Why don't some people get it?

[13lizanne]

I read that sausages are good. So I had some Tesco cocktail sausages. Then read the label. 61% meat, then water, then rusk. So maybe not all sausages are equal? What do people mean by sausages, bearing in mind i have to use supermarket ones.

Tesco do 90%meat sausages which don't cause me to spike. If you look at the packet, look for the 90% printed on top right corner

 

[Brunneria]

But don't assume that GF foods are low carb!
Sometimes they just use GF starches instead - like potato starch.
It is the overall carb content on the nutritional info you need.

Sorry if that is stating the obvious, but we have had posts from people in the past confusing GF with low carb, and not understanding why their BG didn't lower...

 

[jopar]

So I'm a newbie here, please forgive my ignorance if this post hits a nerve. Before going on I should say this forum is awesome!

changed my diet, stopped eating pizza pies and sticky toffee pudding, learned to love green vegetables (spicing them up helps), I'm up at 6am going to the pool to fit it into my diary, haven't eaten a cake since diagnosis - I've adapted. And you know what, life is better now - yep, even though I have diabetes!

So why do people complain they can't get to grips with LCHF and their diet. They are still eating bread - and say they only had one slice of pizza! They hate vegetables - really? All vegetables?? I just don't get it - why don't folks take their own health seriously?

This is the 'soapbox' section so I guess I'm jumping on mine. I love love love this forum and it has helped me enormously, I just don't understand why some people don't get it?

You've been a diabetic for what almost 4 months

And you asking me who's been a T1 diabetic for 27 years, 'Why I don't get it' with LCHF diets? You may think I don't get it, but I actually do get it..

A LCHF diet isn't suitable for all, other conditions may be present that an LCHF diet would seriously impact on, or perhaps the individual doesn't actually need it...

And then there's individual choice, what you deem to be perfect and/or sensible control, their idea of good control may differ, same with medication, one might be happy to use medication to support their condition other may not, but strangely for T2's following an LCHF diet doesn't always avoid the need to support their diabetes with medication. Same with T1's I've seen one T1 on this forum, who bangs the drum of LCHF diets, and on occasions basically attacked me for my views, strangely after 27 years of diabetes, I still only use insulin, I need no other meds for cholesterol, blood pressure etc... But this particular individual, have slowly increased medication to deal with their diabetes!

One of the biggest reasons that people who try the LCHF diet struggle, is because of the restrictions of food types, it gets boring, and sorry a cauliflower will always be a cauliflower, preparing it in a certain way, doesn't make it taste like the item of carby food you're trying to substitute for! Grating an Cauliflower or how skillfully you cook it, it will not taste nor will it's texture replace Rice!

I agree a diabetic will have to control their carb intake, but putting forward that there's only one way is so wrong, it's about teaching the diabetic, where carbs are to be found in food, how they can react (as this can be different for different people) as to maintain control, may be that certain foods can only be ate in a limited and/or eaten at particular times of the day.... I've know people who rocket if they have a slice of toast for breakfast, but by supper time they don't get a problem...

What I don't get is the intolerance of low carbers, who think that because another individual doesn't want or perhaps need to follow this regime that they must be attacked, belittled etc etc...

Or as my consultant will say, there is no right or wrong way, the right way is what works for you....

 

[ladybird64]

Oh come on, you've been around here long enough to be able to tell the difference between enthusiasm and attack - and this post, from someone who has done tremendously well, is certainly not the latter. Yours however, does have a condescending air, which really is unwarranted.
It is fairly obvious that the post is addressing type 2's. There are indeed quite a few who continue to eat foods that push their bg's up, then complain that the doc is increasing their meds.

It was a genuine question, he really doesn't understand why people don't change to low carbs foods. For those that dont, I'm sure tbery can answer him. But please bear in mind you have reacted in a harsh way to someone who did say he was sorry if his post hit a nerve - he knows nothing of your disagreements with others so why raise them?

There is also the matter of insulin - you can bolus for what you eat. We can't.

 

[PenfoldAPD]

Thank you @jopar for your reply. I did say I was a newbie and appreciate your patience with me, I'm finding my way here and learning every single day.

What I struggle with is people who seem to have no control - they are on the forum asking questions and getting educated, then posting that they've been eating cream cakes all day and now feel rubbish. That is what I don't get. People can do what the heck they like as far as I'm concerned - but surely your own health should be a primary concern?

Maybe I need to distinguish between T1 and T2 when I post. I can't even begin to understand T1 and wouldn't pretend I do.

Personally I disagree that low carb is boring. Yes it is harder work but I'm really enjoying everything I eat. I haven't gone for 'substitute' foods though - don't see any point, a bit like Vegan who has a 'bacon substitute'. I'm a huge foodie (even if I hate that term!), and love my food - and continue to do so even if I now make educated choices. Honestly, I feel better and more alive than when danish pasties were a regular 'treat'.

If something works for you then you should be pleased, and therefore you will often advocate it to others - hence T2 on LCHF who have had good results are rightly proud and maybe 'bang on' about it.

Once again thank you for taking the time to reply. If I offended you I can only apologise, that was never my intention. Thankfully I believe I've found a way that works for me and maybe I just shouldn't care about anyone else.

 

[PenfoldAPD]

Thank you for your support @ladybird64 - I was rather upset at the post, but hey I'm a big boy and willing to accept that just 11 weeks after diagnosis my diabetes knowledge is still very limited.

LCHF and exercise works for me - so I'm going to stick with it!

 

[serenity648]

My father has been a T2 for 34 years. He has been on insulin for most of that time, plus lots of other drugs. He now has numerous health problem, had two heart attacks and has a stent put in.

My brother is a T2, he became one 4 years ago. He is going on insulin in a week. Neither of them will listen to what I have learned this week. They say "The doctor knows best. We needs 150g carbs minimum a day to allow our brains to work properly," that sort of thinking. My friend, who is T1 and has two of her adult children who became T1 in the late teens, also disagrees with LCHF and says she and her boys need carbs to absorb the insulin. They are on pumps, dont know if that makes a difference.

I dont know if they are right, or you lot are right. But judging by the results I see you posting, I am giving LCHF a go. It cant do any harm, can it. And if it works, I can show them my results and they will maybe be prepared to try it.

I am not sure how I will know if my brain isnt working properly though

 

[Robinredbreast]

Thank you for your support @ladybird64 - I was rather upset at the post, but hey I'm a big boy and willing to accept that just 11 weeks after diagnosis my diabetes knowledge is still very limited.

LCHF and exercise works for me - so I'm going to stick with it!

Do what is right for you , if you are managing well and it's doing you good ( which it is) then ignore other peoples negative remarks, that's what I try to do.

Best wishes, RRB ( 27 years type 1)

 

[Indy51]

Personally I disagree that low carb is boring. Yes it is harder work but I'm really enjoying everything I eat. I haven't gone for 'substitute' foods though - don't see any point, a bit like Vegan who has a 'bacon substitute'. I'm a huge foodie (even if I hate that term!), and love my food - and continue to do so even if I now make educated choices. Honestly, I feel better and more alive than when danish pasties were a regular 'treat'.

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I've never bothered with any of the substitutes or "re-enactment" types of food. Plain and simple ingredients never bore me. I tried a couple of low carb cake recipes in the early days, but even though they tasted pretty good, I didn't see the point in getting into regular baking. One of the best things about low carb is being free of food obsessions/compulsions. I find the idea of most carbs, especially the grain based ones, infinitely boring and bland nowadays. Don't miss them at all.

 

[SunnyExpat]

My father has been a T2 for 34 years. He has been on insulin for most of that time, plus lots of other drugs. He now has numerous health problem, had two heart attacks and has a stent put in.

My brother is a T2, he became one 4 years ago. He is going on insulin in a week. Neither of them will listen to what I have learned this week. They say "The doctor knows best. We needs 150g carbs minimum a day to allow our brains to work properly," that sort of thinking. My friend, who is T1 and has two of her adult children who became T1 in the late teens, also disagrees with LCHF and says she and her boys need carbs to absorb the insulin. They are on pumps, dont know if that makes a difference.

I dont know if they are right, or you lot are right. But judging by the results I see you posting, I am giving LCHF a go. It cant do any harm, can it. And if it works, I can show them my results and they will maybe be prepared to try it.

I am not sure how I will know if my brain isnt working properly though

They are very unlucky, if they both have doctors that both quote 150g of carbs. I don't think mine ever mentioned any numbers, yet alone minimum numbers in that depth.
The NHS did help with diet originally, years ago, and I don't count carbs now, I don't need to, as I know what keeps my numbers non diabetic.

 

[PenfoldAPD]

@serenity648 personally my brain is clearer since I gave up all those carbs no afternoon slump good luck

 

[lovinglife]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I've never bothered with any of the substitutes or "re-enactment" types of food. Plain and simple ingredients never bore me. I tried a couple of low carb cake recipes in the early days, but even though they tasted pretty good, I didn't see the point in getting into regular baking. One of the best things about low carb is being free of food obsessions/compulsions. I find the idea of most carbs, especially the grain based ones, infinitely boring and bland nowadays. Don't miss them at all.

Me too - though I do eat a bit more carbs than some in new pots and burgen bread. I tried lower and to get totally off my glic but it didn't work my numbers rose even on 20g carb - I worked hard to get a balance between minimum meds and minimum carbs. I don't do substitute foods very often - I make a dessert at Christmas and Easter - I do spiralize veg and make cauli rice but I never think of it as a replacement - it's just a different way of prepping my veg - sometimes rice cauli goes better with what I'm eating than florets - I am different that I do miss my pasta and my fruit terribly - but hey ho there you go - there's worse things to miss in life

 

[serenity648]

They are very unlucky, if they both have doctors that both quote 150g of carbs. I don't think mine ever mentioned any numbers, yet alone minimum numbers in that depth.
The NHS did help with diet originally, years ago, and I don't count carbs now, I don't need to, as I know what keeps my numbers non diabetic.

I mean their doctors, and the nurse i saw this week, all said we need a minimum of 150g of carb a day just for our brains, to allow our brains to get the glucose it need. and then used the eatwell plate for us to get an idea of how much of our diet should be carbs, about 30%, some with each meal, to get the extra for energy and bowel health. So they are eating unspecified amount of carbs

 

[Lamont D]

Total hogwash!

I mean their doctors, and the nurse i saw this week, all said we need a minimum of 150g of carb a day just for our brains, to allow our brains to get the glucose it need. and then used the eatwell plate for us to get an idea of how much of our diet should be carbs, about 30%, some with each meal, to get the extra for energy and bowel health. So they are eating unspecified amount of carbs

I am currently been lower than 20g (ish) per day, for more than two years, my brain works fine, (most of the time!) I know of others that have posted the same.
There are numerous links all over the forum, that dispels this myth.
My health has never been better.
Also, the numerous organ problems I had, have disappeared.

 

[SunnyExpat]

I mean their doctors, and the nurse i saw this week, all said we need a minimum of 150g of carb a day just for our brains, to allow our brains to get the glucose it need. and then used the eatwell plate for us to get an idea of how much of our diet should be carbs, about 30%, some with each meal, to get the extra for energy and bowel health. So they are eating unspecified amount of carbs

As I say, they are very unlucky, if even the nurse is quoting numbers.
My health care team simply looked at my results, we discussed carbs, but mainly types of carbs that didn't spike me, as they certainly all didn't. And I used a meter from day 1, and recorded everything I ate.
I would guess they assumed my brain worked from the interactions, maybe interaction is the key, rather than a blanket statement either way that there can be only one method that works.
I can't really comment on brain fog.
When my BG was high, certainly it was noticeable from me being tired.
I can't say carbs or lack of carbs makes much difference now as it's under control.

 

[Daphne917]

Me too - though I do eat a bit more carbs than some in new pots and burgen bread. I tried lower and to get totally off my glic but it didn't work my numbers rose even on 20g carb - I worked hard to get a balance between minimum meds and minimum carbs. I don't do substitute foods very often - I make a dessert at Christmas and Easter - I do spiralize veg and make cauli rice but I never think of it as a replacement - it's just a different way of prepping my veg - sometimes rice cauli goes better with what I'm eating than florets - I am different that I do miss my pasta and my fruit terribly - but hey ho there you go - there's worse things to miss in life

@lovinglife have you tried cooling your pasta and then reheating it - I find that I can eat small portions of pasta done this way with little affect on my BS.

 

[lovinglife]

@lovinglife have you tried cooling your pasta and then reheating it - I find that I can eat small portions of pasta done this way with little affect on my BS.

Did try it a while back but didn't work - I do it with mashed pot and it works but not for pasta - I even tried freezing it hoping I could bully it into submitting but no joy - it's a good tip though

 

[jopar]

Oh come on, you've been around here long enough to be able to tell the difference between enthusiasm and attack - and this post, from someone who has done tremendously well, is certainly not the latter. Yours however, does have a condescending air, which really is unwarranted.
It is fairly obvious that the post is addressing type 2's. There are indeed quite a few who continue to eat foods that push their bg's up, then complain that the doc is increasing their meds.

It was a genuine question, he really doesn't understand why people don't change to low carbs foods. For those that dont, I'm sure tbery can answer him. But please bear in mind you have reacted in a harsh way to someone who did say he was sorry if his post hit a nerve - he knows nothing of your disagreements with others so why raise them?

There is also the matter of insulin - you can bolus for what you eat. We can't.

Wow that's a bit scathing isn't it... funny enough the original poster didn't feel attack or that I'd been condescending until your post....

Penfold is newly diagnosed, and yes seems to be doing well, and did the sensible thing, got the diagnoses then did the research, but it would be interesting to see if in a years time, will he still be saying the same...

As you said, I've been a member of the forum for a long time, so seen members come looking for help, and yes they've started to low carb diet, and been enthusiastic but given a couple of months or more, they've found it increasingly more difficult to stick too... and others who from the start you can see that they aren't going to be able to make such a large lifestyle change in one leap at all

Why do people moan about their doctor giving them more medication, well that's pretty easy to answer, it's guilt and not being able to take the responsibility for your own actions.. So shift the blame elsewhere... Sound pretty unkind, and really for this type of person forcing them into a full low carb diet isn't going to them any good... Sometimes using a tactical method getting the person to make little changes at a time, will over time turn things around for them. push too hard then they go into shut down, or in the case of a forum, the person leaves the forum receiving no help what's so ever...

 

[ladybird64]

Wow that's a bit scathing isn't it... funny enough the original poster didn't feel attack or that I'd been condescending until your post....

Penfold is newly diagnosed, and yes seems to be doing well, and did the sensible thing, got the diagnoses then did the research, but it would be interesting to see if in a years time, will he still be saying the same...

As you said, I've been a member of the forum for a long time, so seen members come looking for help, and yes they've started to low carb diet, and been enthusiastic but given a couple of months or more, they've found it increasingly more difficult to stick too... and others who from the start you can see that they aren't going to be able to make such a large lifestyle change in one leap at all

Why do people moan about their doctor giving them more medication, well that's pretty easy to answer, it's guilt and not being able to take the responsibility for your own actions.. So shift the blame elsewhere... Sound pretty unkind, and really for this type of person forcing them into a full low carb diet isn't going to them any good... Sometimes using a tactical method getting the person to make little changes at a time, will over time turn things around for them. push too hard then they go into shut down, or in the case of a forum, the person leaves the forum receiving no help what's so ever...

If you reread the replies @jopar , although he said he's a big lad (and obviously can take care of himself!), you will see the word "upset" used. And while we are talking about scathing..

"You've been a diabetic for what almost 4 months

And you asking me who's been a T1 diabetic for 27 years, 'Why I don't get it' with LCHF diets? "

It's a forum @jopar. Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything, it doesn't wield that kind of power. There is a whole heap of info out there in the big ole' world wide web, other forums for those with diabetes, tons of advice re diet, not to mention if they would rather follow advice given by HCP's that is not the same as that given here, then why not. The advice most often given, over and above anything else, is test. Test, test, test - find out what you can eat. I don't see anybody blindly blundering in, and telling a newbie to cut carbs without testing - you seem to have overlooked that part.
People are supported meal by meal if that's what they ask for. Small changes are more often than not, the name of the game, each person is treated as an individual, which is probably more than they will receive at the hands of the overstretched NHS, and that's not even getting into the realms of the advice they are given.
Glad to see you think that guilt is responsible for complaints re medication being increased though, it's all down to personal responsibility then. We know that maybe it is confusion, that they are eating what they have been told to eat and it's not working. The OP may not realise this, actually I think he does, but he isn't sure why people don't try and fix it when the answers are often right there in their meter, but for some of us "oldies", we know it's a combination of factors. If someone is cramming the cakes, yes. If someone is scoffing the biscuits and pizza, yes. If someone is eating their 4 slices of wholemeal, their bowl of porridge/fruit and fibre/shredded wheat, their low fat cheese/ milk/yogurt, and good starchy carbs at every meal - then no, they are doing what they have been TOLD to do, and it's backfiring. Where does the responsibility lie in that little conundrum?

As for what would be interesting in a few years time...I've put a stone and a bit of the 6 stone I lost back on. I've had some serious trauma in my life over the past year and a half, and it's still ongoing. My numbers are still in the non diabetic range.
I found my way with support from my peers, and I was diagnosed 5 years ago. None of us know what's round the corner, but we can do there best we can to make sure we are well enough to face whatever comes our way, I think that's what we wish for each other, and that's why we advise on what has worked for us..

It's called empathy.

 

[serenity648]

Why do people moan about their doctor giving them more medication, well that's pretty easy to answer, it's guilt and not being able to take the responsibility for your own actions.. So shift the blame elsewhere... Sound pretty unkind,

that sentence sounds pretty unkind to me. There are many reasons why people struggle, or are not able to take the amount of responsibility they would like to. And those, like my brother, who think they are being responsible by doing what their medical people tell them., and then end up on more medicine.