Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard has worked in the diabetes research field ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Marketing Manager at T1D Exchange.
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Do you intentionally limit your carb intake? Cancel reply
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Mostly when eating out at restaurants because I know they load up things with mystery carbs. I use and insulin pump so am very good and counting what I cook. It is harder at a restaurant so I do it there more
DX’d in 1983, crappy old insulins for 20 yrs before “You can eat anything, just bolus for it!” happy talk era. So even though I’ve loosened up quite a bit since Lantus/Novolog, and more recently pump/CGM regimens, my basic attitude is still “The less insulin you take, the easier it is to manage.” Of all the advances in those years, CGM has been the most significant, though Lantus is a close second. People who didn’t live with the old “Eat Now or DIE!” regimen have no idea how constricting it was, or what it was like to finally have the shackles taken off. Like an old con, though, I still kinda feel the walls of the old cell around me and don’t like to wander too far outside the prison grounds even after being released.
I only limit carbs for the purposes of managing my weight control. I typically try to eat health, so balancing carbs, fat, protien, etc… I do not restrict carbs for BG sake. I balance that too.. less carbs means less insulin, more carbs means more insulin. The recent advances of Ultra-rapid Acting inhaled insulin has dramatically changed how I am able to better manage that BG balance. Fruit is no longer a difficult task! With a shorter duration of action I no longer worry about tail hypos when consuming fruits.
I eat about 30 grams of carbohydrate per meal and usually 1-2 snacks of 10-15 grams. With pre-bolusing this seems to keep my BG in a reasonable range.
I don’t eliminate carbs totally because a balanced diet requires carbs for energy. I read the labels constantly and go from there. The conflict that I am having presently is do I eat sugar free with all the chemicals that upset the digestive system, or do I eat the regular with sugar products.
Limiting carb intake is very effective at improving mean blood sugar and time in range. I think of it this way- if you are driving on a twisty mountain road at night and trying to stay on the road, you could get the best super-grip tires, a special more responsive steering system, and grip gloves to stay on the road- or you could just drive slower. Eating less carb is like driving slower. Its just easier to stay on path…
Depending on the situation. I typically limit my carb intake with beverages
Since the switch to eating strict LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) more than 11 years ago, I daily restrict the amount of carb to less then 20 grams/0.7 oz per day. Never felt better, best decision in my life.
Have no hypos anymore. Exercise on average 7 hours per week, and have done so for the last 5 years. Doing so without any special setup, extra food or fear in running low, since the bg is stable at all times. Lowered the amount of insulin by 80% since the start of this diet. HbA1c and mean bg in non-diabetic ranges, 99% of bg under 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dL)
Type 1 since 1981, using Lantus and Humalog (no pump, no CGM)
https://www.dietdoctor.com/overall-now-completely-new-life
Yes because of my lack of access to affordable Novolog on my Medicare Advantage Plan. I have had to ration it and thus limit my carb intake.
Not really, although I do choose my carbs. For instance, pretty much no liquid carbs because I’d rather have food carbs. I bolus for my carbs, but there does seem to be a limit to how many carbs I can handle at one time, so that’s a type of limiting. An example, if I have a hamburger and want to have about 8 french fries, I give up the bun. No french fries, I can eat the bun. I guess that’s more like trading than limiting.
Insulin has become very expensive. I was always careful, but I now skip lunch and eat two balanced meals with carefully chosen complex carbs. I found rice causes a high similar to cheesecake, so both are off the table unless it’s a mega occasion — other carbs can have similar effects: bun vs French fries for example.
I’ve been on a very low carb diet for the last 2 weeks. But, normally I only limit carbs when my blood sugar is elevated otherwise.
How can anyone adjust their insulin without accounting for carbohydrates?
I enjoy meals that are mostly vegetables with a small amount of meat and starch so my carbs rarely become too high as a result of my food preferences. When having a meal of pasta or something else very starchy then I may be eating less than I might actually desire but always supplement the meal with lots of vegetables. I still after 60 years weigh my starches and account for every gram of carbohydrate when deciding on my insulin bolus.
Sometimes. I eat my carbs in the form of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, legumes, diary products and an occasional treat of real deal chocolate or ice cream in a small amount. I generally keep to 30 grams or less for a small meal and 45 grams or less for a large meal, and 12 to 15 grams for an occasional snack.
I do not deny my body carbs and I do not skimp on insulin to cover the carbs I consume. I choose to eat a variety of wholesome foods in healthy moderation. It has worked for me for years.
I make an effort to be very conscious of what I’m eating because that’s not what I always did in the past. If I’m experiencing 200+ bg levels I’ll limit carbs, otherwise I continue to count them carefully but trust the Control IQ app to figure the correct bolus and the Tandem pump to deliver it. The majority of my meals are within 30 to 40 carbs.
I do not eat low carb by any means but lately I have been trying to cut back. I never drank my carbs – no “real” soda, no milkshakes, no juice. I don’t see the point. I just try ti limit my servings of heavy carbs. With pasta I will have just one serving (I cook for myself so it’s easy to know) instead of making a whole box and loading up my plate. I have a small portion of rice if it’s part of a meal. Choose pita bread if I want a sandwich for lunch instead of a big roll.
Compare these results with yearly average of A1c. T1 Diabetics can’t process carbs without medication. I doubt anyone would recommend more medicine to cover someone with heart problems so they could eat more fatty foods.
I interpret the word “limit” to mean both maximum and minimum, both of which I observe in practice and real life. Generally, the diet is more Mediterranean-like with less carbs. However, in restaurants (yes, we are finally, FINALLY, getting back to returning to restaurants) I frequently have to insure I get at least some minimum of carbs. Sometime restaurants make this challenging. ¯\_( ͡❛ ﹏ ͡❛)_/¯
How can P-O Heidling survive on 20 grams of carbs per day??? Your brain might need a little more.
That is absolutely no problem, since the intake of protein is partly converted to glucose.
By the natural process of glucoseneogenesis, the body is perfectly able to produce all the glucose the brain and other vital organs would need.
I work as an engineer, full time and often overtime. I have never during my years, eating low carb had and mental issues. Quite the opposite in fact.
Since I don’t have any swings in the bg anymore, my endurance as increased through out the whole day. The same pattern, every day, for more than a decade now…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/gluconeogenesis
LOL! Always limit my carb intake! 🙂 After 54 years T1D, always limiting carb intake is just necessary to stay healthy. Plus, I LOVE to eat anything and everything (and I’m only 118 pounds), so limiting all food intake is just the way I roll. However, I do eat a LOT of food, so it’s not like I am starving myself. My endo says my metabolism is so fast that I burn calories just sitting in a chair!
I am also practicing intermittent fasting and ity has done wonders. Less TDI, desired weight loss and much better control.