No carb diet

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  • fuelednfit
    fuelednfit Posts: 177 Member
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    Definitely talk to your doctor if you have questions on how to proceed with his recommendation but also ask for other approach because they are other ways. I know some doctor prescribe a very low carb diet for diabetic and pre diabetic people but I believe it is in no way necessary. I am diabetic and I am followed by a whole team of professionals specialized in diabetes treatment. It includes a nutritionist kinesioligist endocrinologist even a psychologist. They often get in the clinics patients that were influence to go on a very low carb diet but they struggle and they come for re-education on how to manage their disease. Just to tell you what they teached us. They recommend to eat 3 meals with 45g of carbs (woman) I remembered men and highly active people had higher numbers and 2 to 3 snacks with 15 g of carbs.idealky you combine the carbs with fat and or protein that's obvious at meal time but snack should be apple and cheese bread and peanut butter The idea is to disperse the carbs throughout the day so your system can handle the small amount of carbs coming in. You have to eat often in a timely manner. the nature of the carbs is also important carbs should come from fruit whole grain beans dairy and starchy vegetables not from brownies twinkies chocolate and soda. They also emphasize on exercise. Personally I get very good blood sugar levels when I exercise. The days I don't my levels are always higher. Definitely try to exercise more even walking.
    Also ?if you gave a doctor not listening to you don't hesitate to seek a second advice and don't hesitate to change doctor. A doctor should listen to what their patients gave to say.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I go to a weight-loss doctor and I had a lot of blood work done last week. It turns out that I am prediabetic, and have to go on a no carb diet. I had already limited my carbs for the first month I've been going there and had lost 8 1/2 pounds. Now, I cannot have any grains or carbohydrates, and no sugar whatsoever, which I wasn't having except for eating fruit anyway. To top it off, a medication that I'm taking is known to cause diabetes, but my weight-loss doctor is not really looking at that, and just telling me that I'm doing well dieting and I should keep it up and add more exercise. I'm frustrated because I've never had issues with blood sugar or insulin before and I feel like this woman is not listening to me. If anyone is on a carb free diet and has some foods they like that they could share with me I would really appreciate it. I have already given up all of the bad food, but I'm not really sure what to eat.

    A NO carb diet would mean no vegetables and sounds really unhealthy. Therefore, I wonder if you misunderstood. In any case, since this is a medical thing and no carb is quite extreme, I strongly suggest that you ask for a referral to a dietician and work with him or her to develop a diet that suits your medical issues and satisfies basic nutritional recommendations.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
    edited July 2015
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    I struggle to understand why peple say no potatoes. It literally is one of foods with the highest satiety values, not to mention is very nutritious.

    I, too, would get another opinion, especially considering you are already losing weight. I don't know why you would change your plan to be even further restrictive.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    edited July 2015
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    psulemon wrote: »
    I struggle to understand why peple say no potatoes. It literally is one of foods with the highest satiety values, not to mention is very nutritious.

    They aren't allowed as one of five veg a day either. If you compare broccoli with potato the former wins on filling and nutrition

  • Steve_ApexNC
    Steve_ApexNC Posts: 210 Member
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    I go to a weight-loss doctor and I had a lot of blood work done last week. It turns out that I am prediabetic, and have to go on a no carb diet. I had already limited my carbs for the first month I've been going there and had lost 8 1/2 pounds. Now, I cannot have any grains or carbohydrates, and no sugar whatsoever, which I wasn't having except for eating fruit anyway. To top it off, a medication that I'm taking is known to cause diabetes, but my weight-loss doctor is not really looking at that, and just telling me that I'm doing well dieting and I should keep it up and add more exercise. I'm frustrated because I've never had issues with blood sugar or insulin before and I feel like this woman is not listening to me. If anyone is on a carb free diet and has some foods they like that they could share with me I would really appreciate it. I have already given up all of the bad food, but I'm not really sure what to eat.

    I have only read the OP and not the replies, but I strongly advise you to get a second opinion.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    yarwell wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    I struggle to understand why peple say no potatoes. It literally is one of foods with the highest satiety values, not to mention is very nutritious.

    They aren't allowed as one of five veg a day either. If you compare broccoli with potato the former wins on filling and nutrition

    Maybe I am misreading the bold, but what?


    Personally, potatoes fill me up more than brocolli. But interesting database.
  • deoxy4
    deoxy4 Posts: 197 Member
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    I think what she meant are no sugary carbs, no grainsand breads or pancakes waffle. Bc there are carbs on that list like beans and fruit and vegetables.

    +1
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
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    +1 on the suggestions to speak to this doctor again, or a new one, and get clarification. I suspect she meant no carbs such as bread, rice, etc. and wrote it that way because that's what most people think carbs are.

    If you're uncomfortable with your doctor, look for a new one. When someone is dealing with your health, it's important to feel confident in that relationship.
  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Fruits and veggies have carbs in them. I would ask for some clarification from the dietician.

    This is what i was thinking too....i would definitely get a second opinion. You say a 'weight-loss doctor'-how is that different 'regular' doctor? It might be worth getting that second opinion from an actual, medical doctor, if there is a difference.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Fruits and veggies have carbs in them. I would ask for some clarification from the dietician.

    This is what i was thinking too....i would definitely get a second opinion. You say a 'weight-loss doctor'-how is that different 'regular' doctor? It might be worth getting that second opinion from an actual, medical doctor, if there is a difference.

    A weight loss doctor is an actual medical doctor, but weight loss doctor is not a technical term . It just means any doctor that specializes in this type of issue. It can be a bariatric specialist. Very often it is an endocrinologist since they deal with a lot of the issues that cause obesity. If it's an endocrinologist, then they would also be the best type to handle his pre-diabetes since that is another focus of theirs.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 651 Member
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    Mediterranean diet certainly isn't no-carb, and isn't particularly low-carb either, although it does have the benefit of emphasizing complex carbs over simple carbohydrates.

    If I was ever diagnosed diabetic or prediabetic, I would simply put myself back on a strict Atkins program.

    Currently, I just avoid grains and simple sugars / carbs, and instead just limit portions and fat, and emphasize lots of protein as well as fruit and green leafy veggies. Seems to be working.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    get a 2nd opinion. my dad was a type 2 and the foundation of his diet to control his blood sugar was actually whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, etc) legumes, lentils, veg, and some fruit...that made up about 40%-45% of his diet with the rest coming from protein and fat.

    I find it rather interesting that in the US and many other Western countries, carbs are the devil...but most of the world actually eats pretty high carb and they don't have the issues we have...maybe it has less to do with the actual carbs and more to do with the kind of carbs and stuffing our faces full of "junk"...not all carbs are "junk"...and I would think stuffing our faces in general...that's what I see as the biggest problem...many in the Western world just eat too much fecking food.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    get a 2nd opinion. my dad was a type 2 and the foundation of his diet to control his blood sugar was actually whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, etc) legumes, lentils, veg, and some fruit...that made up about 40%-45% of his diet with the rest coming from protein and fat.

    I find it rather interesting that in the US and many other Western countries, carbs are the devil...but most of the world actually eats pretty high carb and they don't have the issues we have...maybe it has less to do with the actual carbs and more to do with the kind of carbs and stuffing our faces full of "junk"...not all carbs are "junk"...and I would think stuffing our faces in general...that's what I see as the biggest problem...many in the Western world just eat too much fecking food.

    I think the kind of carb matters very much. Certain carbs cause a much more dramatic spike in blood sugar and a greater insulin response than others.

    BTW, the 40-45% carb diet your dad followed is still lower carb than the typical American diet. Some would call that low carb...I personally consider it moderate.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    bluefish86 wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    Yeah you definitely need to clarify with this doctor. A quick glance of your Mediterranean meal plan does in fact include carbs.. It seems like quite the contradiction

    Perhaps they were using carbs in the same way as my friend to mean pasta, bread, potato etc - she doesn't think in terms of macros but more food categories.

    This was my first thought.....

    I would hope doctors wouldn't use words in such misleading and inaccurate ways, but it does appear that's what's going on. I'd change doctors for that reason, likely--either the doctor is being muddled about it or assumes I'm kind of dumb, and both would bother me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    I struggle to understand why peple say no potatoes. It literally is one of foods with the highest satiety values, not to mention is very nutritious.

    They aren't allowed as one of five veg a day either. If you compare broccoli with potato the former wins on filling and nutrition

    Yeah, they aren't a vegetable as we normally use the term, they are a starch, but I agree with psulemon here. It's weird they get grouped in as a "white food" to be avoided. (Obviously I get why someone doing low carb would cut them, as they have lots of carbs.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    get a 2nd opinion. my dad was a type 2 and the foundation of his diet to control his blood sugar was actually whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, etc) legumes, lentils, veg, and some fruit...that made up about 40%-45% of his diet with the rest coming from protein and fat.

    A friend of mine is T2D (he's not and never has been overweight) and also has cholesterol issues. He has found that when he monitors his blood sugar he reacts more to a lot of higher fat foods vs. just starchy foods. Fried chicken is worse than white rice (and General Tso's is like the worst thing ever for him, and of course has a perfect combination of fried and sweet and starch). I thought the high fat thing was weird, as I'd assumed it shouldn't react at all. (Obviously fried chicken has some flour and such.)
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    Yeah you definitely need to clarify with this doctor. A quick glance of your Mediterranean meal plan does in fact include carbs.. It seems like quite the contradiction

    I second, third, forth all of the above posters who have urged you to ask the doctor for clarification and/or get a second opinion.

    "No carbs" is definitely not the diet on the sheet that the doctor gave you. Nor is NO carbs generally advised for pre-diabetics by any doctor I have heard of. LOW carb, absolutely, but definitely not NO carbs. I am also speaking from experience. I have taken my A1C from 6.5 to 5.5 using diet, exercise and significant weight loss and never did my doctor say NO carbs! I *limit* my carbs to regulate my blood sugar, but I certainly still eat fruits and veggies, dairy and whole grains.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 651 Member
    edited July 2015
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    get a 2nd opinion. my dad was a type 2 and the foundation of his diet to control his blood sugar was actually whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, etc) legumes, lentils, veg, and some fruit...that made up about 40%-45% of his diet with the rest coming from protein and fat.

    A friend of mine is T2D (he's not and never has been overweight) and also has cholesterol issues. He has found that when he monitors his blood sugar he reacts more to a lot of higher fat foods vs. just starchy foods. Fried chicken is worse than white rice (and General Tso's is like the worst thing ever for him, and of course has a perfect combination of fried and sweet and starch). I thought the high fat thing was weird, as I'd assumed it shouldn't react at all. (Obviously fried chicken has some flour and such.)

    I actually recall reading about a couple of studies that seemed to suggest that it's not the carbs by themselves that tend to produce the most dramatic and negative effects on blood chemistry. The worst combination is a stiff dose of simple carbs plus a large bolus of saturated fat with it (plus no fiber to moderate it's impact on blood sugar, and no protein to produce any lasting satiety). Think Crispy Crème donuts or Cinnabons.

  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    I would seek the advise of a registered dietitian. Throughout my life I have encountered several doctors who when they said " absolutely no carbs ", they meant no bread, pasta, rice , bakery good and other starchy, mostly processed food items. They did not even know that fruit, vegetables, legumes and pulses are complex ( healthy ) carbs which even a diabetic can/should eat in moderation.
    My neighbor is an internist and tells me that usually in med school they offer one nutrition course during the whole time of medical training and many doctors chose something that is for them more important.
    I would go to a professional and get advise I can live with.
    Good Luck !
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    Ang108 wrote: »
    I would seek the advise of a registered dietitian. Throughout my life I have encountered several doctors who when they said " absolutely no carbs ", they meant no bread, pasta, rice , bakery good and other starchy, mostly processed food items. They did not even know that fruit, vegetables, legumes and pulses are complex ( healthy ) carbs which even a diabetic can/should eat in moderation.
    My neighbor is an internist and tells me that usually in med school they offer one nutrition course during the whole time of medical training and many doctors chose something that is for them more important.
    I would go to a professional and get advise I can live with.
    Good Luck !

    One of my good friends is a pedatric cardiologist.. she never had a class in nutrition.. And she went to the University of Penn (top rated medical school). She keeps telling me, if she needs to know something nutrition, then she's got people for that.