Mike’s change of diet was an adjustment, not just for him, but for me, too. \u00a0Although I ate only small amounts of carbs to begin with, not having them at all during our meals wasn’t easy at first. The thought of cutting out carbs, going on a no carb diet, all at once seemed impossible. As luck would have it, I was able to transition pretty quickly (within a short time my OCD kicked in and I was eating lower carb than Mike). \u00a0And I did’t cut out all carbs at once. \u00a0I went one step at a time and didn’t pressure myself. \u00a0Nothing was planned in advance, it all happened naturally. I made decisions not to eat things and I stuck with them. Reading about the health benefits of a low carb diet also helped and encouraged me. \u00a0I felt like I was doing something really good for my body, something I should do even if I didn’t have diabetes.<\/p>\n
This all came to mind this morning when I read Scott Johnson’s post<\/a> on Diabetes Monitor. \u00a0Scott says: \u00a0<\/p>\n “I am grossed out by meat. I’m bothered by the texture of it and the thoughts of what happened between farm and plate. Grosses me right out. You might ask if I consider myself a vegetarian? Well, I don’t really know how to answer that. I don’t eat a lot of veggies either. Or fruits. So what’s left? Carbohydrates.”<\/p>\n Scott goes on to talk about his struggle to change his eating habits. \u00a0He’s gotten some tips from friends, and I’d like to add mine to the pile. \u00a0I have no professional expertise. \u00a0I just feel like I have a lot in common with Scott since I am a former carboholic who hates meat. \u00a0<\/p>\n The steps below were more or less my path. \u00a0I now eat around 30 grams of carb a day, and it rarely bothers me. \u00a0The most important thing here is to do this at your own pace. \u00a0The second most important thing is not to hate yourself if you mess up. \u00a0Just write the day off and start over fresh the next day.<\/p>\n 1. Cut sugar out of your diet. \u00a0White sugar and brown sugar. \u00a0Don’t worry about any other carbs. \u00a0<\/p>\n This step will make you read labels carefully, ask about what’s in the food you’re being served, and make you aware of how much sugar is out there. \u00a0(HFCS counts as sugar.) \u00a0Don’t eat bread with sugar in it. \u00a0Don’t eat salad dressing with sugar in it. \u00a0Don’t eat tomato sauce with sugar in it. \u00a0You can stay at this step for a week, a month, even two months. \u00a0Set your own pace and don’t move forward until you’re mentally ready. \u00a0If you try to do more than you’re ready for, you’ll screw up, and feel frustrated. \u00a0<\/p>\n The first step alone – cutting out sugar – leads to weight loss and better blood sugar levels, and still allows you to eat carbs whenever you want. \u00a0Try not to swap sugar for other sweeteners. \u00a0The idea is to get your body used to eating food that isn’t sweet. \u00a0When you have sweet cravings, try to satisfy them with fruit. \u00a0Swap your morning bowl of cereal for plain yogurt with nuts and fruit. \u00a0If you don’t mind eating eggs, they are an excellent breakfast choice.<\/p>\n 2. See if anyone in \u00a0your family will do this with you. \u00a0The more support you have, the better. \u00a0And the less food with sugar in it that you have in your home, the better.<\/p>\n 3. Eat at home as often as possible. \u00a0Try not to go to places where you’ll face temptation. \u00a0The first few weeks without sugar are hard. \u00a0Don’t buy your coffee at Dunkin Donuts if seeing and smelling donuts makes you crave them. Don’t walk down the cookie aisle in the supermarket. \u00a0<\/p>\n This step will require a certain amount of anti-social behavoir. \u00a0It means saying “no” when your friends invite you over. \u00a0It means not going to the movies if going makes you want to snack. \u00a0It’s temporary. \u00a0As soon as your body adjusts and temptation isn’t an issue, you can go back to your normal routine. \u00a0I can’t tell you how long this will take since we’re all different, but I am sure it will happen much quicker than you think.<\/p>\n 4. Cut out white flour. \u00a0By now you should be used to turning down food you like. \u00a0This should be easier than the first step. \u00a0<\/p>\n This step will move you into the world of whole grains. \u00a0You can still eat carbs freely, unless they contain sugar or white flour. \u00a0White bread and white pasta are out. Pretzels, unless they’re whole wheat, are out. \u00a0Start trying grains with a lower GI like quinoa and buckwheat. \u00a0Increase your veggie intake. \u00a0Roasted cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, spinach, green salad… Try to have at least two vegetables on your dinner table every night. \u00a0Eat tahini.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5. If you haven’t cut out white rice yet, now is the time to do it. \u00a0Only brown rice.<\/p>\n 6. No more potatoes. \u00a0Not in any form. \u00a0Sweet potatoes are okay (try to have small portions). \u00a0If you normally have potatoes at meal times, replace them with a vegetable you like. Eat tahini.<\/p>\n 7. By now you should have significantly reduced your intake of carbohydrates. \u00a0It’s a good time start thinking about how much whole wheat flour you’re eating. \u00a0If you’re snacking on whole wheat pretzels or brown rice cakes, switch at least one of your snacks to nuts. \u00a0Eat open-faced sandwiches to reduce bread intake. \u00a0Take smaller portions of whole wheat pasta and brown rice. \u00a0At this point you will need to start adding fat to your diet to avoid feeling hungry. \u00a0Eat fatty cheese. \u00a0Cook spinach in cream and butter and add it to your pasta. \u00a0Nut butters. \u00a0Lots of them. \u00a0When you cut out carbs, you have to replace them with something to avoid hunger and misery. \u00a0The fat will not make you fat if you are cutting out carbs.<\/p>\n 8. Cut out corn. Yeah… no more popcorn :(.<\/p>\n 9. Don’t view this as punishment. \u00a0You are taking care of your body. \u00a0You will probably have lost a lot of weight by now. \u00a0This happens not just because of a change in diet, but because of the dietary change you are reducing your insulin intake. \u00a0(Remember, insulin causes us to store fat. \u00a0The less insulin you use, the easier the weight will come off.)<\/p>\n 10. Start reducing whole wheat intake to only once a day. \u00a0If you’ve been eating it at dinner, replace it with cauliflower, or another filling vegetable that you like. \u00a0Continue to eat fat if you still feel hungry. \u00a0Sometimes, feeling hungry isn’t so bad. \u00a0I have felt hunger many times when I’ve found myself in situations where no low carb food is available. \u00a0And many times I’ve found the temporary hunger much more bearable than the agony of a carb-induced blood sugar roller coaster. \u00a0<\/p>\n 11. Always have a pack of almonds with you, especially if you can’t stand hunger. \u00a0Think of them as part of your diabetes treatment. \u00a0You always have them with you, just like you have your insulin and your low treatment. \u00a0Almonds will make you full.<\/p>\n 12. Always have glucose tablets with you to treat lows. \u00a0Just as you take Advil for an ache, you take glucose tablets for hypoglycemia. \u00a0A low doesn’t mean you have to eat everything in site.<\/p>\n 13. Avoid eating after dinner. \u00a0Eat enough at dinner so that you won’t want to eat again at 10:00 p.m. \u00a0This rule keeps me from going to bed with high blood sugar. By the time I go to sleep, I don’t have to worry about taking insulin to cover a nighttime snack and the potential low that could come later in the night.<\/p>\n 14. People are going to tell you that you shouldn’t eat egg yolks and fat. \u00a0Be ready to ignore them.<\/p>\n 15. Really start to think about how much fruit you’re eating. \u00a0Eat berries instead of grapes. \u00a0Eat an apple instead of a banana. \u00a0Start thinking about a cucumber as a quick snack rather than watermelon.<\/p>\n 16. Remember that it’s only about you and making yourself better. \u00a0The information I’ve shared here is what has worked for me. \u00a0I love to eat salads and vegetables. \u00a0I can go a long way on a few spoonfuls of almond butter mixed into yogurt. \u00a0If you can eat eggs and chicken, this will be a breeze. \u00a0If you can’t, you need to find good sources of protein. \u00a0I don’t eat tofu\/soy, so I can’t recommend it. \u00a0I also don’t eat beans\/legumes so I can’t recommend those either. \u00a0They are certainly reasonable alternatives, though.<\/p>\n 17. If I’m having an intense craving, I don’t feel bad if I give into it. \u00a0If I’ve made cookies for the kids and I\u00a0need<\/em> to have one, then I do. \u00a0I just try to not to have more than one.<\/p>\n 18. You should feel amazing now. \u00a0If you get off track for a few days, don’t stress. \u00a0Fix it and be proud of yourself.<\/p>\n Recommended recipes:<\/p>\n Vegetable Torta\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Buckwheat Chicken Stew<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Fried Haloumi Salad<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Frittata-with-Fresh-Herbs--300x200.jpg\" "\\"Frittata")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Summer-Vegetable-Torta-Carolyn-Ketchum1-300x200.jpg\" "\\"Summer")
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