.. another liver dump victim here.... and yeah frustrating and disappointing, especially at first
@Neverbloobloo - like you I don't really 'count carbs' so much as read packets carefully, watch my numbers, adjust accordingly and keep a rather lovely spreadsheet of food intake, medications and BG numbers. It does help identify patterns which is especially useful to me as it's a bit of a trick getting/keeping my life routinized.
@Zab - another Canuck here, east coast, sounds like we're taking a very similar approach - I too worry about the long term effects of extreme LCHF, but find some of the information useful in reducing carbs. I do try keeping to somewhere in the 20-40 gr of carbs per meal (2 per day) and under 20 for snacks (1 or 2 day depending). I do find a bedtime snack - (low or no carb) helpful - my fasting morning number is still usually my highest of the day, but it still (in general - 18/20 times) within my target range of 5.5 - 7.5.
One of the reasons tracking was so important to me especially when I started out was that routines here are - well a bit fluid. I work night shifts 3 nights a week, so while there is a routine - it needs tracking over weeks - not days. Interesting thing: I still keep my meal times consistent, but when I'm working nights, I need a snack around 3am - usually a sugar free low carb yogurt (love my Yoplait Source for an interesting variety of flavours) and a Kellogg Pastry Crisps (19gr carbs/6 gr sugar - per two bars) - this keeps my morning numbers within 0.1 of my post dinner reading. When I'm off shift and sleeping through the night, a snack at bedtime, (usually something sweet: a sugar free jello/yogurt or homemade sugar free ice cream, or a protein powder in milk for 'dessert') and my morning reading will be 1.0 above my post dinner number. If I don't have a snack, it'll be 1.5 to 2.0 higher at my pre-breakfast reading. However if I'm sleeping through the day (when I'm working nights), I don't see that fasting dump phenomenon. So I'm inclined to think it may be also related to circadian rhythms, but that's just an observational guess, not data. However, so long as I keep everything within the 5.0-7.5 range ... I'm happy my doctor is thrilled and we shrug and say "Uh that's how my disease is working for me." and I'm learning to let go of the annoyance and frustration with it.
and I'm another person who could stand to lose half my body mass, but that IS coming slowly but surely - on average 1.5 lbs per week considering the latest diet research and issues of rebounding etc, I'm really just as happy to keep the progress SLOW but steady on that front. I'm down 65 lbs from my highest weight (Dec 2014 - 325 lbs), and 15 lbs from my diagnosis weight (Apr 23/2016 - 275 lbs), and if it continues at the rate it's going my target weight (150 lbs) will be within spitting distance next summer.
@srobertson06 -
@JenniferW - yeah carbs my bane, I love my carbs - they're what landed me in this mess in the first place - I love baking, breads, rolls, pizza, bagels, pitas, croissants .... yeah I know I'll stop now. I've cut them out *almost* entirely - and consider them a 'treat' when my numbers are on the low end. However, I've also come across a source for low carb real flour (nope no clue how they do that) I know some people have some concerns about the chemicals (!!) in how 'carbalose' is made, (but then a lot of people have concerns about sucralose - me I'll keep taking my splenda in my coffee) but if I can have croissants or pancakes or waffles for breakfast again one day a week, I'm willing to give it a try.