Low Carbohydrate-High Fat Diet

[Nitins]

I have been member of other diabetic forums as well. One of them advocates LCHF (Low carbohydrate and High Fat diet) to control diabetes. They say, it's the carbohydrates, which cause havoc with blood sugar and not fat. Reducing intake of carbohydrates to 100g per day, will help you to reduce your blood sugar, help you reduce your medicines and body weight. I have been following this diet for last 45 days. I have seen my body weight reduce and my fasting sugar reduced from 240 levels to 140. levels. I have been able to reduce my oral medication to almost half.

Has anyone else benefited by LCHF Diet ? If so, share your experience.

Thank you

NitinNitins

Posts: 1
Joined: 14 minutes ago

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Has anyone else benefited by LCHF Diet ? If so, share your experience.

Most people on this forum have benefited to one degree or another. It seems odd that it takes a long time for people to discover that eating carbohydrates with every meal (NHS advice) makes your blood sugar go up. What did they expect it to do?

Those successful in controlling their blood sugar fall into two main categories. Low/no carbers and those who eat to their meter. They are essentially the same thing but approached from two different directions. Makes you wonder why they sometimes argue so strongly for one or the other.

The question of fat, what it does and what kind of fat is not fully understood and not adopted by some. Again there is too much conflicting advice. My nurse said I am allowed Flora Pro Activ scrape on my bread. The facts that I cannot eat bread at all and Dwight Lundell says artificial spreads are killing people means the debate is wide open.

Currently I have stopped artificial spreads and if I need fats I use real ones. I have found that putting fat back into some foods make them palatable and they do not spike my blood sugar due to them lowering the GI.

 

[julie54]

This is the issue which I am also a little confused about! Newly diagnosed Type 2, I have been looking around and doing what we all do (My Doctor was unfortunately no help at all and will only advocate medication - their policy on diabetes and also pre-diabetes!) and feel that low carb diet is the way forward for me. But there is also the LCHF approach. I have been doing the Newcastle diet for the past 4 weeks and have already lost some weight but as this is a short term approach, I am planning my next 'phase' for a sustainable diet. Everything that I have read does veer towards low carb diet, which to me has some logical sense to it - but do I adopt the low carb/high fat - that is the question??!!! Any advice/experiences would be very much appreciated. And thank goodness for these forums. Felt like I had been thrown into the wilderness, but information/support on here has helped so much to clear the path!!

 

[toncra1]

Hi Nitins

Buy an Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution book.

Dr Atkins talks quite extensively in his book about diabetics and controlling your blood glucose via low a carb intake.

I was diagnosed T2 diabetic mid March this year....I have been on LCHF eating regime from the word go

My doctor offered tablets (That`s all they ever do) and three diabetic courses that I was sent on, they only preached about eating a varied diet...low in fats and normal carb intake...in my opinion very wrong advice. This will just keep you dependent on medication.

My BG and other stats are all within acceptable ranges and considered well under control

I will keep on the Atkins way of eating.....all Diabetics T1and T2 would do well to read the book...it makes perfect sense

Carbs are the big danger! Believe it or not...
after reading the book, I think you will believe it!

Listen to me...promoting his book and no commission.

 

[julie54]

Hi toncra1! I know your reply was for nitins, but helpful for me too!! Funnily enough, I just ordered the Atkins Diet Revolution book yesterday so its good to know that I am on the right track!! LCHF goes against what we have all been told over the years - but everything I have read up on points in that direction - so that's the way I am going! Good luck on your continued progress! Did you find that you lost weight successfully on your regime (as well as reducing your levels?)

 

[Dillinger]

Everything that I have read does veer towards low carb diet, which to me has some logical sense to it - but do I adopt the low carb/high fat - that is the question??!!!

Hi Julie,

I think the thing is not to think of it as a 'high fat' diet but more don't worry about the fat; which one obviously has to do on a low calorie diet. The focus is to get rid of enough carbohydrate from your diet until your blood sugars normalise; that could mean you are eating about 30 grams a day, like me, or 150 grams a day or some other number.

People get very hung up about the exact numbers; but there are no exact numbers for Type 2 diabetics as every Type 2 will have differently functioning pancreases. For Type 1's it's easier as we have no pancreatic function and so we should just try and eat as little as possible; but there is variation there as well dependent upon one's sensitivity to insulin.

So, forget eating low-fat anything (as it most likely will be bulked up with sugar) eat natural fats (i.e. butter, cream, full fat milk, cheese and the like) and don't worry how much, but do worry about how many carbs you are eating and try and get that level down to the point at which things work for you. Dr Bernstein and Dr Atkins essentially say drop to about 30 carbs a day and stick with that for 2 weeks and then see what you can reintroduce (if you're following Atkins - or just stick to that amount if you are following Bernstein).

It's pretty difficult to gorge on fats by the way without carbs; see how much butter you can eat on it's own!

For diabetics fat is not the enemy; carbs are and you have to figure just how powerful an enemy they are to you.

Best

Dillinger

 

[paul-1976]

I believe there are many misconceptions regarding LCHF,that we must all,somehow "Gorging on deep fried junk.." but nothing could be further from the truth,as Dillinger rightly says you would really struggle to gorge on fats without carbs-even cheese is quite filling on it's own...with me I try and eat the foods my grandparents most likely did,fresh meats,veggies,real butter,whole milk,cream,eggs etc and hence food as nature intended that hasn't been messed around with.

Paul

 

[julie54]

Thankyou for the extra advice/information. May I ask what you would typically eat for breakfast? Lunch/dinner seems to be quite straightforward in terms of meats/chicken/fish plus veg/salad etc. May I also ask if you eat any bread at all - not the white but for example the burgen soy and linseed? I think that has about 10g of carb in a slice, so would that be ok to occasionally have a slice and factor it in? I dislike cheese intensely so that won't be part of my low carb diet I'm afraid!! I haven't taken any of the medication, but on the Newcastle diet my bloods have been fine - around 6 or 7 - but of course that would probably be expected because of the very low calorie content. I also know my blood sugar levels are well down because I no longer get up all night to pee - which was a big problem before being diagnosed - I just never knew why and just thought it was a combination of age (!) and the fact that I had cervical cancer 12 years ago and my bladder took a bashing with radiotherapy etc! (sorry if thats too much information!) Thank you for clarifying the high fat part of it - it makes sense to just not worry about it!! So I am guessing that you don't cut fat off the meat/skin of chicken etc?!

 

[Carbdodger]

Hello
I have eggs most days for breakfast. Also with bacon at weekends.
Never eat shop bought bread. Make low carb buns etc using linseed, almonds, cauliflower etc. check out the low carb recipe section. Don't have everyday and think we are all too obsessed with bread anyway. It's just glucose in disguise.
Cd

 

[paul-1976]

Hi! Breakfast is the only tricky one but only due to having a mad rush in the morning so for quickness I usually defrost some frozen mixed berries with either greek yoghurt or cream OR I make scrambled eggs in the microwave with butter or a bit of cream and If I've got time I'll have bacon,sausages,mushrooms tomatoes etc or another thing I discovered that I like is runny boiled eggs with Asparagus to dip in..I don't eat bread but only because it does spike me high but I would eat Low carb homemade bread...I've just got to motivate myself to make some!

 

[julie54]

Thank you, thank you again!! I do take the point about bread, although initially I think that is the thing I will probably miss most, so am just trying to find a low carb alternative - for the very occasional time when I may crave!! I have looked for the low carb buns recipe and found one which had psyllium and ground almonds etc., but am struggling to find some of the ingredients! Also the recipe talks about weights being in mls, which is confusing. I wonder if you would be kind enough to give me the recipe which you use carbdodger, I would very much appreciate that. Many thanks again to you both for all your suggestions. I hope in the future when I am a committed and confirmed low carber that I may be able to be just as helpful to others as you have been to me. Julie

 

[Dillinger]

I can't eat bread as it causes me too many blood sugar problems.

I'd like to have a go at the low-carb bread recipe that was recently posted by Sam in the low-carb topic thread.

A good breakfast is 3-4 tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt - check the info but you can get it with carbs at about 3-4 grams/100g.

Having said that I've recently stopped having breakfast as I'm never hungry in the morning and so figure what's the point? I do funnily enough have to inject short acting insulin to cover dawn phenomenon even when not eating anything. But I'm probably odd like that...

Best

Dillinger

 

[zolabud]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... OC:GB:3160

The afore mentioned Dr Atkins book which I have just bought on E Bay for 99p plus £1.69 postage.

Hope it's the right one.

After a lifetimes of just checking the fat content of foods on food labels I am now checking the carbohydrate levels instead / as well as.

Tell me... What does carbohydrate actually do for your body?

What will cutting out carbs almost totally do apart from regulate your blood sugar?

Is there any harm in decreasing carbs so much?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. As others have said, don't worry too much about high fat with the low-carb. Just have enough fat to keep you happy and that provides the calories you actually need. Low-carb is the priority and then let the fats look after themselves

 

[Carbdodger]

Hello again
There are many low carb bread alternative recipes and it is good to experiment but here's an idea to get you going

1/4 cup of ground seeds ( linseed mainly but add in some ground sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup of coconut flour ( or mix in with almond flour)
1/4 cup of thick plain yougart (Lidl's is great)
3 - 4 eggs
2 tsp of baking powder
Herbs and salt to taste (rosemary or garlic for example)

Beat it all together and put into silicone muffin cases and cook at 180 for about 20 mins.

Happy baking
Cd

 

[hanadr]

Since sugar, starch, glucose etc are all carbohydrates, it stands to reason that carbs raise blood glucose.
My diet is much lower in carbs that 100g per day, nearer 30g!
I'm fairly high in fat, but don't measure the amount. or example, I made soup for lunch and put a dollop of cream into it.
My HbA1c hasn't been out of the 5s in years and I'm certainly not suffering from any dietary deficiencies. I went LOW carb in 2005 after receiving Dr. Richard Bernstein's book as a gift on a visit to the USA
Hana

 

[paul-1976]

Sounds good carbdodger! do you think if I added some sundried tomatos to the mix as well as herbs the recipe would still work? it's just I do love Mediterranean breads and much as I love low carb grub-the Italian in me craves such things

Best wishes

Paul

 

[Carbdodger]

Paul
I add all sorts of things (all legal!) so don't see why not. If it is a bit wet or crumbly next time add a tsp of xanthum powder.
The last bread substitute I made used a grated cauliflower (could be courgettes), 2 TSP of almond flour and 2 TSP of coconut flour, eggs plus a bit of baking powder and xanthum. That works well with other flavours added. Toms would be good..
I think the more you experiment with this sort of stuff the better it gets.
Cd

 

[paul-1976]

Paul
I add all sorts of things (all legal!) so don't see why not. If it is a bit wet or crumbly next time add a tsp of xanthum powder.
The last bread substitute I made used a grated cauliflower (could be courgettes), 2 TSP of almond flour and 2 TSP of coconut flour, eggs plus a bit of baking powder and xanthum. That works well with other flavours added. Toms would be good..
I think the more you experiment with this sort of stuff the better it gets.
Cd

Cheers for that! :angel: I've got some xantham gum powder too,after a 'Few' disasters I've finally perfected my homemade gravy using it..a little goes a LONG way I find! :wink:

Best

Paul

 

[Vern]

Hi Julie54,

I am an ultra locarber ie I stay under 30gr a day. My diet is varied and is no way boring. As Dilinger so rightly pointed out we have to make allowances for our own tolerances. From when I was first diagnosed I tested to meter until I realized that bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and all ready made convenience foods sent me off the chart. I then resorted to eating what my Granna would have eaten. Eggs, cheese, butter, full cream milk etc for me are the right foods. Refined wheat is out! I now regularly test in 'Non diabetic" ranges. Not boasting by any means, if I go off the rails I will pay the price. As I LCHF it's strange that according to my Calorie app I never go above my daily allowance for Fats but am always under 800 calories a day. I never go hungry. Hope this helps?


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