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

I Don’t want a low carb Christmas

This will be my first Christmas since diagnosis and I've been thinking about how to approach the food side of it. I'm therefore glad that someone else has asked the question!

My thoughts at the moment are that I'll relax the diet temporarily with regard to savory food, but strictly avoid the sweet stuff. I simply can't imagine Christmas lunch without a few crispy roast potatoes and a yorkshire pudding but I'm not bothered about missing out on the Christmas pudding, sweets, chocolates etc. I think that the few days after Christmas will be the hardest for me - I do love some warm, freshly baked bread with all those cold meats and cheeses.

I'm dreading the boxing day fasting blood sugar reading though. I've learned that an hour or so of fairly intense exercise after dinner can keep the fasting blood sugars down to a reasonable level the morning after after a (relatively) carb-heavy meal, but there's no way the wife or the kids will let me exercise on Christmas evening.

Christmas will also be my first time drinking alcohol since my diagnosis in April, so that will also add an interesting dimension. I'm not a big drinker, but do enjoy a glass or two of Cava or Champagne. Belgian beers are normally my go-to drinks though, so it will be interesting to see how they affect me.
 
I would just caution, I have watched several repent at Christmas on this site, it is heart breaking.

I was just thinking if I had free hit what off plan would I eat. Probably apple and cherry pie with custard.
 
Obviously sticking to your guns is better for your health than falling off the wagon. I've decided ahead of time what I will or wont do, and I'm hoping that by having a plan, I will avoid the slippery slope. Last year I wasn't specifically eating keto, but I can tell you I was very far away from healthy eating for at least 6 weeks. So I have decided that for Xmas dinner I will have a reasonable portion of a certain potato dish that is traditional to where I grew up. On Boxing Day I will have another serving of same, and bread for hot-turkey sandwich. Gravy thickened with flour both meals. All other eating will be keto. No sugar of any kind.
 
Good on you Andy. The first Christmas after is always tricky but you seem to have a plan which is great. We all have different thresholds of what we will allow ourselves to eat “from our previous days” but we regard Christmas now as three days only: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day so contained. If you drink spirits with sugar free mixers or dry wine that shouldnt be a problem unless it makes you tempted by crisps etc. As you probably know beer is a problem and high in carbs...your choice whatever but enjoy the festive season and you know what to do...keep it short but not sweet!
 
Since been diagnosed T2 I have hardly drunk any beer just the occasional coors light, but as I do like alcohol, brandy, whiskey, and gin with slimline tonic are all zero carbs.
If I get peckish a chunk of cheese or a packet of pork crunch hardly any carbs .
But I think I may relax the low carb a bit this Christmas but not go mad with it.
Just slightly off subject wife made chilli for tea tonight but added baked beans apparently they are high in carbs, she washed the sauce off before adding, both of us didn’t realise they are not good even without sauce.
 
One possibility, particularly if you're sharing food with others, is to just have significantly smaller portions of the things you love. Sometimes a taste is all you need.

If my other half is here, I'll sometimes have a bite of a Jaffa Cake or take a tiny bite off the end of her Mars Bar. Savour the things, and make them last, rather than munching through the whole item at speed (and possibly several more) as I'd have done pre-diagnosis.

If you're roasting potatoes or similar, then cut them small, par-boil them and rinse thoroughly before roasting. This should remove a significant amount of starch. You can achieve similar reductions with rice by part cooking, rinsing thoroughly, and then finishing off the cooking process.
 
thats so me! I'm hoping my "no more than 2 bites" strategy gets me through my first diabetic Christmas
 
Well i decided to have a day of eating what I used to eat to see what it would do to my BG level.
For Christmas dinner had prawn cocktail with seafood sauce.
Main course Turkey, Ham, Carrots, Parsnips, Sprouts, Pigs in Blankets, Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls no potatoes as not keen on them anyway.
Desert Good helping of Christmas Pudding with Custard ( over 100 carbs in desert alone) .
What with an odd chocolate total carbs probably not far off 200 carbs.
BG level before dinner 5.9 2 hours after dinner BG level 9.6 .
I don’t know if that reading is good or bad considering what i ate but one thing I do know is i felt I had let myself down so back to 60 carbs a day .
It was just an experiment to see what I could tolerate but even though I enjoyed some of the foods it wasn’t as good as i was expecting,
 
Well in the end you certainly didn't have a high carb Christmas since 200gms is lower than most dietary guides!
The important things to take from it are:
1. Did you enjoy it. - It seems not as much as you expected, so perhaps your taste is changing.
2. Do you think that if you had cut the carbs a little more that you would have felt deprived? - especially the carbs you say that you didn't enjoy as much as expected.
3. You seemed to have proved that you can occasionally eat more carbs without bingeing on them - that is great news!
 
davd said:
It was just an experiment to see what I could tolerate but even though I enjoyed some of the foods it wasn’t as good as i was expecting,
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I have found. Actually, some of the foods that I thought I loved were a huge disappointment when I tried them again. Others were OKish. I also didn't feel at all good after eating them. It is a huge deterrent if you know that you are going to be up all night with horrible acid reflux.
 
The 200 carbs was just the dinner, probably a lot more over day .
The Christmas pudding and custard according to labels was well over 100 carbs .
But I think I am getting to know what foods I can tolerate and foods I thought I missed i now know I don’t miss so much.
 
I had under 200g of carbs according to my counter. So you know, that is still a significant drop from normal. Cut back on what I would normally have so massively reduced roast potatoes, and less yorkshire for example. Pigs in blankets have become the saviour of Christmas for me

Had Yule log and not Christmas pudding (saving that for later) and day after bloods under 6 so all good

My confession is that I loved every single thing, I know people say how they have carbs after and don't enjoy but I did. I also miss all of them from my diet and as I've said before, the thought of not having for the next 40 years (here's hoping!) doesn't work for me I'm afraid. Knowing I can't Vs knowing I can but don't have to is how I get through this. My motivation is better by reducing considerably and I think for me that's the key.

We all have our different paths through
 
I'm fessing up to have stuck to low carbs Christmas day during breakfast and right up until lunchtime until faced with my home made Christmas pud with brandy butter. In the evening a little sad without kids around I ate some florentines then cheese and biscuits. Now I've written it down it really doesn't seem as anywhere near as bad as I had thought. Today, Boxing day I've had a couple of biscuits and just sat down to read this forum whilst eating three gorgeous salted caramel truffles.!! I'm not sure yet but I am pretty certain I have the will power to be low carb and back on the band wagon this evening. I've worked so hard at it since July dropped three dress sizes ( I don't own scales, so no idea of weight loss, far too depressing!) and my blood sugar levels are almost down to normal. I am to scaredy to prick my finger plus I don't want to lose my average reading (is that cheating?!!)
Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has answered in here as it has made me feel so much better and I now know that as from now I am back to low carbs and the food bank will get a few lovely sweety items. Seems my positivity has returned. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy and Healthy New Year xx
 
We tend to forget that a non-diabetic can occasionally spike as high as 11, so I wouldn't worry about a 9.6 as a one off. Though it's possible you went past 11 and hit 9.6 on the way back down, if you're just testing 2 hours after meals.

I bought a Libre for the festive season. Did a regular Christmas dinner but went easy on the potatoes myself. Vienetta with Baileys flavoured double cream to follow. I had one spike of 11 and another of 11.4, and it probably raised my average by 1 to 1.5 over the next 24 hours or so.
 
I really didn't worry too much about Christmas dinner. We had Turkey breasts, mashed spuds, corn, dressing, and a salad. I calculated my carb load and took my Apidra. I then monitored my sugars 1 hour out, 2 hours out, and 3 hours out. I hit a high of 13.1 at the 1 hour mark and it went down to normal (6.3) by 3 hours. I can't eat like I use to because of lap-band surgery 5 years ago, but I did manage to have my favourites ...

BTW, I lost 130lbs and now am at my goal weight of 210lbs (I was a large guy !!). I dropped pant sizes from 44in down to 36in, so I'm thrilled with the whole deal.
 
Still eating a little bit of what I shouldn’t but now testing before meals 5.1 and after 6.5 .
So it looks like no long time damage, just going back gradually to moderate low carb diet.
Only thing is weighed myself yesterday and 12lb increased weight, so that is another reason to cut down carbs again , still 2 stone lighter than last year though.
 
Unlike some in the thread, I have no obvious physical adverse reaction to eating sweet things.
I don't feel sick or woozy or anything.

Sadly, as posted elsewhere, one mince pie is enough to send me stratospheric.
Freestyle Libre is both a blessing and a curse.

Back on the wagon now (more or less) but BG hasn't quite settled down yet.
 
Hi all,

I'm another who has found like @LittleGreyCat that I have no physical reaction to eating sweet things- also like @Andydragon I still like those things I can't eat

What works for me is very low carb but also treats like diet jelly. My aim for the next year is to gradually reduce the amount of sweet things and see how that goes. What I'm hoping for to be honest is that I will lose the 'sweet tooth' I built up over 50 years. I'm honestly not expecting it but have decided to give it a shot. I haven't got an actual plan yet so I guess that is the next step. I have decided to try to eat my of the small amount of carbs I eat in the meal rather than in the treat. We will see how that goes. I have the rest of my life to work out different things that work for me. I know. that I can sustain what I am currently eating with using artificial sweeteners so that's my default.

Good luck everyone on getting back on the wagon and watching our levels reduce!
 
LaoDan said:
This! I bought a deth by chocolate cake for my birthday, never again lol.
Click to expand...
OMG reminds me of a terrifying incident with my father years ago: he ate "Death by Chocolate" dessert at a very nice restaurant on the Thames (we were traveling by narrow boat), he very quickly had a dreadful asthma attack. It was a really close shave. I too am low carb, my odd misdemeanors are minor, e.g. a small homemade sausage roll. I have no desire for cake (fortunately). Nuts have been a big help for me.
 
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.…