[MsTCB]

Day 3 - I did my one meal of LC/HF - this time it was supper.

This was a "crazy" day for me - super, duper busy and no time to really plan or prepare anything. So, I grabbed my handy processed carbs (Teddy grahams & 100-calorie packs)

Today's totals:
Calories: 1,360
Carbs: 144 grams (epic fail!)
Protein: 108
Fats: 64 grams

I am planning to do better tomorrow. Part of my struggle is handling dietary things whenever my life suddenly speeds up for reasons beyond my control. From reading all your posts I can see that the solution is to get some LC/HF snacks and foods HANDY so that they are just as convenient as the processed carbs.

I need to re-think and re-do my normal grocery store list.

I will say this: My BG's were 167 - 197 during the part of the day when I was eating the carbs and it went down to 110-130 when I ate the protein meal. To me that's PLENTY of reason to keep working towards my goal of going LC/HF. I know I'll get there and GREATLY appreciate all the support and encouragement.

I know that high blood sugars make the fats stay out in the blood stream which is why my lipid numbers were not very good on Oct 7th when my Ha1c measured 12.7.
The lipids were:
Triglycerides 355 (normal 0-149)
HDL 43 (normal >40)
LDL 113 (normal <130, BUT my Endo wants it <100)
Cholesterol 227 (normal <200)
*the "normal" numbers I got off of the lab report sheet.

Tomorrow is my 50th Birthday!!
My 22-year son is taking me out for steak! yummy...

 

[Shanny]

Tomorrow is my 50th Birthday!!
My 22-year son is taking me out for steak! yummy...

​

 

[MsTCB]

Thank you, sweet Shanny!! You made my day.

 

[d33na]

Tomorrow is my 50th Birthday!!
My 22-year son is taking me out for steak! yummy...

Happy Birthday for tomorrow...

 

[MsTCB]

Happy Birthday for tomorrow...

Thank you, Deena.
How are you doing today? Hope all is going well.

 

[d33na]

Thank you, Deena.
How are you doing today? Hope all is going well.

not too badly...for some reason my fbs was high...*shakes head* it always makes me feel down...deep breath and move on...had a yummy lunch with my dorta...I had some rockmelon and yoghurt while she had cheesecake/fudge and ice cream...lol I think I had the better deal...

I made a deal with myself that when I feel hungry I will have 5 almonds...then wait 1/2 an hour...I'm not sure why lol...

 

[toadhunter911]

In my opinion, the "issue" is statins usage. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, my lipids looked like this:

Cholesterol: 209
HDL: 38
LDL: 127
Triglycerides: 184

Not too good, and not too bad . . . but they'd been like this for the last 20 years. Very stable, so it wasn't an issue for me or my doc. But with the onset of diabetes, he automatically put me on a statin & I didn't know any better.

After a year or so, I had learned a few things, and I asked to go off the statin. Doc agreed. What you see in my signature is the rebound, and the explanation is there - statin usage discontinued in Oct. 2010. Of course I knew it looked bad to post those numbers, but I wasn't going to lie about it or hide it. If people choose to throw it up to me, well - that isn't my problem, because my doc & I know I'm okay regardless of what others think.

The numbers I get today at the lab may be no better than what I got last time, but I will know that it is not an artificial number, induced by a dangerous drug. I will know that irrespective of my lipids profile, LCHF gives me low blood sugar as well as relief from digestive difficulties.

My A1c is 6.0, and I am not just ABOUT to exchange my low blood sugar for a so-called "balanced" diet including fruits & whole grains. My meter tells me what those foods do to me - so no thanks. It's good that it works for you, Craig, but it doesn't work for me. My primary focus is keeping blood sugar under control, and the rest of the chips will just have to fall where they may.

Could you tell us how you manage your diabetes beyond a balanced diet including whole grains, fruits/vegetables & lean protein? Are you on insulin or other meds? What was your last A1c? How's your lipids profile?

The point of contention I had with your post was the statement that "There is just NO confirmed evidence that dietary fats cause higher risk for heart disease". The American Heart Association would disagree with you.

I guess this points out the crazy nature of the disease, in that it truly affects everyone differently. I struggled with control a lot the first few years after diagnosis. My doc at the time didn't think is was necessary to test often, just fasting and at bedtime. I used an Atkins type diet, and felt awful all the time.

The biggest, and best change I made (other than changing docs), was to go as natural as possible, and to incorporate high fiber foods into my diet. Anything in a can and most things in a box stay on the supermarket shelves, and I shop at the produce market for most of my needs.

My latest bloodwork showed an A1c of 6.2, fasting BG was 82, total cholesterol of 145, LDL 95, HDL 60, Triglycerides 100. As I said, I have congestive heart failure, to the point that I am on permanent disability and not able to work. And I can only walk short distances at a time for exercise.

I take Metformin, Humalog with meals, and Lantus at night. My doc and I have discussed backing off meds once my A1c gets below 6. Hopefully that will be in 6 months (my next bloodwork).

The most important action I have taken is to test often. I test at least 4 times a day now. Two years ago, when I really started to get ahold of this, I would test before and after every meal (sometimes 1 hour post, sometimes 2).

Anyways, my intention was not to cause a stir. Just trying to understand.

 

[Shanny]

Thanks Craig . . . this DOES explain a lot. The major difference between us is that you have the benefit of insulin. It's possible that I could eat a little fruit & some whole grains too, if I were able to cover it with insulin. But I'd prob'ly still be very careful in adding it back to my menus, because the REAL crux of the issue is that I was eating those healthy foods all my life.

I have always cooked from scratch - baked my own whole wheat, rye & sourdough breads, grown a garden & preserved the fruits & vegetables of our labors; I even used raw milk so I could skim the cream for cooking & to make our own butter. Because my mom cooked from scratch before me, I have never eaten out of cans/boxes. And look where it got me. So getting back to basics & eating natural is wonderful - for non-diabetics. But for non-insulin-dependent diabetics, the fruits & whole grains can be a nightmare. People just have to figure it out for themselves by testing like crazy until they know which foods they can safely eat. I did the same as you - tested like a mad woman in the beginning - ten times a day sometimes. Now I test once or twice a day unless I'm introducing a new food or eating someone else's cooking.

When I mentioned to my doc this morning that I'd like to get my A1c a point or two under 6, he came back quite emphatically saying "I'm happy with 6!" Well, I'm still going for the 5% club, whether he thinks it's necessary or not.

As for the confirmed evidence, what you might do is Google the name Ancel Keys and find out where this whole "bad fats" propaganda got started. It was a deliberate deception from the get-go, and there are umpteen studies that refute the results of Keys' carefully concocted "research". This article provides links to some of those studies. But yes, the medical community & the health agencies like AHA, ADA, ACS, etc., all subscribe to this foolishness. And guess where their funding comes from: The food & drug industry conglomerates which make the junk food, and the drugs that allow people to keep eating the junk food. It isn't just shameful, it's criminal.

 

[MCS]

Maybe I can add a little to this discussion:

When first Dxed my lipid profile was awful, trigs thru the roof, HDL sad and low, LDL small, dense and quite numerous.


4/29/2009, this is several months after LC diet

T. Chl... 191
HDL...37
LDL...131
Trigs...115

4/21/2011, LC/HF diet

T. Chl...153
HDL...31
LDl...106
Trigs...89

6/29/2011, After 2 months of 45grams of fish oil and 5grams of L-Carnitine a day, plus LC/HF diet


T. Chl...157
HDL...35
LDL...106
Trigs...38, YA, burned them up with the fish oil

The only problem I am having is this was a NMR-LipoProtein test which measures LDL particule size and mine are all small and dense.

New Labs next week after 3 months of 40-50grams of Resisant Starch and 1500mg of L-Carnosine to reduce the AGE's. If this doesn't work I will be doing the Linus Pauling Protocol. But the ratio some doctors go by is trigs divided by your HDL should be less than 2 and I am there. I seem to be more concerned about this than some since I am 2 yrs post open heart surgery.

 

[moon]

This cholesterol bizness remains a mystery to me, I'll admit. I keep plugging away, interested in the changes, and hoping in the end I'll make more sense of them.

My numbers aren't good, but getting better. On a low-carb/higher-fat diet the last 6 months, the best change is my HDL going from 35 to 57. My trigs have gone from 191 to 125, so my trig/hdl ratio is 2.2. Best guess is that my LDL must be the small dense kind, and hoping for more positive change in time.

But - my LDL/HDL ratio has gone from 4.4 to 3.1 and cholesterol/HDL from 6.3 to 4.5 - so the way I eat (no statins) is doing good things for my lipids albeit with a ways to go.

 

[beefy]

The point of contention I had with your post was the statement that "There is just NO confirmed evidence that dietary fats cause higher risk for heart disease". The American Heart Association would disagree with you.

The American Heart Association has all the evidence and has been proven incorrect in what they encourage Americans to do. Anyone who can (and does) read should easily make a decision to discount the AHA advice.

However, as long as 1) the organization is funded by big Pharma (and processed food manufacturers) and 2) the individual Doctors that work as researchers, chairpersons, etc., are also funded by Big Pharma ... their recommendations will be EXACTLY what allows Big Pharma to continue to make money.

And although I sound like a conspiracy theorist, I'm not. I wish I were. But you can review the disclosures yourself and find out what I've said is entirely true.

It's the same with the American Diabetes Association - their primary funding comes from Big Pharma and the makers of processed foods, especially sugary foods... (10's of millions yearly, no exaggeration. I don't have current numbers, but I know 2005 was 23 million from just pharmaceutical and food companies). The same goes with the national governing boards for both Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists...

When you see the American Diabetes Association logo on Frosted Shredded Wheat (which it was for years!) can you really trust these associations to be advocates for our health?

Does the American Heart Association really have your best interests at heart when they put their logo on (I mean SELL their logo to) Quaker Instant Oatmeal - one of the MOST sugary, high-glycemic, overly-processed 'grain' foods their is? Instant oatmeal isn't a whole-grain, folks... far from it. How about Welch's grape juice? More sugar than the same amount of Coca Cola... Again, the AHA logo appears... Also on honey-nut cheerios?? 23g of carb per cup, of which 9.6g (nearly HALF) is sugar, and the rest isn't whole grain oats... doesn't even come close.

No, these organizations aren't interested in helping the public, they're interested in helping themselves and their members (to piles of money) while 'appearing' to help the public. Any intelligent reviews of even their own research proves their recommendations wrong. That's the fact.

 

[canadiandude]

I was expecting my cholesterol to be much higher when I got my latest results since I eat a ton of fat from a variety of sources including nuts, cheese and coconut oil. I have also suffered a heart attack last march as many of you already know. So, when my numbers revealed that my cholesterol level was singled out to bring to my doctor's attention, I had my day of gloating. My level is LOWER than the range given for the average person. In fact, all of my numbers are within the ranges they are supposed to be in with two very minor exceptions, ALT (SGPT) and fibrinogen, both of which were slightly elevated. If fat intake is supposed to be the cause of my heart attack, then why are my numbers fine despite a much higher level of fat intake?

 

[JT.]

Just to add to this.. I was losing 0.5 to 1 kg every week (3 weeks) when eating low carbs like egg noodle and multi grain bread in the morning as well as walking everyday..


When I found this forum, i took a try out of the LC/HF Diet. SO I Totally cut off Multi grain bread and egg noodles and doing the same excerise same before..

The one week i lost 3.5 kgs - (7 lbs) I was very surprise..

So i continue to eat LC/HF diet and last Blood work was on the 1 Oct.. you can see my Signature about the Cholesterol drops.

PS: I have show this to my Endo, MD, 3 Diabetes Educators, 1 Dietitian and 1 Nurse from the Cardio ward hospital.. They are very very SURPRISE how it drops so much just in 1 month 8 days. I told them LC HF but they tell me the same thing, I have to eat carbs because it may effect my kidneys. (Not to worry, i am doing my blood and Urine test every 1 to 2 months to check up.

The best thing is they dont believe it is LC/HF that is bring down the cholesterol!! What a Joke? lol

 

[Shanny]

Oh yeah - the medical community will grab at any straw to avoid crediting LCHF with the improvements in our numbers. You're right . . . what a joke, and what a bunch of jokers!

Just to add to this.. I was losing 0.5 to 1 kg every week (3 weeks) when eating low carbs like egg noodle and multi grain bread in the morning as well as walking everyday..


When I found this forum, i took a try out of the LC/HF Diet. SO I Totally cut off Multi grain bread and egg noodles and doing the same excerise same before..

The one week i lost 3.5 kgs - (7 lbs) I was very surprise..

So i continue to eat LC/HF diet and last Blood work was on the 1 Oct.. you can see my Signature about the Cholesterol drops.

PS: I have show this to my Endo, MD, 3 Diabetes Educators, 1 Dietitian and 1 Nurse from the Cardio ward hospital.. They are very very SURPRISE how it drops so much just in 1 month 8 days. I told them LC HF but they tell me the same thing, I have to eat carbs because it may effect my kidneys. (Not to worry, i am doing my blood and Urine test every 1 to 2 months to check up.

The best thing is they dont believe it is LC/HF that is bring down the cholesterol!! What a Joke? lol

 

[JT.]

Oh yeah - the medical community will grab at any straw to avoid crediting LCHF with the improvements in our numbers. You're right . . . what a joke, and what a bunch of jokers!

High ^5!! eace:

 

[MsTCB]

Interesting discussion. J.T. don't you just love being called a liar by your doc? When you don't fit into their little square box, then they assume you MUST be lying. Like my Endo telling me that my gaining 18 lbs in the first 18 days after starting Insulin was NOT caused by the Insulin. He accused me of over-eating. Do you know how many calories a person would have to consume to gain weight that fast? duh! And, he's supposed to be a man of Science!

A physician friend of mine wrote a script for a water pill and I've lost 14 lbs in these past 14 days. I can't wait to go back to the Endo the week after next so I can throw his own "logic"?? back at him and say, "Hmm, well, I guess I must be UNDER eating. Afterall, medications don't cause weight changes, now do they."

I had a bit of a scare today. My sweet 22 year old son took me out to dinner for my birthday and we were watching a movie at home afterwards, when I suddenly had a wave of nausea come over me, I had severe stomach pain and my breathing became very shallow. I asked him to go get my monitor b/c I swear if I had tried to stand I would have collapsed.

My BG was 58! YIKES!!

My Endo told me to promptly call if my BG ever went below 70, but I didn't feel like I had time to wait for return call, etc. He never told me what to do in case of this, but I had to foresight to purchase some Glucose tablets a few weeks ago when I started the Insulin. I popped one of those and within 5 minutes, my numbers were climbing back to the normal range. Whew!!

Then I got cold chills that still haven't stopped 3 hours later.

This is a birthday I won't soon forget.
Next year I hope to be feeling a lot better.

 

[MsTCB]

not too badly...for some reason my fbs was high...*shakes head* it always makes me feel down...deep breath and move on...had a yummy lunch with my dorta...I had some rockmelon and yoghurt while she had cheesecake/fudge and ice cream...lol I think I had the better deal...

I made a deal with myself that when I feel hungry I will have 5 almonds...then wait 1/2 an hour...I'm not sure why lol...

That sounds like a good plan, Deena. Maybe you can try drinking some cold water along with the almonds. I know what ya mean about the fbs making you feel bad. Mine have been running back into the 190's again. I think my biggest problem is that I don't eat or sleep on a regular schedule. So, my Insulin isn't dosed out very evenly. Some days I have trouble figuring out when I'm eating a "meal" (for Insulin purposes) and if I've had 1, 2 or 3 (or more) of them. Some days I like to graze. For instance, a couple of TBSPs of peanut butter could be "lunch." But, I know that if I shoot up with the 20-30 units of Insulin as prescribed, that would make me go too low. But, I don't want to eat more just to take the insulin, so I wait to see when and if I'll get hungry again and what I will feel like eating at that point. So, some days, I think I'm only getting in one dose of Humalog! And, that might be at 3:00am. Like I said, LOTS of room for improvement here.

Hope you are having a good day.

 

[JT.]

Interesting discussion. J.T. don't you just love being called a liar by your doc? When you don't fit into their little square box, then they assume you MUST be lying. Like my Endo telling me that my gaining 18 lbs in the first 18 days after starting Insulin was NOT caused by the Insulin. He accused me of over-eating. Do you know how many calories a person would have to consume to gain weight that fast? duh! And, he's supposed to be a man of Science!

It is hard to make Drs or Dietitian or Diabetic Educators to accept the fact of a LCHF Diet. They will never believe in us because they have spent so many years in studying and would not just believe what we tell them. Sad but sometimes True!

I have been brought up by Eating High fats is no good for us ever since I am young.. none of my parents, friends, mates whatsoever believes that eating High fats is GOOD for us..

So for all these year, we have try not to eat fats but what if we are hunger? We eat right? Wat to eat? Carbs!!! Chips, fried food, flour made stuff, Maccus, Rice, Noodles and Bread...

Are we taught how to eat in our Primary School or count carbs, Sugar, Fats, Calories ?? The Sad Answer is No... If we are taught on how and what to eat in School, I am pretty sure a lot of us would not be over weight and have chronic illness.. (No Flaming pls, Im Obese because of carbs eating, Not proud too!)

I had a bit of a scare today. My sweet 22 year old son took me out to dinner for my birthday and we were watching a movie at home afterwards, when I suddenly had a wave of nausea come over me, I had severe stomach pain and my breathing became very shallow. I asked him to go get my monitor b/c I swear if I had tried to stand I would have collapsed.

My BG was 58! YIKES!!

My Endo told me to promptly call if my BG ever went below 70, but I didn't feel like I had time to wait for return call, etc. He never told me what to do in case of this, but I had to foresight to purchase some Glucose tablets a few weeks ago when I started the Insulin. I popped one of those and within 5 minutes, my numbers were climbing back to the normal range. Whew!!

Then I got cold chills that still haven't stopped 3 hours later.

This is a birthday I won't soon forget.
Next year I hope to be feeling a lot better.

Becareful of hypo, do not get used to HYPO. That happens to a few of my friends who is on insulin.. its pretty scary i would say..

I once fainted after walking over 10 kms and i didnt eat whole day.. I didnt feel like eating and was depress the first 2 weeks I was diagnosed. Some passer by saw me and call the ambulance. I had to be in the hospital over 1 nite and 1 day.. lucky I didnt damage my brain.. My Dr didnt even teach or tell me the meds I am on before will cause hypo and I know nothing about it...

 

[d33na]

I think my biggest problem is that I don't eat or sleep on a regular schedule. So, my Insulin isn't dosed out very evenly. Some days I have trouble figuring out when I'm eating a "meal" (for Insulin purposes) and if I've had 1, 2 or 3 (or more) of them. Some days I like to graze.

There is an interesting article here...I read another that I can't find right now all about circadian rhythm/body clock and diabetes...the gist being we need to re-establish a cycle for our bodies...I know for me I am a terrible insomniac and have been my entire life... it's very easy to become almost nocturnal...and lol I have hermit tendencies as well...what I have attempted to do in the last few months is get to bed b4 midnight and get up by 8am...not because I have to but to let my body get used to some kind of cycle...to find equilibrium...I'm not sure this makes any sense to anyone but me...

I do think a regular pattern of eating and sleeping makes it easier to control our blood sugar...there are so many variables/factors we're combating that if we can hold some of them still while we measure some of the others it has to help....no? lol it makes sense in my brain!

 

[MsTCB]

There is an interesting article here...I read another that I can't find right now all about circadian rhythm/body clock and diabetes...the gist being we need to re-establish a cycle for our bodies...I know for me I am a terrible insomniac and have been my entire life... it's very easy to become almost nocturnal...and lol I have hermit tendencies as well...what I have attempted to do in the last few months is get to bed b4 midnight and get up by 8am...not because I have to but to let my body get used to some kind of cycle...to find equilibrium...I'm not sure this makes any sense to anyone but me...

I do think a regular pattern of eating and sleeping makes it easier to control our blood sugar...there are so many variables/factors we're combating that if we can hold some of them still while we measure some of the others it has to help....no? lol it makes sense in my brain!

Makes PERFECT sense to me Deena. I think we are "birds of a feather."
It's 3:00 am here and I tried to fall asleep a few hours ago, but couldn't, so I decided to just get up for a bit.
I'm going to try it again here in about 30 minutes.
I like the idea of the before midnight thing. I'll give that a try tomorrow.
Take care!