“I knew straight away that this diet was the only choice for me”

Before and after

Despite intense dieting and exercising to manage her type 1 diabetes, Stephanie kept gaining weight. She started researching on the internet, and after typing in diabetes diet and finding Dr. Bernstein’s work, she had a light-bulb moment and threw out the carbs from her fridge:

The Email

Dear Dr Andreas,

Low carb has done so much for me, it’s great to be able to share my experience.

I’ve been a type 1 diabetic since I was 25, and for the first few years I didn’t manage it very well. Like many type 1s, I went through a phase of just doing the minimum to be able to cope, but I felt ill a lot, went through low and high levels every day, and was gradually gaining body fat, but without paying much attention.

In late 2015, I took an education course for type 1s, and started to improve my HbA1c with carb counting. However, the better control I got, the more difficult I found it to lose weight. I was dieting and exercising, but I was more likely to have gained a pound than lost one, at my weekly weigh-in. I was frustrated, my doctor was no help, and a year ago I was on the verge of joining a popular slimming club that uses a low-fat diet. As I was researching it, luckily for me I happened to type ‘diabetes diet’ into Google, and discovered Dr. Bernstein’s book Diabetes Diet. I read it, and it all made perfect sense. My boyfriend was a bit worried, but we decided to try it for a couple of weeks. The benefits to my blood glucose levels were amazing, and I knew straight away that this diet was the only choice for me to manage my condition as well as possible for the rest of my life.

I discovered Diet Doctor soon after when I was looking for more varied recipes, and I’ve found the videos really helpful. I’ve watched Dr. Naiman’s talk about hyperinsulinemia again and again. Now I use a strict low-carb diet, intermittent fasting and exercise to manage my diabetes, and my goals are to achieve normal blood sugars with as low insulin as possible. I’ve also lost about 35 pounds (16 kg), and my general health, energy levels and mood are much higher than before.

I still get cravings, and occasionally give in to them, but the negative effects are obvious. Since I started using continuous glucose monitoring, I can’t hide the effects of cheating from myself, so that’s given me a bit more motivation.

I decided that after a year of lecturing my friends and family, it was time to try to help let other people know how much this diet can change your life, so I started posting about it on instagram, and I’ve just started a blog. My instagram name is lowcarbtype1, and my blog is lowcarbtype1blog.wordpress.com

Type one diabetes is a constant battle every day, and even when you do everything right it can be unpredictable. I’m determined to be my own doctor, and take control of all the elements of my health that are within the scope of my influence.

Thanks for all the help from Diet Doctor!
Stephanie

Comments

Congratulations Stephanie, to your success on low carb!

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