Hello everyone, My family is trying out the Keto diet and I would like to know if anyone else has done this diet. Thanks and please tell me about it if you have done this diet.
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@Racheltoner hi Rachel, so we all know what foods we have to bolus for, right? The ketones, Atkins, whatever, is a low carb diet which forces your body to convert fat into useable energy.
Ketones will be present whenever your body is converting fats to energy. This “keto”.
So this is a strategy to reduce insulin production in “normals” insulin is a growth hormone.
So if you eat low carb, on purpose, you’ll need less insulin. Your body will convert fat to energy and you will begin to lose fat and ultimately, lose weight. If you up your energy requirements such as by exercising, you’ll need less insulin as well.
I use low carb to lose weight and once, for 5 days , ate very low carb because I was traveling for business and I needed to make 100 units last 5 days because I forgot my insulin at home.
Low carb can make you cranky. Just saying.
Cheers good luck
I would highly recommend speaking with a doctor about a keto diet. There could be potential benefits to your abilitiy to control. However, ketones and high blood sugar readings could lead to ketoacidosis if you have an infusion set issue with an insulin pump. For this reason, I try to be lower carb but high enough to avoid ketosis.
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Hello…I have had Type 1 for 10 years this month. When I asked my doctor if I could do Keyo diet she emphatically said NO! Dangerous for anyone with Typ 1. Ketoacidousis can kill you and very quickly…I had it in 2011 and almost bought the farm. Four days in CCU AND DAMAGED MY LEFT EYE… ask your doctor first. Dealing with this disease is a Marathon not a Sprint and can be so frustrating…
I have had good success when I stay with Atkins guidelines but can’t use any of their prepared items anymore without raging BS. Eat fresh and be kind to yourself.
I’ve been eating strictly Keto for the past 4 months. My glucose levels are super controlled. No highs or lows. It’s amazing how cutting bread out of your diet solves a lot of issues.
Some people are not educated on this subject. Ketones are NOT the same as eating Keto. You’re body can function very well with just carbs from vegetables and fruit. Bread is not needed.
Do you have specific recipes or online resources that you use? I am not a big meat eater and that’s my biggest challenge with eating keto
It’s been a learning curve, but the main thing is not eating grains. Breads, pastas, and rice are an absolute NO if you want to control your glucose levels with basal only. Now, you can eat carbs, but they must come from natural sources like, fruits and vegetables. I can eat as many fruits and veggies as I want and my glucose levels always go up and come down within an hour. When I eat grain carbs they stay up for a long time.
I’ve been able to replace my love of pasta with zucchini noodles. They are delicious with almost no carbs and the same consistency as regular noodles. To replace rice, there is a certain type of seeds that have the same consistency, but I forget what they are called.
Typically day for me is an apple and banana lathered with peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch, I eat a salad with chicken of some kind, breaded chicken is usually ok in small amounts. For dinner I usually eat some snacks, like cheese sticks, nuts, pork rinds, or beef jerky.
The main thing is, if it’s bread say no. My doctor said I should have been on a pump long ago and is amazed I’ve gotten this far on basal only. It’s honestly easy, and most days I forget I even have diabetes.
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You can also eat 85% dark chocolate without much effect on your system either. That’s what I eat for desserts. Some times I’ll still eat a few munchkins from dunkin donuts, but I’m alway cognizant of how much I’m eating. Never go hog wild.
and as always. only drink water, unsweet tea, and black coffee.
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We need to be clear on this — whether ketones come from high glucose in your blood, or from adhering to a low ( very low!) carb diet, which is what a keto diet seems to be. The unintended ketones lead to ketosis which can be deadly. The intentional ketones, like from a low carb (Atkins) diet are benign. If I am wrong, please correct me.
Judging by my experience with the low carb Atkins diet ( which I undertook in my 4th or 5th year as T1D ---- ) it was not harmful. I quit it because I was not overweight, and had become too thin.
For information on keto diet, cookbook, recipes — you’ll get more than you want from Joseph Mercola — the site and the book. Excellent, if you are serious.
As for the doctor who seemed to equate ketones from diet and ketones from uncontrolled diabetes ----- I would honestly question his/her opinion on anything! This MD seems uninformed.
Marina
Low Carb vs Keto: Why Ketosis is Different From A Low Carb Diet - Dr. Anthony Gustin
Are you diagnosting with Type 1 or Type 2 ?
Hi! I’ve had T1D for 18 years and have been following the Keto diet guidelines and Low carb diet for 1 year now. My insulin daily dose has been cut in half (average 25 units) and am in the best control ever! I rarely go above 190 now, it feels amazing. You have to watch your BG like a hawk at first (I used a CGM to help monitor) because you become more insulin sensitive. Highly recommend these books for further research. Both books are written by Type 1 Diabetics, so they have tons of firsthand experience!
"The Ketogenic Diet for Type 1 Diabetes" by Keith Runyan
"Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution"
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Rachel,
I am T1D LADA for 10 years. I ate the “perfect” ADA diet and exercised etc. and struggled all the time on the glucose roller coaster. I started a low carb diet 7 weeks ago. It has had a huge effect on my BG. I used to run 70 to 270 daily seemingly no matter how much I would bolus, now I’m a tight 65 to 160, and I rarely get to 160 even after a meal.
I would insist you get a CGM before trying. I didn’t and was lucky.
I’m finding it difficult to get enough good fats, but I’m learning. I’ve struggled with low energy and I think it’s just not getting enough fat.
Once you start running consistently below 100 you lose your ability to feel lows - which is dangerous without the CGM.
The CGM alarm wakes me up probably every 5th night warning me I’m at 65 fyi.
I’m not “keto” in my mind, but by removing almost all carbs (I don’t even eat bananas or apples any longer) and focusing on good foods and veggies and good fruits - I’m killing it. I feel empowered!
I would highly suggest checking out any book from Richard Bernstein, in particular “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution”. It changed my life.
It’s still a marathon, though. A daily battle.
I wish you success.
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I read the same book by Dr. Keith Runyun and have been recommending it to everyone that will listen! I’ve been eating keto since February and my A1c has dropped from 6.8 to 6.2 in 7 months. I’ve been T1 for 43 years and was on the pump for 23 yrs. I now use insulin pens instead of the pump, which I love! This is my new way of life.
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I’m glad someone else can back me up on my eating philosophy. I’m almost 100% in agreement with your thoughts on grains (and especially dark chocolate!), Zach, but I would also add potatoes are a big NO-NO. Eating a potato is like eating a candy bar. Your blood glucose levels will go through the roof and since your body most likely won’t be able to process all that sugar/starch, it will just get converted to fat.
Yes, potatoes are not good in large quantities.
Due to a job loss, I’ve been using insulin from Walmart for the past 2 months, with good results. Just Novolin N at first and then experimented with R and they both work just as good or better than the Tresiba I was taking. So if anyone was wondering, prescription free insulin works excellent along with Keto.