is there anyone out there

jumbleannie

Active Member
Messages
26
Hi,
Started off last year when diagnosed as a very scared diabetic,(diet onlyT2) who reading on this web site how bad high carb foods were for you became terrified of eating almost anything. As a result I lost a bit too much weight and had to start eating again, some carbs included.( I do a fairly physical job and it all got a bit silly). Since then I have been back to the docs and told I am not diabetic, but pre diabetic.
I am now keeping to a sensible amount of carbs - around 120 a day and don't seem to be any worse off for it. I even enjoy the occasional treat, though I can spike at 10.5, but a couple hours later I am usually back to 5.5. I aknowledge that low carb may be great for some, but we all need to find our own way.
To the newsies-Test and test again, then make a decision, but don't let yourself be pulled along or frightened by other peoples views. We are all different, I for a start can't eat fruit without my bs going up, and we are told fruit is good for us. Chips however barely cause a stir.
Oh yeah and to any low carbers that may be reading this, bear in mind that your enthusiasm is great, but it can be scary, especially to the newly diagnosed. I personally felt that if I didn't stop eating anything with carbs in I was going to be written off as dead, and despite the occasional fish, chips and mushy peas I am very much alive. :D
 

cjohnson

Well-Known Member
Messages
106
Dislikes
Spiders and other similar creepy crawlies
Please can I join the club too?

What a relief to read your posts as I was beginning to think I was the only one not low carbing. I don't seem to be able to low carb - have tried but just didn't do my bs any good at all. I have found that moderation in everything the key and have done like others smaller plate and smaller portions. I have some carbs at every meal and find that if I don't I'm hungry all the time. Look forward to reading more posts on this section.

Chris J :D
 

Fuggsy

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Dislikes
Being preached at about low carbing
Everything in moderation is the way to go. Well it is for me anyway lol.

I went for months with not really eating at all - probably where the 12 stone weight loss came from and I found that if I didn't eat my sugars just went up and up. I now know that I need carbs to get my insulin to work. No carbs and I end up very hyper and feeling like death warmed up.

I live with my diabetes, but I won't let it take over my life.
 

Fuggsy

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Dislikes
Being preached at about low carbing
Just a quickie.

I too can't eat fruit without my sugars going loopy but I adore grapes.

I put a few grapes in the freezer - I know it sounds odd lol. But freezing them they become like a boiled sweet and it satisfies my need for fruit without affecting my sugars. I can generally manage 3 at a time, and just freeze a few at a time for a much needed treat every now and again.
 

jumbleannie

Active Member
Messages
26
Mmmmm interesting idea with the grapes. Wonder if it will work with other fruits! Willing to give it a try anyway. Honestly the lengths we go to just to find something good to eat.Wish bananas didn't have such a bad effect. Do you think frozen banane milk shake would work :idea:
 

Fuggsy

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Dislikes
Being preached at about low carbing
lol at milkshake. I wish. But saying that if I want a milkshake then I'll have one, even though I put myself through a little test before hand. I wait 10 minutes and then decide if I still want whatever it is I fancy. Sometimes in that 10 minutes I've gone off the idea, sometimes I make myself wait another 10 minutes and sometimes I just get up and get what I want. I know it's weird but it works for me.

You can freeze most small fruits like berries etc. My downfall is grapes though so they're the only one I freeze
 

candy1567

Well-Known Member
Messages
120
please let me join in to!!!!

When i first joined at the end of last year, i was a mess was in denial for years eating what i wanted, then moved house and signed up with a new gp who scared me by drawing death graphs, yeah i know ass**le!!!

Then i found this site and read about low carbs, and i thought right this is the time to take control so i started to lowcarb in jan this year and yes it had a great impact on my bs but i felt **** had no energy and lost loads of weight, i looked ill and was basically living on eggs and vedge.

I got a real telling off from my partner who incidently is a chef lol, well i followed this for a couple of months then i realised that i couldn't go on like this so beg on april i introduced some carbs back into my diet and wow what a difference, i actually feel better than i have done in years.

My bs are mostly in the 7 range, yeah i know they could be lower and am working on it my last Hba1c was 7.3 which i am really pleased about considering it was 11 in nov, and 9.9 in jan.

I know this sounds very silly since i am a 42yr old adult with a professional qualification, but since introducing the carbs back i havn't posted about this mainly due to the fact i didn't want a telling off about how bad this was and that i should be aiming for lower numbers and i can achieve this with eliminating carbs etc, its very soul destroying.

Am not saying that the low carbers are wrong heaven forbid lol, but each to their own what works for you is good and you should stick at it, am glad admin has seperated the debate as it was begining to feel like a personal attack.

wow i can waffle on, anyone got a quick fix for this!!!!!

Juliexx
 

DaddyNoLC

Newbie
Messages
2
Me too.

Been reading this board for some time and decided to take the advice of some and give the low carb approach a try. A few things happened or didn't happen depending on how you look at it.

1) My BG did go won but not much.

2) Not lost much weight

3) Loss of energy

4) My friends started pulling funny faces when I spoke with them.

5) The wife would not let me anywhere near her for weeks, she complained that my breath stank like pee.

Disappointed, frustrated and somewhat "unders*xed" I decided to give it up and try the smaller portion diet. Like others mentioned here, I bought myself a smaller plate, eureka it is working. I am loosing weight, slowly yes but definitely losing. My average BG is in the 6's. I feel a lot happier and have lot more energy to do things that I just could not or did not want to do before. Best of all the wife is getting friendlier again, slowly but surely. It'll probably take ages to get rid of the bad breath.

Cheers
 

mullaneder

Well-Known Member
Messages
722
Dislikes
bullies, bad drivers ,recession,
thats great to hear daddynolc and if you lose the weight slowly its more likely to stay off well done :D
 

Thirsty

Well-Known Member
Messages
903
I find it irritating that the more fanatical low-carbers overstate their case. It's been claimed many times here that starchy foods like white rice, pasta and potatoes convert 100% to glucose when digested. This simply isn't true, as all contain some dietary fibre. It's certainly the case that you'll be better off choosing brown Basmati rice, wholewheat pasta and leaving the skins on spuds but small portions of the more highly processed foods aren't likely to kill you anytime soon.

Oh, and DaddyNoLC, I know what you mean about the bad breath problem; my wife started sleeping on the sofa during my brief flirtation with the Atkins diet!
 

willogs

Well-Known Member
Messages
97
Hi, I also started looking at this forum when diagnosed with type 1 and it made me more aware of how carbs affect me and how much I was eating, but decided that low carb is not for me and since food is like a minefield anyway with diabetes decided just to be sensible and still enjoy my meals. I have recently found I out that I am pregnant and the docs say that a regular level of Carb is best for regulating my BS which makes sense and seems to be working. I hope people can post on here without worrying about the response as sometimes other forums have become out of hand, which for people who are seeking general advice can be very off putting. so heres to pleasant chat and helpful information.
 

kegstore

Well-Known Member
Messages
771
Dislikes
Unnecessary rudeness, and any PC
It's a very fine (and difficult for some) line to walk, but people do tolerate all different types of foods in different ways, and to different extents, so those who have diabetes (of whatever type) AND can still eat carbs at the same level as pre-diagnosis are lucky.

I'm not a proponent of either approach, but I do find it irritating that for some there appears to be a requirement to insist that anything other than their way will end in disaster, and are prepared to ridicule anyone who thinks anything else. Closed minds.

Oh and apparently there's all sorts of mindless bickering going on in this new sub-sebsection according to a post I read elsewhere today? I have scoured the threads within it and can't seem to find any at all, maybe I was tripping...
 

esmecullen

Active Member
Messages
33
I'm sort of half and half on this. when I got the diet sheet from the nurse, she said to me "You must east plenty of carbs, change your bread to wholemeal, eat brown rice, brown pasta, etc.

I found that by following the "advice" my bloods shot up and I felt very bloated and sick.

I could not follow the low carb diet strictly as I do like potatoes, pasta, etc and the thought of a low carb, hight fat diet, makes me shudder.

I think I have now got it right by cutting the carbs down, not cutting them out completely. I found that my old weightwatchers plan helps a lot when planning meals.

I hope people will put their own receipes on here... just to give some inspiration for meals :D
 

mullaneder

Well-Known Member
Messages
722
Dislikes
bullies, bad drivers ,recession,
kegstore i saw the same thread and laughed we must have them worried :lol: only joking
its all so silly and childish we are all in the same boat all trying to do our best i find it weird that on a site where people are so helpful they cant accept other peoples wiews without taking it personally i was afraid that this forum would actually become more devisive but it is probably the only solution .for new people coming on it must be very offputting to see people bickering
 

Jen&Khaleb

Well-Known Member
Messages
820
Dislikes
Not having enough time. Broken sleep.
Nice to find out that not everyone is going low-carb. My 2.5 yr old is the diabetic in the family and I couldn't low-carb him even if I wanted to. It all just seems like a balancing act to me. If you eat more carbs you need more insulin or vice versa. I find the biggest variations to blood sugar come from illness and exercise. We had a hypo of 2.2 this morning after doing some playtime at the park. I had actually given him 2 lots of morning tea thinking this would cover the extra activity but it wasn't quite enough. He didn't have any serious symptoms that he was getting so low but the mother alarm was keeping watch.

Anyway, this place doesn't really apply to kids and I hope it doesn't become the norm for kids to commence a low carb diet after diagnosis of diabetes. The brain only runs on glucose so maybe having those carbs will make us smarter.

Jen
 

maisiesgranny

Active Member
Messages
28
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
unkindness!
hi carbers

i thought i would research the low carb thing but have decided to stick with what is working for me. this includes some carbs but always wholemeal bread, pasta etc. i eat lots of veg, some fruit and do the low fat low salt thing with the occasional treat. since diagnose at christmas i have lost 20lbs and have good hba1c 6.1 and good bg results, between 4.5 and 8 using two hours after meals testin. by the way i am type 2 diet and excercise only. thought when i got to age 62 i would be taking it easier but am at the pool most weekdays and walking round brighton lanes for hours each saturday. i think as grown ups we need too show each other respect. what works for each one is the best for them - good luck to all low carbers i say! the important thing is to accept our diabetes and get all the help and info we can and see what is best for each one. my late husband did not accept his type 1 - died at 49 so didn't see our 5 gorgeous grandkids. i miss him eavery day but now i'm diabetic myself, can understand his struggles. i tried so hard to support him. we have lots more info now and you lovely people on this forum. life's too short to fight, healthy disagreement is good nastiness is not, go hug someone you love today! sermon over! love and best wishes to all. i will be praying we all are as ok as we can be. love maisiesgranny
 

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi Maisiesgranny,
I'm a type 1 granny myself and I think exercise is a really important part of my control. When I do a lot I need to take very little insulin . Like you I eat starch am carbs but an careful about the type I choose.
Well done on the weight loss, it shows it can be done.
 

Osidge

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
1,272
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Bullies.
Hi all

I follow a balanced diet that seems to do the trick for me and it follows the advice I was given over 10 years ago when I was diagnosed. I have managed to have a reasonable HbA1c - 6.2 at the last count - and have no signs of any complications. The advice as I recall was to have low GI carbs as the core of the diet but I never took that to mean that I should eat them by the ton - that would only make me fat!. I hope that this area of the forum will allow us to support each other without battles and enable us to live the least restricted life that is conducive to our continued health.

On a lighter note: when I was newly diagnosed I was attending a post event bun fight and stood staring longingly at the cake table. A veteran diabetic came up to me, saw me looking and offered me this advice "Test your blood first and then have some cake. That way you will not get a high reading"!!!!!!!!!!

Doug