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week 4 and I am tiring of low carb!!

gbswales

Well-Known Member
Messages
103
At first I thought it was great - and certainly I have had better control over my levels than for a long time. However these last few days I am starting to feel fed up with thinking constantly about what I can and cant eat. Also it really upsets me that the first time in 3 weeks that I have a take away - a nandos chicken breast wrap - my blood sugar shot up. Tonight I made a caserole of lamb marinaded in teryak with 1 large carrot, leeks, and a few sundry non root veg I found in the fridge - Followed that with a small portion of home made ice cream - no sugar just cream,eggs,vanilla and sweetner - 3 hours later blood sugar is at 7.4 and I feel hungry

Another thing I am sick of already is peanuts - been using these in place of biscuits for morning afternoon snacks or whenever I feel the need for something. I gave up smoking over 30 years ago but still miss it most days which accounts my need to snack.

I read all the people here saying how their taste buds change and how they feel great - I feel more tired than ever, I am now getting sick of eating so much meat, I hate exercise, my sex drive has dropped even lower and generally feeling very depressed about it all. I know whats missing from my life - chocolate and bread and no one seems to have come up with something you can wrap around a slice of meat and eat easily.

I know I am difficult in that I have never since childhood particularly liked green vegetables or salad stuff - if it wasnt for the ice cream maker and the discovery of low carb pasta I would have given this up already.

Thing is I dont WANT to give up, because of the better BS control, but I do want eating to be FUN and spontanious again - tonights dinner was OK but the preparation involved spoils it for me - I am driving my partner mad in the supermarked as I peer at all the labels and then try and translate the 100grams or "normal portion" into the amount I would actually eat.

Sorry to go on so but I am at "that stage" right now of needing some comfort food - at 63 such habits are hard to change - my partner is much younger than me so he doesnt really appreciate all the fuss I am making! Actually he is the only motivation really because I want to be healthy longer to enjoy life with him - without him I would happily pig out and die quickly :twisted:
 
Why don't you try upping your fat intake a bit so that you are more satisfied for longer?

Interestingly 'the anticarb' found that going low-carb actually suppressed his appetite. Are you going low enough?

I understand where you are coming from with the veg, as I have never been an avid fan, but then the Inuit etc., don't eat much, if anything in the way of veg and they are all slim, fit and healthy (and not diabetic!). They do eat lots of fish and some meat, but at least half their diet comes from fats, mainly blubber and fish oils.

I know we can't get hold of blubber :lol:, but fats can be increased - coconut oil, my favourite is fantastic stuff - one of the few sources of medium chain triglycerides - it can even help with weight loss (and weight gain where needed). Butter, ghee and olive oil can be used along with coconut oil in cooking, and cold-pressed nut and seed oils can be used as salad dressings (apparently oil on salads helps us to absorb the lipid-based vitamins and minerals in the salad).

Perhaps you could experiment in making your own salad dressings with oil, vinegars and spices, etc., and that might make eating salads more interesting!

I find that if I get enough fats during the day, I no longer have the urge to snack or nibble, or even eat after my dinner so I go to bed with normal sugars, which is great.
 
If you need some guidance on what you can eat, look at an Atkins Induction website. That's extreme low carb, but appropriate.
I've been doing this for a couple of years and I am NEVER hungry and I adapt loads of recipes. Yesterday, at a family occasion, I noticed that my formerly tubby 20 year old nephew( non-diabetic) has trimmed down a LOT. He told me he's been low carb and likes it because he's not hungry.
I agree it's more difficult if you don't eat greens. I could live on salads.Perhaps the secret is to learn to make a salad dressing that you like and to cook veggies to your own taste. Look in the food threads and if you want some recipes,pm me with specific questions.
Hana
 
That could explain things to some extent as I only like the leanest meat and eating any kind of fat directly always makes me feel sick - I carefully cut all the fat off a steak for example. I am ok with some kinds of fat - I love the taste of butter (but what to put it on?) - I like cream (hence my love of ice cream) but drinking milk on its own again makes me feel sick.

I can eat fat if it is disguised as in sausages or hamburgers (but not if I have made them myself and know its there).

As for whether I am going low enough then I dont really know for certain as I have not yet started weighing portions, just looking at labels and guessing - I dont want to become fanatical about diet and I want to be able to eat and cook food that my partner will also enjoy - for me that is part of controlling diabetes to fit my lifestyle and not the other way around. To be honest I am quite happy with the level of control over the last few weeks 90% of my readings are within the 3.5 - 8.0 range (before it was more like 4.0 - 14.0 and sometimes as high as 18-20 - when I was first diagnosed I was apparently over 30 prompting the doctor to call me into the surgery the same day he got the result)

I am also paranoid about having a hypo - I have never experienced a full hypo as I tend to get warning signs about 3.8 - 4.0 and that is the way I like it because I never remember to carry sweets or anything with me - I did try carrying glucose tablets but loved them so much they were just a constant temptation that I didnt resist! (when I say full hypo I mean the kind of symptoms I have seen where people lose control of speech and maybe pass out or fit - I know I can get as low as 2.8 and only feel slightly disortiented but that can happen quite quickly if I dont catch it about 4.0
 
It can take a while to adapt to a low carb diet. In only 4 weeks you have made big changes to the way your body is fuelled and it's not unusual for it to protest at the sudden absence of glucose. Tiredness is a common symptom but in a few weeks, when your body has re-learned to use other fuels for energy, you should feel much more energetic again. It's worth the wait!
It's also easy to miss some of the things we used to take for granted, like bread, chocolate, biscuits etc. The longer those eating patterns had been established, the harder it is to break them.
Me, I had a real struggle giving up chocolate and cheescake. It took me years to finally give them the heave ho but within a couple of weeks I'd stopped missing them. There's a definite addictive quality to sweet and starchy foods, but like other addictions, it can be easier giving up the drug altogether than trying to restrict its use every day.
There are lots of foods compatible with a low carb diet and many are the sorts of guilty pleasures anyone who has ever tried a low fat diet has been conditioned to fear. I'm happier and healthier with macadamias and good stilton cheese as a substitute for Yorkies and cheesecake!
One thing to avoid is feeling hungry though. No dietary changes will be sustainable long term if your body is crying out for more calories. Why not have a go with some good cheeses if you're hungry? It's one of the best things I've found to take the edge off your appetite without screwing up your blood sugars.

All the best,

fergus
 
I think there is sometimes a misconception about low carb also being low fat, and having something with a higher fat content will probably make you feel full for longer.

When I was looking for a diet I could stick to I paid a visit to the bookshop to look at cookery books with pictures in of the diets I was considering - I need to know it looks like something I would like to eat. I have bought several vegetarian low carb cooker books as well as some low GI books too. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick to it. You need to find a diet you can stick to for the rest of your life, which is how long you will be diabetic.

As a vegetarian low carber I have found that I need to be much better planned and that I have needed to plan snacks as well. My snacks include macadamia nuts (the roast salted ones hit most of the same spots as a packet of Walkers ready salted), decent cheese, almonds and hard boiled eggs.

I also have a few very low carb higher protein shakes/smoothies that I make up in advance and can drink and these things also fill me up.

My luxury treats include Green and Black 70% minimum chocolate and some very nice Marks and Spencer Swiss chocolate and various other brands. A single square does not do bad things to my blood sugar. I have carried out extensive tests on high quality chocolate over recent months, using my colleagues at work to use up the excess, so that I'm not tempted to scoff the lot :roll:
 
IF you have issues with the digestion of fatty foods, then that is where coconut oil comes into its own. The structure of it means that although it is a saturated fat, it does not work in the body in the same way and does not need much if anything in the way of bile for digestion - one reason why it is a good way for people who have gall-bladder issues to have fat.

However, if your body has not been used to having much in the way of fats, then introducing them can be a bit daunting to start with, but again, like losing the sugar and the carbs, it is surprising how quickly the body re-adapts to this regime.

I remember a friend of ours going on a low-fat diet for weight loss. Yes he lost some, but what was most significant that this was not good was that his skin became so dry he almost looked white - and he's black! The body uses, and needs fats for virtually every process in some way or another. Without enough it can't function properly - hence the 'Establishment-driven' epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other related health issues.

Just don't be tempted to use the cold-pressed nut, seed and vegetable oils (apart from olive oil) for cooking. Heating them changes the structure. Ever tried to scrape cooking oil off a chip fryer??? Just think what that is doing to your cells! Used cold - yes, hot - no, well, certainly not at high-frying temperatures. That is where saturated fat wins hands down. If the structure of saturated fats changed into a damaging form, then we would be unable to eat meat.

On the dark chocolate I always go for the highest percentage I can find. Aldi does an 85% one which is ok, but I prefer the 83% Barlovento from Lidl when they have it in. Two squares come to about 5g and if I break it up into little pieces I can make it last for ages! :lol:
 
Yes, mine too!

I've lost a lot of the 'old ladies' wrinkles from the back of my hands, and the 'liver' spots have gone too!

Mind you, I have been eating a very 'clean' diet in comparison to my old one and have been following that for the last 18 months or so, so it is not surprising if my liver has been getting a 'spring clean'!
 
I think you have misunderstood what I was saying about fats - it is not they disagree with me but that I dont like the taste or texture of fat - can just about eat bacon fat if fried really crispy but with all other meat I have to remove every trace of fat around the edge to eat it _ meant that it makes me feel sick to taste not that I am sick,

However my body seems to respong strangely
take today
I started my day at noon (well it is Sunday and didnt go to bed until about 3.30am not partying just like to be up late on the computer) anyway - this was the day

12 noon reading 3.8 had two weetabix and low sugar orange juice and 18 units of novarapid (normally take 20-22 but sugar was quite low)

14.30 reading was 6.0 had lunch 2 fried eggs 3 rashers of bacon 1 slice of toast and coffee with 20 units novarapid

16.00 - felt sweaty and found reading was 2.8 - ate a cocolate truffle for quick rush, glass of organge juice and a banana between two slices of toast (should be plenty if not more than I need)

Now of course having eaten something I am ravenously hungry again! where are those peanuts
will check my blood again at 18.00 to see the effect.
 

OMG I dont know how anyone can eat just ONE square of chocolate - I daren't buy chocolate bars becaue they scream "finish me now" :lol: I had to give up drinking because I could not understand how anyone could have just one glass out of a bottle :twisted:

I do envy people with strong will power - I gave up smoking 40 cigs a day over 30 years ago but if someone left a packet of cigarettes in the house I would simply have to smoke one even now :cry:
 
I think it would be far more helpful to test now rather than wait until it may be returning to normal. Your blood glucose peaks usually about an hour after you have eaten.

Looking at the diet you have posted, that is a lot of carbohydrate. Is that a normal day?
 
I started my day at noon (well it is Sunday and didnt go to bed until about 3.30am not partying just like to be up late on the computer) anyway - this was the day
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I'll get shot for answering in this forum, but I really don't think this a low carb issue.
A few observations
its a good idea to compare your carb intake (whatever it is) and amount of insulin. Eventually you be able to work out reasonably accurate carb/insulin ratios and avoid too many mistakes with too much or too little insulin.

breakfast weetabix 27.4g carbs + orange juice , low sugar .. who knows? 8g carb
Total 35.4g for which you took 18u from a low normal blood glucose level

Lunchtime you were at a higher level ( at the other end of a normal pre meal target)
20 units for lets say 15g carbs (1 slice toast)
You took 2 more units of insulin than at breakfast for less than half the carb intake .(though for many of us protein also counts a bit)

An hour and a half later you have a hypo.... too much insulin and your insulin may not have peaked by then.
Novorapid peaks at about 2hrs dropping to nothing at 51/2 to 6 hrs. (thats one of the reasons for checking levels at 2 hours when you take insulin)
see profile novorapid (URL below)

The normal treatment for a hypo is 10-15g very fast carbs dextrose , glucozade, coke(not normally chocolate..too slow) wait 15 min then recheck blood glucose. If it hasn't risen then you need to treat again. If it's a while to your next meal then eat a small low gi snack ie 1/2 a small sandwich or a piece of fruit. (to be honest I very rarely need to but your insulin was still at peak action )
Sorry, if this isn't new and you've been doing this for years (I haven't read your profile)
http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes/hcp/pharmaceuticals/novorapid/actionprofile.asp
 
Oh! dear Phoenix it's the naughty step for you I'm afraid

I'll get shot for answering in this forum.
Click to expand...

You could be right Phoenix I'm just organising the firing squad, to be honest I'm not that bothered that you have posted here, even though I was threatened with a ban by Dan for posting on your Forum, just as long as you don't push your starchy carbs here I don't mind.


I haven't read your profile
Click to expand...
Type 2

Graham xx
 
The whole point of low-carbing is to stabilise blood sugars and lower them.

It looks to me as if you are actually taking too much insulin for what you are eating.

I have gone from taking 3 x 850 Metformin and 2x20 units of insulin to (sometimes) one Meformin in the morning and normally one in the evening with about 12 -14 units of insulin on the low-carbs. Any more than that and I would have a hypo in the night and would have no choice but to have carbs.

You need to be trying to avoid them, not take them because of hypos.

Whilst the 18 units may well have been ok for the weetabix and orange juice, the only real carb in your very late lunch was the toast, yet you had another 20 units on top of the residue of the previous dose. I'm not surprised you had a hypo.

Considering that you had only had the first dose a couple of hours earlier, there may actually still have been enough residue left to cover the lunch. If the 'half-life' of the Novorapid is 5 - 6 hours then maybe you only actually need to take two doses - one with your breakfast and one with your dinner in the evening?

If you had a protein breakfast with one slice of toast, you might even be able to lower your morning dose. This is about understanding how foods affect your sugar levels. The lower you can get your insulin dosage to cover your sugar levels the better. Too much insulin is as bad as too little, and actually encourages weight gain. Try and learn which foods don't affect your sugar levels or only a little and try and stick to those.

By the way - Weetabix would in no way be considered low-carb!
 
I know the thread has moved on from the 'can't eat fat' comment but anyway...

I low carb and also can't stand fat (how I've been conditioned over the years I guess), also cut all fat off meat. I find cheeses make the difference I need! And if I've been extra well behaved on the carbs / exercise I'll have berries and cream or some decent ice-cream.

I don't feel hungry so the fat does seem to help.

Do agree with previous post about insulin:carb ration though too.

Cath
 
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