i’ve been reading a lot lately about the Keto diet. i need carbs to fuel my swimming, but i was just wondering if anyone here follows this diet and if they feel healthy and have good BG control.( and exercise at the same time)
i was told by a CDE, that by following this diet, you can go into ketosis. but if you’re managing your BGs well (under 120) how can you possibly put your body in that state?
i was under the impression that Ketosis occurs when your BGs are extremely high.
There is a big difference in nutritional ketosis (safe) and ketoacidosis (unsafe, leads to DKA). Dr. Bernstein advocates for using ketosis as a basis for outstanding control. I have heard a few voices on our forum advocating that Dr. Bernstein’s approach works for them. I am sure they will be by shortly.
thank you for this. i find it very helpful. another question i have is if this kind of diet will work for D people who work out consistantly.
before i was swimming, i was on a realtively keto diet and had excellent BG control. i just wanted to know if this was realistic for someone like myself. i ate very very few carbs yesterday and my basal rates had to be lowered.
I don’t follow keto, per se, but I do generally follow a low-carb diet. It does vary somewhat because I burn out, but that’s mostly because of my food allergies. If I was just eating keto, it would be no problem to stick to.
I’m not an athlete, but I would say I feel stronger and more energetic when I’m eating fewer carbs. I have heard that there are athletes who follow low-carb diets (not sure if keto).
For me, my biggest struggle is wanting to lose a significant amount of weight (and of course keep it off long-term). I read every single nutritional and ingredient label on every single thing I eat and yet I am still unsuccessful losing any weight regardless of what way of eating I try. Super frustrating.
thnaks for the info. so sorry to hear about your frustrations. a real bummer. hope you find something that works. have you tried taking walks?
Here is a runner’s world article about the topic for non-diabetics. It looks like it can work, but the switch-over to using ketones rather than carbs for fuel could take a long time.
I pretty much walk everywhere since I can’t drive. 
So I don’t do walks for the sake of walks, but I do walk every time I go to work, pick up groceries, run errands, and so on.
In addition, I try to do 30-60 minutes of extra exercise on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, or swimming every day. And weights twice a week.
A couple months ago a dietitian looked at my food logs and the only comment she made was that I need more protein at some meals. (I’m buying a George Foreman grill, so hoping that I’ll cook more meat that way, as I hate cooking meat!)
The only time I lost weight was about 12 years ago when I managed to lose 20 pounds. I did it by exercising for about 2.5 hours a day, every day, because I had a six-month break where I wasn’t doing any school and wasn’t working and was living with my parents. That would probably work but I’d need to win the lottery to do it now…!
i think we could all do with winning the lottery!!! 
jeeze, you sound like an exercise maniac!! WOW. very impressive. could you possibly have another endocrine problem that is causing you to be over your prefered weight? like maybe a thyroid disorder? i have Graves disease and had to have Radio Active Iodine to kill off an over-active thyroid. now i take a tiny dose of synthroid to compensate.
Well, I wouldn’t say an exercise maniac. Not anywhere near athletic. I just walk where needed because I can’t drive. And then I do another 30-60 minutes each day because that’s what’s recommended for everyone to do, I think. I’m not exercising particularly hard for any of it.
I do have Graves’ disease, and was taking anti-thyroid medication for three years, but then it went into remission (really unexpected to my doctor). I was offered radioactive iodine but felt that was a bit extreme when my actual thyroid was fine, it’s just my immune system was attacking it.
A lot of my weight gain happened when I was in my 20s and told I could “eat whatever I wanted” when I started the pump. That was the worst advice anyone could have ever given a young adult who’d had diabetes since childhood. Of course, I went out and tried ALL THE THINGS I had never had before. Ten years of that and I’d gained 100 pounds. I lost some of that, then got Graves’ disease and gained 25 pounds after starting medication. Manage to lose that, then Graves’ disease went into remission and I gained 30 pounds. So I just feel like I’m gaining and losing the same 30 pounds, and each time it happens I end up five or ten pounds heavier.
I didn’t mean to derail your thread. 
I only mention weight because weight loss is one of the things the keto diet is most known for. So if I could stick to it strictly, I think possibly it would help. But it’s hard to eat really low-carb without dairy and eggs, so I find it challenging to stick to strictly.
i know, without a shaddow of a doubt, that i could never stick to it strictly. i just know that the less carbs i do eat, the better my body feels. my BGs are always stable (for the most part) pretty flatline with occational (exercise related lows and over-indulgance related highs). but i am a consciencious eater and dont generally over-indulge. and for the most part, i dont count calories. i just know what i enjoy, and i know what works for me.
i just want to fit into my jeans again 
. (and thats only about 4 pounds away.)
anyway, i am always into experimenting. D has not held me back from that…nor had my endo, for that matter (he’s REALLY BIG on experimenting with foods and boluses, etc)
sorry to hear about your struggles with Graves. its lousy, i know. just keep on keep’in on the best you can. IMHO, try and take pride in your efforts. i think that’s really what makes us all shine 
.
Chris, this was a very interesting artical, however, it really only touches on the subject of extreme athletes, not the avergae “Joe” who wants to cut back on carbs. i am curious about how a very very low carb diet would work for an active T1D like myself.
before my swimming days, my exercise was much more limited to what it is now. i basically ate a keto diet without even knowing what i was doing. i felt fine,physically, and my BGs were in great control (always with low A1cs). i know Eric has a very very strict belief in the power and neccessity of consuming carbs. i was just wondering if someone like myself (and i dont put myself through the same grueling regiment that Eric does with his running), could find this diet worthwhile and not harmful.
i shall keep on investigating, but if you have any more relavant info, please please share it!!! thanks, again.
DM
Did you test urine or blood to confirm?
Some people follow low carb, high protein, but don’t quite get to ketosis.
What about your current routine are you trying to improve?
DM - today marks one year since I began hardcore keto diet (less than 15 grams of carbs a day).
I’m in much better health today than last year, including off all 4 BP meds, no more edema (I’ve got CHF), insulin requirements have dropped by 50%, I’ve maintained a 35 lbs weight loss, my energy levels are much higher and my BG control is better than it’s been in the 55 yrs I’ve had T1D.
Oh, and BG time in range is roughly 98%, standard deviation is 1.0 mmol/L (18 mg/dl), as well as A1C in the non-diabetic range.
It’s not only possible but entirely doable.
Thank you Jim. congratulations on your outstanding achievement. blows my mind how making these changes can have such an incredible impact on so many aspects of our lives. i seriously doubt that i could make such an adjustment of reduced carbs to my diet. my swimming refuel shakes alone are 32gms carbs. i also eat 1C 4% Cottage Cheese every morning for breakfast, which comes to 10gms carbs. it astounds me that elimenating those is possible.but, like most things i consider trying, i’ll see where it takes me. 
I had all the same doubts you do (especially about the need for carbs, when low or especially while or after working out).
The past 6 weeks I’ve worked out 3+ hours a day, and generally burn close to or over 1,000 additional calories per day doing that. All of it fuelled by ketones and protein.
It took me 6 months of daily research from thinking “keto diet” was dangerous to jumping in with both feet, but as @Chris mentioned above, there’s a quantum difference between nutritional ketosis and ketoacidosis aka DKA.
While it only takes 2 or 3 days to reach ketosis, it really takes 3 months for your body and metabolism to optimize itself to run on ketones.
The only time I have highs much above 8 mmol/l (140 mg/dl) is when I have an issue with my pump site.
It works. It’s just tedious; you become a carnivore, a state which is undoubtedly fun for cats but lacks merit for us because it comes down to eating chicken, pig or cow in the US (goat, sheep are an expensive delicacy).
There are a lot of plus sides from the point of BG control (like, no boluses), but the total absence of vegetables is a definite negative. I like lettuce.
Suck it and see; it certainly won’t kill you and you may like it. I found that lots of US supermarkets have “roast chicken” available nice and hot ready to eat. If you are careful - it is the US and there is a tendency to spread sugar on everything - you can just buy one of those and eat it; lots of salt, but it tastes better than pork, or tofu (not permitted).
John Bowler
Maybe my understanding of “keto” is wrong, but I thought low-carb veggies were allowed? In fact, I thought low-carb veggies, meat, cheese, and low-carb dairy were what constituted a keto diet?
I don’t think I’ve ever done true keto, although I have done low-carb and been in ketosis for sure.
So it works, but there’s a person who actually studied this in Olympic race walkers. When you’re talking super peak performance, you simply can’t get to it using a keto diet – at least if the type of exercise you’re talking about is high-intensity aerobic exercise, like swimming or marathon running. For ultra marathoners or those who are running at below their VO2max then keto can be okay. But if your body is working really close to its limit, you need the carbs.
I like to post this article whenever I see confusion about ketosis and ketoacidosis. Unfortunately too many people are misinformed! Hope it is helpful.
FYI, i always have to bolus for both fats and protein. ALWAYS!!! so this aspect wouldnt apply to me. 