low carb ideas

there are a few areas i get carbs from regularly that I need to look at.

1) Bread - I can replace bread with a leaf of lettuce for sandwiches. Something I've been doing a lot of recently is taking whatever i'd put on bread and scrambling it with eggs. Also...I can have ONE slice of bread - it's 11 grams of carbs - if what i'm putting on it is very very low carb. Somethings I can eat with a fork or a spoon instead of making a sandwich. Meatloaf, for example, is fine on it's own. Ditto on sloppy joes. I may want to add a side veggie to make up for lost bulk, but thats not a big deal. I sometimes eat stuff on crackers instead of bread. for the size difference, i'll just use cucumber chips. I can't think of anything that WOULDN'T be good with.

2) Potatoes - I can eat these! A standard red potato is 18-20 carbs, depending on age. that fits perfectly in my diet. gone is the potato as the meal, but it'll make a great side dish. I'm seeing pairing this with a pork chop or a chicken breast. mmmm. I have to watch the sour cream, cause it adds some, but I should be OK. Mashed potatoes, just have a small amount. same on potato salad. french fries are pretty much gone, sadly.

3) Rice - I have no idea HOW to sub for rice. I usually have it when i'm out and getting chinese, so I guess steamed veggies. I sometimes make it at home as a side dish, so also veggies. This one's hard...but I don't eat rice very often, so not too concerned.

4) Pasta - this is the hardest one. I love pasta. I've discovered i can sub in spagetti squash for spagetti. It's not ideal, but 1 cup of spagetti noodles is 42 grams! the Squash lowers that to 10. I'll take it. Contemplating what would happen if i roasted it, seperated it, and froze it. Can you freeze cooked spagetti squash? Also...how would that taste in a cheese sauce? Macaroni and cheese is SUCH a comfort food for me. I need to experiment. Also...1 C of eggplant is on par with the spagetti squash. I might be able to do something with that. Lasagna noodle replacement? The hard one is really the mac & cheese. *sad panda*

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I have not found a low carb version of ice cream. Or rather, the low carb version was laughable. I haven't had ice cream since Tuesday. This saddens me. I'm not sure how I'll kill that craving when it comes up. Ditto on cookies and cupcakes. I adore frosting. And when I want a reeses peanut butter cup...there will be doom. Jello does not kill my sweet tooth.

Will have to look at sugar free / diabetic alternatives. There might be something there that works.

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Did some tests with Jason over the week. We've determined both carbs and sugar make me dizzy. in the same amount of time. and faster than a standard blood sugar test will show. Like when I did the glucose test - they test after an hour. an hour in, i was FINE. at 30 minutes in, i was about to pass out. Our theory is that this is still insulin related - that maybe something about eating carbs/sugars is triggering the insulin too soon or too strong and thereby dropping my blood sugar before the system can assimiliate the new sugars.

That may also explain why when we do a fasting test, my sugars are normal but my insulin seems high. And it may also explain the metformin thingy.

Chart:

Taking metformin standard carbs everything fine
taking metformin low / no carbs dizzy BOOM
no metformin standard carbs sleepy girl
no metformin low / no carbs everything fine

It looks like what's happening is i either need to regulate my carbs OR take metformin. when i do both i pass out. when i do neither, i get sleepy and lethargic all the time. This also explains why i was able to go off the metformin earlier this year - i'd lost weight and was watching what i ate. when you calorie -watch, you have to carb watch. i didn't realize it, but that's where i was cutting things - the carbs. i replaced starches with veggies to cut calories. And it explains why i went back on the metformin - i'd quit watching what i ate, so i was having problems again.

We're going to test this theory tommorrow morning. I'm taking metformin tonight (they're slow release tablets). Tommorrow morning, I'm going to have cereal.

Here's hoping I don't end up passed out at some point! *laugh*

Also definitely making the appointment with the endocronoligist. Here's hoping they can figure out what my system's doing!

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Also, Jason just totally made my night. he put pizza sauce on bread, topped with pepperoni and cheese and had me take a bite. it will TOTALLY take care of the pizza craving. Next step: locate some super low carb bread (alternative: use a low-carb tortilla)

*glee* I can have PIZZA.

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also of note:

http://www.examiner.com/x-355-Low-Carb-Examiner~y2008m6d4-Cauliflower-Pizza-Crust-Worth-its-Wow-in-Gold