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Have you ever followed a particular diet specifically for the purpose of maintaining blood glucose levels?
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Low carb / high fat diet
Not a specific diet because using a pump I can eat anything. Things with sugar do not taste good to me so I rarely buy processed dinners and things. I make most everything myself. I eat healthy.
Wouldn’t call it a diet so much as a lifestyle choice. While others say types 1 can eat whatever they want as long as they take enough insulin, I don’t want to just keep taking more and more insulin in order to eat whatever I want. I try moderation. I call it either being on the wagon or falling off and getting back on. I too try not to eat too much processed food, stay away from fast food. And for me, exercise is key.
I eat half to a third of the carbs my relatives eat, but not as few as Bernstein aficionados eat.
I followed the American Diabetes Association food exchange program for many years before the insulin pump existed. I measured all of my bread, milk, meat, vegetable exchanges. Now, I carb count. I follow a low fat diet to keep my lipids in check.
Same as Lawrence Stearns – Best Bgs since 1963
I also used the ADA exchange list, back in 1962. And I weighed everything for a few years. Eventually I was able to judge pretty accurately just by looking at food. CGM was a game-changer, but I still base my food assessments on the exchange list basis. Now I eat fewer bread exchanges than before, although I continue to think of them as bread exchanges.
low carb/high protein
Very low carb and moderate protein was a game changer for me
Low carb, high fiber, & high healthy fats. Learning to eat less processed foods. This is to keep BG well controlled, weight controlled, & boost brain & overall health.
I eat relatively low carb (40-60 a day).. mostly vegetables, tofu and fish. lots of cauliflower and lettuce. Sometimes I blow it and add a store made salad dressing into the day.
Dx’d in 1983, when the R/NPH regimen the “exchange diet” system were the standard of treatment. At-home glucose testing was crude relative to current standards, so you needed a dietary system to try to maintain control throughout the day, and the insulins imposed a very restrictive lifestyle due to their slow, somewhat unpredictable onset. After two decades of that regimen, the advent of Lantus-Novolog MDI was like being let out of prison. But even though I no longer had to “eat to the insulin,” carb-avoidance was pretty deeply ingrained–“eat what you like as long as you bolus for it” never quite permeated past “it’s easier not to have ANY” for me. It was really only the advent of CGM that that changed, but even so I tend to avoid carbs. I did do strict Atkins for a while, though I’ve loosened up in recent years. But I think the best guideline for me is “The less insulin you have to take, the easier it is to manage.”
Moderate everything, carbs, protein, nonanimal fats. Very little refined carbs or sugar except some fruit.
I eat a high carb/low fat and protein diet, which allows me to use less insulin and keep my A1C low.
I’m stymied by your diet. How is eating high carbs helping you to use less insulin? I’m now trying to eat far fewer carbs, such as bread, so I don’t need so much insulin. Can you more fully describe your diet? Thanks.
In the beginning the ADA Exchange list because that is all we had in the 1960s and 70s. I was told I to eat what was on my plate whether I was hungry or not, and whether I wanted to or not. And for the most part I did what I was told – BUT – for the most part, it was way too much food and too much insulin for a small active child and teenager of petite stature. I hated meal times because it became such a power struggle between me and the adults in my life as a younger person with T1D.
In 1981 I learned about carb counting following those guidelines for years. I still make sensible carb-aware choices and now follow, more or less, healthy plant based food choices along the Mediterranean diet guidelines. Lots of fresh close to nature sourced vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes, whole grains, fresh whole fruits (within reason) with natural fiber; and grass fed lean protein, eggs, dairy products (yogurt, cheeses, butter); nut or seed butters, olive or canola oil. I drink 2 cups of caffeine coffee a day, and plenty of naturally sourced water throughout q 24 hr cycle.
I am 5 feet tall and weight is stable w/in BMI guidelines for years. TIR is 80 to 88% most days. Not too shabby for someone in their late 60s with a 58.6 year history of living with TID!
Connie!
That is not shabby at all!! Kudos to you for working and achieving such spectacular numbers. 😀
Well, YES, avoiding sugars……
When I was first diagnosed T1D 18yrs ago I didn’t know anything. I followed advice of educators while self educating on the side to manage BG. Once I learned more… if I wanted more treats… I learn to adjust. I love my lifestyle and I live it! and I LOVE TO EAT!!!!! So I adapt to it. I no longer adjust my diet to fit my diabetes! 😊
I love the model you live by, Dave.
As we continue to self educate, we become more aware and in tune with ourselves and, most importantly, our body.
Much like Connie, when diagnosed in 1962 it was all exchange lists. And pretty important since the means of measuring BG were prehistoric till I was nearly 30. My diet has evolved with technology and nutritional science.
When I was dx in 1955 the ADA Exchange Diet ruled my life. Mom weighed and measured everything I was allowed/made to eat. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t hungry or had eaten as much as I wanted, I had to clean my plate. Unless I could slip food to Candy, my dog and best buddy, who sat next to my chair at the table, mealtime became a power struggle that has taken many years to overcome.
I answered “Other” because I’m not sure what you mean by a “particular” diet. I don’t follow any named diet that has advocates, advertising, and books. I do follow a diet consisting largely of specific meals and snacks that seem to work for me from a diabetic point of view.
I suppose counting everything that goes into my mouth could be considered a diet. But I answered “No”.
I answered “other” because I have adopted a new way of eating but I wouldn’t call it a diet plan. I started it mainly to lose weight and it turns out it has had a great effect on my BG as well. I stopped eating breakfast, which many diabetics know is the hardest meal to cover correctly, and now only eat two meals a day with sometimes a snack. I eat only between the hours of Noon-8pm. I don’t have any restrictions on what I eat during those times as long as they fit into the calories I’ve allotted myself for the day
I lost 11 pounds in June 2021 doing this. I am not feeling hungry or deprived. I’m eating what I want, no self-imposed “carbs are bad” or “fat is bad” rules. My TDD is much lower, including my basal rates.
I was diagnosed in 1961 and for the first year was treated by my pediatrician. I took only one shot a day of NPH insulin and was told not to eat sugar but otherwise just to eat regularly. I badly needed to gain weight as I became very thin before I was diagnosed. The next year I started going to a diabetes center and the dietary regimen was a prescription from your doctor that specified exactly how many grams of carbohydrate protein and fat you needed for each meal and snack during the day and exactly what time you were to eat it. So for each meal we took a piece of paper with the carbohydrate protein and fat listed at the top and starting with the carbohydrate foods entered them and the amount we wanted to eat and subtracted them out until we got to zero. It was quite a juggling act because if you chose a carbohydrate food that also had too much protein or too much fat you came out in the hole and had to readjust. I was 13 years old and pretty much did this myself but my mother and I worked together and of course most all food was prepared from scratch. All foods were weighed on a diet scale including things like butter oil and salad dressing. I also was given more calories than I really needed because eventually I became overweight and it was a struggle to eat all the food that was recommended especially at breakfast time when I was to eat a large amount of protein equivalent to 3 ounces of meat or other protein foods like eggs cheese peanut butter. I only learned about the exchange system when I went to college and became a dietitian. This was a little simpler plan but back then we didn’t adjust insulin based on the food you were going to eat. You had to eat the same every day. In 1997 I got my first insulin pump and the whole world opened up as far as flexibility of being able to eat more or less and at different times. Now within my calorie needs I eat three balanced meals a day that are pretty similar in nutrient content from day to day but I can be totally flexible for parties and meals out. I eat a balance of carbohydrate protein and healthy fats using the Mediterranean diet as a preferred way of eating. To adjust my meal time bolus insulin I count the carbohydrates. I do not eat large portions of meat or fat as I do not care much for meat and large amounts of fat really interferes with the timing of insulin. I think all of us are probably on a diet of sorts as we have to consciously think every time we put something in our mouth and adjust insulin as necessary. People with out diabetes to not think about these things. Whenever I look at a plate of food the wheels in my brain starts spinning and I start counting carbohydrates. Needless to say even after all these years I do enjoy food particularly good healthy food with lots of fruits and vegetables and I am a gourmet cook. Love to make all kinds of ethnic foods from around the world.
Yes, Keto/ Low Carb Diet cuts my insulin needs in half and helps me maintain much tighter control without bs spikes. But, I’m not disciplined enough to follow it all of the time.
I try to follow the diet but its very hard at times to do
I just try to do low carb.
I’ve been on the Keto diet now for just over 4 months and counting. I love it for a number of reasons the first and most important is the ease of maintaining solid control of my sugar levels. That said this for me won’t be possible if it weren’t for my pump settings and CGM. I notre average anywhere from 17 units per day to a max of 22 units depending on my level of exercise. I rely on my basal rate only throughout the day and of course my Basal IQ to prevent those dreaded lows from happening. I’m a happy camper nah I don’t like camping but I’m happy with the Keto diet. At this point I’m not sure I’m going to jump on the Control IQ band wagon as of yet due to some of the comments I’ve heard or read, time will tell. Apart from that it has also help with my arthritis and skin. I’m not to sure how long I’m going to stay on this diet but for now it’s a go…….👍👍
Strict LCHF since 2010. Max 20 gr of carbs every day. 16:8 fasting every day, eating only lunch and dinner. Type 1 diabetic since 1981. Switching to low carb is the best decision I ever made in my life as diabetic.
I avoid food/drinks with added sugar. I am very active and take in around 200g of carbohydrates/day. My bolus insulin is around 25 units/day. I enjoy many vegetables and berries. I start off the day with oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, strawberries, banana, almond milk, and cinnamon. I like nuts or trail mix for a snack, sometimes a nutrition bar or smoothie for lunch. If I have a lower carb dinner, I may have ice cream after dinner. I walk almost every day, I participate in cycle, TRX, and strength classes at the Y and I do yard work and other kinds of physical labor. I like the bike and hike. I ran more than 40,000 miles during a 20 year period when I ran competitively. I broke 7 vertebrae (5 breaks in my neck) in a bike accident which slowed me down for a few months. I am high energy- keto diet not for me.
I have not followed specific diets, but I have kept a diet diary for more than a year to try and understand my BG patterns
Not a specific diet, but I try to reduce carbs generally. Limit, not eliminate- I eat about 120-130 grams a day most days but splurge with pizza or pasta. Its just easier to control my BG that way.
I followed keto for a couple years to help with a TBI, but it wasn’t for glucose reasons (although, it did help there too)
In the days before glargine and lispro insulins I had to clumsily rely on NPH once per day and hiking in the Cascades was really challenging. From experience in those days we supplemented food intake by snacking as needed from a least a pound or two bag of “crunchy granola” (trail mix or “gorp”) in addition to reducing NPH and usual exchange diet. Tes-tape urine strips were always sugar free because of intense uphill exercise. Avoiding hypoglycemia was tricky, so always had bedtime snack in addition to afternoon snack and 3 meals.
I have multiple food allergies so that affects my diet primarly.