What Do I Eat Then?

Thursday March 27, 2008

What Do I Eat Then?

I have been asked this allot, and the shortest and best answer I can give is this link to the page of "No No's In a Nutshell" from Dr. Bernstein's book Diabetes Solution.

If it is in the No list then I don't eat it because it does not allow me to keep a tight, healthy control over my bG. The forum offers tons of yummy tested recipes, and I practically live there as I learn them and new cooking techniques. Do I miss the carbs? No, not really. I don't crave them anymore because I went cold turkey. In fact the smell of really sweet things, like at a bakery turns my stomach. I do miss fruits, but find I can eat small amounts in moderation from time to time. I am especially careful right now as my body is "learning" to burn fats and protein for energy instead of carbs. That is not a medical explanation but my current explanation as I try to understand all the mechanics and chemistry facts right now. The fact that my diet consists of about 70% fat, 20% protein and 10%carbs means that I am fully satisfied on yummy butter, oils, heavy cream, nuts, cheese, and etc. yet I am losing weight at a steady 2.5 to 3 lbs a week right now. My calories average around 1500-1800 a day. I eat 70-90g of protein, and very close to 6g of carbs at breakfast, 12 at lunch, and 12 at dinner (6-12-12) with 4 1/2 to 5 hours between meals and virtually no snacking, I am usually not hungry and if I am I grab a slice of cheese and a few nuts now and again.

I know this is working for me because I am becoming fitter, I have tons more energy, my skin looks healthier, the charting shows my blood sugar (bG) steadily stabilizing and lowering, I am gaing muscle, my eye sight is sharpening, and my head is becoming clearer.

The tough part has been learning to eat more meat as I had been a vegetarian for my whole life prior to Diabetes and the IV incident. But the more healthy cuts of turkey, chicken and beef I eat the better I feel and the more regulated my bG is. Most vegetarian foods are highly processed and it does not do my body well. I do eat a fair amount of TVP in very yummy and creative ways though!

This time around the lack of bread has been made easier by introducing Joseph's Lavash, which is low carb and high in fiber, made of oat and flax. My bG handles it well and I have ben able to make some really delicious recipes with it, including pizza, calletzas (calzone), burritos (with Edens Organic Black Soybeans), and chips. Most of those recipes also originated from the forum, and it is where I learned about the Lavash.

I was previously caught up in an addiction to food, from this diet I am learning it wasn't an addiction to food so much as an addiction to carbs, the constant roller coaster of sugar surges and lows were keeping me locked int the cycle. Now I find food to be yummy, satisfying, and above all nourishing, not a hobby. There is so much freedom in that! It wasn't that I was eating that many more calories regularly or splurging on junk food all the time, because I am diabetic those food on the No list affect my body differently than for those who are not diabetic, and by eliminating them I can keep an even keel of insulin, thus regulating my mood and my weight and improving my health. The charts don't lie.