Trying out lower carb living

At the recent diabetes care summit, I was fortunate to share a ride from the airport with a great diabetes blogger, David Mendosa.

David has type 2 diabetes. and one of the things we talked about was low carb diets and the benefits of using them. I know I'm not alone in this, but I have a terrible time controlling my cravings for carbohydrates. David told me that it had taken him about 2 weeks to get over the desire for carbs. And he can talk about the benefits, including better blood sugar control and weight loss.

Despite my Dexcom and insulin pump, I still have too many days where the curves look like the ocean on a stormy day. This week I decided to experiment a little with changing what and how I eat. For the last 3 days I've been avoiding excess carbs and eating more vegetables, protein and fiber.

And the results? See for yourself.
The green area represents readings between 80 mg/dL and 140 mg/dL. And I'm spending a lot of time in that range.

What have I learned so far?

First of all I can live with fewer carbs and it makes a huge difference to my blood glucose control. And with some thinking I can still exercise and maintain a semblance of control. Part of those 2 days included two 14-mile bike rides and my levels were reasonable for most of those.

I also know that 3 days does not make for a really changed relationship with food. Tomorrow I'm going to borrow Dr. Bernstein's book Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. And I'm going to checkout whether I can take some of his approach and use it for my life with type 1.

Have you tried a lower-carb diet? What challenges did you have and did you figure out a way to deal with them? I'd love any help you can offer.

Update 10/26: I just got my A1C and the number was (drum roll) 6.8%. This is a great number, but not really as good as I was hoping and expecting. Mostly I've managed to stay away from snacking and over doing the carbs. Some days are better than others. The biggest problem I've found? Getting a good set of low carb recipes to replace all the old recipes I already have.

Labels: bernstein, blood sugar, carbs, control, lowcarb

posted by Bernard @ 10:29 PM 15 Comments Links to this post  

Diabetes365 day 7 Oct. 14th 2007 - Low carb breakfast

One of the problems with having diabetes is that carbohydrates taste way too good.

But there are great-tasting low carb alternatives to a breakfast of bagels, or fruit, or name your carb challenge.



We have chickens in our backyard and they give us wonderful eggs. The egg on the top is from one of our chickens, the other is store bought. Look at the difference in color and the height of the yolk.

And I was able to have a great breakfast with these eggs, a little ham and cheese. Less than 5 minutes to a yummy omelette.

If you've got diabetes, you may want to keep chickens. They give you better and healthier eggs. You get to appreciate chicken cliches in a whole new way. And they're hilarious to watch and laughing is good for your health.

There is no cure for diabetes at present. But comedy makes the time go by faster!

Labels: carbs, chickens, diabetes365

posted by Bernard @ 4:03 PM 3 Comments Links to this post  

Easier carb calculations thanks to CalorieKing and Joslin

I read about this in the latest CWD newsletter, and it seems like a great tool to use if you're doing carb or calorie counting.

CalorieKing and the Joslin clinic have combined to create a Web Browser toolbar. This allows you to search for food information (carbs, fat, calories) quickly from your browser. And it works for both Internet Explorer and Firefox!

Here's what the installed toolbar looks like.

And here's an example of the results that it returns.

Labels: calorie, calorieking, carbs, diabetes, joslin

posted by Bernard @ 11:13 AM 9 Comments Links to this post