will you low-carb forever?

I am T2 and not on medication. Low carbing have so far given me nothing but pleasure and good results, so for me the answer would be a YES YES YES!! lol


Alice

Oh yes. This is life-changing. This is a wake-up call to the fact that carbs, and particularly refined ones are damaging everyone in some way or another. This is the realisation that I don't feel deprived any more, I feel liberated. I am no longer controlled by food - I control it.

And why, when all I want is to be able to get off medication, would I want to put myself in a position where I have to take more? Through dumping grains, starches and most sugar and dairy I have been able to dump the blood pressure tablets and cut my diabetic med and insulin to a third of my previous intake. I want to go forwards, not back..........

Absolutely. A low carb diet is one we humans are best adapted to, whether diabetic or not.
It excludes only those foods which disrupt our metabolism sufficiently to damage our health.
Add to that the fact that I can eat all of the natural, delicious and satiating foods I was once told to restrict, then I'd be crazy to go back to my starchy carb ways. No chance!

fergus

I'm T2 and I mean to do so
Hana

Hear hear Fergus. I'm a T2 and a dietitian and in common with many health practitioners who take a more holistic view, it's my belief that everyone, diabetic or not, would greatly benefit from reducing their starchy carb intake. If I was miraculously cured today, I would still restrict my carb intake to about 60 - 80g a day and apart from the odd special occasion, leave the starchy carbs on the shelf.

I think we are back to the contentious issue of defining 'low-carb'.

The GDA for carbs is 250-300g a day, therefore you could say that anyone below this is technically low-carbing. But being realistic, my interpretation of low-carbs would be below 150g a day. I tried to cut back on the carbs to about 50-60g, eating the usual foods high in fat to replace the carbs, but found I had some serious issues with this, and threw caution to the wind and have discontinued eating this way.

To be honest, I am now eating around 80-100g of carbs following a low-gi diet, eating lean meat, low-fat diary products and plenty vegtables with some fruit included. So far, so good, I have had excellent readings both pre/post meals and wake to levels of 5-6. I feel much better for eating this way and have lost weight, which I am pleased about. I intend to include more pulses and lentils in my diet and continue with my low-carb/low-gi diet. I refuse to curse myself should I occasionally let slip and divert away on special occasions such as meals out with family etc. I for one would not revert back to eating carbs how I use to, no matter what science brings.

Therefore, Howie is certainly on the button when he says ''everything in moderation''.

Nigel

Hmmm if l became non diabetic the only carby things l would start eating are starchy veg, sweet potatoes and fruit! Yum!!! But dont really like the other carbs and they made me feel awful even before l was diagnosed. Occasionally l treat myslf to a little low carb fruit and starchy veg... but my addiction at the moment is fried cabbage with lots of olive oil and cinammon!! Pure heaven- could eat platefulls... although that would make my BS go up.. ha at least diabetes is keeping me slim.. too much of anything (even cabbage) wouldnt be good :wink:

I can't see myself going back to a higher carb lifestyle, I feel so much better on this one and can see my numbers improving. I think I now eat between 50-80 carbs per day, although I'm not really counting them properly.

I'm a T2, and the conventional wisdom is that diabetes is progressive, that I will get worse and will eventually end up on insulin - this is hanging over all us T2s. We may not all use insulin, but there is a risk that we may all eventually have to.

I can indulge in the odd slice of toast and Marmite or a packet of crisps, but why would I want to medicate myself to regularly eat the stuff that actually made me feel like **** when I'm feeling better than I have done for years?

There is no shame in using medication, but my view is that all medication carries with it some risk - that is why it is prescribed and dispensed by trained professionals. I prefer to take the minimum medication required.

Well I am a T2 on insulin as my signature shows (does that make me a T1.5??) and as I also said in my earlier post not only have I gone from having 3 metformin per day to just one, but also have cut my insulin over all from 2 x 20 units to 1 x 12 - 14 units per day.

Although I eat low-carb, I don't watch the carbs. Some days I have more than others.

Carbs have always been an issue for me - even long before I ever became Diabetic. Weight was my first problem - being a dumpy teenager, so even back then I couldn't metabolise the carbs properly. A lot went on when I was pregnant with my first child and I never lost it, eventually peaking and staying over the last 20-odd years at 16 stone. Great fun.

In amongst all that I also had Hypo issues, Candida, years of digestive issues, then eventually IBS which finally stopped 18 months ago when I dumped the gluten. Oh yes, and the constant, unrelenting, overwhelming fatigue.

Carbs, particularly refined ones, in some form or another have been behind my health issues all my life.

Do I miss them? Of course. But I now know what damage they are doing to everybody.

Oh yes, and I've lost three stone.

Supposing they find a cure for type1, I still would stay low carb. Great trigs, chol and energy, not to mention weight! No way would I go back to the carb banquet I used to live on.

Caitycakes x

18 months ago I was becoming crippled - my active life was over - so I followed the advice by Fergus & others & reduced my carb intake.

The difference was & is dramatic. I will stay on reduced carb for the rest of my life.

howie said:

yeah shoulda aimed this at T1's and insulin dependent 2's.

would you guys not even go medium carb? not talking bout refined sugar but brown bread and brown pittas and stuff in moderation? or you think their are 'extra health benefits' other than increased BG control to remain 'low carb'? i read bout all this triglyceride production in liver etc. but i'm finding so much conflicting evidence and studies out their so i'm going 'medium carb' myself lol, try and get the best of both. i know a 70 year old T1 who's built like a brick s**t house and he can bench press more than me. he's in great health and never low carb'd, his last hba1c was 5.4.

surely it's just everything in moderation right?

howie

Click to expand...

Ever since the mid 60's when I was diagnosed with T1, I have always had a respect for the amount of carb that I consumed and followed the 'little and often' rule. This has literally saved my bacon over the years and without blowing my own trumpet, can say that my kidneys and liver and HDL levels are all really good.

Because I'm not nearly as active as I once was (although I try to do a 30min walk most days), I eat about 80 - 100g of carb per day of solid food spread out throughout the day and about 30g in carb drinking cups of tea and coffee (all like nats p*ss so my friends tell me :lol: ) By testing 5-6 times a day I can work out whether I need to eat a snack or can leave myself until my next main meal. I try to get my bg levels leveled out staying somewhere between 3-8 for each test, so do have a go at keeping tight control. I'm not at all unhappy doing this so lets hope that I'll get the 50 year medal without too many problems :mrgreen:

Since I'm a T2, there's not really any chance that I'll stop low carbing.

I can go anywhere from 10g-75g on a normal day, but if I decide to eat sushi or stew then this'll go up to 100g+.

I think that if you said right now that you could cure me, then I probably would raise my carb intake a little, and perhaps every so often indulge in a nice tasty pudding (sticky toffee pudding? yum).

Other than that, no I wouldn't drastically raise my carb intake. Although I'm having to at the minute with the increased amount of running I'm doing.

I'll never go back to a high carb diet. I might have the occassional splurge (a pizza, or a bacon roll maybe) - but I'll never go back to eating carbs with every meal.

Qhen you get into lo-carbing, there is a noticable difference in your mood, your attitude towards food, and your general feeling of wellness.

Anyone that has experienced this will want to kep it going...

Even if a cure for diabetes became available, I could never revert to high carbs again.The health benefits that I have gained would ensure that, my acid reflux problem has dissappeared, my migraines are also a thing of the past and my general health is also far better.


Graham

Personally, I think I had a carbohydrate addiction before so if I suddenly became non diabetic I'd be afraid of eating the very junky carbs like chocolate bars and the like for fear of becoming addicted again. But I may eat more of the natural carbs - at the moment I am quite strict and don't have any grains, starchy veg or fruit except berries so I may relax that a little in the future.