Keto Diet

[Libby3781]

I have to revamp my diet. Is the Keto diet a good option going forward???

If you are currently on this diet....what are the pros and cons???

Thanks all in advance

 

[bulkbiker]

It completely depends on what you like to eat. Any way of eating (I don't call it a "diet") that you don't like will not work as you won't enjoy it. if you don't enjoy it then you won't stick it out.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Not sure which eating plan you are calling "the keto diet".
I eat very low carbohydrate, and blood and urine tests indicate that I am in permanent nutritional ketosis.
However I don't follow a set diet; I eat things I like which don't have a lot of carbohydrate.
Otherwise known as LCHF.

 

[Boo1979]

Lowering carbs is nearly always a good way forward in the quest for stable blood sugars within the target range but how low any individual needs to go in order to safely and effectively achieve that is very individual and will be affected by issues such as current and ongoing medication needs, stage and type of diabetes, comorbidities etc as well as personal choice and lifestyle considerations
Low carb starts at anything under about 120g carbs a day, keto is considered by some to be under 50g carbs daily but under 20g by others - as with everything diabetes the level at which individual bodies will enter ‘nutritional ketosis’ will vary from one individual metabolism to another.
Some people like to pick a carb level at the high to mid range of low carb (say 75-100g daily) , eat to that level for a few weeks while at the same time testing BG response, then work their way down until they find a level that works for their body. Others prefer to do it in reverse by starting at the lower end of low carb and working their way up until they find the level that stops working. Others prefer to go as low as possible then stick there
I personally find that under 50g carbs works well with my body and my current very low dose of medication ( been on meds from the outset but have managed to keep dose v low) but I like to vary the amount consumed in any particular day - could be 10g one day, 50 the next etc.
I am now 21+ years into diabetes and earlier on in my journey my body could tolerate more carbs

 

[Libby3781]

My blood sugars are currently extremely high ranging from 12 - 21+. I want to find a way of reducing my carbs,so that will then obviously help with the sugars.
I’ve been on insulin for a week, and on having an hospital appointment yesterday my nurse anticipates me needing two daily doess of insulin starting in about 3 weeks.

 

[Ian DP]

I have been Keto for over 4 years now. Before that I was low fat everything. I enjoy my food. I don’t miss bread, pasta, potatoes or rice at all. I do miss fruit. I also like that fact that I now have a clean diet as everything I eat is natural food with no chemicals added (apart from bacon which I have about 4 rashers per week). I see my diet as an old fashioned way of eating, how our ancestors ate thousands of years ago. The only thing I have to watch is my weight, if I don’t eat enough fat I get too close to being under a BMI of 21 and get a reprimand from my diabetic nurse (currently 23).

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I have to revamp my diet. Is the Keto diet a good option going forward???

If you are currently on this diet....what are the pros and cons???

Thanks all in advance

I started about 2 months ago to tackle weight and fatty liver... It was a little perplexing at first. Especially when I was out and about, and the only salads available were carb heavy, the meats breaded, or drenched in sugary dressing or marinade... Then I found out you can order a Double Whopper or a Big King XXL without the bun, and extra bacon. 5 grams or something in carbs. Yum! Works in every fast food joint, just leave off the bun, maybe the sauce, save for mayo. That's when a weight lifted for me and I worried less about eating elsewhere. Tomorrow we're going to a company bbq, and if I leave the bread alone, I can eat with everyone else just fine, they won't even notice I'm eating keto. So that was my biggest worry sorted; I wasn't going to be stuck without food when out. (Or obliged to buy the expensive steak all the time. At that point I hadn't read up about intermittent fasting yet...). Took me a little while to get my at-home meals sorted, as a lot of meals have dairy and I couldn't eat that, but after a while my food intolerances got a whole lot better. Keto gave me back eggs and goat's milk products! Cow milk is still a problem, but no as bad as it was, which I didn't dare hope for when I started. I lost 5 kilo's and plateau-ed again, but I'm sticking with it. HbA1c of 34 is reason enough. So, pro's; my HbA1c got even lower, I lost some weight, foodintolerances are slowly getting better. Cons; I got carb flu again for a few weeks. And needlessly worried about eating out. Hope this helps!

 

[bulkbiker]

My blood sugars are currently extremely high ranging from 12 - 21+. I want to find a way of reducing my carbs,so that will then obviously help with the sugars.
I’ve been on insulin for a week, and on having an hospital appointment yesterday my nurse anticipates me needing two daily doess of insulin starting in about 3 weeks.

If you want to give keto a try then just have bacon and eggs for each meal for a week and see what your bloods do.
Maybe 2 meals a day would also help.
If your bloods don't come down pretty fast on that regime then I'd be back at the Docs asking for more tests.
It may sound extreme but worth it for a 7 day trial?
Just watch your insulin requirements as if it works your blood sugars could lower quite quickly. Test as regularly as you can.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My blood sugars are currently extremely high ranging from 12 - 21+. I want to find a way of reducing my carbs,so that will then obviously help with the sugars.
I’ve been on insulin for a week, and on having an hospital appointment yesterday my nurse anticipates me needing two daily doess of insulin starting in about 3 weeks.

If you go for keto while on insulin, you risk hypo's. So do keep your meter and dextro handy!

 

[Boo1979]

If you want to give keto a try then just have bacon and eggs for each meal for a week and see what your bloods do.
Maybe 2 meals a day would also help.
If your bloods don't come down pretty fast on that regime then I'd be back at the Docs asking for more tests.
It may sound extreme but worth it for a 7 day trial?
Just watch your insulin requirements as if it works your blood sugars could lower quite quickly. Test as regularly as you can.

I have to disagree - going to effectively 0 carbs when the OP has just been put on insulin and is therefore v unfamiliar with how it affects her body, what to do re fast dropping BG, hypos etc would, in my opinion, be reckless and potentially dangerous

 

[Resurgam]

With the OP reporting sugars in the 12 to 21 range then the amount of carbs being consumed at present is obviously more than the body can cope with, even with the additional insulin.
'keto' and low carb is not normally zero carbs - though with constant testing - as was advised - it might show just how powerful is is as a method of reducing blood glucose and insulin requirement.

 

[Boo1979]

With the OP reporting sugars in the 12 to 21 range then the amount of carbs being consumed at present is obviously more than the body can cope with, even with the additional insulin.
'keto' and low carb is not normally zero carbs - though with constant testing - as was advised - it might show just how powerful is is as a method of reducing blood glucose and insulin requirement.

Eating nothing but bacon and eggs for a week would be zero carbs.
For those people who have no experience of insulin, you need to be very careful what you advise.
The OP has only recently been put on insulin and that alone can make sugars drop like a stone regardless of diet. When I was first diagnosed I was hospitalised with sugars of 28 and put straight onto an insulin pump, I was luckily still in hospital when my sugars hit a hypo in the low 2’s within a week or two and I then had to be put on a glucose drip

 

[Resurgam]

Eating nothing but bacon and eggs for a week would be zero carbs.
For those people who have no experience of insulin, you need to be very careful what you advise.
The OP has only recently been put on insulin and that alone can make sugars drop like a stone regardless of diet. When I was first diagnosed I was hospitalised with sugars of 28 and put straight onto an insulin pump, I was luckily still in hospital when my sugars hit a hypo in the low 2’s within a week or two and I then had to be put on a glucose drip

Wow - what irresponsible HCPs to allow you to get into such a state - but note that the OP has been on insulin for a week and is still seeing highs of 21 and 'lows' of 12.

 

[Boo1979]

Wow - what irresponsible HCPs to allow you to get into such a state - but note that the OP has been on insulin for a week and is still seeing highs of 21 and 'lows' of 12.

The point remains re the danger inherant in advocating a non supervised, vary radical dietary shift, particularly the day after someones insulin dose has been increased And their BG has begun to drop

 

[britishpub]

what are the pros and cons???

Pros: You get to eat nice food

Cons: You have to say "I eat less than 20g of carb a day" on just about about every thread about Low Carb on the forum.

 

[himtoo]

@Libby3781
with you having started on insulin a week ago and not yet being familiar with this drug and the power it has to lower blood sugar it migh be wise to stick to 1 change at a time..........see how you do wth insulin fo the next couple of weeks until your next appointment

looking slightly longer term I totally agree with all the advice regardig reducing carbs and especially the trial of the bacon and eggs for a week to see the impact on BGs..... just not at the same time as starting a drug with potential to cause serious hypos.

perhaps a chat with the doctor to see if you could come off the insulin before starting a low carb / no carb diet-- tell him you really want to avoid the insulin if you can help it and are willing to adapt your diet to try.


hope ths helps..................