Anyone follow Dr. Bernstein's diet?

[Abra]

I've been reading the Bernstein books, and am considering trying the 6-12-12 plan, although it sounds really draconian. Is anyone here currently following it? I'd love to hear success (or failure) stories to help me evaluate the idea before I launch into it.

[notme]

There are tons of people who have posted about Bernstein and their success or lack of success. If you use the "search" function above, you will find tons of threads on that subject. Good luck! ;)

[reefedjib]

I've just hit the treatment section of his Solutions book, so I am just now getting into his diet. I'll let you know how it goes.

When you say 6-12-12, I assume those are the carb grams per meal. Is it right? That's really low.

[Abra]

Thanks, notme, but in searching through al the posts from 2009 with Bernstein in the subject title, I only found one person (Handybear) who said that he was currently on the Bernstein diet. I'm wondering if people try it and it doesn't stick because it's so tough, or what.

And yes, reefedjib, those are the carbs per meal. He wants you to eat like 2/3 cup of cooked spinach, which is about a third of what I'd normally eat. I love greens, all vegetables in fact, and it's very hard to imagine limiting them so drastically.

I think I'm going to try it, though, so if you are too, maybe we can start a thread to talk about what it's like to try it out.

[reefedjib]

I think I'm going to try it, though, so if you are too, maybe we can start a thread to talk about what it's like to try it out.

Sure, I'm game. I need to catch up a bit and get through 2 or 3 chapters tonight, but I can do that.

PS. I'll skip the cooked spinach :puke:

[princesslinda]

When I was first diagnosed, I did the Bernstein plan and had very good blood-sugar results. I was just not disciplined to stick with it longterm, so I upped my carbs to a more managable level for me.

I encourage anyone to try whatever way of eating they think will work, go into it with an open mind. If it doesn't work, you've at least tried it. Remember, we're in it for the long-haul.

I now eat around 100 carbs/day, sometimes more, often less, and have the variety that I crave as well as blood sugars I can live with.

There are some here who manage very well on many less carbs...it's an individual thing, find what works for you and stick with it!

[Abra]

That's a hilarious emoticon, I've never seen one spew before! Let's start tomorrow. I hope that others would like to join us too, as I'm sure that it will be more interesting and bearable with company.

Notme - would this be the forum to post a Bernstein Challenge or Bernstein Trial thread, or does it belong in Dieting?

[reefedjib]

Yes, the more the merrier. I don't know what I am going to eat other than spinach salad and steak.

[It Ain't Over]

I read Diabetes Solutions at the end of January this year and started in with his diet Feb 1.
I do not consider it a tough diet to follow, but then I don't care that much for eating. I think that may be the biggest reason I fell into the diet so easily. If you are one to really enjoy food it can be tough to do this one.
After 31 years of treating for type one I was still battling the blood sugars and felt a lot like I was on the diabetic roller coaster. Had reasonable a1c's at 6.4 - 6.6 over the last few years. Pump helped a lot.
Bernstein takes on the advocacy of normalizing bg's. Unheard of in my history. I was told you are a diabetic, live with it.
What I picked up on first was his rule of small numbers. Basically eat less and take less insulin. From there he details the foods we can eat that can be controlled with a bolus and no rise in in bg's. These are foods that digest at about the same rate as regular insulin can reach the bloodstream and be used from a shot.
So I started in. Bad news was my wife and I had just gone to Costco and spent over $500 on the usual starchy foods. She nearly flipped out when I told her his book, which she bought for me, gave instructions not to eat all those nice starches we have just paid for.
We got over that and I began to carefully follow the diet. Found right away I had to lower the basal rate. Never have had to take big doses, but still had to lower the basal and take smaller boluses. Next thing I found was that lowering bg's to normal levels means just that. A normal healthy person had bg of 82. With taking them down that low I felt like I was in a low all day long. Bernstein wrote about that as well and said the low sensation would pass once the body adjusted. Took a month to stop feeling low most of the time , but I persisted and that passed.
Have been using the diet for 6 months now and I don't think I will ever go back to eating starches. Once I learned to eat and test and to watch to keep the bg's as close as possible to 82 I can't think of any reason to go back to bg's rising to 160 and dropping to 60 and then back up. Have had fewer lows and the lows seldom go as deep as before. That comes as a result of the rule of small numbers, I need a lot less insulin now. Eat less and have less glucose to deal with. So don't have the demands of large doses. My TDD now reads between 16 and 18. My last A1c was 5.7. Still learning to maintain the bg's and there is still room for improvement.

[soso]

I did bernstein for 2 yrs, very good results and an OK diet but I also missed fruit, also when I was doing it I did not restrict green veggies at all so not sure if the 6-12 12 was exact for me...totally did not eat starches though and even now I eat very very little starch.

The past week I have been doing very low carb again as I want to drop a few before my holiday.. apart from a meal out which I used 3 u rapid I did not take any rapid all week. My basal was down to 3u per day and this morning I got up to an fbg of 3.7 bf of 2 eggs and a tomato and went up to 4.3.. did not take my Lantus today and will see how it goes....

However, as soon as I start going up to my 20-30 g carb per meal I know I will be back on the insulin...

It is an interesting experiment in light of Shabbie's thread about her drop in insulin requirements due to her new diet and the discussion turning to 1.5's having a small amount of insulin production and the very low carb diet meaning I can just about get by on what I produce.

I don't like this diet forever, but it is my go to position when I want to lose weight or if my blood sugars are being crazy.. it always resets me in short order.

[Abra]

Thanks for that, It Ain't Over and Soso. It's interesting to get the perspective of insulin users, as that's a really direct feedback loop for the diet.

Just to see what it's going to be like I just had a lunch of 12 gms of carbs from salad with bleu cheese and 8 oz of protein. That 8 ounces sounds like a whole lot to me, but when there's not much else on the plate, it looks different. You guys that are doing/have done Bernstein, how much protein did you settle on?

[It Ain't Over]

. You guys that are doing/have done Bernstein, how much protein did you settle on?
I don't eat that much protien. 2 oz for breakfast and 3 for lunch and dinner. Same amount of cheese though.

[soso]

Abra
I ate and eat as much protein as I want.. I did notice at first I was loading up on it, but over time my desire for quantity has waned dramatically...I notice now that my meat or egg or cheese portions are often substantially lower then those around me and that the main difference in our plates is lack of starch on mine and the space filled up with greens...My theory is that we end up taking what we need to satisfy and protein and fat satisfies with less...I can be starving when I go into the meal, think I might have 2nds and then just don't fancy them... I know I eat between 1600 and 2000 cals per day and have 60-90g carb except when LC and now I am probably having about 20-30g per day... Lost about 3-4lbs already

[ShottleBop]

I follow Bernstein, more or less. I very rarely eat fruit or any veggie not on his "good" list, and generally keep my carbs in the 6-12-12 range. I don't measure my protein, however--just eat what I'm hungry for. So far, that's working.

[Abra]

That's interesting, because he makes a big point about eating the same amount of protein at a given meal every single day, as opposed to eating to your hunger. Maybe that's more relevant for insulin users?

[soso]

There are lots of things Dr B says that don't seem applicable to me.. but remember I have some of my own insulin and clearly this helps me have a pretty easy ride of it compared to others.. I just get the info.. try it..test it.. do what works for me.. it's a marathon with this disease so I just roll with it and always do my best ..at that moment.. that way I stay sane and hopefully have some limbs and eyesight in my (very old) age....

Not saying others can't do it without LC.. just that this works for me for now.
Some may have to go as far as Dr B says for good control.. I just go as far as I have to.