Low Carb

Has anyone tried a Low Carb High Fat diet? Nutritional Ketosis?

https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes/

I am a keen cyclist (therfore avg to low weight for my height, this isn't to loose weight) and struggle on long rides, from about the half way point with low BG, I have to have a bar bag or pockets full of sugar, I was hoping something like this would mean I could function on less sugar, but I have also read that Low Carb is only really good for endurance sport and you loose some of the kick type power you get from glucose as an energy.

Anyone tried this, any sporty people had a go?

I am currently doing a more halfway house and lowering gradually my carbs, but not increasing my fat intake too much as this worries me.

What are peoples thoughts, is High Fat a bad idea?

Check out http://type1diabeater.com/
Young lass recently diagnosed who is Blogging about her experiences on Low Carb, and yes, she's sporty too!

My 1 week effort, I found that LCHF should really stand for Low Carb, Half Fat... because you really tend to overconsume on the fats (due to their increased ratio of net-weight:calorie). I put on 2 Kg!

Also, theres a hell of a hurdle to get over with the adjustment period making your body feel tired!

I strongly recommend reading "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" by Stephen D. Phinney and Jeff S. Volek. Both authors are medical doctors who have been practicing a LCHF diet for decades and covers what kind of fats to go for, and which to avoid, as well as common pitfalls. I wouldn't recommend trying this diet without reading it first.

Another book which covers similar material is Dr Bernstein's Complete Diabetes Solution which is also excellent.

I like to take part in triathlon, especially half ironman distance events. Usually, I'll take around 200-300 grams of carb during one (mainly sports drinks and gels), After being on LCHF for a month, I completed one with my only fuel being cheese, olives and a carb-less drink containing electrolytes (called NUUN). Usually I die during the run, but I felt fantastic at the end and my time for the run was only about 4 minutes slower than my usual time for a half marathon when I don't do the swim and cycle, and about 25 minutes faster than my usual run time. I calculated the number of carbs that I had prior to and during the half ironman, and it was less than 5g.

BGs are much easier to control too because less carbs = less required insulin, so less room for errors in estimation.

I don't think that LCHF is for everyone and if a high carb diet is working, then I'd suggest sticking with that, but if it isn't working then this is definitely worth trying. High carb doesn't work for me. I just can't stop eating carbs once I start with the resulting peaks and troughs in BGs, but a low carb, high fat diet makes it much easier to control my urges to snack and my BG graphs on my continuous glucose monitor are just gentle rises and falls - very different to when I am on high carb. It is important to increase fat while lowering carbs or you'll run out of fuel. I'd prefer to not say much more as it is an enormous subject and the books above are much better at explaining than I am.

Warwick, cheers for the info, just bought the kindle version.

I like the fact you say after only 1 month you did a half ironman on cheese and olives

I am impatient and most things I have read say it can take 6 months to a year to become fat adapted...

Everyone is different. Some get "Keto flu" while adapting. I didn't. In fact, my body responded really positively to it and I very quickly felt much better than I do when chomping on lots of carbs. It will all be a case of try it and see :-)

Warwick,

Quick question, like I said above I often go out on 5+ hour rides (sometime 15+), while trying to become fat adapted how did you deal with low BG? For the interim did you cut insulin to allow BG to run higher? I like the idea of not needing so many gels in my pockets, but until I am fat adapted do I ease off the exercise?

With all the exercise I do I am also on the low end of my ideal weight, being fat adapted, will this cause more weight loss? I just want to stay the same weight... What did you notice?

How do you deal with the stigma from family/friends? What do you order when eating out?

Sorry for all the questions, nice to find a diabetic that's actually done it.

Thanks,

Phil

My basal insulin needs went from 10 in the morning and 16 at night to two doses of 6 each. There were a few hypos involved. Just test more often and gradually lower basal. You'll find a sweet spot, but your risk of hypos will increase a bit.

Fat has twice the energy of carbs, so you probably don't need to worry about weight loss too much. I lost a bit of weight, but I weighed more than I did at diagnosis so I was quite happy with that. You don't need a lot of extra fat in the diet to maintain your weight. Go for the healthy fats like avocados and olives, but you don't need very much.

I don't tell other people what I am doing unless they notice. It is difficult eating out (especially as I am vegetarian too), but assuming you eat meat, if you order a steak, or salmon steak etc with a side salad then that will be low carb and higher fat. I need to eat out at a pub next week and looking at the menu, I'm going to be ordering a side salad and the cheese board. :-) Also, just because you are served carbs at a restaurant doesn't mean you have to eat them. Eating out with some other diabetics who are practicing LCHF, we were served quiche in pastry. We just ate the quiche part, without eating the pastry, and bundled the pastry into napkins for a bin on the way home.

The transition will be trial and error with insulin needs, but once you are there, it will be much easier on your long bike rides.

Warwick,

I went for a 10+ hour bike ride last weekend on no carbs, had spinach and cheese omelette for breakfast, cooked in butter for fat content. After 2 to 3 hours this didn't sit very well, felt sooo sick.

I have since read that eggs on a low carb diet are not the best idea before alot of exercise, what do you eat prior to ironman training?

I have also found going low carb this week that for some strange reason my BGs have risen and I seem to be injecting quite alot of QA for nuts and salad, is this just me needing some QA anyway, is this normally included in my carb QA? Did you notice anything similar?

Phil

Unfortunately everyone is different, and what works for me may or may not work for you. Prior to low carb, I'd have a couple of Weetbix with milk prior to a half ironman, but before the last one I didn't have anything at all except water to ensure I was not going to dehydrate. That was after a period of acclimatisation though. When keto-adapted, you don't need to fuel up as you do when you are used to when on a high-carb diet. The body can store 2000 KCal from carbs which can be used up quickly during a long event hence the need for constant replenishment. The body can store 40,000 KCal using fat, so there is far less need to fuel up when keto-adapted.

I did a half marathon the weekend before last, and had scrambled eggs prior to the event and had no issues during the event. It was my 42nd half marathon though, so my stomach got used to shutting up about discomfort a while ago :-)

It is very common for insulin needs to increase initially over the first few weeks. Most people trying this do experience that. I don't know the science behind it, I just know that it happens and that it does settle down after a few weeks.

I find that when I eat a low carb meal that has protein in it, I have to bolus for the protein. Other T1Ds have no such trouble, again it is all individual. If your body is used to using carbs as fuel and you suddenly limit the amount of carb you are eating, then if your body can make carbs from protein (and it can), then it probably will.

Oh, and if you start getting headaches, read the section of the book about broth. It is VERY common to get headaches in the transition period but very easily treated.

I've been on a lchf diet/lifestyle for the past 4 months - wow, what a difference!

No more swings from high to low BG's, loads more energy, gone are the crippling leg muscle pains, the intense headaches are not missed at all! I'm taking a fraction of the insulin I used to need, and my sensitivity to insulin is now running at 1 unit QA to 3 CP's.

Sure, it's not a cure - I'm T1.5 , but hey it makes life so much more enjoyable. I thought it was going to be really difficult and expensive, but it really isn't and all the family have seen me benefit and have gone lchf too. I know it won't work for everyone, but am very grateful to have been told about it myself.

An interesting comment I heard along the way with regard to a high carb diet and insulin;

Would you hit yourself on the head with a hammer, then take paracetamol to get rid of the pain? compared with eating loads of carbs and having to match with insulin?
Now I low carb with little insulin, with being on injections I am free to have the odd higher carb meal if eating out/takeaway, then can match it with insulin, but the majority of my meals are 1 or 0 CP's, which give me a healthy smooth lifestyle, no hunger pangs as I used to get with high carbs, and the huge benefit of more energy and less of a 'spare tyre'!