Hey Rosebud!
And living over here makes it harder in that manner, that we don't have access to all those lovely low-carb foods!
In restaurants, I ask to trade the potatoes for extra veggies and most of the time, I end up paying more.. That sucks...
And..just FYI: 220 gr of carbs is for diabetics on a diet... If you don't need to lose weight, you're supposed to eat more carbs...
Ok, so am I to understand you don't have access to fresh meat, fish and vegetables? Because that is all you need to live low carb. Also, you can have certain fruit, like blueberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, etc...within moderation, of course. Go to
The Atkins Diet Weight Loss Program: Diets - Weight Loss - Nutrition and you'll see all the wonderful foods you can eat. Atkins products aren't available in your country, but with internet access you can look up low carb recipes and make your own. Low carb is not restrictive. It's just lowering your sugar intake, mostly your REFINED sugars. You do NOT need sugar to survive. Most of the low carb pasta is yucky, except for Dreamfields, but you don't need pasta to survive either. I have heard of people who have reversed their diabetes and have gotten off medication just by living low carb, losing weight, exercising, and taking certain supplements like Chromium Picolinate, Alpha Lipoic Acid, etc... Not sure you would be able to reverse yours, but maybe you can at least lower the amount of insulin you need.
I quit smoking and gained 60lbs, then shortly afterwards, I was diagnosed with breast and thyroid cancer. The chemo I was given for the breast cancer put me into menopause right away and I had to have my thyroid completely removed. Being hypothyroid and menopausal made it doubly hard for me to lose weight, so I became complacent about it and stayed overweight for 5 years. My husband became concerned about my blood sugar, because he knew my family history with diabetes and suggested I start testing myself and sure enough I found that my blood sugar was out of wack. I did lose the weight, and my blood sugar is normal, but I still have to eat low carb. After losing the weight, we took my grandson to McDonalds and I figured I could treat myself to some McDonald's french fries. My blood sugar went from 90 before the french fries to 195 after the french fries. THAT is why low carb is important.
As far as paying more in a restaurant to substitute potatoes for veggies, I know it sucks, but don't you think your health is worth it? I've paid extra in some restaurants as well, but it was worth it for my health.
I still think 220 grams of carbs is way too much. You probably have to consume that to counteract the insulin. But if you consumed less carbs, it would stand to reason that you'd need less insulin, right?
I don't mean to sound preachy, but sometimes I get overly concerned and overly helpful.