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Still Struggling With Lchf

srobertson06

srobertson06

Well-Known Member
Messages
321
Location
Lincolnshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cycling, Exercise Classes
I do not know if I do not understand what I need to do or if I am not taking the low carb element low enough.
My weight is still dropping slowly - which I am happy with as all I wanted was for it to keep going down and slowly so I could adjust to the way and amount I needed to eat, without the feeling deprived.
Secondly I have managed to get my Blood Glucose levels down into the 5-8 region but just do not seem able to keep it stable.
Yes it is within the limits of 5.5 to 8.0 that I set myself for a target but I still seem to go from 5.5 to 7.9 in a day - not every day and when I give into the temptation of carbs I then really struggle to avoid eating more of them - so a vicious circle I realise but still find it so hard to avoid.
I felt so good getting the numbers down to where they needed to be but feel I have yet to learn how to keep them there...........

I suspect because I have never been a big protein eater that this could be part of the problem, but a plate of say chicken and lots of veg just leaves me feeling a little sick at the end of it.......... I love cabbage, runner beans, cauliflower and many other veg but a plate full just does not work for me - then I end up wanting to eat something else.

If any of you have any ideas that might help I would appreciate it. :happy:
 
I would suggest you eat less and eat less often? Try half a plate rather than a full one. Cut out as many carbs as you can so you don't get carby urges.. It's worked for me. Weight loss has slowed but still get 5's and some 4's. Sounds to me like you might still be having too many carbs hence the urges. What veg are you eating?
 
Slap some butter on fewer veggies.
 
I tried the Lchf but it wasn,t for me.
I bought a plate that's in between a dinner plate and side plate. I found using that, I was eating alot less. Before I bought that plate, I had half filled the dinner plate, but I found at time wore on, I star filling the plate up and ended up eating more.
 
Do you have a rough idea of your carbohydrate intake (in grams) per day?

Do you take medication, and if so what?

Are your meals spaced at least 4 hours apart?

What is your activity level like?

When are you testing your BG?

Grant
 
Thank you for your suggestions I will try out the smaller meals/smaller plate.

Grant this is what I would normally eat, evening meal meat wise will change both otherwise not much else.
In general I would normally have natural greek yogurt - full fat version for breakfast around 8am
I would then have a salad around 12 O'Clock - a tomato, some cucumber, 2 slices of beetroot, about 2oz cheddar cheese and some mayo. Evening meal a chicken breast with cabbage, cauliflower, runner beans, small amount of gravy (granules), 2 small new potatoes around 6pm - snack mid afternoon or a few unsalted nuts - brazil, peanut, cashew, no more than a small handful.

I am not that good at working out the carbs value, but felt it should be low enough.

Any other suggestions I am more than happy to give a try to.
 
GrantGam1337 said:
Do you have a rough idea of your carbohydrate intake (in grams) per day?

Do you take medication, and if so what?

Are your meals spaced at least 4 hours apart?

What is your activity level like?

When are you testing your BG?

Grant
Click to expand...

Meds - Metformin - 4 tablets, 2 morning 2 evening - Sitagliptin, 1 tablet taken in the morning

Evening meal is usually more than 4 hours apart.

Walk to and from work, use the stairs at work, go dancing 2 evenings a week, some weekends I go dancing as well.

Test upon waking, test prior to lunch, test prior to evening meal and test before bed. I do add more testing times when trying new foods.

I have replied to all messages where I have listed what I generally eat in a typical day but sorry not actually worked out the carbs.
 
srobertson06 said:
Meds - Metformin - 4 tablets, 2 morning 2 evening - Sitagliptin, 1 tablet taken in the morning

Evening meal is usually more than 4 hours apart.

Walk to and from work, use the stairs at work, go dancing 2 evenings a week, some weekends I go dancing as well.

Test upon waking, test prior to lunch, test prior to evening meal and test before bed. I do add more testing times when trying new foods.

I have replied to all messages where I have listed what I generally eat in a typical day but sorry not actually worked out the carbs.
Click to expand...
Myfitnesspal is a good website for logging food if you can be bothered.
 
srobertson06 said:
Meds - Metformin - 4 tablets, 2 morning 2 evening - Sitagliptin, 1 tablet taken in the morning

Evening meal is usually more than 4 hours apart.

Walk to and from work, use the stairs at work, go dancing 2 evenings a week, some weekends I go dancing as well.

Test upon waking, test prior to lunch, test prior to evening meal and test before bed. I do add more testing times when trying new foods.

I have replied to all messages where I have listed what I generally eat in a typical day but sorry not actually worked out the carbs.
Click to expand...
You're certainly active enough by the sounds of things.

I'm not sure about Metformin use or dosage so I'm unable to help, sorry.

If you were to work out your carb intake then that would be really helpful for others to advise. Do you eat lower GI variety carbohydrates? This may help slightly also.

Good luck, you'll get more feedback from more knowledgeable people soon:)

Grant
 
You can make you low carb dinners a bit more interesting.
Last night I had roasted veg, with lots of courgettes and peppers and smaller amount of carrot, onions and garlic, topped with lots of olive oil. This with a piece of fried salmon.
Tonight I am having Moroccan chicken, it is basically chicken with onions, garlics and peppers, and lots of morrocany spices, then at the end you stir in chopped fresh mint and toasted pine nuts. I serve this with green veg.
I don't ever have potatoes with my dinner as I would rather have a small portion of higher carb vegetables.
Another night I might have curry with veg instead of rice. Very occasionally I'll have meat and just veg, but I'll make it a bit more interesting by frying some mushrooms.
I do like a nice big salad with a dressing and avocados, especially in this hot weather.
 
Just to clarify - it is perfectly normal for blood glucose levels to fluctuate somewhat during the day.

In your situation, I would be perfectly happy with numbers in the 5s, 6s and even the 7s after food.

This is NORMAL. Even non diabetics have occasional blood glucose peaks in the 8s and 9s, sometimes even the 10s.
Of course, the general idea is the lower the better

No one's blood glucose stays rock steady all day with no variation at all.

What you could start doing is watching what particular foods are sending your bg higher (say up to 8), and considering how you could reduce portion sizes or ingredients to moderate that. But don't go overboard and make yourself miserable.

Please don't compare yourself to anyone else. Some people live in the 4s and 5s. Most of us don't. It isn't a crime, or a failure, or even an error. It all depends on your body, and your insulin resistance. And trying to compare your body, in your situation with someone who is lucky enough to live in the 4s and 5s is a hiding to nothing.

I have an HbA1c that is considered lower than pre-diabetic, and I can peak up to 14 if I eat a few too many carbs. But I get that HbA1c because I spend most of my time in the 6s, with dips into the 5s, blips into the 7s, and I see 4s VERY rarely. Rather like you, eh?

If you look at Jenny Ruhl's website, www.bloodsugar101.com you will find lots of info about non-harmful blood glucose which should set your mind at ease.

I think you are doing very well, and should be congratulating yourself, not beating yourself up because you see the odd 8mmol/l after food.
 
You are coming at this from the wrong angle @srobertson06.
The management of diabetes is not a competitive sport and whilst your numbers are not as low as some others on the forum, you are doing very well. There are other members who are trying equally as hard and they can only dream of your numbers.
 
I always use a small plate now. As Ally said I kept filling the regular plate with more food. I do better with small meals and a few nuts in between. Too many veggies make me hungry especially if there isn't enough fat. The miracle food to satisfy me is avocado. Has very little effect on bs. I eat 1/2 for BF with celery at around 8 am and that holds me until 3 or even longer with a couple nuts or pumpkin seeds in between. Lunch and dinner are 2 oz protein usually on a lettuce wrap with the other 1/2 avocado divided between them. Really keeps bs steady. I really love my veggies but they are not satisfying. They make me hungrier. Too large of a meal of anything makes me hungry.

I would try the small meal, small plate, less veggies, more fat and avocado/ guacamole. I lived my life hungry and never satisfied until my beloved avocado.
 
Thank you all - I really appreciate the time you all take to respond - I will try and remember we are all individual, I was under the impression that I needed to keep my levels much tighter and not allow them to go from 5's to 8's and even 9's recently. I will again try Avocado and see if it helps - I did not like them much when I tried them..... but I have noticed that my taste buds have changed over the last few months.
Smaller plate starts this evening when I get home. I will certainly try the roasted veg and give the potatoes a miss for the time being.
Thank you all again for helping to lift me out of my feelings of failure and reminding me not to be so competitive.
 
How did you try the avocado? There are so many ways to use it.
A little sea salt and garlic powder, blended into a smoothie with some Mexican spices. Made into guacamole with onion tomato cilantro and sea salt. Chunked on a salad.

Personally I like a little tighter control and less fluctuations as I can FEEL the fluctuations. Skipping the potato is good. Have you tried the cauliflower substitute recipes for potato?
 
I suggest to eat just enough protein to maintain your muscle mass. Low carb diet isn't about eating more protein, it's about eating large amounts of satiating healthy fats (such as butter, animal fat, olive oil, etc..) [Excess protein gets converted to glucose, via the liver (gluconeogenesis)]

i.e. Low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet.

I highly recommend a book titled "Keto Clarity" (by Moore & Dr. Westman).

It will answer all the questions you might have. Really love this book. Other good ones:

Why We Get Fat (Taubes)
The New Atkins for a New You (Westman, Phinney, Volek)
The Obesity Code (Fung)
The Art & Science of Low Carb Living (Phinney, Volek)
 
All great books but haven't seen keto clarity. I'll look for it.

A few others to add are the Bernstein solution and the Rosedale diet. Between those two I had all my answers. Primal body, primal mind is great too.

As Jennifer said, JUST enough protein, not excess

I too follow the VLC, MODERATE protein and just enough fat to satisfy.

For protein you can take your LEAN body mass ( what you would weight without fat ) in kg and eat 1 G pure protein per kg of lean body mass. ( you can use 7 g per ounce as an average, some is more and some is less but not by much) MOST people only need 4-6 oz a DAY according to new research. Plenty of people chose to eat more however in some of us it can raise bs. It is also said we cannot utilize more than 3 oz at a time and should be spaced 4 hours apart. This I got from the Rosedale diet and brought my numbers right down to where I wanted them.
 
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