I Want to Try it,

[Newdiabetic]

but I am confused.

If you just eat 15 grams of carbs a day....What are you talking about. 15 bad carbs...like a piece of bread or are you just eating vegetables and only 15 grams of carbs worth? How much food can you have in a day, if you only eat 15 grams of carbs or even 30 grams of carbs in a day? Do you double up on protein? Can you live, exercise and still feel good with this diet?

Are you eating protein? I guess I am confused about what is it you eat when you eat a carb? And another question....bread, even whole wheat, sugarless, bread causes a spike. Will I, can I be healthy not eating any bread or whole wheat or grains?

And one other thing. It seems so many posts that I read, people talk about their meds. My Dr hasn't given me any meds...at least not yet. Would my my diet the same as yours?

I have read so many posts and am getting a hang of it really...
but these things I have mentioned have me confused.

Like today, I read that some eat a piece of dark chocolate ever so often...Tonight I ate 1/4th of a serving of dark chocolate, Ghirardelli Intense Dark 72% CACAO. My BG number shot up to 169, after keeping it in the low 120's all day with a rise to 149 after dinner. So, was that a bad number?

I just checked again, here at bedtime about 2 hours later and my bg is back down to is 131.

I hope that you don't get tired of these silly questions....I have found a lot of the comments about carbs, but since all of this carb talk is new to me...Before, I never thought, I just ate what I wanted, but now that I have to think about it, what are ya'll talking about?:o And another question I just thought of...isn't a diet really high in protein bad for the kidneys, already stressed out from the diabetes? I never did Atkins because I heard it wasn't healthy.....but now it's beneficial for diebetes??/

HELP!!!!!!!!!!(and thanks in advance.)
Joyce

[jps]

Youre probably going to get alot of different answers. Under 15 grams per day is extremely hard. Basically, as you stated, one piece of bread. I considered myself as low carb at less than 60 grams and I found that pretty easy after the first couple of weeks. In fact, 60 was the most I allowed but I was usually under 40.

So that meant no bread or grains for me. No pasta. No potatoes. No rice, no corn, no fruits.

It requires you to become extremely well versed in foods. You'll have to read labels. You'll have to become accustomed to what I call "free foods". Steaks, chicken (no breading), any other animal have zero to negligable carb. Then you have to look at your veggies, most of which are low carb (especially when you subtract fiber from carb to give you net carbs, which I did because my meter said that fiber didn't affect me).

The only fruits I could get away with, in the beginning, were berries and avocados.

I went sparingly with nuts because although most are relatively low carb, they still do have carb. I used to eat alot of beef jerky too. Most cheese is a good low carb food too.

After awhile, you get used to it. I'd go to a steakhouse and get a 24 oz porterhouse with mushrooms and broccoli. Absolutely no need for me to count carbs because there aren't very many.

But, and let me make this clear, the reason I did so is because my meter said it was ok. After numerous times of having the same meal and having it not affect me, I'd cut back on testing. You have to become extremely comfortable with foods.

All of this HAS to be dictated by your meter though. It really does. It may allow you to have certain foods that some of us cannot. It may cut out some foods that are ok for some of us. It has to be your compass.

[ShottleBop]

Check out "Low Carb Daily Diet" in the Dieting Forum.

For lunch today: grilled salmon salad. Afternoon snack: macadamia nuts. Dinner: chicken-and-turkey basil pesto sausage over mixed greens, with feta cheese and hard-boiled egg, homemade (low-carb) pumpkin ice cream topped with cinnamon and SF French vanilla syrup, glass of wine.

I do 30-50 grams of carbs a day--primarily greens/veggies and nuts; no grains, spuds, starches. For me, it got easy, once I saw the effect on my numbers.

[dbc]

It can be confusing! The general principle is based on the fact that the human digestive system is very efficient at converting carbohydrate foods in blood glucose - which causes a high/very high spike in your blood glucose reading, which quite often takes a long while to come back down to acceptable levels. This is bad on both counts - the high spike and the length of time before returning to normal.

So we try to avoid this by replacing carbs with other sources of energy in the food we eat - which leaves us with proteins and fat (and that makes us run foul of conventional dietary wisdom that high fat/protein diets are bad, but that's another discussion). Our digestive systems extract energy from these foods much more slowly than with carbs, so the blood glucose spike is much lower & easier to control to within acceptable levels.

The change is a pretty major mindset shift, & I think all of us who've tried it initially found it quite difficult. But after a while it is actually quite easy to eat less than 100 carbs/day and still have a satisfying, varied diet.

[jillybean]

While on 15g carbs per day, for me, there is no room for bread. If you have a single slice of bread, that would likely be IT for the day - no fruits, no veggies, nothin'.

For my 15g carb days, I eat a lot of meat, cheese, and eggs and some non-starchy veggies (like lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, etc.). I also drink low-carb protein shakes simply for convenience.

I have had days with as few as 7g total carbs, and I haven't felt deprived because I can still eat quite a bit of food, and I don't limit my fat intake at all, so I can still feel like I'm indulging with things like a good creamy dressing on a salad, a piece of chicken breast smothered in bacon and melted cheese, egg salad with lots of real mayo, etc.

[Hammer]

No one has answered one of Joyce's questions, and it's a question I wonder about also. Doesn't eating that much protein stress your kidneys?....especially when they are stressed already since we are diabetic?

[ShottleBop]

No one has answered one of Joyce's questions, and it's a question I wonder about also. Doesn't eating that much protein stress your kidneys?....especially when they are stressed already since we are diabetic?

There have been several discussions on that, and it's probably best to use the Search function, rather than to start that discussion again. Opinion is mixed. It is known that two of the most important things you can do to protect your kidneys are to control your blood sugar and control your blood pressure. Some authorities, such as Dr. Bernstein, believe (in his case, based on his own medical history) that correcting bad BGs (he uses a low-carb approach and what he sees in his patients) will correct kidney problems; others are concerned that--especially in people with advanced kidney disease--too much protein can hurt.

[jps]

Not sure about too much protein. I know common belief states that too much can be harmful to the kidneys, but I haven't seen any fluctuation in my kidney function tests at all since going low carb (which means higher protein and fat).

But I don't believe that our kidneys are stressed just because we are T2. I think if you don't control things, then they become stressed. I have no reason to believe that my kidneys are any more or any less stressed than Joe Blow at this point.

My BP is great (108/65), by resting heart rate is great (57) and my glucoses have been great (A1c = 5.1). And my kidney function tests have all been golden.

T2's usually a number of many things mucked up in the metabolic pathways that cause abnormalities all over the body - liver function (high LFT's), kidney function, BP, Lipid profile, inflammation markers, etc, etc, etc. But I believe that getting a firm grasp on glucose control can correct many, if not all, of those things. Especially if control is grabbed early enough in the progression of the disease.

[It Ain't Over]

I eat as low a carb diet as I think is possible.
Here is what that is:
For breakfast 3 oz sausage and 2 oz cheese, coffee with cream.
For lunch 4 sticks of celery and 3 oz lunchmeat and 2 oz cheese. Diet ice tea.
For dinner 4 oz cooked meats- chicken- fish- occasional beef, a bowl of fresh green salad and cooked green vegatables.
No fruits, breads, starchy vegatables, of deserts of any kind- ever.
I use a limited variety of cheeses, they have the most carbs. My intent is not so much to limit the carbs but to limit the rise in my blood sugars after a meal. Green vegatables, meats, fish, and fermented cheese all digest inefficiently and slowly. The idea is to curb that spike after eating.
This is the basics of the infamous Berstein diet, designed to get those treating for both t1 t2 diabetes to normalize their blood sugars.

[Newdiabetic]

For breakfast 3 oz sausage and 2 oz cheese, coffee with cream.
For lunch 4 sticks of celery and 3 oz lunchmeat and 2 oz cheese. Diet ice tea.
For dinner 4 oz cooked meats- chicken- fish- occasional beef, a bowl of fresh green salad and cooked green vegatables.
No fruits, breads, starchy vegatables, of deserts of any kind- ever.

So, you don't eat a lot of fats? Can you tell me how long you have been doing this? And of I do this and stop, will the weight pile back on?

[yannah]

My staple food is veggies. I am not high protein. I am under 50 carbs a day. I eat too much dairy I am sure. oh well. whole fat dairy that is.

I have done this over a year. lost 80 lbs, and going to do it forever.

[jillybean]

So, you don't eat a lot of fats? Can you tell me how long you have been doing this? And of I do this and stop, will the weight pile back on?
I see cheeses, sausage, and some other meats that have fats.

When you ask about stopping eating that way if you will gain weight, it depends on what you switch TO. If you go back toa "normal" American diet of 300+ grams of carbs per day, then my prediction would be that yes, you would regain the weight. But if you only adjust the plan slightly, say, to include some fruit here and there or something, then likely not.

[rededmcm]

Carbs are carbs.Fiber is considered a carb but it does not
give up any glucose so it is harmless.A typical food label
will list total carbs and fiber.Subtract fiber from total carbs to
get "net carbs" which is what will cause glucose in your blood.
Good luck
Eddie

[Newdiabetic]

I appreciate you guys cluing me in on all of this stuff. I saw the fats in the menu listed but it didn't seem like a lot of fat like was mentioned in other threads.

I think what I am doing is right. I am going to continue doing the 30 carbs per meal, or less, continue exercising...NO wheats or grains (simply because they shoot my numbers OUT THE ROOF)

I feel much more comfortable about what I'm doing now and really really appreciate the clarification that you provided. So, tomorrow, I'm back to cooking!:D

[TomT127]

Continue doing what your doing and see how it works. 15 carbs a day seems overkill to me but every person is different. My dietitian told me 75 carbs a meal, which I believe is to much. I try to stay under 50 carbs a meal and my numbers have been okay. We'll see after the next A1C. See what works for you.

[jer.lawrence]

I typically say that I shoot for 60-75g of carbs a day. Over the last week or so, I've been trying the Atkin's "Induction Phase" myself which is supposedly 20g of carbs per day. I find that ridiculously difficult for me, so I went with a "Modified" induction phase.

I stick with the same principals (and yes, veggies count as carbs), and try to eat less than 20g of carbs, but I'm much more lenient on the veggies. If it's over 20g of carbs, and the carbs were veggies, then I'm not going to worry about it. I dont' know if that's really the way to go or not.. I'm just trying to kick-start the weight loss. I have found, however, that my BGs have been fantastic eating like this.

I was still stable and healthy eating 30g per meal (only 15g at breakfast), and I wasn't gaining weight.. I just wasn't really losing it quickly enough for my liking.

This 20g a day is proving VERY difficult to stick to.. I'm still trying though. hehe.

[fgummett]

I know everyone has a different approach and response, but I really found induction -- in many respects -- very easy. Yes I had somewhat of a constant background headache for a few days as my brain got used to fewer carb-buzzes... but in practical terms all I had to do was look at the nutritional label and anything that had more than 1g carbs per serving was out.. simple, straightforward, binary choice -- can I eat this or not? -- no counting, no figuring I:C ratio for the bolus etc...

I guess cold-turkey works best for me... and yes you can include that in your low-carb menu... although be careful, as the deli varieties may have added sugars ;)

[jwags]

I've been T 2 for 3 years and have tried all sorts of carb levels. Little by little I have been lowering my daily allotment and now I tend to do around 15 a meal and 10 for snacks. Depending on the day I usually eat between 40-75 carbs a day. I use my bg meter to tell me what I can eat. 90 minutes to 2 hours after you eat test your bg. You should be between 120-140 or lower. If you are a lot higher, lower your carbs at the next meal. If you are right in the range than you are eating the right amount of carbs. It is impossible to eliminate all carbs because even then your body will make glucose out of protein and fat. I use Dana Carpendar's Low Carb Cookbooks. She has lots of recipes for low carb cookies, brownies, pancakes, etc. As far as meds most doctors will see if you can do it with diet alone for a few months before adding medication. Here is a good webstie to learn more about T 2 Blood Sugar 101
Blood Sugar 101 (http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes)