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Low Carb Low Calorie Update...

lcarter

Well-Known Member
Messages
513
Location
Nottingham
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
My pancreas
Hi,

My hba1c is 93. It was 81 last year. I need to bring it down. I also weigh 181lbs and im 5'5 in height. Today i saw my dietician and dn and they suggest low carb approx max 130g carb a day, increase protein, start exercising and go onto myfitnesspal and tell it what weight i need to lose and go by the calories on there. I'm confused as the last time i looked into low carb it was low carb high fat- she said i didnt have to do this and that she herself did low carb low calorie. Myfitnesspal has given me 1390 daily calories. She also said not to log veggies or salads, or the odd piece of fruit unless its not part of a main meal. They want to refer me for a freestyle libre and a pump (tried dexcom just cant afford it) but i need to do the dafne course as the edward course i did was ten years ago.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice at all?
 
This is just my personal opinion but low carb low cal will just be akin to a near starvation diet. To cut carbohydrate and fats will limit your energy intake which may lead to lethargy, cravings and hunger.
My personal advice would be to lower your carb intake slowly and gently until you reach a comfort zone. You could take note of the calorific value for future reference as it may help you after you reach maintenance level.
It is best to log everything you eat into a diary, some veggies cause a spike in large portions but are acceptable in smaller portions. I avoid fruit these days apart from the occasional bowl of berries with full fat cream.
I hope this helps, ultimately it is up to you and your personal preferences and goals and I wish you all the best.
 
I note that you are T1 so can't offer advice from experience.

However, excess carbs are turned to fat by insulin so low carbohydrate is good, but hopefully that should be enough to control your weight. As @Guzzler says a low calorie diet is very hard to maintain long term. You could be setting yourself up for failure.

I think some T1s go a lot lower carbohydrate than 130 grams per day (hopefully someone will be along shortly) but I assume that you have to have good control to go very low carb.
 
I agree with Guzzler. I'd like to add that there might be a lot of improvement possible as well with a better understanding of how to use your insulin, dafne course sounds sensible
May I ask how you choose your insulin doses and timing? How much do you test, and do you use that information to change doses, food or timing?
Hope things will get better for you soon!
 
Hi, thanks for responding

I take levemier upon waking and upon bedtime.. it was 20 units twice a day but i have reduced it down over a period of a week to 14 twice a day as my bgs were going low without eating as many carbs.

I test alot whilst eating this way- before meals and two hours after..and then before bed and upon waking.

I am not that great at changing things based on my readings, I'm terrible with maths! I have to use a calculator sometimes to work out my doses!!


Generally before trying lowering my carbs I would have 1.5 to 10g in the morning, 1 to 10g at lunch and 1.5 to 10g in the evenings.

Since trying lowering my carbs I have not needed to take insulin until tea time as ive had pretty much coffee, omelette and salads for breakfast and lunch.

I'm wary of going keto as my readings are so high. So as per the diet doctor website i have tried moderate low carb- 50-100g a day. I'm really struggling with the calories though as i try to snack on almonds, coffee and cream, eggs and meat which clearly have calories but if I'm hungry ‍ what to do?!

Thanks so much guys. X
 
This is great advice, thank you. X
 

Eat more of the good stuff until you are full?

This is what Low Carb High Fat is about, as well as other Low Carb eating plans. You replace carbohydrate with protein and fat so you are still full, but usually you end up eating less overall and losing some body fat.

As with all these things, both T1 and T2 sometimes focus on the weight loss thing. In my opinion is is better to be over weight with good BG control that a lower weight with poor BG control.

I would respectfully suggest (as also mentioned up thread by @Antje77 ) that you get your BG management sorted first and then look to reducing what you eat. Sorting your BG management may help with losing a little weight as well.
 
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