CLARIFYING THE PURPOSE OF THE GROUP. N Kasparek

Personally I think for the most part people are supportive. But occasionally people are going to misread a question or comment. It's difficult when it's only a written word. Honestly there is going to be a strong reaction which is negative when people post that they ate foods which should be avoided by a diabetic and state "I ate X and it didn't affect my bs". This is not helping those who are new and struggling with the diagnosis and finding their way through the information that is available. This group is supportive, but we don't enable poor choices or bad information being posted on this group. I, for one, was encouraged to research my disease, my meds, nutrition, exercise. I was given the tools too start my journey, to become well informed, and make my own decisions based upon good scientific evidence. While anecdotal information may provide some temporary help to some, it's not based upon fact, which is what we need. So when people say my bs is 400 and I age a whole pizza and someone says drink pickle juice it's not going to help in the long run, they need information how to change their thoughts about food and how to go about a life change.

Geo Zaun...good info for newbies

Ok folks, here is a question that is asked every day.....I eat this many carbs every day, is that to many carbs. The answer to that is simple, if your meter tells you that that is to much then that's to much. This is a low carb group, that means less than 100grams of carbs a day. Some of us can manage with that, but others can't. I can only manage around 20grams of total carbs a day. This figure depends on the individual and how far along their resistance is. This is somethin...g each and every individual has to figure out themself. You dare not forget that if you cut the carbs from your diet, you need to increase your fats. For every 2 grams of carbs you cut you need to increase your fats by 1 gram or a bit more because 1 gram of carbs=4 calories and 1 gram of fat=9 calories. You can not increase your proteins because if you do that, then your body will just convert the proteins to carbs and then your sugars will go up even though you cut your carbs. So understanding this you now know where LCHF comes from. Always always eat to your meter, your meter is your guide if your numbers don't come down then you need to cut more carbs and eat more fats. The amount of total energy you need to eat is determined by how many calories your body needs to function properly. My body needs around 2400 calories, so I eat about 100grams of proteins which=400 calories and 20 grams of carbs which is 80 calories. That is a total of 480 calories and my body needs 2400.......Well that means if fats are 9 calories per gram then I eat at least 200 grams of fats a day. This is what my meter tells me, this is what I must do in order to keep my numbers within the normal ranges and stay off of the meds

Geo Zaun

What is Diabetic Support? To me it means "Diabetic Assistance". If you are looking for "Diabetic Enablement" then this group is probably not the right group for you and you should ask your doctor or medical professional on where to turn. We will however try to assist you to get better blood sugar numbers and control over your diabetes. Please read the forum rules and abide by them as it will prevent a host of future problems. Thank you in advance.

EATING IN MODERATION

Sheila Gales, we do not support eating in moderation in this group. Continuing to eat in moderation will only cause more damage to your pancreas and your beta cells will finally be non existant. You may choose to eat however you want but please stop telling our new members to eat anything they want. As a diabetic there are foods that you must avoid especially grains, rice, pasta and potatoes. Continuing to eat these in moderation will cause your diabetes to be a progressive disease. Even though the ADA guidelines teach you to eat in moderation, they will tell you by doing so that your diabetes is a progressive disease. When you eat LCHF you can stop any more damage being done, and will help you to live a much longer healthier life. Most of us here that follow LCHF, have reduced our meds or even come off of them. Keep eating in moderation, and the only thing that will happen is further progression of your disease, and more meds being added over time. The only person being hurt by eating in moderation is yourself.

PAT SMITH COMMENTS

Type 2 diabetes is complicated and we would so like it to be simple. Can I eat this? What can I do to reduce my fasting bs -preferably by tomorrow?
We may all be sick of hearing about insulin resistance but it is the driving factor in your diabetes. Geo, Rhonda, Charlee and others are trying so hard to help us make good decisions about what we eat and we are "resisting". And this likely because we are so focused on bs impact of carbs. Unfortunately there is more to the story than carbs.
Insulin resistance does not exist without insulin. Insulin resistance is not the enemy. Insulin resistance is the body's natural mechanism for maintaining balance between glucose in the blood and insulin. TOO MUCH insulin resistance is the enemy. Diabetics have too much insulin resistance because we have too much insulin demand. That demand comes from about 4 different factors.
Both carbohydrates and protein require insulin to metabolize. Carbs directly impact blood sugar but protein does not. None the less both use up your your insulin supply. Diabetics have an insulin shortfall. So you can indirectly see the effect of (particularly) meat protein on your bs but it won't make immediate sense. All you can see is you ate some carb and your bs went up. Your insulin shortfall kicked in. The deeper we go in the diabetes hole, the greater this problem becomes.
Inflammation anywhere in the body cause immune system activity. Glucose is the fuel for that activity and the liver delivers that fuel. Insulin resistance is an immediate response to all that glucose. The more inflammatory conditions a diabetic has (and we usually have a lot) like infections, autoimmune diseases, food intolerances, allergies, - long list - the more insulin resistance. Even excess body fat is inflammatory.
Medications to treat those inflammations also cause insulin resistance. All the way from statins, antibiotics, steroids (a real biggee) bp Meds, to simple little over the counter Meds for allergies, etc, fillers in supplements, the list goes on. This can even include diabetes medications. So both the inflammations AND the the medication increase insulin resistance.
This all nets to a pile of glucose and a steadily decreasing insulin supply. You are caught in this cycle. And we tend to ignore all the inflammatory stuff and just focus on carbs - one particular carb at a time - and can't figure out why this isn't working.
Truly the carbs become more and more important the deeper you go into insufficient insulin. At some point insulin resistance will be extreme, even without much insulin. So in order not to die you have to inject insulin. And then resistance increases again.
It is tempting to believe that you can fix the problem buy eliminating all food using insulin. This is called starvation and not recommended. Illness causes inflammation and your body requires energy to keep you alive. Your body is going to find the glucose it needs to fuel immune response to inflammation or feed your cells. If necessary your liver will convert your own muscles to glucose.
It is tempting to decide against (as an example ) all beef, dairy, and salmon as they need more insulin to metabolize. Each also provides, however, highly valuable nutrients to the body. So balance is the answer. And managing bs one meal at a time through carb control. Don't be so quick to medicate.. Keep your immune system strong by consuming plenty of fiber required to feed the good bacteria in your intestines. Don't kill your good bacteria by continuous use of antibiotics -especially if those antibiotics are "just in case" and not actually responding to a bad bacteria infection.
Those LCHF success stories on our website are people who have managed their condition thoughtfully. People who actually understand what's going on with their condition. Every question posed on this Facebook page can be answered with yes, no, or an explanation. Look for the explanations.

COMMENT FROM DIABETIC EDUCATOR RHONDA L. RICHARDSON STRANGE

• . If you read a few medical journals or attend seminars on Diabetes, you will understand this is the perfect way of eating . High triglycerides you are seeing in patients are coming from 2 sources, one is carbohydrates, the second is trans fats. Neither are consumed when eating LCHF diet. Increasing healthy dietary fats, while elliminating carbohydrates, is very healthy! Once you go low carb enough, you have to replace the calories lost. You can't add proteins, because; too much protein converts to glycogen and burns like carbohydrates. Of the 3 nutrients only fats and proteins are essential and of those, the only one that has no affect on blood sugars are fats. The 80's and 90's and low fat diets are over with. They should never have been promoted. They did nothing but sky rocket numbers of people with Diabetes and heart disease, because the low fat diets had NO research behind them and were mostly a way to promote cheaper foods like breads, grains and pasta for the US Dept of Ag, for those on lower incomes and for manufacturers who wanted to add HFCS to foods. Over and over we see publications with new research, explaining how they had it wrong. Dietary fats are not bad! If you read material written by well known physicians, who specialize in Diabetes, you know, they also promote this way of eating. Teaching Diabetics, I have seen nothing bad from increasing fats, just the opposite. I work with patients who have lower blood sugars, better labs, and just better overall health from following this WOE. I have done this diet myself for 5 years and my health is better than anytime in my life. I got off of all medications. The physicians I work with follow this way of eating! Things are changing with the research. It can be accessed on the net, as well as other sources. As an R N, I also know the term brittle diabetes is almost non existing, as it was long ago determined in most of those cases, the diabetics were not adhering to a very strict dietary regiment. Eating this way will prevent ulcers and amputations of the feet and more, as those who get much lower blood sugars by following a LCHF Diet are changing their lives. All the inflammation and other symptoms reduce, as the blood sugars go down! I have seen the improvements in patients I work with! As an R N, I will always keep updated to benefit the patients I work with and stay informed by all the information available to me!

  
  

POST ABOUT THE GROUP from Jacky Gregore

•  This group does encourage lchf way of life to manage their diabetes more effectively. Many members have been able to get off meds and keep their numbers in the normal or pre-diabetes range through diet and exercise. The approach is one that is supported by many more recent in Europe and US studies. The regular medication that is encouraged by MD's appears to be designed to help a person continue in a damaging life style and manage symptoms. The diet set out by many diabetes educators supports very high carb intake that is what the body can no longer tolerate. So if it seems the group is pro-lchf, it is because it is. The medication my doctor origianlly put me on has a 27% increase in heart failure for people taking it. Why would I want to trade one bad thing for another? It costs over $400 a month, but the rep was glad to give me samples. I quit taking it, lost weight, lowered by bs to normal range and my A1C to 6 in 3 months using the lchf diet. So I will stick to this - I will be considered in remission in another few months of this lifestyle change. Works for me. What you choose for you is up to you, but encouraging you to check out an approach than has worked for a whole lot of us is not meant to be insulting, it is meant to show you an alternative.

COMMENTS GEO ZAUN

Diabetes is a vicious cycle. High Blood Glucose will increase your insulin levels, which will increase your resistance. This can be demonstrated by all those taking insulin. As your resistance increases so does your insulin dosage, which in turn will make you more resistant, which in turn will lead to even greater insulin dosages. This cycle in and of itself does not need carbs to feed itself. This is a cycle only you can break, by eating foods that do not cause an increase i...n resistance. Understand that if you eat to many carbs, your meds increase because your sugars increase but that's not really true. What you are actually doing is increasing your resistance requiring more meds, If this wasn't the case, your sugars would be near normal after you ate. You take the meds because your resistance is out of whack. There are non carb foods that don't raise blood glucose, but they sure as the dickens raise your resistance. Raising resistance means your insulin, the hormone you produce and/or the hormone you inject can't do it's designed job. In the short/long term you want to be able to lower your resistance. There are proteins and fats that will raise your resistance without raising you sugars at all.

SUCCESS STORY BY MARY

In 2008 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I was put on Metformin and directed to the ADA website for how to eat. What a joke. On 3/3/14 I decided I could no longer live how I was living. I was obese, diabetic, had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and I frequently was sick and had allergy issues. I was a carb and sugar addict and every diet I ever tried, I failed because I was constantly hungry or jonesing for carbs/sugar fix. In 2012 I discovered Atkins, tried it twice ...and then discovered Low Carb High Fat and the Ketogenic WOE which is what I started doing last year. It has been 18 months and I have gone from 260 pounds and a very tight size 20W to 162 pounds and very comfortable size 6. I set out to lose 100 pounds and am at 98 right now with two to go. In the pic below I was at 95 lost. By May of 2014 I was off Metformin and a couple months after that I was off my blood pressure med Losartan. I am completely med free, I no longer exhibit any Type 2 symptoms and no longer have high blood pressure. I haven't been sick since I began this way of eating and I have no more allergy issues. I have more energy than ever, I am happier (no brain fog or fatigue) and I will never look back. My fbs is typically between 70-90 and my last A1C was 4.5 If I had listened to my doctor and followed the guidelines on the ADA website, I would still be obese and diabetic. One of the best benefits of this way of life is I no longer SUFFER from hunger. In fact, I have a very small appetite and eat on average twice a day. It is a lie that diabetics need to eat every couple of hours and that will in fact keep your blood sugar from ever being stable. Cut out the carbs and sugar - there are no nutrients in them that you can't get from veggie carbs, protein and fat and your body doesn't need them at all - your body can and will use fat for fuel. Once that poison is out of your body, the physical cravings for carbs/sugar will go away. You will no longer suffer from constant hunger or have to feel like you are starving or on a diet. FREEDOM is what you will have if you are willing to go against the grain to get your life back.

POST BY EDNA MCCONNELL FROM THE DIABETES GROUP

Edna McConnell When first changing your eating habits , one should try to obtain a goal of 100g per day. After all, the majority of diabetics have been consuming 300+ g of carbs a day prior to diagnosis. The general public has been indoctrinated for decades as to how good carbohydrates were for us. Regardless of their glycemic index...they were all good for us. Now science has proven that the consumption of high and medium glycemic index carbs is responsible for the increase of insulin resistance and resulting in diabetes

EATING TO YOUR METER

•  Rhonda L Richardson Strange (certified diabetes educator) Eating to your meter lets you check out a new food to see if it spikes you high. Any time your blood sugar is not back to pre-meal status about 2 hours after a meal then you have eaten too many carbs in that meal. If you have a fasting morning blood sugar over 100, it also means you have eaten too many carbs the day before. A fasting AM sugar is called your Basal Insulin level and will be the closest average to your A1c. It is also the number your doctor will look at the most to adjust your medication. Barbie Briley almost every type 2 Diabetic over produces insulin, this is the result of having insulin resistance which is the hallmark of being a type 2. The pancreas will produce insulin when we have eaten any carbohydrate. The insulin can not do it's job (to transport the glucose from blood stream to cells to be used as energy), due to insulin resistance. Our cells will not let the glucose in. When the glucose can't get in, it builds up in blood stream causing high nlood sugar. The pancreas gets signaled that the blood stream still contains sugar, so it cranks out more insulin trying to do the job. This happens over and over and is hard on the pancreas. Insulin is also our fat storage hormone. It takes the excess sugar from our blood stream and stores it in the form of fat in our fat cells thinking it can be used later when energy is needed. To stop the cycle and rest pancreas we have to go very low carb. Without carbs our pancreas is not stimulated to make insulin. No one will go low unless you are taking a medication that forces your pancreas to make insulin when it is not needed. If this is the case with anyone, they need to have medication lowered. Never eat carbs such as breads , cereals, grains, fruit or other carbs to just feed your medication. You are hurting yourself and even developing more insulin resistance if you do. If you are on no medication, you will never get too low, as the liver will dump it's stores into blood stream. If liver stores get depleted such as in starvation, the body will start burning fat and muscle tissue until it gets food. All blood sugars over 140 are doing damage to the body and needs to be avoided at all times. High numbers for a long time can burn out the pancreatic Beta cells that produce Insulin. These cells are limited and can not not be replaced.

GEO ZAUN: IS DIABETES REVERSIBLE?

You can not reverse diabetes, once you got it you got it for life however you can lead a healthy life with the disease by living withing the carbohydrate limits that your body can still deal with without medication. So your intake of carbohydrates needs to be severely curbed and your meds need adjusted downwards with the help of you doc when that time arises. There is one big trade off in all of this, eat withing your carb limits or pay for the consequences of not doing so. Y...ou do all of this by eating to your meter...test test test, and reduce your carbs. None of us should be eating obvious carbs, if you are unsure, don't eat it. Eat those carbs that keep you healthy only, such as green leafy veggies. Count the carbs (total carbs) every day, you meter and your meds will tell you when you ate to many. This whole process is quite simple, the only thing it takes is your willpower and patience.

MARTIN SHANNON, DIABETES COACH AND HIMSELF A DIABETIC

• I read across a lot of diabetic forums and face book pages and the thing I hear the most is everyone is different you got to find what works for you. To a certain extent this is true; we are all a little different biologically. What needs to be said is that we are all human beings with basically the same biology, if this wasn’t true, vaccines, immunizations, pharmaceutical drugs all would have to be individually tailored to fits everyone’s needs and we all know that isn’t the case. Yes there are outliers to this rule; some will have a greater degree of side effects than others.
  
  A few basic facts when it comes to diabetes and a glucose metabolism that is malfunctioning. Carbohydrates are carbohydrates it doesn’t matter the source, carbohydrates will affect your glucose levels, some quicker than others but all will have an effect. The biggest source of glucose you are seeing in your blood is coming from the carbohydrates you are eating; the second source is proteins that are being eaten in excess of your metabolic needs for tissue repair. When you hear someone say you have to find out what works for you, I interpret that as find out what is acceptable to you, which still may not be what is necessary for long term health. People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus all have a varying degree of insulin available to modulate their glucose levels, what this leads to is a varying degree in the amount of carbohydrates you can consume. This is where the statement you have to find out what works for you. Knowingly or unknowingly what they are referring to is your carbohydrate budget, in reality they are referring to your available insulin. If you are taking medications that affect your insulin directly your carbohydrate budget will increase, is that a good thing or bad thing. Having to increase insulin to cover a food source that is easily removed from your diet and not necessary for human health or longevity doesn’t make sense to me. Don’t misunderstand, there are plenty of people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus that require medication even under strict carbohydrate reduction and there is nothing wrong or defeating about that. The end game here is to be healthy regardless of the path you need to take.
  
  The question now becomes for a newly diagnosed person with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, how far am I willing to push the envelope in regards to my insulin supply. Most people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus have a finite amount of insulin available and the majority of that insulin is phase II insulin or newly manufactured insulin. If you consume carbohydrates below your budget your body will once again start to store insulin as Phase I insulin. Phase I insulin is stored insulin and is used in response to consuming carbohydrates. In my opinion now that you have been diagnosed with Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus the wise thing to do is always consume carbohydrates below your available insulin supply. The less demand you put on your pancreas to supply insulin the quicker your path to health will be. Now that you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus your pancreas (Beta Mass), the insulin producing cells have been working overtime to keep up with the demand of your insulin resistance. It could use a break.

  
  

POST BY CAROLYN STATMAN IN OUR RECIPE GROUP

Wanna give a big THANK YOU to this group and a special SHOUT OUT to Martin Shannon. Just got my results. A1C went from 6.9 to 5.3!!! I feel great and have learned so much from yall. Still need to lose about 25 lbs. but well on my way!!! Doc said keep up the good work, and he's not big on praise😄

INSPIRATIONAL COMMENTS FROM GEO ZAUN

Diabetes is something every one of us has to learn to live with. How we treat this disease and our self along with it is what directly affects our mental health and all relationships we encounter. It really doesn't matter if those around us don't understand what we are going through, as long as we can understand and come to grips with that. I've given this subject some hard thought, and realize that this disease has actually had more of a positive impact on me than a negativ...e one. Diabetes has improved my life style, I'm fit both physically and mentally. I take less drugs now than I have in many many years and look forwards to tomorrow and totally enjoy family and my surrounds. Yes I'm still a diabetic, however that's something I don't dwell on. I have an established routine, and that routine goes with me where ever I am during the day. I travel a lot, my job as an I.T. personality demands this in a country where populations a spread out far and wide, however my routine travels along with me. It is knowing, understanding and coming to grips with this disease that makes all the difference. Knowing that you have the disease is the easy part, our doctors told us that, and our blood tests verified that. Understanding how and why this disease affects us in certain ways is more difficult but this understanding is eased a bit by learning how to come to grips with it, and what you have to do to get a grip on it. We are here (at least I am) to help you understand, come to grips, and get a grip on this disease. All it takes from you is the discipline to follow through, do some research and enlist the help of your medical staff to help you and not just automatically give you more drugs hoping that will satisfy you.

STATEMENT FROM DEB BONSER

Sometimes what we say sounds harsh to others. I hope I haven't offended anyone by my comments. One of the things I try to do is write it and then sit back and re-read my comment as if I were someone else and make sure it conveys what I meant. We also have to understand that some people are more diplomatic and others are more blunt. They may not mean to offend. All we can do is state what works for us and each person has to be responsible for their own life. Unfortunately this disease does not respond in the same way to all people. I hope you all have a wonderful day and find a bright spot in your day to focus on and eliminate some of the stress. Have a Blessed Day everyone!

STORY FROM FREDA

I am a success story. In 2003 I fell and broke my left humorous. (The big bone in your upper arm.)    NOT FUN!!!
I LOST:'(   The bone was" displaced. At first I had full use of the arm. I was taken to thr x-ray . Dpt.
  The bone was displaced . With the median nerve tented over the terrible jaged edge of the bone. They took two pictures of the arm and ten to fifteen of my head and neck. When the ortho dr got there. Off I went to  surgery.
I had 71/2 months  to get full use of the hand .
In  that time I went on a low carb high protein diet. I lost down  to 225 and I got stuck. I couldn't loose any more. I learned about carb indexes. I increased my low carb index foods. For one month I used the lowest carb index vegetables.  The weight just started to fall off. I got down to 177. Ive kept the weight off. Even with the steroids I've taken for my back and neck have not  caused a weight gain. I'm still loosing!