Why I Can’t Commit to Keto

February 20, 2023February 8, 2023 mollyt1d1 Comment

As an ardent lover of all types of carbohydrate-packed foods, I can say with almost 100% certainty that I could never commit to a keto diet.

Before I dare to delve even deeper into that train of thought, let me just say that I know plenty of people with diabetes who do follow a keto diet successfully. It’s what works for them. And that’s wonderful! Truly, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find a nutrition plan that cooperates with diabetes, and that just because one plan works well for one individual does not mean that it will work the same for others. In a nutshell? You do you, and I support that.

Okay, now that I’ve got that out of the way – let’s get to the root of the matter.

It’s not just my utter adoration of carbs that would cause me to struggle on a keto diet. Absolutely not. In my years of relatively light research on the keto diet (which consists of many conversations I’ve had with strict followers of it, as well as my social media lurking on pages plugging keto), I’ve learned that just about all carbs can be replaced by a keto version: You just have to get creative and have keto-friendly ingredients in your kitchen cabinets. So I’d find solace in knowing that I could always bake low-carb muffins, bagels, pizzas, cakes, and the like as long as I had a good recipe and the proper ingredients on hand.

The real reason that I’d totally fail at a keto diet is that I have a hard time with self-control when it comes to 0 or minimal-carb treats. I actually go to town on them. Since I know that I don’t have to bolus for something with low or no carbohydrates, it’s like they become “free” foods to me, meaning that I can eat as much as I want without having to worry about the consequences…which may or may not impact my blood sugar, but which definitely could affect my waistline.

In other words, I have a difficult time remembering that just because something has 0 carbs, it doesn’t mean it has 0 calories.

During the short-lived (think 3 days at a time) keto phases of my life, I found myself eating more and more. Since I was deprived of carbs, I felt entitled to consume more keto foods than I actually needed. My blood sugar may have benefited overall, but it was not at all necessary to be mowing down on all the keto-friendly treats (think keto ice cream, keto cookies, keto bread) that are out there and available to me. I didn’t recognize it right away, but when I did, I realized it came down to my lack of ability to exercise restraint as well as acknowledge the difference between carbs and calories as both a person with diabetes and a person who aims to maintain a particular caloric intake.

So when it comes to keto, it’s a no-go because I finally understand how it impacts my relationship with carbs and calories. I’ll stick to what has generally worked best for me in my 25 years of diabetes, which is a classic: everything in moderation.

My Close Encounter with the Keto Diet

July 6, 2021July 2, 2021 mollyt1d1 Comment

Remember that time that Oprah Winfrey did a Weight Watchers commercial and proclaimed loudly and proudly before the cameras that she loves bread? (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the link to the ad with a little doctoring done to it – it is worth a watch.)

Well, I can relate to Ms. Winfrey – except my obsession with carbs extends beyond bread. I love cake, candy, chocolate, pizza, pasta, sushi…and just about every other carbohydrate-laden food that exists. So while I think it’s awesome that many of my peers with T1D choose to follow low or close to no-carb diets, that’s not the kind of thing that works for a girl like me: I’m happy managing my diabetes in tandem with a moderate carb intake. But that’s not to say that I don’t eat lower carb sometimes or that I don’t have an interest in the principles of the keto diet, just because it’s so restrictive.

At least, that’s what I used to think about it.

Would my love of carbs prevent me from trying out aspects of the keto diet?

When my boyfriend decided to go on the keto diet back in May (he’s had experience with it before), I was simultaneously impressed with his dedication to it, but also a little worried. We have dinner together a few times each week and since I wanted to show him that I support him 100%, I knew that I’d have to change up my cooking so it adhered better with the dietary guidelines of keto.

So for the last two months, I’ve had a lot of exposure to the keto diet, and this is what I’ve learned about it:

It’s not as restrictive as I thought it would be. I figured that eating strictly keto meant that the only food groups we could eat were meats/proteins, fibrous vegetables, and cheese. That wasn’t 100% true. While we stuck to proteins and vegetables for most dinners, we also had plenty of snacks that kept things fun and interesting. I developed a mild addiction to cheese crisps and chicharrons (otherwise known as pork rinds). I also had a lot of fun trying different keto dessert options out there, including cookies, ice creams, and peanut butter cups (the latter being my absolute favorite).
Snacks can get expensive. One of the keto peanut butter cups that we ate cost $10 for a bag of 7. That’s an insane price. When you factor in the cost of other more expensive grocery items, like beef jerky or nuts, things add up quickly, which is definitely a downside to the keto diet.
My blood sugars tended to respond well when I ate keto…for the most part, anyways. Eating keto dinners was mostly great for my blood sugar and it stayed relatively steady more often than not. On the occasions it didn’t, it was because I was trying to bolus for the amount of protein or the negligible amount of carbs in the veggies I was consuming at dinner, and I would go low as a result. There’s an art to bolusing on the keto diet, for sure, but since I was half-assing it (really quarter-assing it) and not following it all the time, I never got a grip on how to account for minimal carbs.
Keto can inspire creativity in the kitchen. The best thing I made, ate, and loved throughout my experience with the keto diet was cauliflower crust pizza. I found the best recipe for it that was so easy to make and yielded delicious results. I always assumed that cauliflower pizza crust would be too difficult to make or not satisfying in the same way that pizza is, but that isn’t accurate at all. I grew to appreciate the challenge that keto presented me to come up with new things to eat that were tasty and filling, which I didn’t expect but liked.

Low Carb Lasagna Exists, and it is Amazing

March 28, 2018March 22, 2018 mollyt1dLeave a comment

Nothing screams “comfort food” quite like a hot, cheesy, and utterly delicious slice of lasagna. Unfortunately, though, said lasagna has a tendency to make my CGM scream, because consumption of the carb-laden food usually skyrockets my blood sugar.

On the bright side, a very low carb version of this dish exists, and it is just as wonderful as its starchy counterpart. The ground beef, pasta sauce, and mozzarella-parmesan blend are all there – the only bit that’s different is what’s used in lieu of pasta.

Instead of pasta, use cabbage leaves. No, I’m not kidding.

Cabbage lasagna looks and tastes just like its carb-ier alternative.

The cabbage soaks up the flavors of the sauce, meat, and cheese. As the concoction is baked, the cabbage also takes on the same consistency as pasta. It slices just as easily, and no, you really can’t taste the cabbage flavor (unless you pick out several chunks of it to eat on their own, but honestly, who does that?). It’s such a satisfying meal that I promise you won’t miss the carbs from the pasta.

Besides, if you’re like me and enjoy eating a healthy amount of carbs daily…you can always add a slice or two of garlic bread to your meal. I did just that, and in addition to having a well-rounded meal, I experienced great post-dinner blood sugars: a diabetes win!