Grazer
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,115
I Would never criticise anyone's diet, and have got some good info from Viv's modified Atkins diet and also from some high-carb forum ideas. But people seem to get very agitated one way or the other. I believe there is a sensible in-between that could suit many people.
I'm on what I would call a restricted carb diet. The RDA for a male is 300 grams a day, I have about 180 on average. The 180 I have are low GI, with no starchy carbs. Thus I eat a few boiled new potatos but not "old" ones, I have wholewheat spaghetti, Basmati rice, special bread (in smaller quantities)etc. etc etc. I don't shy away from fat, and love cheese, but don't try to eat lots because I don't need to on the number of carbs I have.
I realise that people very overweight might need a much lower carb diet, and others on certain med and diet regimes might need more carbs, and that's right for all of them. But for many like me, moderation like mine is fine.
My weight has come off more slowly than it would have on a low carb diet, but I'm now 12 stone 10 pounds which is fine for my 6ft 1in height, with a BMI of 23'ish. My weight is also now stable and my diet is not an effort because it's not too stringent. My blood pressure is down, and my recovery pulse rate after exercise is much improved. I'm on diet only, no meds, and have got my HbA1c down from 8.2 to 5.9 in 4 months and 5.5 a further 3 months later. This is enough, the extra risk associated with 5.5 compared to 4.6 (young non-diabetic level) is minimal - remember, at 61 years old I would expect my HbA1c even as a non-diabetic to have risen slightly, probably to about 5, anyway. So it's not worth the extra dietary demands that would be required for me to get down to 5.0 - not for me anyway. I can enjoy normal food in normal quantities by careful monitoring and avoiding eating too close to bedtime - what bg I go to bed with I tend to wake up with!
I also enjoy a drink, but try not to go overboard. Two bottles of Rioja a week do wonders for my blood sugar - hardly any carbs, and interfere with the bodies ability to process carbs into sugar.
I invested in a visit to a private endocrinologist who specialises in diabetes and lectures doctors on this at University College Hospital to check out my views. His comforting words were that I was unlikely to suffer any complications at my levels if I maintain them there, and that I would die WITH diabetes, not FROM it.
So if you're reading posts and thinking "should I go low carb or not", well, there is an in-between that might suit you. If not, just know that whatever you decide is right for you so relax.
Cheers all,
Malc
I'm on what I would call a restricted carb diet. The RDA for a male is 300 grams a day, I have about 180 on average. The 180 I have are low GI, with no starchy carbs. Thus I eat a few boiled new potatos but not "old" ones, I have wholewheat spaghetti, Basmati rice, special bread (in smaller quantities)etc. etc etc. I don't shy away from fat, and love cheese, but don't try to eat lots because I don't need to on the number of carbs I have.
I realise that people very overweight might need a much lower carb diet, and others on certain med and diet regimes might need more carbs, and that's right for all of them. But for many like me, moderation like mine is fine.
My weight has come off more slowly than it would have on a low carb diet, but I'm now 12 stone 10 pounds which is fine for my 6ft 1in height, with a BMI of 23'ish. My weight is also now stable and my diet is not an effort because it's not too stringent. My blood pressure is down, and my recovery pulse rate after exercise is much improved. I'm on diet only, no meds, and have got my HbA1c down from 8.2 to 5.9 in 4 months and 5.5 a further 3 months later. This is enough, the extra risk associated with 5.5 compared to 4.6 (young non-diabetic level) is minimal - remember, at 61 years old I would expect my HbA1c even as a non-diabetic to have risen slightly, probably to about 5, anyway. So it's not worth the extra dietary demands that would be required for me to get down to 5.0 - not for me anyway. I can enjoy normal food in normal quantities by careful monitoring and avoiding eating too close to bedtime - what bg I go to bed with I tend to wake up with!
I also enjoy a drink, but try not to go overboard. Two bottles of Rioja a week do wonders for my blood sugar - hardly any carbs, and interfere with the bodies ability to process carbs into sugar.
I invested in a visit to a private endocrinologist who specialises in diabetes and lectures doctors on this at University College Hospital to check out my views. His comforting words were that I was unlikely to suffer any complications at my levels if I maintain them there, and that I would die WITH diabetes, not FROM it.
So if you're reading posts and thinking "should I go low carb or not", well, there is an in-between that might suit you. If not, just know that whatever you decide is right for you so relax.
Cheers all,
Malc
), and I'm glad you're getting such good results from your diet.
