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Decision to abandon LCHF just for Christmas

I don't know if it's newbie enthusiasm, but I'm sticking to low carbs for Christmas. The only issue is that I feel bad that I'm visiting family and they feel they somehow have to work around me. My brother I don't think understands it at all. He thinks I can't have cheese or pigs in blankets. He's bought some lovely desserts that are nearly pure sugar and has reassured my that he has 'plenty healthy veg' for xmas day such as roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, mashed sweet, etc.
I haven't studied carb counting yet, so not sure I can compensate for this. I made us Spanish omlettes for lunch, but for dinner my bromade fish fingers and normal baked beans and my BG was nearly 12 a few hours later.
 
Hi! I have done the same thing. I was only diagnosed with t2d in August and have been on the lchf diet ever since.

My bloods didn’t like me for it and had to take 2 of my pills just to get them back down but I am an angel the rest of the time and just for a couple of days I want to enjoy myself and not think about the **** that is diabetes!!!
 
I'm taking Christmas and boxing day off. Will probably have half a dozen mice pies, biscuits and sweet deserts but that's it. My a1c has dropped from 89 to 48 in 3 months since diagnosis and lost over 2 stone so I deserve it. The good thing is I know I can easily switch back to LCHF and continue the other 363 days of the year with a controlled diet.
 
Who cares if it is Christmas just enjoy the festive season go on have some. The Festive season comes around ounce a year. Just eat and drink what you like.
 
Well, still hiding the meter but Christmas day was wonderful.
However I am piling on the pounds so I assume that I am replenishing my glucose stores in liver and other tissues.
However this will give me a spectacular early weight loss in January before I get to the hard bit of losing more than 4 pounds.

Just had bubble and squeak with loads of goose fat, now off to walk it all off before the cold turkey (meat, that is, not deprivation).
 
I do hope this thread is resurrected this year, Xmas is round the corner, it would be fun to see how us carb sensitive folks navigate this carbcentric festivity.
As I research this condition, it becomes apparent that, its not just about the obvious, in this case BG.
A lot of underlying pathology is driving this condition and High Insulin level is implicated.

That said, my diabetes control now includes building muscles, for signalling via the GLUT4 pathway which does not require insulin whilst lowering BG..
Most of my adult life I was overweight.
In my 40's I became obese.
In my early 50s I became morbidly obese
In my mid 50s a T2DM dox has meant for the first time as an adult, I have lost weight and kept it off, long term.
Thank God for this condition, and going low-carb. I am now a normal weight.

I was one of those people who would exercise within an inch of my life.
I was the queen of aerobic exercise. I shied away from resistance exercise, because I loved seeing the numbers show a downward trend on the scale.
It would have been dispiriting to see any muscle gain counteract what I then assumed was progress. I could not risk muscle gain counteracting what I thought was fat loss, if there was likely to be any slight increase on the values on the scale, I did not care how efficacious that would be for my goal. That strategy was not for me. Yet the weight piled on year after year.
Now I know better.

So with Your Kind Permission @Mbaker , I am going to go with your strategy of last year.
I will enjoy myself within low carb reason, whilst I also employ strategies that will mitigate any BG and Insulin rise as a consequence .
Mbaker said:
I am going to do a quick heavy weights session and walk...…………………................Just before dinner,......................................Followed by a strategic walk.

Good luck with your choices but enjoy yourself.
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​
 
Snichy said:
Will probably have half a dozen mice pies
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Mmmmm! Mice pies, my favourite rodent... :D

Somewhat off topic, but some genius here in the UK has produced some mince pie cheeses.
Bought one at the weekend, and whhhoooaaaaa!!! Significantly NICER than any mince pie I have EVER had.
Still got carbs, of course, from the handful of raisins, spices and what I think is a glug of booze, but I can now indulge myself in mince pieness, and still stay low carb.

Brand name was Wensleydale Creamery, and it had 19g carbs/100g. Not that I could eat a whole 100g. Quite. All wrapped up in black wax, so easily portable, in a Bring-Yer-Own-Alternative kinda way

as opposed to 6million g carbs in a mince pie, where I could eat a 6 pack.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/274308085.
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The text in red was added by a moderator, I coloured it red, just to show that was not me that put it in.

Tipetoo, 1d ago Last edited by a moderator: Today at 12:41 AM
 
Last edited by a moderator:
brassyblonde900 said:
I do hope this thread is resurrected this year, Xmas is round the corner, it would be fun to see how us carb sensitive folks navigate this carbcentric festivity.
As I research this condition, it becomes apparent that, its not just about the obvious, in this case BG.
A lot of underlying pathology is driving this condition and High Insulin level is implicated.

That said, my diabetes control now includes building muscles, for signalling via the GLUT4 pathway which does not require insulin whilst lowering BG..
Most of my adult life I was overweight.
In my 40's I became obese.
In my early 50s I became morbidly obese
In my mid 50s a T2DM dox has meant for the first time as an adult, I have lost weight and kept it off, long term.
Thank God for this condition, and going low-carb. I am now a normal weight.

I was one of those people who would exercise within an inch of my life.
I was the queen of aerobic exercise. I shied away from resistance exercise, because I loved seeing the numbers show a downward trend on the scale.
It would have been dispiriting to see any muscle gain counteract what I then assumed was progress. I could not risk muscle gain counteracting what I thought was fat loss, if there was likely to be any slight increase on the values on the scale, I did not care how efficacious that would be for my goal. That strategy was not for me. Yet the weight piled on year after year.
Now I know better.

So with Your Kind Permission @Mbaker , I am going to go with your strategy of last year.
I will enjoy myself within low carb reason, whilst I also employ strategies that will mitigate any BG and Insulin rise as a consequence .
​
Click to expand...

No permission required @brassyblonde900, I am delighted to see you promoting weights as well. I notice at my gym just as many women are now doing free weights as men - brilliant, and great to see this post https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/201...risk-of-stroke-and-heart-attack-98171884.html.
This is what I did last Christmas:

December 25th 2017.JPG

I will do a warm up walk, weights session fasted (an installation set, and a set to failure). A similar session before dinner with some sprints. Then a carnivore feast with a few veg and perhaps a tequila. A final session after dinner. A success for me will be the company of my family enjoying themselves, a tasty meal and a blood sugar the next day below 4.5.
 
melliemars said:
Hi everyone,

I’ve been t2 for a year and a half and my last a1c was 5.1. I follow a low carb diet and have lost 13 stones so far with 6 more to go. I keep low carb every day and last Christmas I was too scared to eat so I had cheesy sprout for Christmas dinner.

I’ve come to the realisation that life is for living. I’m 32 nearly 33 and I want a few days where I just let the spike happen on my birthday day and Christmas Day. A whole two days a year eating what I want.

However, I’m scared. I keep such close control all year (I’m not on meds or insulin) I want to know if I can get away with two days out of the year just indulging and not have any repercussions from it long term.

Anyone else doing this or thinking about it?

Thank you
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If you have an Hba1c of 5.1, you have probably cured your diabetes anyway. Only have a taster of the high carb foods rather than a large portion. Avoid too many root vegetables as they convert to sugar. Have plenty of turkey, after eggs & bacon for breakfast to slow the absorption of the carbs.
 
I've been playing the system since diagnosis in 2012. HbA1C in low 50s then < 47 3 months later. So 9 months of not worrying about it then 3 months of getting my act together. This time my HbA1C was 69 and I was told that I should go on Metformin. I agreed but said that I would be off it in 3 months. I tried it for a day, had dodgy side effects, so stopped as I was due to go on a 2 week cruise. I immediately went low carb. I didn't measure anything, but it was easy as there was so much choice. I still had cocktails (with no syrup) and lovely food but no potatoes, pasta, rice etc. unless something special. We went to a Hibachi restaurant and I just had one scoop of rice whereas the others just tucked in. I usually had cheese at the end of the meal - but did have a few sugar free desserts (and wished I hadn't bothered with some!) I also did at least 15,000 steps a day. I decided to not go on Metformin but to carry on low carb and the nurse was happy with this as long as she could see improvements. I have now lost a stone in a month and so far I'm finding it all quite easy.

So my 3 months is up mid January and we have Christmas, New Year and my birthday in between. I have been using mySugr to record my levels and my A1C is currently predicted to be 44. My plan is to carry on as I am. If I fancy something - I will have it - but just once, and a smaller portion than I used to! I am finding though that I don't miss the foods that I used to crave which is a huge bonus!

I'm getting a lot of support from friends and family too and this forum is brilliant. Very inspiring.
 
I go to my brother's for Christmas dinner, he has a large house and can accommodate the annual family reunion. He asked what they needed to do about my low carb diet but I just chose from the meat, vegetables, a dessert of cheese and plenty of red wine, all of which they provide anyway, so no problem.
 
Mr Pot has it right:
cheese, sprouts, meat, poultry, red wine, whisky. There's plenty to be getting on with right there. I think a little bit of carb might be nice too, but just no need to go overboard- relax rather than abandon low-carb would be my plan.
 
Christmas dinner is probably the best meal for a diabetic and ours will be at our daughters. I will have a couple of roasties with it and my granddaughter will make her amazing yorkshire puddings so I will not be able to resist one of those. I have never had a really sweet tooth so the dessert stuff and chocolates will not bother me and I don't really drink except at Christmas I will have a small glass of wine with dinner and maybe a Baileys with a mince pie later on.. my naughty indulgence. We will probably not have dinner until about 4pm so I will be so full from that I will probably not eat anything else that day
 
Last Christmas I had only been diagnosed a few weeks earlier. The Christmas dinner, leftover cold cuts, and salads the following days were all fine. I am not a dessert fan but if I fancy a spoonful of Christmas pud or small slice of Christmas cake on the day so be it. I managed to keep my hand out of the Quality Street, my biggest temptation is clementines. Can I just mention canapes/nibbles though. When friends, neighbours pop in for a drink etc. Do not buy the supermarket party food, it really is all high carb and with a bit of forethought you can rustle up lovely low carb alternatives that everyone will like. Last Christmas with help of my son we produced at virtually no notice the following:
Large prawn on a Little Gem heart leaf with tiny mayo or sauce, seasoning
Smoked salmon on small fingers seeded bread or just twisted around a cocktail stick
Wedges of lemon, black pepper
Cocktail sticks with feta cube, half cherry tomato and black olive on top
Speared small cube melon with twist of parma/serrano ham on top
Good quality precooked cocktail sausages
Hardboiled small hens eggs halved with dab mayo (or quails eggs)
Cube of nice cheddar cucumber
Small shapes of crustless quiche or frittata

We ate trays of the above during Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day leading up to candlelit dinner on the day itself.
 
melliemars said:
Same! I’ll not cane it, I’ll be watching and measuring and won’t over do it but I want to taste the tastes and not worry. I was thinking of doing quite a few fasts in early jan as well, more than usual to counteract it.

A couple of days out of the year will hopefully not do anything, it’s constant highs that mess with us.
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Your experiment will be interesting! Perhaps you won't find some of those things you;ve loved quite so enticing? It sounds as if you are giving yourself a psychological break as much as anything in which case I would do that. If that feels like a huge risk to you (of bingeing) then perhaps that's a sign of too much strictness. It should not feel like a white knuckle ride with 2 days off for good behaviour. Awesome results and I bet you feel great so far though, right?
 
NicoleC1971 said:
Your experiment will be interesting! Perhaps you won't find some of those things you;ve loved quite so enticing? It sounds as if you are giving yourself a psychological break as much as anything in which case I would do that. If that feels like a huge risk to you (of bingeing) then perhaps that's a sign of too much strictness. It should not feel like a white knuckle ride with 2 days off for good behaviour. Awesome results and I bet you feel great so far though, right?
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Nicole, Mellie started this thread in the run up to the Christmas last year, so the experiment should be done. I don't know if Mellie's post history offers up any clue to how it all went, as I haven't looked.
 
I got me some Xmas pudding flavour essence to put in my coffee.
Wow!! just wow!!!...it's not only hitting the spot....Its leaning on it...love it! love it!! love it!!!
I will start using double cream, instead of my usual almond milk, with it.
Oh the joys of Xmas.:D
 
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