I have been considering trying the LCHF diet as many people on here seem to praise it. The reason for me is to try and keep my levels stable rather than lose weight as I don’t need to do that.
For those that don’t know about my situation here is a quick recap.
Type 1 for 31 years on MDI using Novorapid and Levemir but have my first appointment next month with a pump nurse.
Most HbA1c’s are perfect in the 40’s but I struggle to keep my levels stable with most readings being either in the 2-3 range or 10-12. My hypo unawareness is variable and I am still susceptible to bad ones at night (had one this week) although the frequency of them has dropped to about 1 every 3 months from 2 or 3 a month before I attended a DAFNE course last year. I am nearly always aware of hypo’s before they become debilitating during the day but am able to walk around with readings in the 2’s and not be bothered by them.
I am 5’9 and weigh about 67kg and have lost about 14kg in the last couple of years through cycling. This seems to have made me very sensitive to insulin and carbs which has made my control harder as small adjustments often have big impacts. When I try and raise my levels they almost always go past where I want them.
I don’t eat huge amounts of carbs at the moment but will probably have around 120-150g a day and will eat them with most meals. So my questions are as follows,
1) I cycle almost daily and will do 22 miles commuting each day and then between 50 and 60 at the weekend for pleasure. How will I cope with LCHF doing this? If I wake up with a BS of 5 for example (chance would be a fine thing) how will I be able to cycle the 11 miles to work with no carbs? Surely I will hypo?
2) I haven’t eaten meat for years but would consider starting if the LCHF works for me. I eat fish and dairy. But would I be able to have a varied enough diet without eating meat to make it acceptable?
3) I have been googling for more advice for T1’s on this but most advice seems to be for T2’s or overweight people. Can anyone recommend some links for active T1’s?
4) Do you know if this has any impact on cholesterol or blood pressure at all? My levels are at the high side of normal but don’t want them to increase if I am eating more full fat cheese and dairy etc.
5) How many grams of carbs would you consider to be low carb anyway? I know ultra low carb is about 30gm a day but I want to have flexibility in my life and if I want to occasionally drink some beer or eat pasta etc then I will do that.
Sorry for the really long post but any help on this would be great. Thanks guys.
For those that don’t know about my situation here is a quick recap.
Type 1 for 31 years on MDI using Novorapid and Levemir but have my first appointment next month with a pump nurse.
Most HbA1c’s are perfect in the 40’s but I struggle to keep my levels stable with most readings being either in the 2-3 range or 10-12. My hypo unawareness is variable and I am still susceptible to bad ones at night (had one this week) although the frequency of them has dropped to about 1 every 3 months from 2 or 3 a month before I attended a DAFNE course last year. I am nearly always aware of hypo’s before they become debilitating during the day but am able to walk around with readings in the 2’s and not be bothered by them.
I am 5’9 and weigh about 67kg and have lost about 14kg in the last couple of years through cycling. This seems to have made me very sensitive to insulin and carbs which has made my control harder as small adjustments often have big impacts. When I try and raise my levels they almost always go past where I want them.
I don’t eat huge amounts of carbs at the moment but will probably have around 120-150g a day and will eat them with most meals. So my questions are as follows,
1) I cycle almost daily and will do 22 miles commuting each day and then between 50 and 60 at the weekend for pleasure. How will I cope with LCHF doing this? If I wake up with a BS of 5 for example (chance would be a fine thing) how will I be able to cycle the 11 miles to work with no carbs? Surely I will hypo?
2) I haven’t eaten meat for years but would consider starting if the LCHF works for me. I eat fish and dairy. But would I be able to have a varied enough diet without eating meat to make it acceptable?
3) I have been googling for more advice for T1’s on this but most advice seems to be for T2’s or overweight people. Can anyone recommend some links for active T1’s?
4) Do you know if this has any impact on cholesterol or blood pressure at all? My levels are at the high side of normal but don’t want them to increase if I am eating more full fat cheese and dairy etc.
5) How many grams of carbs would you consider to be low carb anyway? I know ultra low carb is about 30gm a day but I want to have flexibility in my life and if I want to occasionally drink some beer or eat pasta etc then I will do that.
Sorry for the really long post but any help on this would be great. Thanks guys.
Best of