• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Alternative diets

  • Thread starter Thread starter AnnieC
  • Start Date Start Date
A

AnnieC

Guest
We hear a awful lot about the LCHF diet on here but not much about any others but I would be really interested to hear about some other diets that people are following so how about some of you tell us about your diet if you do one other than LCHF How do you control your BG and what foods do you eat. We have a vegetarian and vegan thread already and the recipes on there sound lovely so I am going to try some of those
 
I follow a mixture of diets rolled into one. I low carb, (under 70g) but as the carbs I do eat tend to be starchy ones (potatoes, bread, peas) I use portion control having learnt what portions I can and can't manage by using my meter. I ditched low fat products in favour of the real thing, but do not over indulge in fats, I just don't actively avoid it. I also calorie controlled at 1200 calories a day until the 3 stones came off. I am now calorie controlling to maintain my new weight but finding it difficult at the moment as I am not increasing my carbs. I will get there. I don't have a sweet tooth at all, so no problems there, and have never been a snacker.

So basically, low carb, increased fat, calorie controlled, portion controlled, normal protein with oily fish, chicken, beef, lamb, ordinary fish, bacon, and loads of eggs. A bit of everything there! It is working for me - weight gone, BS down and normalising nicely, cholesterol normal, BP normal, never hungry, and enjoying it.
 
I'm sort of like Bluetit in that I low carb and keep an eye on calories as well. I haven't yet had any meaningful portions of the usual suspects like bread, potatoes , rice or pasta as trying to shift lot of weight quickly as well as lower BS. I plan on introducing wholemeal rice again one day but bread and pasta didn't agree with me diabetes aside so they are better left off menu.
I have about 1200- 1400 cals a day made up of lots of salads and vegetables with meat, oily fish, cheese in moderation. I don't go mad on fats as I don't like the taste of full fat dairy but I do eat the fat on lamb or steak. Eggs I eat in moderation as I read that they did seem to have some CVD effect in diabetics and my cholesterol was a bit high so trying to tweak it without statins. I use lactofree milk and drink only a couple of cups of decaff a day. The rest is decaff green tea and water.
Weight is coming off nicely and best thing is I don't feel hungry( that is helped by the Metformin). I have added in a minimum of 40 minutes activity a day which is helping as well.
 
After losing my Thyroid and Gall Bladder, careless of me I know, I had to change my diet gone the fry-ups, chips and anything fat laden as it went straight through, so was on a high fibre, no salt, low fat regime, it worked well until I had my heart attack, apparently my liver was over producing cholesterol, so small changes needed to adapt to a low cholesterol regime, then got diagnosed as having IBS and Diverticular Disease yet another tweek, I also have a Hiatus Hernia which can get ugly at times, then I got t2 so for me the standard diets are not of any use, can't go HFLC cose the fat will give me trouble so I am high fibre, no salt, low fat, medium protein, lots of salads and vegies and greens, must admit I have been off the low carb for a while and am now paying the price with higher BG, just had my review and my nurse bless her didn't tut she just gently said "your ha1c is up, you know what you have to do" so its back to being good from tomorrow, had my last plate of mash tonight.
Still at least my weight was static as was my cholesterol at 3.2. so I must have been doing something right. hopefully the spikes are now to be a thing of the past, or at least not so vivid. which means less Insulin Hooray.
 
Hi @AnnieC! Would like to share:

My diet is low carb moderate protein and fat. (Usually 1200 cal or sometimes higher or lower if i don't feel hungry) Most of my meals, if not all of it, I prepare at home. I stop eating when I'm 80% full because I used to have reflux.


1) I use salt sparingly and use herbs and spices for seasoning. We have a family history of hypertension.

2) I get most of my carbs from green leafy vegetables such as Bok choy, broccoli and spinach or sometimes do a stir fry with mixed vegetables or baked in the oven with herbs drizzled with olive oil. Or green salad with sun dried tomatoes. I use a lot of garlic, turmeric and ginger when I do my stir-fry (anti inflammatory). I occasionally have rice or potatoes (small portion probably 1/8 cup) probably once a week.

3) Carbs on Fruit: I eat one to two servings of fruit daily not limited to berries---I eat bananas, pineapples, apples, nectarines, kiwi, but divide them into three meals to spread the sugars. I eat to my meter If I get a higher reading I adjust the amount. I try squeeze it in because of the natural vitamins and enzymes you can get from them.

4) I get most of my protein/ fats from salmon/fish and nuts. Or baked low carb bread With flax seed. And olive oil.

Occasional: Chicken, I love stews and have it occasionally once or twice every two weeks (Indian, Asian, etc) and have only small portions of meat because I get nausea/reflux/full or bloated (size of a matchbox or palm of my hand)


5) i try to avoid dairy but do have it as a treat like yogurt but sparingly(used to be lactose intolerant). I try to avoid anything processed, refined carbohydrates or anything that comes out of a box (sausages, cured ham, canned food, jelly) I notice my levels go relatively high then plateau for awhile when I eat them.

6) treat: when I'm out with my husband or friends I have a tiny amount of like two spoonfuls of cake or ice cream But only just the tinsiest serving. But most of the time I don't.

6) exercise: at least 30 min per day or more or after meals

7) no medications. My doctor prescribed metformin but got a second opinion from another endo to not take it and try lifestyle changes first. No alcohol.

Latest results (aug 2014) all my levels went down to normal non diabetic levels. T2 (history of pcos, GORD, fatty liver) HbA1c=31 fasting plasma BG=4.7 capillary blood glucose average=4.2 (finger pricks)
lipids within normal range good ratio of hdl/ldl , liver enzymes within normal range
BMI=23. I've included all these info so readers would have a rough idea and data.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I follow a combo of the Canadian Diabetic Association guide with the Canadian Food Guide and my own deal that I've found works for me - I'm Celiac and living with Acute Intermediate Porphyria (AIP) since birth on top of the Diabetes so I'm unable to go lower then 150 grams of carbs a day without complications arising from the porphyria (which is annoying to degrees, but not in most regards since I do love my veggies)

I've also lost weight with this, not at my ideal weight (likely never will be, but i'm at 25% body fat so that at least means i'm in the healthy range for that area of things) which alright.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I adopted a low GI type diet when I thought I had T2 diabetes (sort of self diagnosed long story and have written it here too many times). This must have been effective for three years since my HbA1c wasn't that high when I was diagnosed with T1 (or LADA, it's slower developing version)

Basically, I chose starchy carbs that were lower on the glycemic index, smaller portions of protein, lots of vegetable and some lower GI fruit. I was already eating a couple of non meat main meals a week. I was careful not to use too much fat/oil in cooking but still ate butter and cheese in small amounts (I continue this).
I ate and still eat porridge for breakfast; even then without a meter, if I tried to eat croissants and strawberry jam for breakfast then I felt unwell.

I continued with this diet when diagnosed but it has gradually morphed into a bit more SW French/Med diet as outlined here I think that the exercise part of the pyramid is really important.
http://oldwayspt.org/resources/heritage-pyramids/mediterranean-pyramid/overview

The SW France bit is probably a bit more meat than a Med diet and includes duck which is fortunately high in monounsaturated fat but a typical portion would be half a breast or a leg so not huge.
I probably eat more potatoes than is normal in this area but less bread (normally small waxy type) with meals but have introduced quinoa, bulghur, green lentils, and barley along with rice (usually a mixture of wild/brown/basmati) and wholegrain pasta

The bread I eat is either seeded, nut bread or local sourdough pain de champagne (not baguette which is very high GI)

I very rarely eat anything but fruit for dessert unless I go out to eat or we have visitors . I no longer cook them then either , why would I when one can buy beautiful patisseries from several shops in town? They normally have far less sugar than British cakes and puddings.
(actually I ordered a dessert the other day as it was part of the prix fixe menu, it was Tiramisiu which I used to like. I had two mouthfuls, and that was far too sweet and 'not worth the insulin')

I eat three meals a day, no snacks in between. I sometimes eat the main meal at lunchtime which is what my diabetologist would prefer; it's the norm here. When I do this I find I am far less likely to see a rise in levels overnight.

My basic plate at main meals is half veg,1/4 meat/fish, 1/4 starch (ie bread/potato/cereal/legume) In addition, I eat some dairy(yoghurt or cheese). I tend to use 0% plain yoghurt or fromage blanc made with skimmed milk but choose good cheese in small portions with some fresh fruit . I have salad at least once a day and use an olive oil vinaigrette.

My breakfast normally contains 38g oats made to 260g with semiskimmed milk with berries (often frozen as cheaper) and slivered almonds

I stayed normal weight for several years after diagnosis but last year was less active , put on weight and was diagnosed with hypothyroid.
I am now more active again, and am paying more attention to calories. ( I use a vivofit fitness band and this synchs to MFP to measure walking type activity during the day)
Calorie wise my basic level to lose is about 1200 (if I am sedentary). On some days I may actually use 2000 calories a day with walking/gardening , others less etc. Most days I eat between 1400 and 1600 and have been losing about 0.5 kg a week (which is about the right rate of loss when you haven't too much to lose)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

That is really interesting as you seem to eat most things and still eat the ones most people say don't touch like potatoes rice pasta and bread etc but you have moderate portions of it all.My husband is trying porridge at the moment for breakfast and it seems it is not to bad..For more years than I can remember he was a three Shredded Wheat and two slices of toasts with jam man so found that hard to give up he is not really a cooked breakfast person nor would he eat fruit and yogurt for breakfast either so it is the most difficult meal
 
I find working out the calories and carbs in food really difficult . I look in the Carbs and Cals book and it tells me how many of both are in a certain food that weighs a certain amount but without actually weighing everything I eat I don't have a clue what those amounts look like on a plate
 
Hi @AnnieC if you have a mobile fone you might wanna download myfitnesspal you can scan bar codes and it has a big database of food and corresponding calories then you can buy a small weighing scale (I use the one for baking that should be okay) hope that helps!
 
Thanks Adelle
 

I worked out calories and carbs initially but then lapsed as my BGs and weight were falling. BGs have stalled a bit at the moment so maybe I need to look more closely at portion control again.
 
I have also lapsed with the weighing side of things, mainly because of the filthy looks I had from my hubby, who is the main meal cook and who dishes up the food. The last straw was when I tipped all the peas he gave me into the scale jug before I started to eat. I decided for the sake of our marriage I needed to stop doing this. It is very easy to add a bit extra here and there.
 
That is why I largely buy the exorbitantly expensive wrapped cheese portions as they come calorie controlled. Must admit I don't weigh other stuff much- meat I just divide by however many portions I am cooking and salad dressing I make in a small jar and just portion out over so many days. Veg I eat freely ( apart from peas and carrots which I have a tablespoon of) and I don't eat any stuff like rice or spuds that would require stringent portion control. Eggs are calorie controlled for you and I only have two cups of decaff a day with a splash of lactofree in so I don't measure it out. I found the carbs book really useful as the pictures are a good guide to portion sizes.
 
I just wished my husband cooked that would be so nice to have a meal cooked for me sometimes the only time I get that is when we have a meal at our daughters. The extent of his culinary knowledge is to boil an egg. I don't think he will learn now he is 82 and definately from the generation when men thought cooking in the home was the womans job
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…