Turning the Diabetes Diet Upside Down
Introduction
This is a story of turning the diabetes diet upside down. It is the opposite of what most people stressed was the best for me. In my moments of “weakness” though, I would bend with the results of being constantly hungry and many times depressed. The “regular diabetes diet was not working for me.
What Did I Do?
I went into “test mode” to research which foods I could and could not eat. In short, which ones affected my glucose level, and I did my best to stay away from those. But being hungry all the time, it was difficult not to eat more bread than I should, have a bowl of ice cream, or eat a piece of cake. It was always a constant struggle – keeping the glucose level down and not being hungry.
I am still in my test mode but on a slightly different track. I am now starting a diabetes diet that:
As much as possible, it eliminates carbohydrates. Carbohydrates cannot be eliminated, but they can be significantly removed from my diet with vigilance.
No grains, No Sugars
One of the fundamental rules is to as much as possible remove all carbohydrates from my diet. Carbohydrates spike glucose levels, which is something no diabetic wants.
The Three Parts of a Meal
The three parts of a meal include:
Carbohydrates
Fats, and
Protein
Eliminate carbohydrates, and they must be replaced with “something.” The something is either protein or fat.
Try living on a high-protein diet and see what happens. What happened to me was constant hunger. I could last possibly one hour, then was hungry again. I am presuming that is why I often heard the suggestion to eat five or six times per day.
Then It Happened
By some fate of fancy, extreme luck, or good fortune, I stumbled upon a video by Dr. Sarah Hallberg. Dr. Sarah Hallberg was the Medical Director at Virta Health, a clinically proven treatment to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes without medications or surgery.
The video by Dr. Hallberg presents the convention that much of what is promoted for diabetes treatment today is driven by the profit motive, not by what is best for the patients. She focuses on changes to the diabetes diet that replaces carbohydrates with good fat and eliminates sugars. The discussion is much more detailed, which I leave to Dr. Hallberg, but the principles are well-addressed and easy to follow.
What I am Going to Do for You
I am intrigued by Dr. Hallberg’s assessment and professional suggestion for diabetes treatment that aims to put my Type II diabetes in remission. I say remission as I do not believe I will ever be able to return to a regular diet where I can eat potatoes and rice. I will always have to watch my carbohydrate intake.
I will stick to a 30-day plan for the low carbohydrate / good fat diet. The goal will be during the 30 days to:
Significantly lower my glucose level.
Not be affected by constant hunger, which I am now.
My experiment will be videoed each second day and presented on our new YouTube Channel. Please follow along.
Conclusion
Dealing with a diabetes treatment regime is sometimes – or most times, frustrating. Many times, I have had to ask, “well, what is left to eat?” The standard message has been to reduce carbohydrates and stay away from red meat, eating lean chicken, fish, and vegetables. I sometimes think I am now part rabbit I have eaten so many vegetables.
Now, with Dr. Hallberg, I have a plan. A 30-day plan for an experiment to collect real-life data on the impacts of replacing carbohydrates with good fat. I hope you will follow along with our video series.
If there is anything we can do to help you, please email or call us at www.damndiabetes.ca
Best wishes ...
Commentaires