Low Carb ..its Changed My Week

annliggins · Aug 10, 2018

Hi all, i read a bit of Bernsteins book and thought mmm interesting. Id done the too much / not enough bolus , faced the anxiety blah blah and thought ... yep hes talking sense . Light on .
Ive done 7 days and not needed a bolus only my background and my bloods are between 5- 9 over 24/7
Just thought id share ....my bloods were unpredictable using a bolus i could never get it right .i dont have that anxt now . Sorry im not bragging ( well i might be ) !

Diakat · Aug 10, 2018

Congratulations on the improvement. Not needing any bolus is amazing, do keep an eye on the numbers and keep bolus handy in case it is needed.

Brunneria · Aug 10, 2018

Wow! That is a huge change.

I totally agree with @Diakat to take things steady and don't go anywhere without having your insulin handy and keep testing!
But... wow

Alexandra100 · Aug 11, 2018

annliggins said:
Hi all, i read a bit of Bernsteins book and thought mmm interesting. Id done the too much / not enough bolus , faced the anxiety blah blah and thought ... yep hes talking sense . Light on .
Ive done 7 days and not needed a bolus only my background and my bloods are between 5- 9 over 24/7
Just thought id share ....my bloods were unpredictable using a bolus i could never get it right .i dont have that anxt now . Sorry im not bragging ( well i might be ) !

Wow! This is so helpful for me. I am a Dr B enthusiast, not yet on insulin but think I will be eventually. Your success makes me think that will not be so bad.

annliggins · Aug 11, 2018

Diakat said:
Congratulations on the improvement. Not needing any bolus is amazing, do keep an eye on the numbers and keep bolus handy in case it is needed.

Yes i do keep it handy ...today my numbers nudged up to 8 so i did a jab ( reluctantly) ive struggled for 8 years but now ive cut the carbs im in control ...if i want a heavy carb meal like fish and chips ill do it .. but doing this thevfear of hypo through over bolus has gone .

kokhongw · Aug 11, 2018

Thx for sharing your success on a insulin lite option.

KK123 · Aug 11, 2018

annliggins said:
Yes i do keep it handy ...today my numbers nudged up to 8 so i did a jab ( reluctantly) ive struggled for 8 years but now ive cut the carbs im in control ...if i want a heavy carb meal like fish and chips ill do it .. but doing this thevfear of hypo through over bolus has gone .

Hi Ann, I'm guessing you say reluctantly because you are afraid of going low? I was the same to begin with and I too, prefer to go lowish carb in order to be able to inject fewer units and help prevent swings. Be careful not to become fanatical about it though, if you need insulin then you need it, I hope you don't see it as a failure when you do need to inject! x

NewTD2 · Aug 12, 2018

annliggins said:
Yes i do keep it handy ...today my numbers nudged up to 8 so i did a jab ( reluctantly) ive struggled for 8 years but now ive cut the carbs im in control ...if i want a heavy carb meal like fish and chips ill do it .. but doing this thevfear of hypo through over bolus has gone .

You can still have fish and chips but a low carb version.

Recipe:

Cod or Haddock soaked in eggs, salt and pepper.
Use almond flour for coating then put in the oven or shallow fry.

Use Celeriac for chips. Peel, Cut in chip sizes, boil for 10 minutes then deep fry or in the oven for 20 minutes gas mark 200 till golden brown.

Enjoy!

becca59 · Aug 12, 2018

NewTD2 said:
You can still have fish and chips but a low carb version.

Recipe:

Cod or Haddock soaked in eggs, salt and pepper.
Use almond flour for coating then put in the oven or shallow fry.

Use Celeriac for chips. Peel, Cut in chip sizes, boil for 10 minutes then deep fry or in the oven for 20 minutes gas mark 200 till golden brown.

Enjoy!

Not from the chippy then

Hoping4Cure · Aug 15, 2018

Good job, taking that first step towards low-carb enlightenment is key.

It's not rocket science, but the simple truth that carbs are what raise your blood sugar and thus require you to take more insulin which then causes hypos and rollercoaster effect. Avoiding carbs and eating more protein and/or fat is the answer. I see advice to eat plenty of carbs for a type 1 as simply and completely wrong. Our inability to metabolize carbohydrates isn't up for debate, or subjective argument. It simply is. The only surefire way to avoid fighting is not to fight, same as the only way to avoid sugars rising is not to ingest them. This is just basic logic, right? Right.

Check out the sugar readings on the Type 1 Grit Facebook group, amazing stuff:

https://www.facebook.com/Type1Grit/

I'd have these sugars most of the time but I also drink here and there, which rocks the boat a bit. At a certain point I'm going to have to face the truth and just cut that out too, as I've already cut out practically everything else -- in principle, though I do cheat once in a while, I often suffer afterwards and I'm nearly at the point where the guilty pleasures aren't worth it, even occasionally. Not quite there though, I've spent a lot of my life as a hedonist and a good curry is lovely. I wish I could find a rice substitute. (brown rice is practically as bad as white, truth be told). Tonight I made chicken breasts and cauliflower-variant "mashed potato" for supper (just swap potato with cauliflower, then add butter and heavy cream with salt and paprika). So easy. Near-perfect sugars for hours afterwards with little insulin needed.

Learning to cook and preparing meals (and especially lunches) at home is necessary. So laziness isn't really an option. But that's ok, the rewards are worth it. It's also cheaper to eat good food at home, if you're smart about it. One thing to remember is that it's hard to eat low-carb when out for lunch, it's all bread / sandwiches (or worse) so make a bean salad at home and bring a lunch box (to be responsible to the planet). There is a way to make type 1 not SO bad, but it requires some planning and attention. And most of all, just the acceptance of Lord Bernstein as your saviour hehe.

Hoping4Cure · Aug 15, 2018

NewTD2 said:
You can still have fish and chips but a low carb version.

Recipe:

Cod or Haddock soaked in eggs, salt and pepper.
Use almond flour for coating then put in the oven or shallow fry.

Use Celeriac for chips. Peel, Cut in chip sizes, boil for 10 minutes then deep fry or in the oven for 20 minutes gas mark 200 till golden brown.

Enjoy!

Great recipe! I'm going to make that this weekend when my vacation starts

Butternut squash in slices makes pretty good fries too. My wife usually makes those into poutine (we live in Quebec so that's a guilty pleasure type food which we missed a lot), by baking them so not even using much oil. But I think deep-frying is in order for next time with fish and chips. Thanks

Alexandra100 · Aug 15, 2018

Hoping4Cure said:
I wish I could find a rice substitute

Have you tried Konjac rice? Not quite up to real brown rice flavour and texture, but the Eat Water Slim Brand (which contains oat fibre that improves the texture as against the Chinese Konjac noodles) is IMO worth eating. I like the Slim versions of pasta even better. A bonus is that the rice needs no cooking, just rinse (very important) and warm up. I don't know if you can get this brand in Canada, but here's a link just for information.
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/eat-water-slim-rice-60007572?skuid=007572

michita · Aug 15, 2018

Hoping4Cure said:
Good job, taking that first step towards low-carb enlightenment is key.

It's not rocket science, but the simple truth that carbs are what raise your blood sugar and thus require you to take more insulin which then causes hypos and rollercoaster effect. Avoiding carbs and eating more protein and/or fat is the answer. I see advice to eat plenty of carbs for a type 1 as simply and completely wrong. Our inability to metabolize carbohydrates isn't up for debate, or subjective argument. It simply is. The only surefire way to avoid fighting is not to fight, same as the only way to avoid sugars rising is not to ingest them. This is just basic logic, right? Right.

Check out the sugar readings on the Type 1 Grit Facebook group, amazing stuff:

https://www.facebook.com/Type1Grit/

I'd have these sugars most of the time but I also drink here and there, which rocks the boat a bit. At a certain point I'm going to have to face the truth and just cut that out too, as I've already cut out practically everything else -- in principle, though I do cheat once in a while, I often suffer afterwards and I'm nearly at the point where the guilty pleasures aren't worth it, even occasionally. Not quite there though, I've spent a lot of my life as a hedonist and a good curry is lovely. I wish I could find a rice substitute. (brown rice is practically as bad as white, truth be told). Tonight I made chicken breasts and cauliflower-variant "mashed potato" for supper (just swap potato with cauliflower, then add butter and heavy cream with salt and paprika). So easy. Near-perfect sugars for hours afterwards with little insulin needed.

Learning to cook and preparing meals (and especially lunches) at home is necessary. So laziness isn't really an option. But that's ok, the rewards are worth it. It's also cheaper to eat good food at home, if you're smart about it. One thing to remember is that it's hard to eat low-carb when out for lunch, it's all bread / sandwiches (or worse) so make a bean salad at home and bring a lunch box (to be responsible to the planet). There is a way to make type 1 not SO bad, but it requires some planning and attention. And most of all, just the acceptance of Lord Bernstein as your saviour hehe.

I'm low carbing type 1. Low carbing for past 2 years. I agree with everything you wrote about advice to eat carbs and our inability to metabolise carbs.

But at the same time I also empathise with people who try to manage this while eating carbs. Some do great with cgm and there are even members on this forum who maintain non diabetic bs level eating carbs. So I can understand why they want to give advice on how maintaining good bs levels is possible whilst eating carbs.

tomrose · Aug 15, 2018

annliggins said:
Hi all, i read a bit of Bernsteins book and thought mmm interesting. Id done the too much / not enough bolus , faced the anxiety blah blah and thought ... yep hes talking sense . Light on .
Ive done 7 days and not needed a bolus only my background and my bloods are between 5- 9 over 24/7
Just thought id share ....my bloods were unpredictable using a bolus i could never get it right .i dont have that anxt now . Sorry im not bragging ( well i might be ) !

Hi all - I'm new here and newly diagnosed, but I have come across Dr Bernstein and his books in my initial research into my new type 1 diagnosis. I had my first meeting with the dietitian at the hospital on Monday and she said something interesting when we were discussing future diets. It was something along the lines of "we would never advocate a low carb diet, we would want you to eat as normally as possible". This seems to be in contradiction to the Dr Bernstein diet? Bearing in mind I haven't read the books (yet). Is this the advice everyone receives from the NHS?

Clivethedrive · Aug 15, 2018

annliggins said:
Hi all, i read a bit of Bernsteins book and thought mmm interesting. Id done the too much / not enough bolus , faced the anxiety blah blah and thought ... yep hes talking sense . Light on .
Ive done 7 days and not needed a bolus only my background and my bloods are between 5- 9 over 24/7
Just thought id share ....my bloods were unpredictable using a bolus i could never get it right .i dont have that anxt now . Sorry im not bragging ( well i might be ) !

Very good call

️Dr Bernstein has helped so many t1’s ad t2’s......if only s work would go mainstream

Knikki · Aug 15, 2018

tomrose said:
Hi all - I'm new here and newly diagnosed, but I have come across Dr Bernstein and his books in my initial research into my new type 1 diagnosis. I had my first meeting with the dietitian at the hospital on Monday and she said something interesting when we were discussing future diets. It was something along the lines of "we would never advocate a low carb diet, we would want you to eat as normally as possible". This seems to be in contradiction to the Dr Bernstein diet? Bearing in mind I haven't read the books (yet). Is this the advice everyone receives from the NHS?

Dieticians, sometimes get a bit of a rough ride from some on here and sometimes justify so.

Dietician’s will be going off the NICE guidelines which I do not know, however I guess it will be a case of "eat normal and control with injects" along the lines of the DAFNE or Bertie Online way of doing stuff.

However the more you read around, and especially on the various parts of the forum some will control their blood sugars by going the low carb route, I think that the good Dr B advocates 30gms of carb a day, certainly one person I now has vegan style diet and runs at around 30gms of carb.

Like you I have not yet got around to reading the book.

It is basically "what works for you", if you want to try the low carb route then fine have a play and see what you can achieve with it.

If not and you like you pie, mash and beer on a Saturday night down the pub then carb counting and adjusting insulin will be the way to go.

Its all a learning curve

LooperCat · Aug 15, 2018

Alexandra100 said:
Have you tried Konjac rice? Not quite up to real brown rice flavour and texture, but the Eat Water Slim Brand (which contains oat fibre that improves the texture as against the Chinese Konjac noodles) is IMO worth eating. I like the Slim versions of pasta even better. A bonus is that the rice needs no cooking, just rinse (very important) and warm up. I don't know if you can get this brand in Canada, but here's a link just for information.
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/eat-water-slim-rice-60007572?skuid=007572

I love konjac rice, it’s in the H&B Penny Sale at the moment of you want to stock up!

I do low carb/keto because I spent 20 years trying to get the standard NHS nutritional guidelines with injecting for the carbs right and failed miserably at it. Made the switch in the new year after a major panic when I hurriedly misread the info on the back of a pack of spaghetti and took a huge insulin overdose that needed the paramedics to help.

I liked Bernstein’s “law of small numbers” - small amounts of carbs means small doses of insulin, which means less potential for mistakes. Insulin is our best friend, but if we get the dose wrong, it can lead to trouble. I’m not nearly as anxious now - I always had the fear of a major hypo in the back of my mind, I think - although I didn’t realise it at the time. Once I’ve eaten and taken a small dose that isn’t enough to make me hypo, I can forget about treating diabetes for a few hours and get on with my day. I do have a Libre sensor, so I can easily and quickly see where I’m at, but on the whole it doesn’t change much.

Also, turnips make fab chips

michita · Aug 15, 2018

tomrose said:
Hi all - I'm new here and newly diagnosed, but I have come across Dr Bernstein and his books in my initial research into my new type 1 diagnosis. I had my first meeting with the dietitian at the hospital on Monday and she said something interesting when we were discussing future diets. It was something along the lines of "we would never advocate a low carb diet, we would want you to eat as normally as possible". This seems to be in contradiction to the Dr Bernstein diet? Bearing in mind I haven't read the books (yet). Is this the advice everyone receives from the NHS?

I've seen 3 dietitians. they do not recommend a low carb diet. I've no interest in seeing any more dietitians. They don't have diabetes and they don't know what really is like to live with it. It's up to you to research and decide what you think is best for you.

If you are interested in a low carb diet, try this book as well. The recommendation is a lot more moderate than dr Bernstein so you might find it easier to follow.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-Control-Type-Diabetes-self-management/dp/1785040936

Hoping4Cure · Aug 15, 2018

michita said:
But at the same time I also empathise with people who try to manage this while eating carbs. Some do great with cgm and there are even members on this forum who maintain non diabetic bs level eating carbs. So I can understand why they want to give advice on how maintaining good bs levels is possible whilst eating carbs.

Yes, of course people still eat carbs, and that's just reality that has to be taken into account. But Bernstein method can deliver near-perfect sugars without a CGM which is expensive and not many people have it, plus in a sense a CGM's monthly costs are then effectively a 160 dollar tax on carb consumption, aren't they. So you pay more, and get less (control). Of course you could get a CGM while being low-carb at the same time, but for some of us that's simply not feasible economically.

michita · Aug 15, 2018

Hoping4Cure said:
Yes, of course people still eat carbs, and that's just reality that has to be taken into account. But Bernstein method can deliver near-perfect sugars without a CGM which is expensive and not many people have it, plus in a sense a CGM's monthly costs are then effectively a 160 dollar tax on carb consumption, aren't they. So you pay more, and get less (control). Of course you could get a CGM while being low-carb at the same time, but for some of us that's simply not feasible economically.

That's true. I manage without cgm on low carb diet too. I've read dr berstrin's book early on and it all made sense and gave me hope when I really needed it

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