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How highly would you recommend eating low carb?

Cookiebell

Well-Known Member
Messages
46
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I know this is probably a silly question as it has quite an obvious answer!

I love my carbs. I love pasta, rice and potatoes. In the past, I've tried to take the right amount of insulin to cover this but it's so easy to get it wrong and misjudge it - it also means I can end up taking whopping amounts of insulin!

Would you recommend I reduce my carbs? It should make my diabetes easier to manage, yes?

(I'm also doing Slimming World so although I've read a little about LCHF, I'm not keen to start eating loads of 'fattier' foods!)
 
I'm type 2, so not sure how relevant this is, but I'd recommend it to everyone. The joys of never feeling hungry and never having a post carb crash is amazing in my opinion.
 
Misteraa said:
I'm type 2, so not sure how relevant this is, but I'd recommend it to everyone. The joys of never feeling hungry and never having a post carb crash is amazing in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Really? Does it help stop hunger pangs? I honestly don't know much about this...
 
Hello @Cookiebell
It appears there is lo-carb and lo-carb (for bakery lovers).if you are the latter then you are in luck because I have been ferreting out the good ways of making nut flours products match wheat flour products for taste and maybe exceed it.

As for pasta and rice the flavors are in the sauces so we can still have the sauces.

Potato is another story, we eat a lot of pumpkin and zucchini instead.

All the info is out there but if you want some hints just ask.
 
I'm a Type 2, not on any meds, so it is different for me as I have to control my blood sugars by diet only. Going low carb has done this for me, and I have also lost a lot of weight. If you go low carb you have to replace some of the lost energy (calories) by increasing either fats or protein, or both, but only by an amount sufficient to keep your calories at the correct level for your circumstances. This is why slimming club diets are not really a good thing for low carbers because they insist on low fats. It's not always a wise choice to go low carb and low fat. You can make yourself ill and will feel very hungry. There are people on this forum that have kept to a low fat diet, but most will say they have increased their fats by eating real dairy foods such as butter, yogurts, cheese, mayo, olive oil etc and ditching the low fat alternatives. It is the fats that keep you satiated and not feeling hungry. I have honestly never felt hungry on my diet of choice (currently 64g carbs daily, moderate fats, moderate protein, no rice, no pasta, some bread, some potatoes)

You will find your own way. We are all different.
 
I do low carb and medium carb ...
I do eat a small portion of rice or a couple of small potatoes ...or a small jacket , not everyday though...
Lchf like all diets is personal,choice ....
Follow what is right for you ...
I am a mostly portion control stage and a veggie diet .... High fat has never worked for me ....
I agree with the suggestions of bluetit ...
Good luck with whatever you choose ,,staying well and doing what is right for you is the best way forward ...
 
I'm not doing low carb, but I have reduced my carbs to between 60 - 120g a day depending on just how much I want bread/spuds/pasta.
I have to say my evening cravings to stuff my gob have gone. If I do take a notion to eat, I reach for a no carb alternative between meals and the Atkins bars are great for when I really want something sweet.

I'm eating less often and staying satisfied for much longer. I've substituted rice with grated and fried cauliflower which surprisingly hits the spot whilst greatly reducing the carbs in a meal. If the family want a Chinese takeaway I still get mine, but make my cauli rice to go with it in place of the takeaways rice or chips and the impact on my levels is much less.

I now only have two baby potatoes with my roast dinners. Upping the amount of meat and veg instead. Much as I love my spuds, I don't feel I'm missing out. Omelettes are great breakfast subs for cereal or toast, and carb free.

It might be your while adding up what carbs you eat each day on average and reducing it a bit to start off with to see how you get on.

Do Slimming World still have an option to do red and green days?
 
Cookiebell said:
Really? Does it help stop hunger pangs? I honestly don't know much about this...
Click to expand...

In my experience, yes. The more carbs I eat, the more hunger pangs I get, because they (the carbs) tend to fluctuate my blood sugars more, which leads to all manner of signals going off.
 
How highly would I recommend eating low carb?

Very very highly; a step ladder on top of Mount Everest highly...

As a Type 1 diabetic it was simply the best decision I ever made with regard to my diabetic control.

Best

Dillinger
 
I'm T2 but believe strongly in minimising meds in all things. Eating low carb enables me to do without meds. If I was T1 I would want to minimise insulin dosing. Why anyone would want to take more poison just because there's an antidote handy defeats me.

Oh and yes it makes me feel better, fitter and satisfied with what I eat.
 

T1 and I don't eat any less carbs than I ever have and have very well maintained BG levels so wouldn't recommend it all really. Exercise is more important to me.
 
I'm type 2. I'm also attending Slimming World, but am adopting a LCHF diet. The HF bit is the bit you can tailor to suit you. To me it means don't eat low-fat alternatives because they are high in carbs and not as healthy as butter and cream and meat fats. I have a lot of weight to lose so I am calorie counting as well so that I don't have too much fat. I find the problem with diet clubs is that they still teach you mainstream eating, so you don't get out of the habit of reaching for a packet of something as a snack.

I found the diabetes booklet they give you at SW is very bland, with instructions like 'eat a healthy diet'. LC is the healthy diet for diabetics. It's obviously sensible to keep drugs to a minimum.
 
For me, going low carb has been the best decision ever. It has improved my T1 diabetes to a "normal" level. My insulin intake has decreased by a third and I have lost 6 stone in weight since starting the low carb eating in March. I have about 50g of carbs per day, 65g of protein per day and about 10g of fat. It has been the only "healthy eating" that has worked for me and I feel much better for doing it. I have also been able to get back into running because of the weight loss through low carb eating, so I would highly recommend this.
 


Yes I would recommend you reduce your carbs Cookie, you don't have to go too low-carb if you don't want to but reducing them by around a third or a half (depending what level of carbs you eat now) will produce good results when it comes to bg control and the amount of insulin you inject.

Many of us type 1's on the forum eat carbs in moderation, meaning we don't do low-carb as in under 50g a day but eat around 100 - 200g a day, it produces the same results and means less insulin but not eating a diet that is too restrictive and still includes carbs such as root veggies, fruit, pasta , wholegrains and bread should you choose. to what level of carbs someone drops down to is determined by their bg levels and how much they want to limit the carbs in their diet.

If your doing Slimming World then I'm assuming you have a little bit of weight to shift, once you start to lose weight you will notice that you start to use less insulin as weight loss helps with insulin resistance, as does get fitter btw.
 

Have already lost 5 stone with SW, am taking less than half the amount of Lantus I was!
 
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