Diabetes: who can carb up and not suffer the physical consequences

If you want to ditch hunger then the only way I know how to do that is low-carbing. If you do the Atkins induction method you'll got nutsoid for a few days as your body moves from carb burning to ketone burning and you'll get tired and probably cranky, but once you convert to burning fat instead of carbs you'll find the hunger will go away. Byetta also works well for this and you can usually have more carbs.

If I ate 2400 calories a day I'd look like the Goodyear blimp. Are you looking at the 2400 calorie diet promulgated by the American Diabetes Association? If you were going to go 2400 calories strict low carb that would be less problematic, but you indicate you're not considering that.

Granted, I am a woman, but I'm 5'3" to your 5'5" and we stared out at about the same weight. When I eat 1200 calories a day I gain weight. And, honestly, not all calories are the same. Carbs cause more eating because they cause more hunger. It is a feedback mechanism that drives weight gain and out of control BG. I was eating 800 calories a day and exercising through an hour of power walking or working out at the gym in order to lose from almost 300 to 240 - where I was at the time of the bypass.

Maybe I am more resistant to weight loss than most because of my long history of IR, but I don't know anyone who loses significant amounts of weight without seriously curtailing calories over the long haul. I do know one person who ate Atkins induction for a long period of time and lost 70 out of the about 400 pounds she needs to lose. However, she won't curtail calories so she's been stuck for years now.

If you have not read them, I suggest you give Atkin's "Diet Revolution", Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution" and "Protein Power" by the Eades all a read. You can get a much better understanding of the biochemical underpinnings of the problems simple and even more complex carbs can cause for humankind. Perhaps you'll find some gems of wisdom you can use over the long haul.

I'm "fortunate" in a way that I have had life-long BG problems as a hypoglycemic as, except for the few years "Dr. Death" convinced me to eat high carb (hence the weight gain and diabetes) I have had to avoid simple carbs except for alleviating extreme lows. I don't have to unlearn lousy eating habits most of those eating a Western diet have. My idea of eating is meat, eggs, cheese, some veggies and a very little fruit.

I eat between 4 and 6 "meals" a day so my protein is spread out. I have a royal fit if my BG is in the upper 140's post-prandial. I admit I am obsessive about keeping my vision, brain, heart, legs and the like. An A1c of 6 has been considered okay, but according to the information coming out of Tufts that standard is going to change to 5.5. Even though most diabetics won't adhere to standards of eating and BG control that enable them to meet that goal, the reality is that we're killing ourselves slowly through destroying our blood vessels and damaging kidneys, heart, and brain. Oi. Diabetes, the gift that keeps on giving! (Can I regift this?)

Byetta is a much better avenue than pills if you are in the US and can get it. I used it for a few years and it kept my BG well under control. I was in the 80's I sought almost all the time. I have just started januvia since I should not take Byetta post surgery. Oral meds are not as good as lizard spit (byetta), but I'm hoping januvia (byetta in pill form) is sufficient to get me through the next few months until I can get off it too.

What "pills" are you taking? Metformin should be taken at the start of a meal so it goes into action with the food (advice from Dr. Joe) and Byetta is the gold standard of non-insulin drugs. Insulin is also appropriate to cover highs like those, but it will make most people eat more. I was sent home with insulin, but have never used it since getting home as I am math impaired (seriously, I have dyscalculia) and I was never taught to do calculations to apply it. The only reason I had it when I came home is that a resident at the hospital screwed up (breaking protocol) and hung a bag of dextrose instead of saline and my BG went over the moon for two days. (sigh)

I wish you the best, but I don't know anyone (except a few on byetta) who can carb up and not suffer the physical consequences. Denial and bargaining go with this disease and I'm as apt to wish I could eat anything, but I can't. My skinny friends don't eat anything they want, either. They all watch their weight by controlling intake.