Atkins Diabetes Revolution and Me

I started reading Atkins Diabetes Revolution last week.  I'm not yet finished but I've already learned so much.  I really like how it's all written in plain language and so easy to understand.

So far, the book has made me determined to make some changes again in my diet, if only for the short term as an experiment.

There are three levels of daily carbohydrate limits suggested in this book.  Although the book is specifically written with diabetics in mind it also addresses weight loss which is an important part of managing or reversing diabetes. The three levels of carbs are 1- 20 grams per day, 2- 40 grams per day, 3- 60 grams per day.  Right now I am eating between 40 and 60 grams of carbs per day.

Although my blood glucose has come down significantly, I have been disappointed that I have remained pretty much in the 120's range just about all the time.  I may at times go down to 103 or up to 135 but for the most part I've remained in the 120 range.  I rarely, almost never actually go under 100.  I do not take any diabetes medication.

The book explained that for some people, like myself, even 40 grams of carbs a day are too many.  Besides lowering blood sugar, "another goal of carbohydrate restriction for diabetics is to "heal" the pancreas and give it some much needed rest so that the beta cells can regenerate".

I have decided to experiment by cutting my carbs to 20 grams a day. I want to see my overall blood glucose numbers go below 100 where they belong.  I'd also like to see if I can get my "dawn phenomenon" fasting numbers down to 100 or less as well. I really want to reverse my diabetes and bring my numbers down to a normal level, I guess I am one of those people who has to severely limit my carbohydrates to stabilize my metabolism.

I'm going to try this for 2 weeks and see what happens.  According to the book, you then increase the carbs by 5 grams a day and see what happens.  If you get to a point where the blood glucose begins to go up then you need to lower it again.  So really, your body will tell you what level of carbs you can handle.  Each person is different.

What I really like in the book is that it gives menus and recipes for each of the three carb levels.  It makes it so easy!   For example, the recipe for beef stew is for the 20 gram a day menu but it gives additional ingredients that you can add for the 40 gram and the 60 gram level.

I never thought I'd get so excited about going super low carb but I'm looking forward to getting my blood sugar normalized and I'm hoping that this will do it!

There are plenty of vegetables and even some fruits allowed within the 20 grams a day so I don't think I will feel deprived at all!  The recipes are great too!  You wouldn't believe the amount of food you can eat and the excellent recipes!

I will report on my progress along the way and I hope that you can benefit from my personal experiment.  In the meantime you can check out some of these Atkins Recipes.  They are so good!