The diet/blood sugar challenge

There is a ton of information out there about the impact of diet on metabolic health. Diet and nutrition is so fundamental to your overall health and well being — not just metabolic health — and so it’s obviously very important to find a way of eating that works well for YOU.

There are a lot of ways of eating, many of which proclaim to be THE eating regimen for optimal health and well being. I won’t argue the pros of cons of whichever way of eating you choose. The one common theme I have noticed across all of these diets is the advocacy for non processed whole food. Here are some good tips on ways to cut down on processed foods.

As of the time of this post, I have tried 3 diets to experiment specifically how they impact my blood sugar. Specifically, my goal is to maximize the time my glucose level is in the “Green zone” between 70-140 mg/dL and minimize the amount of blood sugar spikes after eating. This is my experience:

1. Plant based: The first diet I experimented with was whole food plant based diet. I’ll admit this was tough for me. I found it very difficult to limit carbohydrates and still feel full, so I found that I consumed ALOT of legumes and nuts. Which was fine, but as a result had some unpleasant GI issues. Also, I did not notice much of a difference in my average glucose over the period of 2 months that I tried the diet. Given the nutritional value of fruits and veggies, I believe they have to be a part of your diet regimen, just not the entire story.
2. Carnivore: This was the second diet I experimented with. I was inspired by Dr Paul Saladino (@carnivoreMD) and his take on the correlation between meat and positive health outcomes. *Full disclosure I did not get into the organ meats or organ meat supplements, but I did eat meat as my primary food for about 30 days. I’ll admit I enjoyed it (who doesnt love a steak) but I wasnt seeing a whole heck of alot of improvement in my glucose numbers interestingly. I did notice that I had better energy levels than with the plant based diet. My biggest complaint was that I just felt like the diet itself lacked variety. After a while, just eating meat/chicken/fish with nothing else. 1) didnt taste very good; and 2) came with its own gastro issues (lack of fiber if you catch my drift). So I kept searching…
3. Low Carb No Sugar: This is the way of eating regimen I currently am on, and have found that it works quite well for me — and keeps me pretty stable and in the glucose “green zone” for the most part. So what is “Low Carb No Sugar”? Well, pretty much exactly that :) To be on this diet you have to be willing to read labels. (oh and my word of advice on labels, if in the ingredients list you read something that you havent heard of, chances are its not optimal). I pretty much limit myself to less than 30 carbohydrates per day. And any carbohydrates that I do consume will either come from vegetables; fruit or nuts. Here is what a typical day in the life meal looks like for me on this diet:

Breakfast:

2 eggs (any style)

2 Chicken Sausage links (I like Applegate Natural Chicken and Sage because they have no sugar and are super tasty)

1 Avocado drizzled with olive oil and Keto Fyr Salt

Cup of coffee (I include a drop of heavy cream and a small amount of MCT oil because I find it gives me sustained energy throughout the day)

Lunch:

Usually some kind of salad or something like chicken salad or tuna salad. One of my go to salads is just mixed greens with chicken, almonds, blueberries, hemp seeds (solid protein), cheese, avocado. Drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. Maybe add some of that Fyr Salt on there as well :)

Also, if that’s not enough maybe include some kind of grain free bar. I like Munk Pack Keto Nut and Seed bars because they are really good and quite filling.

Dinner:

Some kind of lean protein (chicken; salmon; steak; turkey burger)

Some kind of cooked vegetable (Sauteed spinach; steamed broccoli, crispy brussels sprouts) and a salad (similar to the one for lunch maybe without the chicken)

Or something like an easy beef stir fry like the one here: https://easylowcarb.com/easy-beef-stir-fry/

The Bottom Line

Regardless of the diet you choose, as mentioned earlier the one common thread across most diets (and especially true among the ones I described here) is to stay away from processed foods. period. end of story. If there are ingredients you read that you have never heard of, I would advise you to stay away. As best you can, try to eat foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.