Guest guest Posted November 24, 1999 Report Share Posted November 24, 1999 Hi folks, When I first saw the nutritionist, she said I needed 135 grams of carbs per day.. Not knowing any better, I tried to eat " her way. " My bg level was coming down slowly due to the meds I was on. I didnt want any snacks at night, but I made myself eat one so as to not go hypo in the middle of the night, which is what she said might happen. I didnt see how that could happen to me anyway as my bg level was about 15 when dx'd! But she said to eat the food so I did. I really didnt like that evening snack so I stopped it and nothing bad happened to me. As I got smarter, I learned about low carbing and got myself weaned off meds and kept on with the low carbing way of eating, and now I eat probably about 50-75 grams of carbs per day. I have never specifically told the nutritionist or the diabetic educator how I eat, I dont want to get into any arguments or " discussions " about this with them. They seem like reasonable people, but I dont want any lectures when what I am doing does work for me. Diabetes is such an individual thing, you really have to experiment and see what works for you and then stick to that plan. Your previous ways are now just ancient history, a fond memory for some of us!!! A not so fond memory for others...I personally miss a pizza with the works, but hey, I am better off without it, so I just dont eat it! When you gain some experience and confidence in dealing with diabetes, you will find out what works for you and what doesnt. In the meantime, keep testing your blood, record all results, watch what you eat, and above all keep reading and informing yourself. Some " experts " are really stuck on the idea of eating those damn carbs, almost like " the more the merrier " but I suspect you will find you do better when you keep the quantity down! And get some exercise too, that does wonders in bringing down your bg level! Good luck, Elva in Ontario Canada t2, d & e Message: 1 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 08:37:40 -0600 Subject: My so-called low-carb diet Hi, all, Robin said: That comes to 180 grams of carbohydrate each day. I don't know about anyone else, but that sounds only moderate carb to me, not low carb. Being so new to this, I thought that was low carb since it's a whole lot less carbs than I was used to eating (in my " past life " ). I could skips the snacks pretty easily, cutting it down to 135 a day, I suppose, but my dietician made it sound as if I should eat every few hours for energy purposes. But since I have a desk job with only a moderate amount of running around, maybe I wouldn't need that much " energy " during a work day. What do you all think? I don't feel qualified or knowledgeable enough to just go ahead and modify my dietician's instructions just yet, but I am seeing her again on Monday the 29th and I'll mention it. This has me worried now. I thought I was doing so well! in WI Visit the British Saloon Car Club of Canada http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7967 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 Elva in Ontario wrote: << As I got smarter, I learned about low carbing and got myself weaned off meds and kept on with the low carbing way of eating, and now I eat probably about 50-75 grams of carbs per day. I have never specifically told the nutritionist or the diabetic educator how I eat, I dont want to get into any arguments or " discussions " about this with them. >> I hope that you will tell them, Elva. You have done so wonderfully. My concern is that they will point to you as an excellent example of what pills plus a diet filled with " healthy complex carbohydrates " can do for a diabetic. How will the medical folks ever wake up if we don't reveal our " secret " ? Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 GeorgiaGail wrote: << This is Gail, the dietitian. >> Wow ... it's nice to have you onboard, Gail. You can tell from our posts that we think the " other ADA " is pretty much nuts. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ducking ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: It will be a real treat to have your input on diabetes and diet. Thanks for joining! Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 in Constable wrote: << I loved it when the Diabetic Consultant (the Hospital Nutritionist) commented that if I ate the large amount of carbs she recommended and couldn't control my sugar, I'd " Just have to go on more meds " !!!! (Don't you love it???) I bit back a retort about what drug companies she held stock in. >> Have these twits never heard of *supplements*? It's like, " Here ... eat these carbohydrates. Sure, they'll kill you - but you need the vitamins! " This is like surgeons continuing to do radical mastectomies on women when study after study shows that a lumpectomy will achieve the same success rate. This is a 100-year-old major surgery that a butcher could perform, causing permanent pain from raw nerve endings, plus disfigurement. And they claim they continue to do this to women because they are being " conservative. " Susie ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 At 11:05 PM 11/24/99 -0500, you wrote: > > >The concern of cutting out carbs is loss of B vitamins. If you are >taking a multivitamin, you get your daily supply of these water soluble >vitamins. Companies take out the B vitamins during refinement. And how many do they put back in? How many " unknowns " are lost because of this refinement? >BTW, the last layer of the food pyramid does not have to consist of >refined grains. How about brown rice, whole wheat bread, Fiber One >cereal? True. When I *do* eat from that layer, I choose the whole grain breads, etc., as much as possible. (Eating out is a different story.) And the Fiber One *is* my cereal of choice. *However*, my concern has to do more with *what's available* in the stores and restaurants than with individual choices. IMHO, the " *average* " consumer pays no attention to what kind of processing his food has gone through. Bread is bread. Rice is rice. Furthermore, the healthier " whole " foods are *not* readily available. Rather, they are generally pretty well *unavailable* -- hidden on the grocer's shelf and restaurant menu. And they often tend to be more expensive than the stripped down choices. The bulk of my " servings " come from tier 2 of the pyramid. -- The fruits and vegetables. Five (8+ ounces) at lunch; and 5 to 7 (cooked and raw) at supper. I combine this with a 3-4 ounce serving of meat. Breakfast includes an egg and cottage cheese along with the cereal. These fill out the protein and fat ratio for that meal (40-30-30). (Just to keep me honest -- and human -- I do often go overboard on nuts. Tsk tsk tsk! This snacking often puts my fat for the day over what it should be. [so -- who's perfect?] ) in Constable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 GeorgiaGail wrote: << ... dietitians have had to deal with such nutty diets for so long that they are hesitant to change with some hard data to back this up. >> Gail, I sincerely hope you will stick around and help us understand where dietitians are coming from. We are sorry if this is a hot-button issue for so many of us. We just need to ventilate for a few days, and then we can settle back into the sweet thangs we normally are ... :x Many of us have had success convincing our doctors of the efficacy of a low-carb way of life, but dietitians seem afraid to go along with it because of the American Dietitic Ass'n. The tide is turning ... but the money boys are fighting back. Mega-corp. grain producers and the Rice Council just sponsored a bogus " survey, " " proving " that high-carb diets really do work (NOT) - and that low-carb diets had a high failure rate. The " other ADA " does admit that its high-carb recommendations haven't been working. Americans grow fatter and sicker by the year. << So if you want them to look more into this low carb approach, do what I do; present some hard data. I cover mainly outpatients and have had good success with low carb diets (of course, some patients fall off the wagon and go back to their grits and biscuits; these foods seem to be so important in the south). When a fellow dietitian questions why I place someone on a low carb diet, I show them the results of blood glucoses, lipids, weight and blood pressures (I take blood pressures on all these folks). I have several that have changed their minds on the low carb diet for not only diabetics but those with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity. >> More power to you, Gail! You are prolonging lives, restoring many people to good health, and empowering patients to take charge of their own bodies. It is just too bad that you have to battle with your fellow dietitians regarding this issue, because of the pressure from higher up. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 GeorgiaGail wrote: << How about brown rice, whole wheat bread, Fiber One cereal? >> The type of carb matters less to us than the total carb grams. Brown rice and white rice have about the same Glycemic Index. Same thing for whole wheat vs. white bread (they are both at/above that of sugar). And the milk one has with the breakfast cereal contains milk sugars that are particularly spiky for diabetics ... in fact, some type 1's use skim milk to bring themselves back from hypos. If the grains are undercooked, they are less damaging ... but most of us find it safer to just minimize intake of the Problem Foods. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 1999 Report Share Posted November 25, 1999 Second Susie's motion, Georgia. Welcome! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Barb -------------- http://www.rainbowfarm.com new photos! RAINBOW FARM UNLTD. Breeding Premium Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, and fancy Welsh ponies. Re: the low carb WOE > > >GeorgiaGail wrote: > ><< This is Gail, the dietitian. >> > >Wow ... it's nice to have you onboard, Gail. You can tell from our posts >that we think the " other ADA " is pretty much nuts. >::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ducking >::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: > >It will be a real treat to have your input on diabetes and diet. Thanks for >joining! > >Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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