It's been about one week since starting (and actually sticking to) a strict LCHF diet, and it's more or less gone really well. I've managed to stay below 30g of carbs each day, but I've been having trouble hitting my daily fat goal. I don't feel tired or hungry though, so I'm not too worried.
I never experienced this "keto flu" thing, and I actually feel like I have MORE energy for longer periods of time. I haven't done a ketone test but I imagine I'm in ketosis because of some changes in my body. (Breath and urine smell different, gross)
I haven't checked my weight yet because I try not to unless I'm at the doctor's office because it just makes me feel bad.
My blood sugar levels have been more or less constant, running between the high 70's to the low 100's for most of the day. I had one instance where it shot up to 220, but that's definitely because I had two "sugar-free" pieces of gum, which actually contain sugar alcohols that can cause blood sugar levels to spike. So, no more "sugar-free" gum or candies, I guess.
I'm still trying to figure out my long-acting insulin dosage, because I've had a couple of low levels in the morning. At the start, I cut it from 32 units at night to 25 units, then back up to 26 because I had a couple of "high" levels (they were just 140). I may cut it back to 25 and just have to very slightly increase my short-acting insulin.
For short-acting insulin, I have cut back from more than 30-40 units throughout the day to just 2-6 units for the entire day. Basically, if I'm eating anything with more than 1 or 2g of carbs and my blood sugar is over 130, I take 1-2 units of Humalog.
Also, if you're using the Spark People app to track your macros, it will not let you change many of your goals if you tell it you're diabetic. But if you don't tell it you're diabetic, you can't enter your blood sugar and insulin information. To get around this, I downloaded a second app called MySugr. I'm pretty sure this is aimed towards children, but that just means it's much easier to use. This allows me to enter my blood sugar levels, insulin dosages, and carb amounts, and also lets me add little note icons for pre and post-meal levels, which meal it is, if I'm sick, etc. The SP app is also a bit annoying in that it does not subtract fiber amounts from carb amounts, so the MySugr app also lets me track my carbs minus the fiber.
Overall, I'm really happy with the results I've seen in my blood sugar and energy levels. I still miss all those awful foods that I don't eat anymore, but being able to eat bacon every single day kinda helps. I think I could definitely do this long-term, but I may occasionally cheat on holidays or vacation, but still keep my daily carbs below 50 or so.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Starting Over - Plus More Background Info
After that cheat day on Saturday, I eased back into the low-carb diet pretty easily in every aspect except that "I want to eat an entire loaf of bread" one.
My blood sugar levels were all messed up on Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday, they started getting easier to control and predict. Today, Tuesday, they've been perfect all day.
Blood Sugar Levels Tuesday, October 25
Fasting, 7:30 a.m. - 123 (for those who aren't in the know: this is almost perfect. Fasting blood sugar means the first test of the day, before you've eaten or done any exercise. The goal is typically between 70 and 100, so 123 is really good considering I usually run about 300 first thing in the morning)
Still fasting, ~11:00 a.m. - 133 I'm assuming that since I've basically been without any sort of food for more than 12 hours, my body started producing glycogen, which raised my blood sugar level
Two Units Humalog with Lunch at 11:30 a.m. - This is a significantly lower dose than I normally take with meals, since I'm consuming little to no carbs. My usual mealtime dose is between 10 and 15 units.
The Rest of the Day - I've been testing my blood sugar every few hours since lunch. It's currently 7:00 p.m. and my last level was 113 at about 6:00 p.m.
This is seriously amazing for me. I haven't had such tight control of my blood sugar levels since before my parents relinquished control over my health to me when I was about 14. My levels usually ran in the high 200's and often bounced up to the 300's after meals. It was just impossible for me to find that perfect ratio of insulin to carbs. I always either didn't take enough or if I increased the insulin just a bit, I'd plummet to dangerously low levels. I've been hospitalized five times for diabetic ketoacidosis in the past decade. I have peripheral neuropathy in my hands and regular heartburn due to consistently high blood sugar levels. I'm basically a medical disaster at age 29, and I basically just got sick of feeling sick all the time.
The Transition SUCKS
I've only been on a low-carb diet continuously for three days, so obviously it still sucks. I'm not craving anything in particular, except everything. The thing in general that I miss the most already is crunchy foods. I haven't stocked my pantry with keto-friendly ingredients yet, so I've been eating a lot of meats, cheeses, and lettuce. I'm going to try to add celery and peanut butter to my snacks to get that crunch factor back. Once I stock up on ingredients, I'll probably try to make some cracker-type things.
Food Log Monday, October 24
So obviously, there's a lot of cured meat and sodium in there, but I haven't gotten together cooking ingredients yet. I've noticed an increase in my blood pressure, but I can't tell if it's diet-related or stress-related, so I'm going to try to increase my water intake and blood pressure medication until I've been on the diet for a few weeks. (This is because I have read that going into ketosis expends a lot of sodium and water, so people generally need more sodium during the initial phase.)
Outlook
I'm looking forward to getting my blood sugar under control and hopefully halting or even reversing some of my difficulties. Weight loss is also a big deal for me because my waistline has increased from 32 inches to 40 inches in the past 10 years. I'm a short dude, and it's almost impossible to find nice-looking pants in size 38x30.
I already feel like I have enough energy for a longer period of time, which is a welcome side effect. Before, I was eating carb-laden foods every couple of hours and still feeling tired because of the blood sugar roller coaster. Now, I eat my protein and fat at regular intervals and snack on almonds in between, and I feel awesome. I feel hungry, but it's not that horrible type, and I don't feel the tiredness that is caused by high blood sugar (it's very different from regular tired, trust me).
Once I stock up on my cooking ingredients, I'll probably feel much better about missing out on all those delicious carbohydrates.
My blood sugar levels were all messed up on Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday, they started getting easier to control and predict. Today, Tuesday, they've been perfect all day.
Blood Sugar Levels Tuesday, October 25
Fasting, 7:30 a.m. - 123 (for those who aren't in the know: this is almost perfect. Fasting blood sugar means the first test of the day, before you've eaten or done any exercise. The goal is typically between 70 and 100, so 123 is really good considering I usually run about 300 first thing in the morning)
Still fasting, ~11:00 a.m. - 133 I'm assuming that since I've basically been without any sort of food for more than 12 hours, my body started producing glycogen, which raised my blood sugar level
Two Units Humalog with Lunch at 11:30 a.m. - This is a significantly lower dose than I normally take with meals, since I'm consuming little to no carbs. My usual mealtime dose is between 10 and 15 units.
The Rest of the Day - I've been testing my blood sugar every few hours since lunch. It's currently 7:00 p.m. and my last level was 113 at about 6:00 p.m.
This is seriously amazing for me. I haven't had such tight control of my blood sugar levels since before my parents relinquished control over my health to me when I was about 14. My levels usually ran in the high 200's and often bounced up to the 300's after meals. It was just impossible for me to find that perfect ratio of insulin to carbs. I always either didn't take enough or if I increased the insulin just a bit, I'd plummet to dangerously low levels. I've been hospitalized five times for diabetic ketoacidosis in the past decade. I have peripheral neuropathy in my hands and regular heartburn due to consistently high blood sugar levels. I'm basically a medical disaster at age 29, and I basically just got sick of feeling sick all the time.
The Transition SUCKS
I've only been on a low-carb diet continuously for three days, so obviously it still sucks. I'm not craving anything in particular, except everything. The thing in general that I miss the most already is crunchy foods. I haven't stocked my pantry with keto-friendly ingredients yet, so I've been eating a lot of meats, cheeses, and lettuce. I'm going to try to add celery and peanut butter to my snacks to get that crunch factor back. Once I stock up on ingredients, I'll probably try to make some cracker-type things.
Food Log Monday, October 24
So obviously, there's a lot of cured meat and sodium in there, but I haven't gotten together cooking ingredients yet. I've noticed an increase in my blood pressure, but I can't tell if it's diet-related or stress-related, so I'm going to try to increase my water intake and blood pressure medication until I've been on the diet for a few weeks. (This is because I have read that going into ketosis expends a lot of sodium and water, so people generally need more sodium during the initial phase.)
Outlook
I'm looking forward to getting my blood sugar under control and hopefully halting or even reversing some of my difficulties. Weight loss is also a big deal for me because my waistline has increased from 32 inches to 40 inches in the past 10 years. I'm a short dude, and it's almost impossible to find nice-looking pants in size 38x30.
I already feel like I have enough energy for a longer period of time, which is a welcome side effect. Before, I was eating carb-laden foods every couple of hours and still feeling tired because of the blood sugar roller coaster. Now, I eat my protein and fat at regular intervals and snack on almonds in between, and I feel awesome. I feel hungry, but it's not that horrible type, and I don't feel the tiredness that is caused by high blood sugar (it's very different from regular tired, trust me).
Once I stock up on my cooking ingredients, I'll probably feel much better about missing out on all those delicious carbohydrates.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Major Cheat Day lmaoooo
Obviously I haven't started this diet seriously yet. I was really pleased by the results of the first day and a half of going low carb, but today I had a serious migraine and treated it using some of nature's finest remedies. This resulted in the serious munchies, so I ate a bunch of carbs.
Even though I took ridiculous amounts of insulin, my blood sugar was at 500 at one point.
So basically once I get rid of the carbs in the house, I'll be good. Today basically just confirmed that the keto diet is the way to go for me, because carbs are really just not good for my blood sugar control. (For the record, yes I was a bit stoned, but I still measured my carbs and took the proper amounts of insulin. It's just that extreme blood sugar spike after carbs.)
SO BASICALLY today was kind of a failure, but not really because I haven't actually started. Once we rid our house of high-carb foods, I'll only be able to eat keto-friendly foods when I have to treat a migraine and get the subsequent munchies.
Even though I took ridiculous amounts of insulin, my blood sugar was at 500 at one point.
So basically once I get rid of the carbs in the house, I'll be good. Today basically just confirmed that the keto diet is the way to go for me, because carbs are really just not good for my blood sugar control. (For the record, yes I was a bit stoned, but I still measured my carbs and took the proper amounts of insulin. It's just that extreme blood sugar spike after carbs.)
SO BASICALLY today was kind of a failure, but not really because I haven't actually started. Once we rid our house of high-carb foods, I'll only be able to eat keto-friendly foods when I have to treat a migraine and get the subsequent munchies.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Initial Thoughts
I started cutting down on carbs and increasing my protein and fat intake yesterday. While I was previously subsisting mostly on carbs (generally over 200g per day), I cut down the carbs to about 80g. My blood sugar was a bit up and down all day yesterday, which was expected. I snacked on roasted almonds all day and had no high-carb foods after about 1pm. I didn't monitor my blood sugar very well that day, so I don't know what it was before I went to bed.
This is my food log for October 20 from SparkPeople:
I woke up around 7am today with a fasting blood sugar level of 97, which is basically perfect! I had a high-protein breakfast with no carbs, and at 2pm, my blood sugar was 107, still perfect. I'll upload my food log tomorrow.
I haven't fully started yet, and I have a major headache that I believe is due to going from 200g of carbs a day to 60, to almost none so far today. I know this will go away after a couple of weeks, but I don't actually have the money to get all the food I need to dive into this diet completely yet. But so far, it seems like it'll go well.
This is my food log for October 20 from SparkPeople:
I haven't fully started yet, and I have a major headache that I believe is due to going from 200g of carbs a day to 60, to almost none so far today. I know this will go away after a couple of weeks, but I don't actually have the money to get all the food I need to dive into this diet completely yet. But so far, it seems like it'll go well.
Intro Post
This isn't going to be a fancy blog, but I am probably putting some ads on it because I'm broke. I'll make them as subtle as possible though.
Basic Information: I'm 29 and I've been a type one diabetic for 27 years. Once I hit puberty, I lost control of my blood sugar levels for various reasons. At one point, my A1c was 13. I've been hospitalized four times for diabetic ketoacidosis, and I've never been able to find a doable diet and insulin regimen that I could handle long-term.
During a completely unrelated doctor appointment with an endocrinologist who doesn't actually handle diabetes, he suggested I try the ketogenic diet to get control of my blood sugar, A1c, and weight.
As of October 21, 2016, I'm 5'6" and I weigh 200 pounds. I'm also transgender and in the process of scheduling a hysterectomy/oophorectomy. I've been on testosterone and estrogen blockers for about five years. The only relevancy this has to this blog is that I'm also trying to build muscle mass and lose weight, and hormones obviously play a big part in that. I also have high blood pressure, which will make this even more difficult.
At my peak physical shape, I was about 140 pounds, my A1c was about 6, and I was able to exercise for 5-6 hours a week by bicycling, hiking, and jogging. Due to other medical conditions, exercise has become difficult, so I'm trying to ease into it by doing short sessions of aerobics in my home. I'll blog about my exercise adventures as well as the diet ones.
I haven't completely dove into the keto diet yet, and I anticipate a lot of difficulties, but my initial experiments have been sort of successful. In addition, my wonderful girlfriend Gloriana will be undertaking the diet with me to support me, so if she has anything to add, we'll post it here.
This is our little family:
Why Should I Read This Blog?
This is mostly for my own records, and to share my results with interested friends and family. If you're reading this and you're not a friend or family member, here are some topics this blog will cover that may interest you:
-Ketogenic dieting while diabetic
-Ketogenic recipes for lazy people
-Ketogenic dieting with high blood pressure
-Ketogenic dieting while transitioning FtM
-Being transgender and chronically ill
-Exercising while chronically ill and overweight
If any of those topics interest you, feel free to follow this blog, click on an ad or two, and share the link with your interested friends.
Basic Information: I'm 29 and I've been a type one diabetic for 27 years. Once I hit puberty, I lost control of my blood sugar levels for various reasons. At one point, my A1c was 13. I've been hospitalized four times for diabetic ketoacidosis, and I've never been able to find a doable diet and insulin regimen that I could handle long-term.
During a completely unrelated doctor appointment with an endocrinologist who doesn't actually handle diabetes, he suggested I try the ketogenic diet to get control of my blood sugar, A1c, and weight.
As of October 21, 2016, I'm 5'6" and I weigh 200 pounds. I'm also transgender and in the process of scheduling a hysterectomy/oophorectomy. I've been on testosterone and estrogen blockers for about five years. The only relevancy this has to this blog is that I'm also trying to build muscle mass and lose weight, and hormones obviously play a big part in that. I also have high blood pressure, which will make this even more difficult.
At my peak physical shape, I was about 140 pounds, my A1c was about 6, and I was able to exercise for 5-6 hours a week by bicycling, hiking, and jogging. Due to other medical conditions, exercise has become difficult, so I'm trying to ease into it by doing short sessions of aerobics in my home. I'll blog about my exercise adventures as well as the diet ones.
I haven't completely dove into the keto diet yet, and I anticipate a lot of difficulties, but my initial experiments have been sort of successful. In addition, my wonderful girlfriend Gloriana will be undertaking the diet with me to support me, so if she has anything to add, we'll post it here.
This is our little family:
This is mostly for my own records, and to share my results with interested friends and family. If you're reading this and you're not a friend or family member, here are some topics this blog will cover that may interest you:
-Ketogenic dieting while diabetic
-Ketogenic recipes for lazy people
-Ketogenic dieting with high blood pressure
-Ketogenic dieting while transitioning FtM
-Being transgender and chronically ill
-Exercising while chronically ill and overweight
If any of those topics interest you, feel free to follow this blog, click on an ad or two, and share the link with your interested friends.
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