• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Reduced carb/Paleo/primal/clean eating/your diet

D

Defren

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,106
I suppose this thread, while meaning to be just a bit of fun, maybe a place to ask questions, share experiences etc, is aimed more at T2's. HOWEVER, I would also love to hear how T1, LADA, MODY, other diabetics manage their diabetes in terms of diet.

PLEASE - this is a fun thread, not a row over any methods of control.

My thread, I will go first.

Initially I saw Viv's modified Atkins thread, and I adopted that as my diet of choice. I did my own version of induction, at less than 20g of carbs a day. The Metformin effected my appetite and I really struggled to eat, so my control, was absolutely perfect, but the diet was not remotely sustainable.

I then did the Newcastle diet, again, I adapted it for me. Weeks 1 to four I ate no solid food at all, just three shakes a day. Weeks 5 to 8 I had two shakes a day and a small amount of protein and green leafy veg or salad, around 200 calories worth daily.

When I finished the ND I went onto (again, my own version) of the Paleo diet. I cut out all grains, wheat and milk, but I do eat cream and cheese, which makes my diet primal. It is also a clean eating plan as I eat no processed food at all, just protein, veg, salad, berries, and dairy, and as much as possible of that is organic.

I do bake a lot, making bread, bread rolls, muffins, rhubarb crumble, etc, etc, which the whole family can share with me.

I love this way of eating, and even if I were declared diabetes free tomorrow, the only thing I would change would be the quantity and variety of fruit I eat as I do miss fruit. I am the fittest, healthiest, happiest I have been in years. Diabetes is not my enemy, it is my friend. A friend that needs a firm hand, but a life saver for me.

Would you share your diet/story? How much/little has your life changed, and like me do you see diabetes as a friend, or for you is it a real enemy that you hate? If you were cured of diabetes tomorrow, what would you change - food wise?
 
I am loving clean food. I never thought anything could replace biccies, chocolate and crisps, but now a bowl of fresh veg or salad is my idea of heaven

And everything tastes so sweet too. My tastebuds have blossomed
 
My new friends are..Spicy Stir fries with either King prawns,beef or chicken,rump or Rib-eye steak,marinated chicken breast quarters,salads,hard boiled eggs,salamis,cheeses,mixed olive pots,sun dried tomatos,fry ups,cream,cauliflower cheese,spring greens,roast lamb shoulder,roast silverside of beef,roast gammon joints,Pork scratchings....and did I mention spirits and mixers?
 
paul, what do you have as a substitute for rich or noodles with your stir fries?
 
I came to my current diet through my meter.

I have cut out virtually all grains and root veg. I eat some fruit but only in very small quantities as I find that nearly all of them spike me. Strawberries are about the only ones that I can eat freely.

I try to ensure that all my protein is of the highest quality but admit to not being too fanatical about it, so if I fancy a roast dinner and joints of meat are on offer at my local Co-op I will buy them without beating myself up about it.

I still use milk as I found I couldn't stomach the taste of any of the substitutes I tried but I did, at one point, cut down the amount I used. Now full cream milk, Cream, eggs and cheese are common ingredients in my meals though it took me some time to be brave enough to increase the fat content of my diet and I only really did so when my weight loss stalled due to the too high percentage of protein I was eating.

I don't think I have ever had such a varied, tasty and filling diet ever before....and I have never lost so much weight with so little effort.
 
Hi Lucy!

I just add a pack of Beansprouts to bulk it out as I did try egg noodles and brown rice in reduced quantities but wasn't able to tolerate them sadly,I know there is zero carb noodles on the market but most people say they are pretty tasteless and not pleasant so I don't use them,I find if I add enough spices such as ginger,garlic and some fresh green chilli,fish sauce, fresh lime juice and finely chopped coriander that the Prawns or meat and the Veggys are enough for me.
 
I am low carbing and my diet is better than it has been for years. I don't miss meals anymore.

The cravings for chocolate and bags of jelly babies have gone

I can have cream in coffee and with strawberries, cheese without feeling guilty - and weigh less than I have done for 20 years

We had mashed cauliflower and cream with a cheese omlette the other evening and my husband said 'this is fabulous, really delicious'. Cooking is becoming creative and enjoyable again.

Best of all, I will be able to ride a pony bought as a foal who hasn't turned out to be as weight carrying as her parentage suggested. Just 5 lbs to go - 25 already lost since May
 
Here goes!

I have always loved food including fruit, veg, salads however as a child and young adult I was very underweight and was constantly being asked if i had an eating disorder. The truth being that I could eat allsorts and just didnt gain weight. I used to love winter beacuse it meant I could wear sveral pairs of socks and tights to make my skinny legs look bigger :lol:

I can still hear people saying to me "gosh arnt you thin!!" I used to think you wouldnt say that to someone who was large!!! :shock:

When I was late 20s I still hadnt been over 7stn and was baffled when I lost a stone and was eating like no tommorow ( Overactive thyroid ) I have since gone up to over 10 stone from firstly underactive thyroid ( after RI treatment ) and After T1 diagnosis and feeding my insulin as doses went up and up.

I am now just over 8 stone and am happy with my weight.

So I don't do diets I simply try to follow a healthy diet including all food groups ( VLCarbers would probably disagree with me eating carbs ) I am carb counting and Its is working for me. If I am honest I am wary of Low carbing as yet as am concerned about weight loss and wonder how I would do with so few carbs. ( I dont go mad )

The only time that I have tried to loose weight was about 9 mnths ago and all I did was reduce my portion size and be generally aware of snacking! I lost 1 1/2 stone.( actually just realised more like 2 stone !!) I am not saying that I am perfect and am still working on lowering my A1C. I still enjoy my food just dont eat everything and lots and lots as I did when I was young

Lucy.

 
I just love eating food
 
I bought a meter and diagnosed myself with diabetes, after seeing a BG score of 24.2mmol/l moments before jumping on a plane for a week-long business trip.

I spent that week in a hotel room, trying to work out on the internet how I could get this diabetes thing under control. I didn't even really know what a carbohydrate was and so I starved myself for the rest of the week. I read somewhere, on a forum like this, that 30g a day was a good target, so I just went for it.

I devoured every diabetes book I could get my hands on, Bernstein and Taubes both rocked my world, and in my first 3 months my HbA1c went down from 10.2% to 5.4%. I stuck at <30g for 6 months, and then for the next 3 months (after I got married), I went up to about 80g (managing to reduce my HbA1c to 5.2%).

I carried on reading, and decided that a low-carb ketogenic diet would be the best option to support my endurance running. Never been happier, never been fitter, never felt healthier. Every single complication that I had before diagnosis has gone and I've lost over 60lbs in weight.
 
I have been living low carb for almost 6 years now, the changeover wasnt easy, plenty of tears and resentment there.
But going low carb was the only thing that finally helped me to get good control of my blood sugar levels, reverse complications and enable me to stop all prescribed medication.

I have come a long way since, my attitude to food changed completely, I no longer feel resentful or that I am missing out on anything, how could I possibly want to eat the food that helped to make me ill in first place?? I have learnt to look at what I can eat and not at what I cannot eat.
I went out on a mission to find the best low carb recipes from around the world, my son said 'Mum's an internet addict' , he would be right, not that I neglected the poor soul :lol: but I was determined that my low carb diet would be anything but boring, who wants to live on cold meat and salads day in, day out?? Not me, I want proper home cooked delicious food, I want to know whats in it, I buy organic whenever I can, I insist on good quality ingredients.
I dont take supplements, I do not need them, whats the point in eating organic and then swallowing a whole load of chemicals. I have also learnt to think 'nutrition' instead of just 'filling' on basically empty carbs/calories.

I am lucky in that all my family joined in, so did many of my friends, although if non-diabetic they have extras such as more new potatoes where I might only have a couple of small ones, they eat lots more fruit, I am restricted to berries or occasionally I will have a peach, apple or nectarine with no effect on my blood glucose.
I have a passion for cooking and baking, my children enjoy experimenting and husband is a willing guinea pig sampling all the dishes that we create, its fun, its exciting and never boring. Hell, no, just look through the low carb recipe thread, look through the Chocolate Paradise thread, all those things we can eat, isnt it wonderful?? And even better, they all help to keep us healthy.

My Hb1ac's have been never higher than 5.3 over the last 5 years, I have learnt to listen to my body, I know what is good for me and it gives me confidence.
I dont worry about diabetes, its there, but well in the background, if I suddenly didnt have diabetes any more I would most definitely continue to eat what I am eating now, I wouldnt want to go back to all that starchy food that made me feel lethargic and puts a strain on the pancreas. I truly enjoy my food. Even non-diabetics enjoy low(er)carb eating as they found too many carbs tend to sap their energy.
Would I recommend a low carb diet to everyone?? Hmmm I think the advice to 'eat to your meter' is best, this way everyone can adjust their diet and carb intake to individual needs whilst keeping good control of diabetes.
 
Thank you everyone, for sharing your diet/idea's. Most people happy to share what works for them, and that could be a neat way for newly diagnosed posters to see what we have all done, and that for most of us a lifestyle and way of eating we enjoy.

Shygirl, my PM is open any time if you would like to talk, your post was so sad it touched my heart.

Keep enjoying your diet, keep cooking, baking and experimenting, this way of life no matter which is your way, is obviously working and that's what counts.

I wonder if we could add a favourite meal? Again to showcase our own diets, but also to help newbies get an idea of what delicious foods we eat?

My favourite meal, and I have this every day: Greek yogurt (full fat) berry's usually strawberry's, raspberry's, blueberry's and blackberry's with milled flax seed and chia seeds. A powerhouse of goodness meal, that is so tasty and nutritious and completely wholesome. I love it!! My problem is, eating primal, when the berry's are out of season, I need an alternative.
 
Defren said:
My problem is, eating primal, when the berry's are out of season, I need an alternative.
Click to expand...

Berries are always in season in Tescos, if you don't mind paying through the nose for them, and have no regard for the environment.

Alternatively you could just freeze them. We used to spend our summer holidays filling up big ice-cream tubs of freshly picked blackberries, and the rest of the year eating them.
 

That's the point though Stephen, last year I would have had berry's as and when I wanted them, but the Paleo/primal way says no and I can't see the point of doing this with just the bits I like, it has to be all or nothing for me, even when I wouldn't give up cheese, cream and yogurt :lol: . I do have some berry's frozen now, but even with two freezers, space here really is at a premium. I need an alternative meal for my berry's and yogurt that I love just as much.
 
I do a sort of modified Atkins Induction, modified that is to include booze and coffee.

Breakfast tends to be the Greek yoghurt / blue berry combo favoured by many (but alas I can't really eat more than a couple of strawberries without increasing my normal bolus) or the life saving SC Scandinavian Crispbreads - full of fibre and only 3 grams per slice. I have 2 of those with butter, cream cheese and Marmite. I don't need the butter, but I kind of like it as a two fingered salute to the low fat demons fluttering about the kitchen (is it just me or do other people suffer from that? )

Lunch, low-carbs prized from the jaws of the local super markets where I work having sidestepped the thousands of feet of shelf space given over to carby nonsense, or Pret a Manger salads and 'bread-less sandwiches' which sadly seem to be reducing in number.

Supper/dinner - low carb cooked meals with lots of green vegetables. Kale, which in a previous life I would have feared, is actually really good when chopped and quickly wok cooked in a bit of butter and salt and pepper.

No snacks, no treats, some coffee (with cream if possible otherwise with a little milk) and wine at weekends and evenings as called for (you know - medical reasons).

I also drink lots of water and do as many press ups of a morning as I can before my shower.

I really like the low-carb cheesecake in the recipe here and will make that soon as I haven't done that for ages; a really brilliant thing that!

Best

Dillinger
 

Defren, your only problem with berries is that you keep using a redundant apostrophe when you spell them. :lol: There, I've said it -- please don't hit me. :wink:
 
catherinecherub said:
You could try rhubarb from January onwards.
http://eattheseasons.co.uk/Archive/rhubarb.htm
Click to expand...

I have been getting organic rhubarb from the organic farm I use, and it's delicious. I will look and see what is available when my berries are out of season.

You are the second person to point out my spelling of berries desidiabulum, so no, I won't hit you, but I shall continue to spell berry's as I do as it seems to annoy people. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…