“Lazy” LCHF diet?

Fndwheelie said:

Hi everyone,

Today I got told my hbac1 was 83, I really want to try getting it down lower, (an elective operation I really want depends on it). I can’t cook for myself, and have meals supplied from a normal menu. I was wondering if there’s any easy options or meal replacements that I can have LCHF or microwave ready meals. I have a fridge, kettle and toaster available to me in my room, and could probably sweet talk care givers into using a microwave for me.

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Have you considered a slow cooker. It helps with lower carb higher fat stews etc.

Cold meats and cheeses, olives, smoked mackerel would all work.
Microwave would help for scrambled eggs and think you can do bacon in a microwave.

Fndwheelie said:

They are great snacks (‘cept for the olives ), and I have a bacon cooker for microwave already, I can do egg in a cup.

@Listlad the slow cooker sounds great, unfortunately the rules of this communal living facility is I can’t have more ‘kitchen appliances’ than they provided, I believe it’s to do with health & safety and fire regulations. A couple of years ago I brought a George Foreman grill and it was confiscated, I was issued with a written warning.

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Oh dear!

Can you have discussions with the menu provider about options? They must have some ability to cater for medical diets? The problem will likely be in that lchf isn’t recognised yet by many as a specific diet but discussions about how it is now supported as a valid approach for managing diabetes by the nhs and a willingness to try might help. Asking for the worst offenders of bread, rice, pasta and potatoes to be replaced by more meat and veg should be doable if nothing else. Add your own fats with butter on the veg perhaps, some cream for coffee or over berries as dessert too.

A microwave with some practice can cook most anything.

Fndwheelie said:

They will cater to medical diets, but I don’t know if I can get it ‘prescribed’ for want of a better word. The diabetic nurse just told me to eat less sugary foods, and provided me with internet printouts. The people who run this place wouldn’t accept it, I would need to get referred to a dietitian or something then they have to write a report requiring the adjusted diet, then it run past a social worker for a funding assessment to decide if they will pay more to allow the company to provide this ‘medically necessary diet’. On top of all this I know LCHF isn’t fully recognised by the NHS as being the best diet for diabetes. I’m just not sure it’s worth the fight, I tend to pick my battles.

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I sympathise and can see the battle you’d have but it is officially recognised now even if not everyone (or sadly even most) drs and dieticians have caught up yet.

In reality you could get a lazy dirty version out of what they already provide if they are willing to swap and change the plate around a bit. Otherwise it’ll be pick and choose what’s ok and supplement from your fridge and microwave. Have you looked on some of the low carb recipe sites for ideas that might be adaptable for your situation? Eg dietdoctor.com, ditchthecarbs.com, and loads of others.

well without seeming too intrusive, i guess a lot depends on what you can physically do, @Fndwheelie

i'd assume some lack of mobility, due to your posts but could you possibly stand/position yourself long enough to scramble some eggs..always a good go to for breakfast if not frying .

in my early days i went scrambled eggs and an avocado for the fats.
a not unpleasant experience and seemed to fill me quite nicely for the morning.
greek yoghurt and fruit (berries) always fuelled me up as well.

as T2D i have taken the advice on here to heart and got myself used to 2mad...(2 meals a day)
but i am not on insulin, so my advice may be negated by your personal needs that i'm not aware of.

the issue i guess isn't breakfast, it's the main meal.

perhaps an idea for us all of what that normally/could consist of, might help us make better suggestions.
( a bag of veg can go into the microwave and bulk out the meat from any dish if you ditch the potatoes/rice for instance.)

not sure anything is beyond us when the prize seems worth while..
whether that's better health, reversal of complications or in your case the upcoming operation.

Best of luck finding a way forward, and i look forward to a listing of what the foods might be so
the collective can come up with appropriate solutions.

regards.

Do you adjust your insulin for the food eaten or have fixed doses? Reducing carbs on fixed doses will increase the chances of going hypo and should be monitored very closely and adjusted very regularly. Beyond that I’ll bow out to other on insulin for advice.

It does sound like bread is doing you no favours at all on the carb front. Most of us either eat very little carefully selected low carb bread or more frequently none at all.

Roast dinner could be ok with the roast potatoes ditched and some extra veg added. (Possibly steamed in the microwave)
Monday is a bit of a nightmare with just the left over veg as possible. Cold meats day?
Tuesday even worse depending on the sausages. Can you get information on the meat content and ingredients? I’d have to self cater.
weds shepherds pie I’d deal with the few carrots (unless you want to be keto there probably won’t be enough to mess up low carb) and eat the bottom of the pie and add more veg. Bolgonaise id just ditch the pasta and add mor of the meat sauce or add veg.
Thurs gammon and eggs are fine, maybe add salad (pre prepared and in a large bowl in fridge?)
Fri the fish if unbattered or peeled off would be a starting point.
Sat the burger or sausage without roll and salad.

If you need the bits I’ve dropped because it’s difficult to replace them then try your best to minimise quantities

All of these will probably needs fats adding somewhere in the day to keep you full and replace the carbs for energy.

Fndwheelie said:

Hi everyone,

Today I got told my hbac1 was 83, I really want to try getting it down lower, (an elective operation I really want depends on it). I can’t cook for myself, and have meals supplied from a normal menu. I was wondering if there’s any easy options or meal replacements that I can have LCHF or microwave ready meals. I have a fridge, kettle and toaster available to me in my room, and could probably sweet talk care givers into using a microwave for me.

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https://www.nlckitchen.com/product-...MI4tiX9MbA4wIVxLTtCh3oqA3YEAAYASAAEgLExPD_BwE

This firm seems to provide low carb meals but I am not sure if you have the choice to order stuff independently?
Also found something called Kirstie's which seems to be available at large supermarkets and has lower carb options.
Low carb is a trend so I hope you can find some useful options to make this work for you.
Incidentally, I do think at HBA1c 80+ this would be a battle that is worth fighting even if you had to supplement with your own money.

Fndwheelie said:

I’m on insulin, Humlin I, set doses of 40am and 12pm, these can only be adjusted by drs or diabetic nurse, because my meds are given and signed for by care givers. (If I was independent living I’d be prepared to tweak them myself but not allowed here).

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I am not nor have ever been on insulin so my knowledge is limited but from my readings on here I am concerned that fixed doses and low carb (which is what the sum of my suggestions would be) could lead to hypos. How often are your bloods being tested? Will the drs and nurses work with you with frequent monitoring and adjustments whilst you adjust food intake? Are you happy to speak up and demand testing and adjustments?

I agree keto or very low carb would be difficult. The bread is certainly where I would start (cut it out entirely) and see what that achieves first. Baby steps to prevent hypos.

As to fats: butter on veg? Nuts? Cream in coffee or on some berries? Full fat Greek youghurt? Cheese? These are to achieve satiety when dropping carbs. Adding too many whilst still eating carbs is likely to mean too much overall intake.

Good morning @Fndwheelie

[Editted to add] Oops!!! This is very long - sorry I got carried away ....

I can see how your personal situation and accommodtion restrictions are hampering how you are able to best manage your blood sugar levels and appreciate this needs more-than-average thoughts

It certainly seems that, at least initially, you will need to adapt the provided menu which would appear to mean not eating the high carb foods. If they could leave them off your plate, that would be good but if not, then could you just leave to one side?

As for replacing/adding vegs, I wonder if you would be able to take a dish of fresh/frozen portions of veg to the kitchen for them to 'cook' and present with your meal? If your carer 'cooked' them in the microwave for you, could it be timed to coincide with your meal so you can have these vegs on your plate with the 'protein' part of the provided meal?

I agree, if you could reduce/cut out the bread, you would make a very significant dent on your blood sugars, as would cutting out potatoes, pasta and rice, plus any pastry/flour etc.

When cutting out/reducing carbs, you will need to replace with fats, otherwise you will be too hungry. Butter, rather than spreads (processed), fresh cream, cheeses are all good for this. So, think of ways you can add these to what you're eating.

Vegetables - add butter (lots of )
Scrambled eggs - add butter (lots of)

Also, you will probably need to add some salt to your food as we all need some but you won't be getting it if only eating 'freshly/non-processed' foods so bear that in mind

Avoid fruit apart from raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and eat in small quantities - with fresh cream (preferably Double / Thick cream (very low carb and will help to keep you from feeling hungry)

Boiled eggs - would your carer be able to boil some eggs. Hard-boiled will keep for several days in fridge. Eat with some cress, tomato, cheese, ham etc

Mayonnaise (Original, not low fat) is pretty low carb and certainly adds flavour

Regarding your insulin, would it be possible to discuss this with your Diabetes Nurse/GP, and asking them of ways to allow more flexible doses of Insulin, perhaps? As your blood sugar reduces, you will be needing less insulin. There must be a solution to this - the HCPs might need to stretch their brain and thought processes rather more than they are used to. How good are your ascertiveness skills ?

For what it's worth, I eat 2-3 BabyBells for breakfast, with a coffee with double cream in. It's low carb and tells your body you are 'eating' which helps counteract the Dawn Phenomenon (a natural rise in blood glucose to get you going for the day)

- Breakfast - BabyBell / cheese, coffee with cream

- Lunch - Slice of Ham (from Deli, frozen with plastic bags between to allow taking one slice at a time), with slice cheese (ie DairyLee) and then rolled up, tomato plus/minus any other salad bits I might fancy
-or - avocardo with salad, hard-boiled eggs, soft-boiled eggs etc, plus any salad bits, if I fancy them

- Main meal - Bolognaise, without pasta, maybe with vegetables (plus butter), grated cheese
or - Chilli without rice, plus veg, grated cheese, with yoghurt/creme fraise

Walnuts are also excellent source of protein and (healthy) fats

I hope this helps you regarding ideas. I'm fortunate enough to be a reasonable cook but I rarely have the energy or motivation to spend time preparing meals, hence I thought some of my ideas may well be within your remit. Let me know if you'd like me to (think hard to remember) what else would be easy to prepare, including storage in freeze/fridge.

It certainly seems you need to get your GP and Diabetes nurse etc to be on your side. There is loads of info on internet of course so hopefully you are able to do some more reading.


Wishing you all the best {{{Hugs}}}

Ps I just noticed from your last post that you are on a basal insulin. This means your dosage needs to be adjusted before you go low carb or cut out breakfast otherwise you may end up with low blood sugars which can be dangerous and unpleasant.

Do you like fish? Tinned sardines, mackerel and even kipper are excellent fatty morsels that you can add to a "reduced" meal (removing pasta or mash, etc.). Eggs in any form, with butter. Avocados are yummy! Cheeses you like, also with a pat of butter and ham on top...
Sorry I don't know about insulin, but I know about lazy LCHF! ;-)