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Starting a low carb diet

K

Kateyo

Well-Known Member
Messages
118
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi, I was hoping that I could get some tips on where to start with low carbing? I would say I'm moderate carb at the minute, up to 120g a day. I did try low carb before but found it quite difficult as it seemed that gluconeogenesis was pretty instant for me and then spiked me again hours later as expected. My a1c is 5.5% at the minute but I'm aiming for 5% through low carb. I've found recipes for low carb and get the general idea that Dr.B recommends but I'm just a bit lost where to start so if anyone had any tips I'd appreciate it :)
 
If I were starting low carb again I think I'd go first of all to www.dietdoctor.com as they've got some great recipes and general low carb / keto information.

Good luck!! :)
 
Wow, a type one with an HbA1c of 5.5%..........thats tremendous......well done........I wouldn't say you need to make any extra effort.....:)
 
Kateyo said:
Hi, I was hoping that I could get some tips on where to start with low carbing? I would say I'm moderate carb at the minute, up to 120g a day. I did try low carb before but found it quite difficult as it seemed that gluconeogenesis was pretty instant for me and then spiked me again hours later as expected. My a1c is 5.5% at the minute but I'm aiming for 5% through low carb. I've found recipes for low carb and get the general idea that Dr.B recommends but I'm just a bit lost where to start so if anyone had any tips I'd appreciate it :)
Click to expand...
I am vlc (20 per day) and I too gluconeogenisis like a rockstar. I found that timing my bolus 20 min before I eat would catch the spike.
With low carb you will have to be very careful with your insulin doses as they will most likely decrease a great deal.
My meals look pretty much the same everyday so I found my doses for every meal. I eat small meals ( due to nasty digestion) so I eat a small snack sized meal every 2.5-3 hours. I often wonder if that’s when my insulin runs out or the tail end of protein. But I don’t eat big meals and take very small doses 1/2-1) units when I eat. I’m pretty sure it’s insulin running out as I only take 2 units lantus. So I use humalog to get me through the day
By the end of the day I eat about 5-6 oz animal/ Fish protein, an entire avocado, the bigger the better, a salad, 4-5 spears asparagus, 1/2 soft boiled egg ( split with hubby) with bacon, green onion and butter, some chopped celery and radish. And an ounce of Mac/pecans.
All this divided through the day. 75-80% fat. Avocado, nuts, mayo, olive oil.

This keeps me very steady all day. A1C 5.1 everytime for 3 years. I do find that odd though.

I LOVE Bernsteins Laws Of Small Numbers. When I ate carbs I was all over the place. Lc allows me to take small insulin doses and I rarely hypo and when I do it’s not serious.
 
Last edited:
Chook said:
If I were starting low carb again I think I'd go first of all to www.dietdoctor.com as they've got some great recipes and general low carb / keto information.

Good luck!! :)
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'll have a read of diet doctor. I think once I get some recipe ideas it'll seem easier, hope so anyway!
 
novorapidboi26 said:
Wow, a type one with an HbA1c of 5.5%..........thats tremendous......well done........I wouldn't say you need to make any extra effort.....:)
Click to expand...
Thanks, dexcom has made it a lot easier! I prefer SD and I'd like to get that down too. I'm looking to just get things sitting smoother. My problem is I'm a real grazer, I could easily skip meals and just snack my way through the day but I want to try and change that. I try and keep BS below 7.8 but doesn't always happen and low carb seems more predictable if I can work it out :arghh:
 
Kristin251 said:
I am vlc (20 per day) and I too gluconeogenisis like a rockstar. I found that timing my bolus 20 min before I eat would catch the spike.
With low carb you will have to be very careful with your insulin doses as they will most likely decrease a great deal.
My meals look pretty much the same everyday so I found my doses for every meal. I eat small meals ( due to nasty digestion) so I eat a small snack sized meal every 2.5-3 hours. I often wonder if that’s when my insulin runs out or the tail end of protein. But I don’t eat big meals and take very small doses 1/2-1) units when I eat. I’m pretty sure it’s insulin running out as I only take 2 units lantus. So I use humalog to get me through the day
By the end of the day I eat about 5-6 oz animal/ Fish protein, an entire avocado, the bigger the better, a salad, 4-5 spears asparagus, 1/2 soft boiled egg ( split with hubby) with bacon, green onion and butter, some chopped celery and radish. And an ounce of Mac/pecans.
All this divided through the day. 75-80% fat. Avocado, nuts, mayo, olive oil.

This keeps me very steady all day. A1C 5.1 everytime for 3 years. I do find that odd though.

I LOVE Bernsteins Laws Of Small Numbers. When I ate carbs I was all over the place. Lc allows me to take small insulin doses and I rarely hypo and when I do it’s not serious.
Click to expand...
5.1 for 3 years is amazing, well done! It's that consistency that the body craves rather than the ups and downs. I love the idea of the Bernstein approach but once I start seeing those spikes from protein I just rage bolus and go back to the old diet because I know what I'm doing there (most of the time!) A lot of the recipes I've been looking at involve egg - things like LC pancake, muffins etc for breakfast and I know Dr B method is more LCHP rather than LCHF so is it better to avoid these kinds of meals? I know the good fats are the ones to aim for and I love avocado so I'm lucky with that but it's going to be trial and error with everything else. Did it take you long to work out how lc diet affected your Bs?
 
So I'm off work today and decided to try keto pancakes. They weren't bad, a little dry but I think I'll reduce the almond flour next time to see if that helps. I was 4.3 before the pancakes and 5.5 1 hour later so I'm pretty pleased. I did have to take some lucozade to prevent a low so I see what you mean about insulin need dropping although I need to work on timing of my injection as I took it after eating so I'll pre-bolus (even though I'm on fiasp I've started to need to pre bolus again anyway!) at a lesser ratio dose next time. All in all I'm happy with how it went although it's not something I'd have time to make in the mornings so I'll need ideas that I can either make the night before or just lift and bring to work with me. I'm watching now for any protein/fat spikes from the pancakes, hoping I won't see any!
 
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