Advice on getting a friend started on Low Carb

[charlie000]

I have a friend that has been type 2 diabetic for about 18 years.

Makes me sad the way he causes himself issues when he stuffs himself with high carb. Don’t be offended if you’re a high carb person. But Low carb has results.

He is on Insulin, and I’m going to get a list of his other diabetic medication.

Here’s his daily eating , it’s really bad:

Breakfast:
2-3 slices of toast
Cheerios
Orange juice

Lunch:
4 slices of bread
Chicken or lamb curry normally (which is fine)
Plenty of fruit
0 veg
Water

Sometimes Pasta and a lot of it

Dinner
Similar to lunch, but not a lot of fruit

Snacks:
Tea a lot
High carb cakes
Pasta
Caramel wafers
Rusks

I’m of the opinion he’s over eating. I tried to explain low carb high fat, showed him a lot of videos. He agreed and said he would consider it.

When he met his diabetic nurse she had a go at him and said that it’s bad for his heart and is a fad diet and isn’t science proven.

I did tell him that it isn’t a diet but a lifestyle change.

He was sent home with NHS eat well plate.

I don’t want to give up on him. But for 18 years he’s had the NHS on his side. From being diet controlled to insulin, he believes it’s progressive.

I want to help him but feel sad.

 

[MeiChanski]

Hello, I think it might be a difficult situation because he'll need to adjust his insulin if he decides to go low carb or keto. So he'll need to speak with his team to discuss the possibilities of him lowering his insulin doses to adjust to low carb. Otherwise he might be at risk of hypos and that'll make him eat more junk.
Moreover, if he is depressed or feeling self destructive, he might need help to overcome that and motivate him to look after himself. However if he is feeling down, you can tell him to join us here, we're a click away and ready to answer some concerns.

 

[1spuds]

Edited-I wish you luck.Sad to see this happening.

 

[JohnEGreen]

You can only give him the information and hope he acts on it.

Believe me I have tried my friend admired my ability as he saw it to lose weight lower carbs and bring my BG levels down to normal range, but then would say he wished he could do the same but would never be able to " I just love my food too much" he would say and that would be that.

He did lower his carb intake a bit and I would sometimes cook him a keto type meal occasionally but that was all and it of course was his decision so I had to respect that.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I can only hope you can convince your friend that the nurse hasn't a clue. A low carb diet is not bad for the heart (proof?), it's not a fad diet and is based on good science i.e. the conversion of carbs to glucose in the stomach and the body storing any excess as fat which then causes insulin resistance. Being on insulin when overweight with insulin resistance is not generally very useful as the body will already have too much insulin of it's own

 

[EllieM]

Do T2s on insulin get taught to carb count and balance insulin to food? Honestly, as a T1 I don't think I could cope with the diet described in the opening post and am just wondering how the OP's friend's blood sugars are....

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Do T2s on insulin get taught to carb count and balance insulin to food?

A friend of mine is T2 insulin dependent, he sort of carb counts but has problems keeping the weight off.

I told him about the moderate lchf that I eat, but he just said he does ok, I would not suggest he try it as I am not his GP or CDE.

The same goes for couple of T1's at the bowls club, when they asked me for a beer when I worked behind the bar.

 

[bulkbiker]

@charlie000
Can you not get him to join up here so he can learn from the forum?
We can provide plenty of "science" to confound the DN's bad advice..

 

[HSSS]

I agree with @bulkbiker. Get him to look at these forum pages. Even if he does not sign up the public can view them. Especially these pages to draw him in and show him it’s possible https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/