Re-introducing carb after low carb diet

[tincatinca]

Hello

I'm type 2 and been on a low-carb diet for about 8 weeks which eventually led to going on a LCHF diet for about 1 week (<30g carb/day). This definitely helped my BS going from 10 to 6.9 (last Hba1c). However, I have an active job and whilst on the LCHF have missed things like porridge, odd piece of toast (which i used to be able to tolerate) to get me going in the morning and have since tried to re-introduce such things over the last couple of weeks and its been absolute turmoil to put it mildly . Around 1.5-2 hrs after eating even a piece of toast I feel totally weary and get symptoms including mild sore throat, headaches, feeling detached which in turn makes me really anxious. It feels like a total intolerance and I'm really at my wits end with what to eat and if this period will ever pass. I was wondering if anyone knew how much carb I should be re-introducing and when - I seem to be able to tolerate it better in my evening meal but breakfast and lunch are a nightmare. Any help would be HUGELY appreciated

 

[Brunneria]

Do you find this happens with wheat? Or all grains? Or all carbs?

When i went very low carb i found that it revealed a couple of food intolerances. In my case it was grains and whey. Turns out my body had been 'coping' with them for years, but all that time i had felt 'not right'. Giving them up meant i felt better all the time.

The other option is that the sleepiness is due to high spikes from the carbs. Are you testing to see how high and when you spike?

Have a google on 'Last Meal Effect' to see if that rings any bells.
If it is, you get choose whether to push through or stick with a way of eating that doesn't spike you.

 

[tincatinca]

Hi there, thanks for your reply. I seems to be all carbs but it definitely seems to be feel worse with bread and all bran for example rather than porridge although the testing I have done, porridge seems to spike more (more carb in it prob). With egg and toast it went from 7.5 to 9.5 (although I had been a walk inbetween) and porridge went from 7.9 to 11.8. Ill have a look at the last meal effect, thanks

 

[Amethyst579]

Do you suspect you might have a wheat/gluten intolerance? Wheat Belly by William Davis is a very good read on that subject.

 

[tincatinca]

I guess I could have, I was just relating how I felt to the effect of carb on my system after not eating very much of it for a few weeks (i used to eat lots) and I have also been able to eat bread etc with no probs in the past. I also do not get any stomach pain or similar after eating wheat. However, as Brunneria points out the LC diet could have exposed an intolerance in me? Interestingly, I bought some low-carb 'protein bread' a few days ago from the health food shop in an attempt to find something I could eat when at work (I need sandwich like stuff as hike around a lot in the middle of nowhere) and had one slice and it knocked me sideways! Bed for an hour and then I was ok so theres definitely something there. Maybe that's a heavier version than the usual bread I eat so I'm having a milder effect with normal brown bread. OK, ill start looking into the wheat free way!

 

[Celeriac]

Refeeding carbs can be a problem for people without diabetes. I have seen plenty of posts by people in the Paleo and bodybuilding communities, who have had even worse problems than you and been sick anytime they attempt to refeed with carbs.

I don't know why anyone would make a decision to refeed with carbs, merely because bread is portable. There are plenty of bread-less snack options. There have certainly been many threads on it.

It's not rocket science when feeling that rough, to realise that your body just plain doesn't like carbs.

There are some doctors and life coaches in the USA who say that even before Prediabetes, people can have Carbohydrate Intolerance.
Because we live in a food environment that is heavily biased towards processed carbs, it doesn't mean that they were ever the right food choice for everyone.

Coeliacs are very sensitive to and made ill by, food containing gluten. At one point, years ago, they were probably dismissed as faddy eaters who were imagining it. Coeliacs could be the tip of the iceberg.

Have you got a BG meter ? If so, you really should use it to monitor your BG any time you feel like that. Bottom line, your health, avoiding diabetes complications, is more important than sandwiches.

 

[AndBreathe]

When you say you used to be able to tolerate porridge etc; what did you mean? Do you mean you used to eat them before you were diagnosed diabetic, or was this period of "tolerance" after diagnosis?

The numbers you quote, at 3:10, above, don't show completely horrendous rises after eating. They second example you quote, "..... porridge went from 7.9 to 11.8..... " shows a more marked rise than the egg example, but both are starting from higher points than I would like to be at before eating.

My thoughts are that it would be worthwhile trying to get the numbers down a bit more, in general, then whatever rises you have after eating will take you to a lower number. I hope that made sense.

If you need more energy because you have a very active job, then eating more fat should deliver that - although it could take a few days or a week to get used to the new eating regime. Many, many people on here have commented how much better they feel fuelled by fat - even if the emotionally miss the comfort foods, which almost always contain a fair dollop of carbs.

Good luck with it all.

 

[tincatinca]

Refeeding carbs can be a problem for people without diabetes. I have seen plenty of posts by people in the Paleo and bodybuilding communities, who have had even worse problems than you and been sick anytime they attempt to refeed with carbs.

I don't know why anyone would make a decision to refeed with carbs, merely because bread is portable. There are plenty of bread-less snack options. There have certainly been many threads on it.

It's not rocket science when feeling that rough, to realise that your body just plain doesn't like carbs.

There are some doctors and life coaches in the USA who say that even before Prediabetes, people can have Carbohydrate Intolerance.
Because we live in a food environment that is heavily biased towards processed carbs, it doesn't mean that they were ever the right food choice for everyone.

Coeliacs are very sensitive to and made ill by, food containing gluten. At one point, years ago, they were probably dismissed as faddy eaters who were imagining it. Coeliacs could be the tip of the iceberg.

Have you got a BG meter ? If so, you really should use it to monitor your BG any time you feel like that. Bottom line, your health, avoiding diabetes complications, is more important than sandwiches.

Yes I have a BG monitor, it doesn't spike massively as in the post above but the base levels have gone up since re-introducing a bit of carb as expected. Thing is, I never felt that focused on LCHF diet and latterly pretty weird (ketosis?) so re-introduced a bit of carb and felt better mentally but now roughness! Maybe i didnt give it long enough on LCHF but i didnt feel right. I guess I'm trying to find a middle ground with a low carb diet and those carbs I am having would be easier with my work (sarnies) but maybe that's a no-go....as you say, if I'm feeling that rough then its not rocket science.

 

[tincatinca]

When you say you used to be able to tolerate porridge etc; what did you mean? Do you mean you used to eat them before you were diagnosed diabetic, or was this period of "tolerance" after diagnosis?

The numbers you quote, at 3:10, above, don't show completely horrendous rises after eating. They second example you quote, "..... porridge went from 7.9 to 11.8..... " shows a more marked rise than the egg example, but both are starting from higher points than I would like to be at before eating.

My thoughts are that it would be worthwhile trying to get the numbers down a bit more, in general, then whatever rises you have after eating will take you to a lower number. I hope that made sense.

If you need more energy because you have a very active job, then eating more fat should deliver that - although it could take a few days or a week to get used to the new eating regime. Many, many people on here have commented how much better they feel fuelled by fat - even if the emotionally miss the comfort foods, which almost always contain a fair dollop of carbs.

Good luck with it all.

The period of tolerance of toast etc was after diagnosis yes. Its since the LC diet and then re-introducing such things I appear to be overly sensitive to. You're right about the start points, these have gone up since having a bit more carb. I did feel better when I went from a LC diet to a LCHF diet initially, mentally better but then I think ketosis kicked in and I felt pretty weird, from what ive read that's meant to be the good bit too?! I think I probably didn't give it long enough on LCHF. I also think I could do with sitting down with a dietician who understands all this and could set me on the right path! Do you or anyone on here know of anyone? This would help me greatly, many thanks for your help

 

[4ratbags]

If you find you are really missing bread you could try making your own low carb version. There are a lot of great LC bread recipes, just google it. My father really loves the almond and flax bread but I prefer the almond bread myself. Best of all there is no wheat in them as they all use alternative flours, it may take you a while to find a recipe you like but if you find you really need bread it could be a good alternative.

 

[tincatinca]

If you find you are really missing bread you could try making your own low carb version. There are a lot of great LC bread recipes, just google it. My father really loves the almond and flax bread but I prefer the almond bread myself. Best of all there is no wheat in them as they all use alternative flours, it may take you a while to find a recipe you like but if you find you really need bread it could be a good alternative.

Brill!! Will have a look into, thank you

 

[Chook]

If you have a Lidl near you they sell a high protein roll which is reasonably low carb. Many people havef Lund that it doesn't spiked their bg. The are in the open tubs and are dark brown triangles, heavily seeded.

 

[AndBreathe]

The period of tolerance of toast etc was after diagnosis yes. Its since the LC diet and then re-introducing such things I appear to be overly sensitive to. You're right about the start points, these have gone up since having a bit more carb. I did feel better when I went from a LC diet to a LCHF diet initially, mentally better but then I think ketosis kicked in and I felt pretty weird, from what ive read that's meant to be the good bit too?! I think I probably didn't give it long enough on LCHF. I also think I could do with sitting down with a dietician who understands all this and could set me on the right path! Do you or anyone on here know of anyone? This would help me greatly, many thanks for your help

So, what were the numbers looking like during your period of being able to tolerate the carbs you describe?

Sadly, many NHS dieticians still recommend the "Eat Well Plate". Finding someone enlightened could be trickier.

 

[Celeriac]

A week wasn't long enough to get properly keto-adapted btw. That could have made your body totally confused as to which fuel system it was running on.

 

[tincatinca]

A week wasn't long enough to get properly keto-adapted btw. That could have made your body totally confused as to which fuel system it was running on.

I think you're right as that's how ive been feeling. I'm going to listen to my body and loose the carbs that are making me feeling rough and replace with fat instead and hoping i'll feel better on that.