I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
Hi - I am a diabetic but also a trainer. Fasting and low carb diets do not use up musle but going low carb will lead to water loss. Unless the doctors measured your fat (this could be done in a low tech way with a tape measure) then I doubt that this is what is happening.I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
Thanks for that, very useful. I have tried to study the Krebs cycle and it isn't easy. My poor old brain can't take it all in.I have studied the Krebs / citric cycle that controls how our basic cells function, and the pathways involved.
Just proves how stress plays a huge part not just diet and exercise!and every one of the group are young and into sport and dieting. Lol. I have reached the age were I can remember how sporty some people used to be. Sadly not all of them are still around. Happily I am not yet of an age were I have to say the same for the people whose main exercise was getting to the pub or restaurant.
I look on Krebs as describing a network of one way solenoid valves switched by hormones such as insulin and adrenaline that decide whether a muscle cell acts as a rechargeable battery or a blowtorch Give a cell insulin, and it opens the flow of glucose to recharge the battery, give it adrenaline and it closes off that path and opens another so that glucose flows from the battery into the muscle to be used as energy. In another configuration glucose can flow from the battery back out into the blood stream. Note that I use the term glucose loosely since it does get converted into different molecular forms but essentially does the main job. (aka distillation products when crude oil becomes petrol or gas).Thanks for that, very useful. I have tried to study the Krebs cycle and it isn't easy. My poor old brain can't take it all in.
give it adrenaline and it closes off that path and opens another so that glucose flows from the battery into the muscle to be used as energy.
My poor old brain can't take it all in.
I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
I like you followed a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) for 6 months lost 42lbs and reduced my BMI by 15% the A1c results fell from 79 to 42 my GP like yours was concerned and wanted my to stop doing whatever it was I was doing and revert to the NHS guidelines of a healthy plate 25% Protein 25% Starch 50% vegetables. I have my A1c results of doing it their way for 6 months - My weight as increased by 20lbs and my A1c is up to 44.I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
Maybe you are lacking those "essential" Carbs
I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
YOUR NEW DR IS RIGHT. The previous one is old news. A stupid dill pickle who hasn't read up on the subject . Check out Prof Roy Taylor reversal of type 2 . He found the answer BACK IN 2008 !!I have been following a low carb diet, lost a lot of weight, cut down on both oral medicines and dosage of insulin. I was quite happy until I went for my dietetic appointment. There I was advised to up my carbs as the loss in weight was due to loss of fat certainly but also muscle.
I've got a balance just now, when I eat more carbs my blood sugars go up a lot and I need far more insulin. I also don't feel as well. Any advice out there? Should I be a rebel and stick to my diet or give in and up my carb intake? I should mention that my present diabetes doctor, a new person, wanted me to lose weight and try to get my insulin down. What should I do?
Check out Prof Roy Taylor reversal of type 2 .
hi again - youtube dr jason fung can explain how low carb and fasting can get your sugars and your insulin needs down, or have a good look at all LCHF videos. Amazing.YOUR NEW DR IS RIGHT. The previous one is old news. A stupid dill pickle who hasn't read up on the subject . Check out Prof Roy Taylor reversal of type 2 . He found the answer BACK IN 2008 !!
HI OLDVATR - I like your summary above. I got confused about FAT and sought expert advice. I understand it like this now : the dangerous fat around the liver and pancreas is what causes type 2 diabetes, and this fat comes from excess intake of carbs, above normal calorific requirements. The FAT we EAT in normal diet does not do this, it is the excess sugars in the Liver which get transformed and lodged in the Liver as fat. I guess we could talk about 2 kinds of fat. I still do not understand what happens to the excess if we eat too much fat over and above our calorific needs apart from the idea that it is '' not a problem ''and anyway we are unlikely to eat too much fat as it ''satiates '' : you mention it is taken care of but give no details. Can you explain that more please ?I am going out on a limb here and postulating my own theory as to why so many nutritionists push the 'Essential Carbs' mantra. I have studied the Krebs / citric cycle that controls how our basic cells function, and the pathways involved. There are two basic pathways, one is for carbs and the other is for fat. Our body has a default mode of operation for each path that it tends to use for everyday activities, but there are crossfeeds that it can use so we can adapt to changing environments and diets,
The carb pathway takes carb and starch and makes glucose. This then gets taken to the muscle tissue where it is either stored for future use, or used as immediate energy. It also feeds the nerves and braincells. This pathway needs insulin to open the gates into the muscle cells, so if insulin is missing or there is IR present then neither storage or energy use can proceed properly. If IR prevents glucose entering the cell, then the body will use any stored glucose instead just like a battery. So losing weight is often a pointer to diagnosis of diabetes. The muscle cells default to glucose as fuel, but they can be forced to use fat as an alternative fuel when glucose levels are low. Nerve cells and braincells cannot use fat, but can use ketones that are a by-product of fat burning as a backup fuel. So when we use low carb diet to drop our bgl to acceptable levels, then we actually force our body into secondary backup mode, which is a protection mechanism normally only triggered by starvation. This is why nutritionists throw up their hands in horror whenever we mention LC diet - We are intentionally starving our bodies by cutting essential carbs, Now said nutritionists struggle with this concept and assume that backup mode is an inferior operating mode, and that we should not be able to fully function without a minimum level of carb intake - the fact that the body successfully adapts to this mode, and is quite happy with low blood sugars is not a concept they can easily take on board - Its dangerous to do that AAAGH.
The fat pathway is equally problematic for them. By default fats get transported around the body in the blood stream - since fat is not blood soluble, it gets packaged into cholesterol packets - more fat in blood the more cholesterol lorries shifting it. But that leads to a high TC value, so that is dangerous !!!!!. Now fat gets transported to the liver and normally misses the muscle cells. In the presence of insulin fat gets stored in the fat cells surrounding the essential organs in the midriff and form a protective layer round these organs. This fat is blubber, and can supply energy for central heating of organs, and as a shock absorber. More fat + insulin creates more fat cells, more blubber. But the body has control mrchanisms in place to dump excess fat without storing it and only increases fat storage when there is extra insulin around with high bgl as well. The other mechanism that comes into play is that these fat stores can be raided when bgl is low to provide fuel for a fat burning session such as will occur when blood glucose drops and exercise depletes the glucose stores. A keto diet mimics this heavy exercise mode, and burns off midriff fat as well, so this is where the 'walkies' part of the Prof comments come into play. However IMO if an HC diet is advocated, then it takes much more exercise to dislodge the stored glucose and thus a strenouous workout is necessary, But keto diet makes the job easier by restricting the glucose pathway in the first place.
Finally we should reach a pont in our keto diet where glucose stores are depleted, the bgl is low, the cholesterol is steady but not necessarily low, and we have reduced the adipose fat stores. This state of equilibrium is the point where the muscle devourering phase is suspected of occurring, Any demands for energy such as sudden exercise will not find any backup stores since these are all depleted, so the body will suffer fuel starvation and start looking for other sources of burnable material. Muscle tissue is one possibility, but not the only one. The body has other crosspathways to use, it can convert dietary protein into glucose, and it can adjust demand by shutting down non essential functions in the same way it can drop body temperature to keep the inner core warm when in a cold environment. It has many such emergency measures it can use before it starts to devour itself, But real starvation could theoretically follow, but is an unlikely scenario. It is not a normal course of action that an LC dieter would use even when intermittent fasting. The simplest way of dealing with this is to increase the fat intake to supply fuel to meet increased demand, (or to increase protein intake but that is not such an efficient process).
I am lucky in that my HCP team are suitably impressed by my med reducing, bgl dropping, weight stabilising LC diet and now fully support my efforts. I was part of the original NHS team that devised DAPHNE and DESMOND as a user representative, but I in my ignorance had to support Eatwell#1 Sorry Guys and Gals, I know better now,
low carb will lead to water loss
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