Low Carb or Unrealistic?

grayhighlander

Been advised not to exceed 34 grams of carbs for any of the 03 meals planned for each day in response to my Insulin Resistance and Pre-Diabetes diagnosis, but is this even possible in light of the fact that No Distinction was made between the different kinds of carbs, and I do Love my Fruits. Any Thoughts/Opinions or more importantly Success Stories out there?

neanderthin

Low carb is the preferred and default diet for pretty much all the metabolic clinics that deal with metabolic situations like diabetes and with very high levels of success. Personally I was in a similar situation, being pre diabetic and low carb solved that issue and some other health issues and I've continued that way for quite a few years, so it does work very well and continues to be in maintenance as well.

I suspect your making most of your own food now because low carb pretty much dictates a whole food diet to be a must to be really successful and I would advice your protein and fat sources be animal sources, better adherence for low carb and healthier as far as blood markers and the all important microbiome are concerned.

You've been given an amount of carbs that most people in that low carb community would say is high, nevertheless, it's still going to reap some of the rewards that low carb offers people. You have around 100 g's of carbs a day to work with and I would suggest you pick the carby foods you enjoy the most, grain products like pasta, potatoes, rice whatever and pick the fruit you like the most and fit them into your daily, weekly routine, it should be pretty easy to still enjoy most of the carbs you like, just maybe less of them. I have quite a bit of berries in my diet and eat them daily and my carb allotment is less than half of yours, so it can be done. The important part of this is to minimize your insulin response to the meals your constructing and to make sure you have enough protein and fat to accompany those carbs. I can give you a more nuanced answer if you like, just ask.

SafariGalNYC

I’ve had success.
When I was fat I was diagnosed with borderline insulin resistance. Per my endocrinologist-I changed my diet to be low carb, low glycemic.

-34 carbs can be quite a diverse menu.

After a few weeks I noticed I felt better on a low carb, glycemic diet. I had better sleep, less fatigue and more energy. After weight loss… I still feel best and prefer a lower carb, lower sugar Whole Foods diet..

Today - I have 4 fruits in the menu. (28.5 net carbs)

age_is_just_a_number

When it comes to directions from your doctor, I tend not to comment, because I'm not a doctor.

For me personally, I don't think I could eat that few carbs. My suggestion: Go back to the doctor who gave you those instructions and ask them if they mean refined carbs like sugar, bread and rice or do they mean all carbs. I have a feeling that they will say refined carbs. Assuming they meant refined carbs, then this target should be pretty easy.

On a related note, I find when I eat refined carbs with protein & fat (eg., bread with avocado), then it kind of balances things out and I don't get that 'sugar-rush' that often comes with refined carbs on their own. But I do not have insulin resistance nor am I pre-diabetes.

I'm assuming that they are having you check your blood sugar throughout the day. If not, my question is why not? If they are, then follow their advice for a week or so, track everything, then evaluate what foods impact your blood sugar and what foods don't. My sister-in-law and niece (mother-daughter) are both pre-diabetes and both monitor their blood sugar and they have found that they each have different foods that spike their blood sugar. Eg., one can eat white rice with little impact, while the other just cannot eat white rice.

neanderthin

Yeah, if someone is prediabetic white rice will elicit a spike in insulin and if it didn't it would be like winning the lottery as far as the odds go.