[Rekarb]

Diabetes is annoying!!!
I'm sitting here writing and I am totally exhausted! The lower carb diet did help to bring down my bg's but I can barely get off the couch right now. My energy comes and goes. One minute I'll feel fine the next I'm like this.

At first, I thought this was just due to my bg's dropping and after a few weeks I would feel fine. This didn't happen.
If I increase my carbs, my energy level goes up but so do my bg spikes. The good thing is that they do come back down. I just saw my endo and all he really had to say was "Don't starve yourself." This is his reaction to the fact that I've lost about 10 lbs over the last 3 months.
I really don't see what I can do about that. I've changed my diet all around in that time but my activity level has actually gone up. My weight was largely held up by starches with those out of my diet I had to expect some losses initially.

So I'm figuring I'm going to be increasing my carb intake to see if I can get my energy levels up.

Mike

PS Thanks to all of you who have helped me with my ADM research. I've still have oodles of info to digest.

[foxl]

Mike are you exercising? That is what gives me more energy ... honest!

[fgummett]

What are you eating..? You don't need to starve yourself to eat low-carb. Low-carb does not need to mean low-calorie.

[Rekarb]

Yep, I exercise. I get around on a bicycle so excercise is just a daily part of my life. That's one of the problems for me. My carbs don't seem to be enough right now to match my energy expenditure. Of course, years of cycling has given me the metabolism of a crazed rat.
I'm eating like crazy now so I have a full stomach, I just don't feel very good without a goodly amount of carbs. The thing is I've so radically changed my diet that when I want to supplement my meals with some carbs, there really isn't too much of that stuff around.

I'm still dithering with this diet thing so I keep making adjustments. I'm thinking that I need to find foods that have enough carbs but hit the body slowly so I can have sustained energy.

My carb counts were beneath 40 but I'm finding that I probably need to double that.

Mike

[dbc]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

I'm still dithering with this diet thing so I keep making adjustments. I'm thinking that I need to find foods that have enough carbs but hit the body slowly so I can have sustained energy.

My carb counts were beneath 40 but I'm finding that I probably need to double that.

I also lo-carbed quite seriously initially, also ended up losing a bit of weight - can't say I noticed much of an energy problem though....

I've now relaxed the lo carb thing somewhat, probably average around 80g carb/day of low-GI carbs these days (but have just had a slice of milktart with morning coffee, which was seriously good!!)

It's interesting how differently we experience the lo-carb thing. I've had many people comment on my diet along the lines of "where do you get your energy from?", but I have never discerned it to be a problem. I guess you should experiment with increasing your carb intake to try find an acceptable balance between energy levels BG spikes. After all, it's got to be what works for you. . .

Dave

[NoraWI]

My suggestion would be to increase your *good* fat intake and not the carbs. Fat slows down the digestion and has double the calories of carbs. My suggestion would be to include avocados in your salads, cheese, and nuts for starters.

[dbc]

...... I meant to add - I also do a fair amount of exercise, jogging and cycling. . . .

[ant hill]

Hello Mike, Yes Diabetes is very annoying and you must feel defeated as you waste your body to the couch. You are in need of energy and to get that is insulin and slow releasing carbs that will last the day. You need more insulin as that will have the BG's to a better level and keep the exercise too Mike. Strike a better balance with Food & Insulin as that will give you Energy!!!

Look at the Basel (Your long acting Insulin) as that will gain better control and smooth the spikes. You will get some spikes but not that much.

[Rekarb]

Well, I don't take insulin so that's out but I'm better today because I've upped my carbs. Right now I'm not worried about healthy. I just need to find something that works consistently. Today, its been eating headcheese sandwiches. I figure the fat will slow down the carb uptake so I shouldn't spike but I should have some energy. So far, so good.

I think part of my problem is how I lived. For 20 years, I use to commute close to 18 miles a day by bike through city traffic and then work a full day. This took a lot of food and a good deal of that was carbs. The joke at work was that I had to eat my body weight everyday. I was a legend for the amount of food I consumed. Maybe I'm adapted to a certain amount of carbs. Whether this is the case or not, it does seem that I need more carbs than I've been taking in.

[princesslinda]

Mike, just a thought (from somebody who types urology office visits 8 hrs a day)...have you had your testosterone level checked lately? Insulin resistance can have an effect on this.

Anytime I hear a diabetic male complain of "low energy," that's one of the first things that comes to mind.

[tealas]

Mike,

I had very similar reactions when I shifted my diet to be 75% raw and lower carb. The first 2-3 months I was very spacey, and I noticed that when my blood sugar would go back up above 130-140mg/dl, I would feel more "normal".

About two months into it, I found out about green smoothies and found I could eat more fruit blended with a bunch of greens (spinch, kale, chard, dandelion greens - it is important to keep a variety). So I started getting more carbs, but when blended with the fiber, cholorphyll, vitamins and minerals of the greens, it really keeps my blood sugars balanced. My blood sugars sometimes go down alittle after I drink them, and I have never seen them over 120mg/dl afterwards even though they have 1-2 fruit exchanges. I also make my own treats (ground nuts "truffle" balls) that have agave syrup for afternoon snacks, and eat some starchy vegetables (cooked or raw) at lunch or dinner.

My energy is slowly getting more even as my body adapts to primarily getting carbs from better sources for me (i.e. better sources than the "Neolithic foods" - grains, potoatos & legumes). But I think this process may require a long adjustment time - months or even up to a few years.

Good luck, I know that feeling when your body isn't quite getting what it needs and you're trying to figure it out, but keep your blood sugars in range too!

-Teala

[Rekarb]

Thanks Teala

You know exactly what I'm talking about but do I have to feel like this for months? And why should that be the case for sooo long?

I've been feeling better now that I'm boosting my carbs and I read what you've been writing about the green smoothies but frankly it sounds really terrible. I've changed my diet considerably over the last few months and my taste buds and stomach are in slight rebellion. Where's the Udon noodles, pasta and that delicious syrup they lavish on pancakes up the street? They are not happy campers and a green smoothie might make them storm castle.

Uneasily wearing the crown
Mike

[lorilei]

Mike..sounds like you have your answer..maybe you respond best to weaning your self off of the high carb intake..even non-d's can get really out there mentally doing an atkins thing..for many of us, carbs aren't much use re: energy unless we can access them with insulin..so maybe you need to rethink your plan...just not sure..your experience is kind of the opposite of mine regarding carb reduction...good luck..maybe nancy has a point there with resistance..

[cyberus]

Umm ... I missed this thread before but ...

... there is a thing amongst low carbers called "induction flu" that happens to some people when they shift from normal/high carb diet to a very low carb diet. Low energy and flu-like symptoms are part of it and are reported to taper off and go away as you adapt. Some people can't stay on very low carb however because they just can't seem to shake the effect.

[Chef Barrae]

Originally Posted by Rekarb

Diabetes is annoying!!!
I'm sitting here writing and I am totally exhausted! The lower carb diet did help to bring down my bg's but I can barely get off the couch right now. My energy comes and goes. One minute I'll feel fine the next I'm like this.

At first, I thought this was just due to my bg's dropping and after a few weeks I would feel fine. This didn't happen.
If I increase my carbs, my energy level goes up but so do my bg spikes. The good thing is that they do come back down. I just saw my endo and all he really had to say was "Don't starve yourself." This is his reaction to the fact that I've lost about 10 lbs over the last 3 months.
I really don't see what I can do about that. I've changed my diet all around in that time but my activity level has actually gone up. My weight was largely held up by starches with those out of my diet I had to expect some losses initially.

So I'm figuring I'm going to be increasing my carb intake to see if I can get my energy levels up.

Mike

PS Thanks to all of you who have helped me with my ADM research. I've still have oodles of info to digest.

Mike, how low is low-carb for you? Maybe if you have something like whole-wheat pasta or any of the other nutritionally enriched pasta it might help. You'll eat a little more carbs but the fiber in it helps slow digestion. You'll still be eating the calories for energy as well. Take a look at the glycemis index and pick some foods that are low on the scale with carbs. Test, test, test to make sure that each new food doesn't spike you. This way, you can find more foods to eat with better or good carbs. Don't forget about the fiber. Eat lots with your carbs to slow digestion.