Low carb, where to start?

[Gingerkittykat]

I want to start low carbing in the new year. I'm type 2 diabetic and had my sugars at a normal level till lockdown but my blood test last week had awful results and I will need to go onto insulin if I don't get it under control. I've also put weight on and need to get some of it off and improve my fitness.

I don't have a clue where to start with low carb. There are different diets like Atkins and the dopamine diet and I have no idea which plan to choose. Has anyone got experience of different plans?

Could the diabetic nurse not refer you for dietary advice? I think they are doing it via zoom near use during the pandemic.

Diabetes U.K. has some info. The forums on there will probably have a wealth of advice too.
www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diabetes-diet.html

www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diets-and-nhs-advice.html

Meal plan here
www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/meal-plans/low-carb

I’d suggest reading a book called The Obesity Code by Jason Fung. It was a real eye opener for me and helped me understand why excess carbs are so bad for us. If you are looking for a structured meal plan, check out The Fast Diet by Michael Molsley. Good luck! I started low carbing in June last year and have lost almost 3 stone. I’ve probably put on half a stone over Christmas by being a bit lax, so I’ll be strictly low carbing again in January. It’s actually quite easy, and I manage it by only eating carbs at one meal a day.

I've seen the diabetes dietician before and she was worse than useless, just gave me a copy of the food pyramid and a meal plan that included delights like tinned spaghetti on toast because one carb is not enough per meal! I asked about low carb and was told not to do it.

I read the obesity code a long time ago, thanks for the reminder I'll dig it out again.

I'll go and look on the diabetes UK forums too.

I've heard low carb is hell for the first few days and then gets easier, I hope this is true.

I had gestational diabetes and the NHS dietician's advice was shockingly awful. I did my own research and cut out things like sugar and gluten and I didn't have to go on medication.

You might get a bit of a headache the first couple of days, but if you are just going lower carb and not attempting keto then hopefully it won't be too bad. Have you checked out the low carb bootcamp topic? Lots of good advice there :)

I've seen the bootcamp topic but there were so many posts I didn't want to wade through them.

I've no idea if I want to go lower carb or keto, or even what the difference is at this point!

I'm glad you managed to get your gestational diabetes under control.

I was diagnosed as type 2 last year and I have lost weight and reduced my levels via low carbing. I chose low carb (less than 100g of carbs a day) as I didn’t think I would be able to sustain keto long term initially as I have / had a lot of weight to lose. It might be that 100g of carbs is to many for you as we are all slightly different.
I use my fitness pal, try not to snack between meals and have just swapped veg for carbs (eg cauli rice for Rice, stir fried cabbage for pasta) and I still eat chocolate ( just dark choc and not as much!).
A cheap meter and strips is useful to see if you can tolerate carbs and how much...
I also recommend walking - a brisk walk after eating will help to reduce levels I find.
Also recommend diabetes.co.uk forums (not diabetes U.K.)
Good luck - you can do it!

Oh one other important thing for me is I see this as a lifestyle change not a diet; as a type 2 it needs to be something you can do for life....

@Gingerkittykat

I've seen the bootcamp topic but there were so many posts I didn't want to wade through them.

I've no idea if I want to go lower carb or keto, or even what the difference is at this point!

I'm glad you managed to get your gestational diabetes under control.

Probably be easiest to start with low carb rather than going straight to keto. I use the Carb Manager app which is so useful - as trying to calculate carbs yourself might just make you give up as it’s quite complicated. Or if you want to start slow, just drop carbs from one meal, then a couple of weeks later drop them from another so you are eventually just having one carb meal a day.

In terms of the boot camp topic there are a few pinned posts at the top of the topic page that would be easy to skim through. Good luck with it all :)

Can I join you please? I need a diet buddy, I am pre diabetic and determined to lose weight and lower my blood sugar. I can easily only have carbs one meal a day, just need to cut out the sugary stuff!

TheStirrer, so you calorie count as well as counting carbs? I've already got a meter and strips on the NHS as one of my tablets can cause hypos.

Cheese, feel free to pm me.

What are meters and strips?
Yes I will do, thank you.

Hi Ginger,
Yes I do calorie count as well - currently eat around 1600 cals a day and less than 100g of carbs. If you are on tablets and low carbing you will need to be more careful so you might want to reduce slowly and monitor more regularly and talk to your doctor if you find your blood sugars are going too low.
Feel free to pm me but if it’s useful we could always start a pre diabetes / diabetes thread?

DietDoctor website is a good resource. It is Dr Jason Fung's I believe and has shopping lists and recipes. The readers stories are very motivating too.
I learnt a lot on the Bootcamp threads. I switched 3 years ago and never have hunger pangs now.
I have periods of eating more carbs than I know is good for me, or drinking wine too often, but I thank goodness I discovered it pre menopause.

I would be very keen to be part of a pre diabetes/diabetic thread. Great idea.