Diets

highflyer88

I am looking for opinions...I am thinking of trying the atkins diet for the benefits that a low carb diet will give me being a diabetic. Anyone have any opinions good or bad of this or any other diet you have tried. I need to find something that makes me focus on my carb intake and choices until I can automatically choose correctly for my health. I am a carb junkie in that I usually want carbs over any other food group. I attempt to do no or little sugar but I still prefer carbs. However being diabetic I need to curb that and learn to eat properly. I have plenty of tools telling me what I should be eating but I think if I choose a plan that is low-carb to start with it would be easier for me to break my habits and form new ones!

blackflowers

While I'm not a fan of "diets" or anything that restricts types of food you eat so strictly, I much prefer the South Beach plan to the Atkins plan. South Beach encourages lots of veggies still, and allows for some starch after the first phase. It also encourages lean protein. (not sure what Atkins does these days, but I know a while ago they had no restrictions on the types of meat you ate... fatty meat is not so healthy )

JenMc14

I am not diabetic, but when I was pregnant with my second child, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I found going to the diabetes nutritionist to be very helpful. I do a specific protein to carb to fat ratio at each meal and snack, and with tweaks here and there for my personal genetics (carbs in the am = BAD after breakfast numbers, carbs before bed = GREAT fasting numbers, it took some experimnting to find that all out), I was able to control it with no meds, my daughter had no illeffects, and my bloodwork was back to normal once she was evicted. So, I'd suggest speaking with a nutritionist who focuses on diabetic counselling.

Beyond that, just eat mindfully, find something you can stick with. If you think you can stick with Atkins, look into it. One thing to be aware of there, is that it can tend to be rather high in fat, and I was told that a high fat diet could have an impact on my blood sugars. BUt, again, I know GD is different then other types of diabetes. I would look at foods you like and learn to mix and match them in a way that keeps your numbers from spiking, rather than looking at a specific "plan" that leaves room for stopping. I've tried Atkins in the past and had success, but, at the end of the day, it's not something I was able to stick with well. If it works for you, go for it.

Doctorpurple

Atkins diet means no carbs. I'm guessing you have type II diabetes but I'm not sure. Would you mind telling us what type of diabetes you have, when were you diagnosed or are you insulin dependent or not. All these information are important in deciding what diet you need to follow. However in any circumstances, Atkins diet will not be good for you. If you have a metabolic disorder due to insulin resistance, you need to still eat carbs, eat lean meat, decrease fat intake, salt intake, etc. you need to make sure you are eating carbs in a constant level to decrease spikes in hormone levels. Please research DASH diet. This is the medically recommended diet for people with diebetes. Stay away from Atkins.

highflyer88

Thanks for the info. To Doctorpurple it is type II and I take oral medications for control. No insulin at this time needs taken. I will look into the ideas everyone gave to see if there is one that will help me. The nutritionist I saw was helpful but cannot afford to see someone regularly even with my healthcare. JenMc14 thanks for the ideas...I do tend to have the issue of higher levels in the am and am still experimenting with how to eat to lower it.

Doctorpurple

Yeah nutritionist can be pretty expensive. I recommend this website just for info now about the DASH diet http://dashdiet.org/. There are many peer reviewed scientific studies about this. This is not a fad diet. This is a health conscious well balanced diet for diabetics and even for non-diabetics. I would highly advice you to follow this for your weight loss

Anyeti

I've recently started the Keto diet which is like the induction phase of Atkins, just permanently. My daily carb intake is under 25g net carb (carbs minus grams of fiber). I've been at it for just over a week and have never been happier. The first few days are rough while your body adjusts to using other things for fuel than the constant intake of carbs. I was exhausted for two days straight, then felt average for a few days. Today it clicked and I felt like I had all the energy in the world. I'm consuming about 1400 calories a day (more than when I was on a traditional diet) and there have been days that I don't hit that because I'm just not hungry. Yay feeling full!

It takes some willpower to pass up the carb-y stuff that is always around, but so far it has felt really worth it. In a week, I'm down about 6 lbs (I'm sure the majority is water weight, but if it never comes back... it still counts). I've been eating all the cheese and non-starchy veggies I want with a healthy portion of meat. I've felt full and happy and with the exception of my two days of adjusting, my energy has been pretty even and a lot higher that before.

I spend a lot of time on the keto subreddit and have seen a number of people who have reported good results with keto and diabetes since you don't have the blood sugar spiking. Though I do remember one comment about having to adjust insulin amounts which shouldn't be an issue with you. If you have any questions or want more info, feel free to send me a message. I'm still a keto newbie, but I can't speak highly enough of it.