I really want to go on the LCHF diet as I continue to hear about the great success both Type I and Type II's have had while being on it. I hope to meet with my doctor this week to discuss it with him. I'm not sure how open-minded he is with this diet, but I want to discuss with him anyway. I started taking two new types of insulin, Apidra and Lantus, about a week and a half ago. I used to take Humulin 70/30. Since I've been on Apidra and Lantus, I have lost a few pounds.
Here's my question. For those of you Type I and Type II's who weigh about average or are a bit underweight, has the LCHF Diet made it difficult for you to maintain your weight? I know I'm losing weight right now because my TDD of insulin is 35-38u, down from a TDD of 60u of Humulin. I'm also eating less. Thanks for your thoughts.
I read, and I think Dr. Bernstein also says, that if you want to gain weight, add in more protein. From my own experience, eating a lot of nuts, either whole or as almond meal in LC baked goodies, will make me gain weight, or at least not lose any.
I really want to keep my weight at about 155-158lbs., if possible. Are some nuts better than others with the LCHF diet? I really like pistachios, dry roasted peanuts, almonds and cashews.
macadamia and pistachios are higher fat, lower carb (so they would be best).
almonds are a bit higher in carbs than the above.
peanuts and cashews aren't really nuts - and they are higher in carbs.
(peanuts are legumes, and cashews are flower petals (weird, huh!)
I use pistachios & macadamias . . . I get a lot of almond from cooking with almond flour, so I no longer keep a bowl of those on the kitchen table like I did in the beginning.
I just couldn't resist, so I had my first LCHF meal (maybe it was a quasi-LCHF meal) for dinner and it was really tasty.
I had Polish sausage, two organic eggs over easy with lots of butter and a 1/2 piece of Roman meal toast with MORE butter. No veggies, tho. The serving of bread was about 9 carbs, but I still feel full and satisfied.
Another question. Has the LFHC diet given you any problems with high blood pressure, drops in potassium level, acne, or vitamin/mineral deficiency?
My blood pressure has dropped along with my cholesterol, and I don't know if it's due to LCHF, but years of eruptions on my back have now cleared up so much as to be almost non-existent. The only vitamin/mineral issue I ever had was an episode of high serum calcium last year for a few months, but it resolved on its own & altho' my doc referred me to an endo, none of us never determined why it rose, or why it dropped back to normal.
I didn't have a scale at the time of my dx but my guess is I was somewhere around 200#. In two years time I have lost around 60# and have stabilized about 8 months ago and no longer am losing any weight. My oncologist (I am dealing with breast cancer) says I am at a good weight for my height and I am very comfortable where I am.
I firmly believe that with a lc/hf way of eating, your body recognizes equilibrium and when you reach your optimum weight, and maintain the same eating regimen, no further weight loss occurs.
If you go to a site that has the nutritional information for various foods, you'll find that meat, eggs and dairy have a high level of nutrition - vitamins and minerals included. I was astounded when I first did this. I was prompted to research this when Salim (smorgan) mentioned that he eats very few vegetables and gets all the nutrition he needs.
However, Since I cannot eat much dairy or eggs (food sensitivities), I do take a multivitamin, but also have looked for other sources of vitamins and minerals and have found nutritional yeast flakes and parsley are excellent sources of these. Liver is another good source that I just cannot make myself eat.
I always had heavy acne as a teenager and as an adult, even though it subsided a touch as I neared into my 30's and now in my 40's. I have definitely noticed that since I have eliminated carbs, it drastically decreased. Once I started eating really low carb (about less than 20 grams per day), it is almost non-existent. Any problems I had with acne, recurring infections, and other similar issues have almost entirely disappeared.
I have just been put on 12 week trial Low carb diet no talk of high fats tho. The no high fat will make my heart specialist happy (recently been through the mill and ended up with a pacemaker)
Probably 15 to 20 KG overweight so that might work out.
The object was to get my insulin down from 120 units per day.
I reduced my insulin the first day to 40 units and I had a low overnight which I picked up with a fruit juice popper.
The second day I went down to 36 units and also had 1 tablet and the same low occurred. Hit high 4s and drank another fruit juice popper.
Today I have changed the timing of Lantus slow acting to before my main meal and dropped the total insulin units to 26.
After dinner 8PM I tested and I was 8.4 still hungry and I ate some raw peanuts. 9.15 PM tested again and was 9.0.
I expect to bulk up my intolerance to insulin with diabex and will ramp up to 2 tabs next week.
Short term aim is to keep under 10 and not have night lows.
My control with insulin was excellent 3 month averages have been 7 and the latest from the lab was 6.8.
I have just been put on 12 week trial Low carb diet no talk of high fats tho. The no high fat will make my heart specialist happy (recently been through the mill and ended up with a pacemaker)
Probably 15 to 20 KG overweight so that might work out.
The object was to get my insulin down from 120 units per day.
I reduced my insulin the first day to 40 units and I had a low overnight which I picked up with a fruit juice popper.
The second day I went down to 36 units and also had 1 tablet and the same low occurred. Hit high 4s and drank another fruit juice popper.
Today I have changed the timing of Lantus slow acting to before my main meal and dropped the total insulin units to 26.
After dinner 8PM I tested and I was 8.4 still hungry and I ate some raw peanuts. 9.15 PM tested again and was 9.0.
I expect to bulk up my intolerance to insulin with diabex and will ramp up to 2 tabs next week.
Short term aim is to keep under 10 and not have night lows.
My control with insulin was excellent 3 month averages have been 7 and the latest from the lab was 6.8.
If you are cutting carbs, and you should, you are also cutting calories. Make sure you are getting enough calories and not going into starvation mode. Calories lost from carbs can be made up from more proteins or fats. Make sure you don't go too high on protein (rule of thumb is ~1 gram protein per kg lean body mass). Too much protein is not necessarily bad, but its not always wise. That leaves fats to pick up the slack. I increased fats in my diet which picked up calories from ~3300 to 4100/day for a while and it started a 10 lb. loss that lowering calories wouldn't do for me.
Hope you are also looking long term with highs lower than 7.8 or less, and 3 month averages in the 5% range. Daily BG numbers in high 4s are not low, they are actually normal numbers, your body is just not used to being there. You will most definitely have to reduce insulin with lowering of carbs.
I was 134lb, 5'7" so very normal weight (ome said skinny)
dropped to 121 ln in the first month on LC
But now I've gained and am at 128, mainly after I upped the fats and carbs a bit from my initial diet.
Initially I was eating ~40g carbs. Now more like 70, and definite increase in fats.
You know, this brings up my experience. I weighed 183 when this started, and ate primarily the Induction Atkins diet until I found this group and added some as I learned other ways of eating. My weight kept dropping until my endo told me to stop, but I kept up and 10 lbs later it stopped and I've been at 130 for more than 3 years and she agreed with my logic that I had to see if my body found it's own and it did and sure enough I was a size which may sound silly but it matters to a woman. I didn't need alterations and it has remained there ever since with only a 1-2 lb less or more. Maybe our bodies know where they like to be. I was always a bit underweight as a child and adolescent. Just a thought. So now I no longer think about it…I can trust my body.
I'm not underweight but low for my height. Normal BMI.
When we reduce carbs, it is necessary to replace them with fats so we don't fall behind in energy. In the old days, carbs provided fuel for energy, so in the absence of carbs, we must use fats. Low-carbing doesn't work nearly as well without fats, so try to keep up your fats intake so you won't suffer what's commonly called 'Atkins flu' . . . our bodies' reaction to lower carbs. You'll also want to get enough salt, because that's another nutrient that can diminish during the transition to low-carb/high-fat.
10/31/11 I was 215 after losing 35 pounds in a month. Today I weight 216 pounds. Never varies more than 3-4 pounds depending on, well, mother natures elimination plans
PS, I peaked at nearly 275. I was huge. I finished HS at 220.
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