If you’d like to continue may I suggest a new thread.

 

[Jaylee]

I've been on Lantus since 2005. I think I've been giving far too much...100 units at night, sometimes more, and I do know insulin causes weight gain. I just want to eat all the time. I'm never hungry....so yes, I do graze. That could be where I'm going wrong....

Hello, are you grazing because you are low? Or trying to stop going low?

I do lantus, it can be a tricky one. It's not the insulin. it's getting dose right & what you minimize giving carb wise to keep it "happy" that maybe your weight gain issue?
Technically, with a basal insulin, & getting the dose right. you shouldn't have to let it "blackmail" you for carby snacks. (sometimes things go wrong & there is no choice with low treatment, but the trick is "damage limitation" when it does.)

consulting with your HCP & doing a basal test first may help get your foundation right.
This explains how to test the action of a long acting insulin. https://www.mysugr.com/en/blog/basal-rate-testing/

It could help you before considering the great advice from fellow experienced low carb T2s regarding dietary approach. .

I really feel a duty to step in & remind with any change of diet in relation to using any BG lowering drugs.(insulin is my thing.) please keep a closer eye with testing BGs more regular.

Other than that @sue1309 , give us a run down of what you usually like to eat & let's find LC alternative like minded menus.