New girl :)

[tam0904]

Hi folks,

My name is Tammy and I am new to low carb-ing. I've been overweight for most of my life, and I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes a few years ago. Anxiety issues, a child with autism and a hectic life (I'm a teacher) has meant that I haven't been in the right place to tackle my weight issues, until now.

My diabetes nurse recommended I try a low carb, high fat diet, so after a lot of reading around and looking at recipes, I threw myself into it on Wednesday. Strange day to start a diet maybe, but I didn't want to wait any longer and I don't want this to be a diet. This has to be a lifestyle change for me; I am not on a diet, I am eating differently to rid myself of diabetes and ensure I am around to see my child grow up. I've decided that the only time I will weigh myself is at the doctors every 6 weeks when I go for a check up, and I am not measuring myself either. I don't want to obsess over it - I want to focus on food and lifestyle. Numbers mean nothing to me - I want to be healthier and that will come in time.

I don't have any friends who know anything about low carb, and a lot of my family are a bit sceptical about the whole 'high fat' thing ("So you can have CREAM in your coffee? :confused: ") so I am in need of some people to talk to, to answer my questions and hopefully become mutual supporters of each other :)

I'd be interested to hear from anyone else doing LCHF - especially any success stories!

[gonegirl]

Hi Tammy! Welcome! I'm new also, just started last Monday.
I've been telling friends I'm cutting out the sugar and carbs so I can drop some LBs and feel healthier. They usually say, I need to cut out the sugar/carbs too! So they don't attack you about doing, 'Atkins' or 'LowCarb' which they really don't get.
You might want to google how much water you should be drinking a day. That will help slough off the fat and it's good for your kidneys on a LC diet. I've found if I don't get all my water in I can tell the next day. Best of luck to you.

[JEY100]

Welcome Tammy :wave:

You are lucky to have a LC diabetes nurse suggest you eat LC! Many still stick to the old ADA line...but members here do not. You have found a great Low carb forum full of information on various low carb diets that could work for diabetes, as well as sub-forums on health issues that will help you as well. Many success stories right here:http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=149

Check out the Diabetes forum, read back through a few pages of threads as there are many videos and websites linked there that will explain insulin resistance and how to control it through diet. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45

One of the best 18 minute TedxTalk videos to show your family explaining insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes is a new one by Dr. Sarah Hallberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ or her website: http://fitteru.us Her rule is No GPS (Grains, Potatoes, Sugar) and don’t drink any calories. Her FB page has good success stories: https://www.facebook.com/Dr.SarahHallberg/?fref=ts

Another excellent website with links to many shorter videos and articles on a wide range of Health and diabetes topics is: https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com This is a large resource guide written by a diabetes RN and educator, check all the links under Everything Else tab, and under each topic, plus she has a free diet ebook for diabetes.

A simple real food, low carb website is: Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, has written one of the best explanations of not only how to eat, but why, all on one pagehttp://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf. His video lecture, which took place at 2011's Ancestral Health Symposium is an excellent 50 minute review of reasons for the US obesity epidemic and what to do about it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSeSTq-N4U4
His diabetes page, How to Normalize Your Blood Sugar is http://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes

Completely agree with your plan not to weight or even measure..you will know by how your clothees fit. But numbers you do need to follow, maybe more often than your nurse recommends is your BG. Take them after meals...see how different foods in different combinations with fat impact your BG. If you are on meds, be careful of going too low! so better to monitor often as you transition to a new HEALTHIER way of eating. http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/03/if-you-have-diabetes-no-low-blood-sugars/

Wishing you all success!