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Type 1 Low carb help

It depends how low you want to go, but maybe don't go too low all at once. I reduced carbs gradually over several months so that I could do my research and adjust basal and bolus doses as I went. That also gave time to become keto-adapted (if you want to go that low).
 
Hi @Stonie !

Last June when I came back from holiday I decided to cut out starchy carbs and fruit altogether. At the time I was already having a carbfree breakfast (2 boiled eggs) and a lowish carb evening meal (along the lines of homemade stew/curry/bolognese/chilli/stir fry/sausages with tonnes of veg and either homemade cauliflower rice or cauliflower mash instead of pasta/rice/potatoes), but every lunchtime on this holiday we had pasties (we were in Cornwall!) and I felt so rottenly out of control for several hours every afternoon that that was that!

If I'm eating fewer carbs I need less insulin, and any dosing errors from dodgy carb counting are therefore small. Starchy stuff makes me soar and then crash. I couldn't be bothered any more! For breakfast I have eggs, lunch is soup or salad, supper is starchy-carbfree. The large amount of veg I eat (and protein pushes my sugars up so I do have insulin for protein too, so that's part of this 'carb count'*) means I'm having insulin to deal with 50-80g CHO per day.
*for instance 2 eggs eaten on their own raise my blood sugar by the same amount as if I'd eaten 15g CHO. So that 15g is included in the 'carb count' given above.

Start with some simple substitutions - these days I either have homemade low carb soup for lunch, or a massive salad (I do both of these things in batches, so as to save time). Instead of starchy stuff - like, say, bread with the soup, I bung a load of grated cheese on top so it's more filling. On top of my salad I'll have half an avocado, some pate or ham, or a spoonful of Philly. Snacks for me are Peperami or hardboiled eggs. Or a mini cheese. Or some pate. Quite often I'll just grab some celery sticks or a handful of sprouts or even a bowl of sauerkraut. I love the stuff!

Spag bol? Homemade bol on a pile of green veg with cheese on top.
Cottage pie? Top it with cauliflower mash.
Bangers and mash? Cauli again.
Stir fry? Serve with cauliflower rice, or some of those konjac noodles from the health food shop. Or just bung SO much veg in it that you won't have room for a 'side'.

Eating out? Grab an all-day breakfast or a steak with salad or veg, no chips. Today we cycled to the next village for a pub lunch - ham and eggs, with veg instead of chips. Pudding was a plate of cheese (they don't offer cheese as a pud, but as they have cheddar, Brie or Stilton ploughmans on the menu it wasn't massively difficult for them).

My sugars are the stablest they've ever been, thanks to the holy trinity of low carb, Freestyle Libre and insulin pump. However, if I had to identify just one - the gold medallist - in that list in terms of long term predictable blood glucose control, it would be my low carb eating style. I don't crave carbs. I lunge towards cheese or veg instead!

I eat dairy (homemade kefir cheese, homemade yoghurt) and puddings are either sugar free jelly with yoghurt or cream (or BOTH!) or homemade low carb lemon cheesecake or low carb chocolate cheesecake mousse.

BMI between 20 and 21, keen and strenuous exerciser, sub-40 HbA1c. And happily I'm a full-on foodie who loves to cook and eat and is not shy to ask for the odd menu substitution when eating out! To be honest I think restaurants prefer to not serve food that the customer isn't going to eat, which is why I get them to save their chips, rice, garlic bread and pizza for those who want them, and serve me extra veg alongside my steak or ham and eggs or stir fry instead. And that way I always eat everything they give me!

See how it goes! And do lots of testing!

:)
 
I am type 1 and have been as low carb as I can manage for over two years ( something had to change when I became a celiac)
I don't do dairy but sometimes treat myself to goats cheese.
As Snapsy said take it slow and enjoy the weight loss and amazing blood results that come with a low carb diet, I try also to keep my fats low-medium but each to their own!
I have also gone from 5-6 injections a day to two and am hoping with a chance to tresiba from levemir that it will go down to 1 injection a day.
Good luck, it's not easy but well worth the trouble.
 
I am somewhat similar to snapsy. The only way to keep bs stable for me is vlc. ( less than 20 day, mostly less). Carbs make me hypo and hyper and require more insulin and I never know what I'm going to get. I prefer very small doses of insulin and have no desire for starch or sugar. Bring on the fat. This way I stay stable an errors are minimal. I too bolus for protein and need to keep it moderate or I will spike after my low dose bolus is gone. Or I can choose to split the bolus. I prefer to just stick to .8g per kg lean body mass. My BMI is 19. Add carbs and my BMI soars and my energy drops fast. Brain fog , muscle aches , unstable weight etc.
I eat only above ground veggies, moderate protein and loads of avocado. I also use olive oil and mayo. A few nuts or pumpkin seeds.

Advice? Test often as your insulin needs will decrease. I was taking 5 units for 20 carbs. Now I take 1/2-1 for vlc higher fat meals. Again, keep in mind protein spike insulin ( which we don't have so need to bolus for ) almost as much as carbs. So moderate that as it shows up later. There is no reason what so ever a type 1 can't eat low carb.

We all have to bolus for something but low carb usually requires much less insulin so test test test.
 
@Stonie Low carb is up to 130g carbs a day. If you let us know how many carbs you're eating now and how many carbs you plan to reduce that to that will help get the most relevant advice.

We're all individuals and one size doesn't fit all, so the most sensible thing is to look at what you're eating now and identify areas you want to improve, then gradually reduce your carbs until you find a level you're happy with :)
 
azure said:
@Stonie Low carb is up to 130g carbs a day. If you let us know how many carbs you're eating now and how many carbs you plan to reduce that to that will help get the most relevant advice.

We're all individuals and one size doesn't fit all, so the most sensible thing is to look at what you're eating now and identify areas you want to improve, then gradually reduce your carbs until you find a level you're happy with :)
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Hi thank you for you help, currently I'm eating about 320 to 400 grams of carbs,
2 years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia my mobility isn't very good, due to medication I have put a lot of weight on, I have managed to get hba1 down to 63% the best in 7 years, my liver readings have gone up a bit the diabetic consultant things is due to fat in my liver, he has agreed that a low carb diet would help me all round, I don't have a clue where to start, any advice would be received with gratitude, I'm type 1 using a pump, many thanks
 
Ok, well the good news is you should be able to cut your carbs down and hopefully see some improvements. You're probably eating at the higher end of the carb range amongst Type 1s so you have plenty of room to experiment.

I'm presuming you're confident adjusting your insulin? I'd start very gradually, reducing your carbs slowly over a period of weeks.

Can you give us an idea of a normal day's food for you?
 
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