Newly (6 months ago) diagnosed - Going keto, Indian heritage, what to eat!

RYV said:

Please could someone kindly point me to resources on how to change my Indian curry diet to a low or zero-carb version? Replacing the rice and chappatis is very difficult.

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I'm not from the UK, and my country doesn't have much Indian food, but a search on 'Indian' on dietdoctor provided some results that may prove useful.

RYV said:

I have committed myself to water fast, very controlled. When I get to a mid-20s BMI, high 20s currently, I'll go keto.

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Nothing wrong with fasting, but you might find that changing to a low carb/keto style of eating makes you drop weight on its own, without the need to deprive yourself of food.

So many things to pick up on.
First, you didn't say whether you had more than one blood test or did your GP go with one reading?
You mentioned going 'keto' when you achieve a mid range BMI. I think that's a bit shortsighted at best. BMI is a very loose and unreliable measure - far too many variables.
As for weight lose, stay sensible and look after yourself and remember two points: research has shown that a 10% body weight reduction can achieve remission and in some cases (like me, I dropped from 13st to 9st) a lost of over 30% can have no effect.
Finally, a keto diet can be very hazardous if you are diabetic -ketones is a constant hazard, and that's a scary pot to open for diabetics.
My advice is not to punish yourself by going OTT in guilt mode - life isn't screwed by a diagnoses but if you set out to change the things you shall undermine your own perscription.

Cauliflower rice as a substitute for traditional rice can make a curry fairly low carb, as long as you don't go for side breads.

RYV said:

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They took one blood test then a urine sample and decided from that. The doctor and diabetes nurse recommended low carb or going keto. They also suggested going on a very low-calorie diet, less than 1,000, to reduce my belly fat. I have a very large pot belly. I don't like low-cal diets, at all. I can't stick to the regiment and measurement of it all. So I'm fasting instead. Going well so far. Reading up on the pitfalls of a long fast and what to eat when deciding to break the fast.
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I suspect the blood test was an Hb1Ac which gives a sort of average blood glucose reading over the life of your red blood cells (about 10-12 weeks) and the urine test was to see how your kidneys were doing. And three cheers for your doctor / DN telling you about low calorie. Unfortunately they are right about your pot belly - it's the most unhealthy place to carry fat.

Do you have the results of either test? Knowledge is power and all that.

I was amazed how good cauliflower rice is, though I make my own now by chopping up 1/4 cauliflower - that's 25p / portion, to buy it's about 60p / portion. You can rice broccoli as well, or a mix of the two. There is also some 'pasta' made from Edamame & mung beans which is truly enjoyable and filling as it's high on protein, and something I have started looking for is konjac noodles - again they are very low calorie compared to real pasta.

However I agree they are not rice, and well-cooked & spiced basmati rice is gorgeous.

And I feel your pain when it comes to rice, chapattis & so on. I got to an Indian restaurant 2-3 times a year so I let myself have a naan, but of course I'm not wanting to cook naan at home, and I've knocked rice on the head.

Also consider the 'low hanging fruit' in your diet. If you take sugar on food or in drinks, try to stop. If you eat sweets (especially Indian deserts!) try to stop. And maybe you need to accustom yourself to simply eating less? (I know I do!)

On the plus yoghurt is good and full fat Greek-style yoghurt is yummy! So salty lassi would be fine as would the versions with spices. But not mango lassi... And I found I quite enjoyed firm tofu after I marinated it with chilli stuff for a day. It was far cheaper from the Chinese supermarket than the normal ones.

You also don't mention if you are a vegetarian or vegan.

My approach originally was to set a carb budget per meal and look for ways to change the meals that I already ate changed to fit into that budget, plus a few new meal or food ideas, rather than changing my diet completely. That way the only thing that I had to drop completely was the takeaway pizzas etc. Keto is probably the better solution if you can make it stick, but for me this lazy approach was more sustainable.

I feel the danger with a fasting approach is that you might find you put weight back on fast when you try to return to more normal eating, which was why I didn't try that or very low calorie diets.

On the topic of mango lassi, I keep meaning to try some sort of lower carb smoothie equivalent using greek yogurt, sweetener, a little bit mango, and some frozen sugar free Rubicon. I'm convinced its possible to make something passable.

On a Keto diet, you can easily lose weight without actually trying. Once you get into it, the hardest part usually is when you want to stop losing, as then you're experimenting with increased amounts of carbs trying to balance it, too much and you gain, not enough and you continue losing.
If you google any dish you like, and put Keto before it, you'll find masses of recipes. they vary in accuracy to the real thing, but by trying them out, you should find some that are acceptable. I'm sure i've seen an Indian bloke making very acceptable, naans, chipatis and parathas.

ajbod said:

On a Keto diet, you can easily lose weight without actually trying. Once you get into it, the hardest part usually is when you want to stop losing, as then you're experimenting with increased amounts of carbs trying to balance it, too much and you gain, not enough and you continue losing.
If you google any dish you like, and put Keto before it, you'll find masses of recipes. they vary in accuracy to the real thing, but by trying them out, you should find some that are acceptable. I'm sure i've seen an Indian bloke making very acceptable, naans, chipatis and parathas.

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that reminded me of a couple of useful recipes I have stored

RYV said:

Hi All,

I went for what I thought was a routine blood test six months ago. To my surprise, I was diagnosed with Type 2, with very high cholesterol. But not shocked. I had a really bad year with my mother passing away and I ate processed junk food to comfort myself. With both my parents being diabetic and me putting on a lot of weight, the high carb intake and possibly Indian genes and family background triggered the insulin resistance.

I am also developing pain in my right side which is diabetic kidney disease. I need to change and I need to do it now. I have committed myself to water fast, very controlled. When I get to a mid-20s BMI, high 20s currently, I'll go keto.

However, I've read a lot and have tried to change my diet but cutting out rice and chapatis (flat unleavened bread) is near impossible with indian food and curries. I have an Indian heritage, background and diet.

Please could someone kindly point me to resources on how to change my Indian curry diet to a low or zero-carb version? Replacing the rice and chappatis is very difficult.

Thanks
RYV.

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A book recommended to me by someone on the low carb programme is the Glucose revolution by Jessie Inchauspe. I have been type 2 for 5 years , no medication and found this book inspiring. Lots of simple tips scientifically backed that work including drinking 1tbs apple cider vinegar before a meal esp one containing carbs to lower spikes, eat something green before a meal ( salad, just small amount) as it lines the stomach, eat food in the right order, veggies first then protein then starches, eat fruit or anything sweet straight after a meal not as a snack or on its own. I eat brown rice when I have a curry or dal but small amount and make sure I have veg side dishes. Look on you tube for Jason Fung short videos. Disbetes.co.uk have recipes and they used to send out literature including recipes for those on an Asian diet

I've just introduced into my weekly curry a keto friendly roti it's 1.4g of carb if you don't want to make your own. Lots of keto products are expensive especially when compared to their high carb versions! But I buy several packs and then freeze making sure I've separated them out by interweaving with greaseproof paper so can remove one at a time from freezer they heat well in a dry frying pan or as I do with a dab of melted butter or ghee.
Be mindful that you really don't need to do a very long fast. During my first month of turning things round I fasted 23 hours and ate a low carb meal once a day. After a month and significant weight loss I moved to 18 hours fast and 6 eating. Six years later and still in remission a common pattern for me is 16 hours fasting but I'm more flexible these days but still manage the number of carbs I eat.
Like @pinkjude I'm trying out some of the Glucose Goddess hacks may also be worth a look to see if any look like they may help.

RYV said:

The doctor and diabetes nurse recommended low carb or going keto.

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Sounds like you're very lucky to have those two supporting you because it's rare to hear about such excellent advice being given out by the NHS.

If you're thinking about getting a blood glucose monitor then you might find it interesting to get one that will also take ketone test strips. Something like the KetoMojo or GlucoRx HCT (which is currently on Amazon for £15). The ketone test strips are very expensive (about £1.50 a pop) but you won't need to use a lot of them and you might well gain some valuable insights into what's happening in your body - both during your fast and when on a keto diet. It'll also set your mind at ease that Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a non issue for a Type 2 diabetic - double figure ketone levels are needed for that and the most you're likely to ever see is about half that.

I can't say whether his recipes are any good or not because I've not got around to trying any yet but you might find something from Headbanger's Kitchen that you can adapt to your liking. Not all of his recipes are Keto mind you but quite a few are. Here's a link to a coconut flatbread he uses in place of other breads.