Will a Slow Carb Diet Stop My Fight With Highs and Lows?

After being on insulin for over four years and experiencing all of the highs, lows, and eventual weight gain I have decided to make a change. Four weeks ago I started the Slow Carb Diet that Tim Ferriss promotes in his book, The 4-Hour Body. I'm not a big believer in diets. The trigger for the change was a realization that I was at my highest weight and poorest fitness level ever, and that my insulin use was continuing to rise.

My biggest surprise was how quickly things started to change. Early in the first week I experienced a low blood sugar just before dinner time after using my regular insulin / carb ratio from my experience with bread, potatoes, and rice. I immediately reduced my insulin dose and have continuously done so each week since. As of this week I have reduced my bolus insulin (Apidra) from a daily average of 32 units to 12 units. I have reduced my basal insulin (Lantus) from 40 units to 20 units.

My weight loss results to date have been encouraging, too. As of my Saturday morning weigh-in and measure up I have lost a total of nine lbs and four inches from my waist. Using the US Navy body fat calculations that translates into 20 lbs less body fat and 11 lbs more lean body mass.

Why is this happening? All of the carbs that I am now eating are slow release carbs from beans. This results in a more even change in blood sugar than I used to experience after my morning toast and oatmeal or my lunchtime sandwich. Since there is no spike (or at least a smaller spike) in my blood sugar I don't need as much insulin to deal with it. As a result I eat less and don't pack on fat from my food. As fat falls off, my body seems to be less resistant to insulin which means I can inject less.

My quarterly A1C annual cholesterol tests are due to be done in the next couple of weeks. I'll get the results when I see my doctor on June 28. These results will help tell me if I am on the right track. I'm looking forward to seeing good numbers and continuing to see the impact over time. So far so good. I'm encouraged.