Why Eat Carbs As A Type 2 Diabetic?

[lucylocket61]

I think you need to stop being so sensitive. As we say in Ireland get over yerself.

that is precisely what I mean by being rude. I am now putting you on ignore.

 

[Crocodile]

Exactly most people that I know who are t2 were only diagnosed when their condition became obvious and therefore past the prediabetic stage

That's pretty well the case. I was only diagnosed because I went to the doctor with a few things that didn't seem right. I didn't even feel unwell. My eyesight kept changing meaning new prescriptions for glasses every month or two. I was losing weight faster than I had estimated and was peeing all the time. In isolation, none of these things were a concern.

Being long sighted, the excess sugar causing my lens to swell actually improved my eyesight so I took that as a bonus and thought no problem, they're getting better. I was overweight at 106kg and took an effort to reduce the kj intake to lose weight. It worked but I was losing it faster than I should have. Again, the initial reaction is 'what a great diet' so no action required. I'm used to working in the hot Aussie climate and always drank lots of water. On the work sites there's even posters on the wall with pee colours and how much water to drink. I assumed I peed a lot because I drank a lot. Truth is it was the other way around.

Put all three together and it didn't feel right. Saw the quack, told him what was happening and he immediately grabbed my finger and tested my blood on the spot. Reading was 22.5 and he nearly fell off his chair. Told to fast and come back tomorrow where it was measured at 15.5 so at that point I knew. HbA1c came back at 9.5% as well. The idea that many of us are known pre-diabetic beforehand and gradually watch the transition is a myth. Welcome to the real world.

 

[MrsGruffy]

I was never pre-diabetic according to the HBA1C results I've had over the years. Each new GP would look at my "apple" shape, and order the HBA1C test, so I've had HBA1C records for the past decade or so, but they were all completely normal, in the non diabetic range. I think for a lot of us, there's a cliff. You're fine, fine, fine, fine.. and then over you go - suddenly and quite spectacularly T2 diabetic. I suspect that in my case, it was the doubling to 80mg of Atorvastatin a couple of months before T2D dx which pushed me over the edge.

It is a daily challenge for me to stick to 20g of carbohydrates. I've found it super challenging this past week. I'm back at uni now that my T2D related vision issues have more or less resolved, and eating sandwiches, lollies, chocolate, ice cream are my go to stress busting strategies. It requires a super hero level of restraint to avoid slipping into past behaviours. Very similar to quitting smoking. Every new thing you do without a smoke rekindles the desire and craving for one. It's almost unconscious, but luckily not quite! As a smoker, I frequently found myself with a cigarette lit without realising I'd lit it, and when really busy, there would occasionally be one lit and resting in the ashtray when I'd light a second one. I've yet to find a sandwich in my mouth without realising I'd made one! Lucky there's some preparation involved in food delivery!

In theory, the low or no carb thing is easy, practical and sensible for most people. However, we are psychologically connected to food, and to textures, to mouth feel, to aromas, to flavours. Food is not just fuel to most people. It is connected to every aspect of life. You can't just ignore that. We celebrate, we grieve, we socialise, we spoil, we punish - there's food for every milestone in our lives. There's a lot of barriers to eating healthy in our instant gratification world. There's so many rules to protect us from ourselves, but it's all down to self discipline when it comes to making healthy food choices - and the perception is that it's your own fault if you're overweight or have T2D!

 

[rab5]

that is precisely what I mean by being rude. I am now putting you on ignore.

Good decision

 

[TonyHancock]

It is all so complicated. I dislike the term diabetes as a cover all name for what is really the symptom of high blood glucose

I was overweight when diagnosed, having lived a life of carbohydrate gluttony, so I really do blame myself. I snacked between meals, downed 1.25 litre bottle of pure orange juice and feasted on bread, rice, pasta and cereals.

What makes this all so complicated though is the number of connected or potentially connected functions within the body. As I await the results of my third HbA1c test (92 in Oct 2017, 40 by Jan 2018) I am mulling over a number of issues - processed food, timing of meals, impact of gut bacteria, stress, sleep, and physical activity. There are probably more things I need to be thinking about.

I thought I'd cracked it - Blood Sugar Diet for 8 weeks, dropped 15Kg, returned to "normal" levels. In March I decided to "treat" myself and have a hamburger. BG level of 12 within 2 hours. So no I haven't cracked it. I am staying well away from carbs, whilst practising intermittent fasting, for the foreseeable future and hopefully give my pancreas a rest.

Increased Carb consumption is undoubtedly a key constituent for many, but there are so many variables at play with this dreadful condition.

 

[bulkbiker]

to "treat" myself and have a hamburger

I imagine it was the "bun" rather than the hamburger.. don't blame the butter for what the bread did?

 

[Mr_Pot]

Good decision

@lucylocket61 is a very interesting and useful contributor to the forum and being pleased about offending her is the action of a troll. You have been a very active contributor to this thread but despite having an aversion to carbs, describing them as lethal at one point, what you haven't said is what you do eat. Perhaps you would enlighten us about your carb free diet.

 

[Brunneria]

Everyone can use the IGNORE option when they prefer not to read posts by a particular poster. This goes both ways, of course, since each person can be IGNORED as well as IGNORING.

The only people who do not have this luxury are moderators. In my pre-mod days i was happy to have 7 people on ignore, and I can assure you that it makes the forum a much more stress free place not to be constantly exposed to people whose posts raise your blood pressure.

As mods, we step in when the forum ethos and rules are broken, but when there are personality clashes and no rules broken we encourage members to settle their differences by private message, or to use the IGNORE button found in every profile.

I would also remind people that holding grudges and perpetuating old arguments across thread after thread and page after page is disruptive for everyone, and will result in the mods taking action on the grounds of thread derailing.

 

[rab5]

@lucylocket61 is a very interesting and useful contributor to the forum and being pleased about offending her is the action of a troll. You have been a very active contributor to this thread but despite having an aversion to carbs, describing them as lethal at one point, what you haven't said is what you do eat. Perhaps you would enlighten us about your carb free diet.

At the minute I’m dabbling with the carnivore diet.

 

[TonyHancock]

I imagine it was the "bun" rather than the hamburger.. don't blame the butter for what the bread did?

Yes it was the bun. No problems with the burger meat.

 

[zand]

At the minute I’m dabbling with the carnivore diet.

You say dabbling with... do you have any carbs at all? I mean like a miniscule amount in coffee with cream? Just interested I need my coffee with cream to stop myself from being hungry.

 

[rab5]

I eat meat and eggs. Mostly rib-eye
Milk in tea seems to spike my BG which is a major disappointment. I also eat chicken thighs with the skin. Since I have been doin this for past 2 weeks I’m usually OMAD.

I have had some ice cream as I was on holiday. It was marvellous!

 

[derry60]

I joined this forum fairly soon after diagnosis, seeking advice, support, and a place to get things off my chest after the shock of that diagnosis, from people who have been in the same situation.
Everyone who responded to my posts I found to be supportive without being prescriptive, though have noticed the very occasional "hard-line" advice or short, pithy one-liners challenging others in other posts - an example being "why would you eat bread?".

I think the OP on this post has been deliberately provocative, and has succeeded in triggering challenging responses from a lot of people. That may have been their aim all along, rather than wanting a genuine debate and listening to the other side of the argument or indeed anything that slightly differs from their own view.

I'm no psychologist nor sociologist, but this post has confirmed my theory on the 4 stages on the road to zealotry;
1) Enthusiast: Discovers something new (e.g. LCHF), wants to give it a try, and likes what they discover.
2) Advocate: Having enjoyed the experience or seen success with it, is keen to tell people how it helped them and suggest it might help others.
3) Evangelist: Socialising their new found discovery, urging people to take it up, and endlessly talking about it.
4) Zealot: This discovery is now the only way to live life, and anyone who disagrees is not only wrong, but should be sent to purgatory and has no business disagreeing with them.

Religious zealotry is the classic example of this, and we all know what that leads to - historically and in more recent times.
I'm an advocate - and avoid the temptation of evangelism when my T2 Mum tells me she has had Weetabix for breakfast . I take the measured view that everyone is different and don't see the point of forcing your view on someone.

Be an advocate, share your experience and advice, try not to evangelize, but please refrain from zealotry. Please.

Peace out.

This part is where I think that people have a controlling nature, and have come across this here from time to time. ie 4) Zealot: This discovery is now the only way to live life, and anyone who disagrees is not only wrong, but should be sent to purgatory and has no business disagreeing with them.

 

[Resurgam]

I would agree that I am keen to get people to go low carb - but that is because when my Hba1c was 91, that is how old I felt - when it got down to 41, ditto - and I am dancing around and having a great time - I now help teach morris dancing, and Maypole and longsword too, have learned to play the melodeon, I go out several times a week and have plans to grow younger and have a lot more fun.
I can eat more carbs and tolerate more foods - but I want to get thinner, so I tend not to. Carbs are still not my friend and never will be, but the low carb foods on my list are the most delicious ones, even if many people would find pea icecream rather strange.

 

[zand]

I eat meat and eggs. Mostly rib-eye
Milk in tea seems to spike my BG which is a major disappointment. I also eat chicken thighs with the skin. Since I have been doin this for past 2 weeks I’m usually OMAD.

I have had some ice cream as I was on holiday. It was marvellous!

Yes, I agree re milk in tea, it's the same for me. I've only just started doing OMAD this week and next week will be a struggle because I will be away from home for 5 days and don't like meat a lot so I will find it challenging to find low carb stuff that suits me. I suppose I can only do my best, but those ice-creams on holiday are wonderful aren't they?

 

[Krystyna23040]

When I was diagnosed - completely out of the blue - my HB1aC was 125. Immediately put on Novarapid and Lantus insulin and got my HB1aC around 52. Followed the blood sugar diet - lost 3 stones and cut down my insulin but couldn't get off it until I started eating to my meter. So basically the meter says no to carb levels over 20g a day. The carbs I do eat are cream, yoghurt, kefir, asparagus, advocado, mushrooms, courgettes, cauliflower rice and all green leafy veggies.

I don't need insulin at that level of carbs but over it I do. I now enjoy my food so much that keeping to this carb level is effortless. I didn't feel that good when I was injecting insulin. I felt as though I had no energy and the numbness in my foot was getting worse. Foot is now back to normal and the retinopathy and macular oedema had gone. A massive improvement in energy levels. With no insulin HB1aC is 40 and hopefully the next one will be lower.

I think that we all have to find what works for us individually. I am trying intermittent fasting to see if it makes me more insulin sensitive. Will it work - who knows. I can only try it. Maybe - just maybe - I will be able to eat humus and carrot sticks without spiking my BS.

I am learning so much from reading posts on this site and the blood sugar forum site. Thank goodness we have access to these resources.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi All (again).

This thread is now being closed to further replies, because it has been necessary to delete several posts this morning.
The reason boils down to people wanting to revisit old arguments from pages ago, and preferring to hammer out their differences on the thread (further derailment) rather than taking their discussion to private message (see post #288 above).

@Krystyna23040 i want to make clear that while your post may be the last one on the thread, you had absolutely nothing to do with the thread being closed.