[MrFoof]

Type 1 for about 15 years now. A1C has always been fine (typically 6.2 - 6.4).

Recently I decided to get "back in shape". I'm 5-foot-8, and this meant going from ~170lbs to ~140lbs. I actually dropped it rather easily (just walking and calorie counting), and I've maintained that weight since (6 months so far).

The kicker? I cut my insulin usage by 40%. However that wasn't just because I was no longer eating excess calories, but tracked my macros to see what I was eating. General guidelines are 50/30/20 for calories from carbs/fat/protein. Before I tracked it, I was apparently 60/25/15 which was VERY surprising to me, as I didn't think I was eating that many carbs. Now I'm 45/30/25, and slowly edging towards 43/30/27.

Granted, high protein diets aren't cheap, so the costs largely balance out. However tracking what you eat may reveal that you're getting far more of your calories from carbohydrates than you think.

[glenk]

I eat semi-low carb. I've done better than I am right now, but during the spring/summer I was playing basketball/volleyball about 3-4 times a week. Some nights for 2+ hours straight with minimal breaks. Eating low carb and trying to maintain a good blood sugar was pretty tricky for me. You have to eat quickly eat/drink something when you check the blood sugar between games and it goes low, and then you end up having to correct that later with more insulin. I've found low-carb to be fine and maintainable when I'm just working and sitting at my desk all day, but have struggled when trying to combine it with any type of higher intensity activity.

[torrent-of-ions]

It seriously baffles me why anyone would get 50% of the calories from carbohydrates, let alone someone with diabetes. You don't need to eat high protein do you? Just eat fat...