I went Keto to bring down my glucose and A1C.
Two weeks into Keto and lunch and before dinner blood sugars were normal, morning over 200 and no eating after 8pm. I felt great. I lost nothing!!!!Two weeks and nothing. But I was pleased and so was my doctor about my blood sugars. Any ideas to why this is happening? I'm insulin dependant.

Welcome Jean
Congratulations on the improved BG in the day! Your high morning reading is likely dawn phenomenon. https://intensivedietarymanagement....enomenon-t2d-8/

Read through some of the threads in the Diabetes forum. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45

Here is a good short talk on simple guidelines. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=467426

Weight loss will be difficult while still on insulin, please give your body time to heal. Will your doctor work with you lowering the dose? You should also give us an idea of what you are eating. KEto off the internet could be anything. Do you measure blood ketones? Keep protein moderate? (About 80g for a woman)
All the best,

My DH thought he was insulin dependent for over 20 years. But as his carbs go down, so does his need for insulin. Now, if he stays on strict low carb, he needs no insulin, and no diabetic medication of any kind. Dr. Fung says that once you need no medication and your A1C is below 6, you are "cured." We like to say "recovering diabetic," because we're not sure if you can cure your insulin resistance -- which is the underlying cause of diabetes.

Unless you are Type 1, I'm not sure that anyone is insulin dependent.

There is so much to learn here, but it can change your life.

Good luck.

T2 here - no meds. Is fbg of 200 a typo? That's a long way from normal! I start freaking out when I hit 140. But it takes time to bring bg down. And my fbg started out 3 years ago at around 200.

Check your bg often (probably more often than your doctor would suggest). That's how I found out I really can't skip breakfast - my bg kept climbing in the morning, even without eating. But on the other had, my afternoon bgs are pretty good (not perfect - I'm still new at IF, too). The more I experiment with my test subject (me! ), the more often I need to test.

Terrific progress with your BG!

I have T2 Diabetes - is that what you have, too, or is it T1? While I was taking insulin I was unable to lose any weight at all, no matter what I did. That may not be the case for you; my doctor refused to work with me about it so I did not have a good partner there, but I'm glad to hear that you do! As your BG continues to improve with the improvements in your diet you need to be watching for lows. Hopefully you will be able to decrease the amount of insulin you're taking, and if you have T2 you may be able to stop taking it altogether.

My BG improved the way yours is - my fasting number was the worst of the day (yep, that's probably Dawn Phenomenon for you, too), and my pre-dinner or even pre-bedtime number was the best. Now they're pretty much all good, but if I'm going to have a higher number it's going to be the fasting one. Eating breakfast immediately on rising helps, as does having a small snack at bedtime (like a small amount of nuts or a little bit of peanut butter, which are not Induction-friendly if you are interested in Atkins but you can find substitutes).

Anyway, back to weight loss. Can you give us an example of what you're eating in a day? There could be room for adjustment. Have you recently started exercising? Did you happen to take some measurements before starting as well as weighing? You might be shrinking but not losing scale weight.

You're approaching this right - BG before weight loss. But as BG comes down weight loss should be easier to attain, and if you are able to reduce your insulin things on the scale may improve further.

Thank you so much for the answers. I will do the research on the morning blood sugars. Lunch time blood sugars 110-120, evening sugars 100-90, morning is a nightmare. My nurse practioner is awesome. She said the same thing about the weight loss and insulin. I weigh in once a week, I'm waiting to see clothes get less tight. Breakfast: sausage mcmuffin no bread and 4 strawberries, lunch: chicken, green beans, salad with low carb dressing, dinner: pork chop, broccoli with butter, salad and 4 large strawberries. At this point any thing of more than 25-30 gm of carbs a day is a certain elevation in blood sugar. I went to Pintrest and got some lovely recipes that will be a good variation and I watched the ingrediants like hawk. I'm going to try making some fat bombs this weekend. My biggest problem is the fat and water intake. I'm so grateful for the help!! Another question can use arrowroot as a thickner, and what about baking soda and baking powder?

I wouldn't use arrowroot as a thickener - it is a starch with ~13 grams of carbs per tablespoon!

Cream makes a great thickener and will increase your fats as well. Baking soda and baking powder should be fine.

I would also rethink the fat bombs (assuming they are sweet rather than savory) as they can keep your cravings for sweets alive. There are safer and more satisfying ways to add fat.

What about adding 1/2 an avocado to your salad to increase fats? You don't say if you are removing the skin from your chicken breast, but a chicken thigh with skin attached (and pan fried till crispy!) is much more delicious and contains fat along with the protein.

I can attest to that. I made some lovely lemon fat bombs once. Never again - it's too hard for me to resist.



I've long preferred thighs to breasts for the taste & moisture. Breasts are dry - unless they're in a salad with a lot of mayo.

Avocado question - They're pretty high in carbs. Are they safe to eat on a vlc diet or is it a YMMV type thing & I should just test it?

Yes, avocados are high in carbs, but at least 1/2 of the carbs are fiber. I find that I can tolerate the fiber in avocado maybe because it is buffered by the fat? For me, they are one of nature's most perfect and satisfying foods and I'll give up other stuff (e.g. berries, dark chocolate) in order to eat 1/2 an avocado each day.

I guess that's the long way of saying YMMV.

And I totally agree with you on thighs vs breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are punishment, thighs are DeLish.

I would also suggest you do not consider fat bombs while you are trying to lose weight. If you eat extra fat, rather than the fats that come naturally in foods, you will not be able to tap into "your on-board pantry" as Dr Westman calls it. To make that clear, his new Adapt booklet limits extra coconut oil and butter to 2T, which you are using on your veggies. I'd even consider dropping the strawberries and limiting vegetables to 3 cups, which is Dr Westman's Heal clinic for Diabetes program. As to baking soda and powder, no problem using them other than it sounds like you want to explore the wide and wonderful world of low carb sweet treats and faux-baking. Again, to start this diet and get your weight loss going, I would stay far away from these substitute "lovely recipes" for now. Just. Eat. Real. Food.

Here is a great diabetes and low carb resource for you...Kelley at https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/201...-force-the-fat/
Her don't force the fat article is one of my favorites. Very helpful to explain above. But also check under each tab, she has compiled an amazing list of links, videos, even a free diet book. She's an RN like you and her personal story will resonate with you.

Thanks Janet - I'll be reading that. Switching to natural fats is tricky in this low-fat world. I've never had a lot of fat in my foods that wasn't connected to very high carb foods - think cinnamon rolls, ice cream, and bread with a lot of butter.

Limiting protein and getting enough fat is a whole new way of eating - and not easy for me to learn.

Me too Bonnie~ for me on this WOE, finding fat that isn't always tied to protein is so hard.
I love avocados but I can't eat them every day...too much of a good thing.

Just chiming in to say that my morning FBG was the last to come down. My FBG at diagnosis was 238. It is still often the highest of the day, but way better now, between 100 - 115. I do find that if I am more careful about the amount of protein in my evening meal, then I will get a lower morning BG.

Thanks for the ideas and help. Being a newbie you try to do anything you can to help this along. It not so much as sweets as it is bread and potatoes. I'm Irish I grew up on these on the table everyday. Breaking 50+ years of that habit is a killer. So if cloud bread or a cheese scone will keep me on track I will do it.(keto of course) I will leave off the "sweets". I will be reading the article. Thanks a million

Xanthan gum is a good thickener for gravies, puddings. You use VERY little and whisk it in. Much MUCH lower carb than arrowroot.