Low Carb Diet

I don't like the word "keto", so I won't use it. I like calling it "low carb" diet, because this is what it actually is.

After a few days with the continuous glucose monitor, you will surely notice how carbs affect your glucose. My first step was to try to change refined or processed carbs to "slower" carbs: brown rice instead of white rice, whole wheat bread instead of white bread, etc., etc.

Let me tell you one thing. It's all BS. You get exactly the same spike from your whole wheat baking as you get from the regular flour. Same with rice. It might take your body longer to process those carbs, but if your goal is to decrease the glucose levels, neither white rice, nor brown rice, not any other kind of rice will help. Neither does pasta (whole wheat? BS), nor the potatoes (sweet potatoes? same thing).

So, it was kind of bad news for me to learn that there is no such thing as "good" carbs. Carbs should go, period.

What I don't eat anymore

This is the list of foods I stopped consuming almost entirely:

• potatoes (both regular and sweet)
• rice (of any color)
• flour and baked goods, including pasta (no matter if whole wheat or not)
• juices (raw sugar, even if it's a fructose, does not matter much)

Now, if this list sounds scary, that's probably because it is! But, well, you know what, people don't have any way to treat diabetes, and I figured that choosing between being on medications till the end of my life and not eating french fries, I would choose not being on medications.

What I still do eat

Of course, if I avoid carbs, I must get my energy from fats. This is what all this "keto" thing is about, but you do remember I dislike that word. Choosing healthy fats without bumping your cholesterol level is not very easy, but possible; I'm not ready to give advice here, you can surely find nice and healthy fat sources for yourself. Think salmon, avocados, nuts, chicken thighs, anything else; I personally don't dislike steaks, burger patties and cheeses, even though I understand that I need to reduce saturated fats in my diet. But, I guess, glucose control goes first.

The good news is that when you remove major sources of carbs, you actually can allow yourself to consume something that does have carbs and sugars but does not spike your glucose levels too much, either because you don't eat or drink much, or just because your level is low enough so a small spike won't be a disaster.

So, I do allow myself, in smaller amounts:

• a flat white ☕, maybe not every day but quite often
  • I drink a lot of espresso with no milk at all, but I do allow myself a latte when I'm not too concerned with my morning glucose levels
• cherries - not a whole bag of cherries, but several cherries per day;
• apples - a Honeycrisp is delicious, and does not really spike my glucose that much;
• small amounts of corn, carrots, or beets, which often come as a side in cafes;
• I don't see a big deal in eating a scoop of ice cream once or twice per month, but I do avoid waffle cones.

This is all to say that I'm not bringing carbs to complete zero. My main goal is to remove spikes which bring me to 250+ mg/dL, and that is actually not too hard to do.

Some inspiration

I found this video after a few months of going low carb, and I was excited to get an external validation for everything I figured out for myself just by looking at my CGM graphs. I'm sure you will enjoy it too!

Where to eat

I work full time in the office, so I often eat in local cafes in San Francisco Bay area. It took me some time to figure out what to eat in each of those cafes to stay low carb and still get a tasty meal, so I'll share those findings with you!

• a low carb bowl or salad in Chipotle
• a low carb bowl in Five Guys
• a low carb Papa bowl and wings in Papa Johns
• a low carb no bun burger in McDonald's

I'll be adding more cafes in the list!