First, let me start by saying that a lot of this information is originally used to help people loose lots of weight. Which is a little harder for us because that's not our primary focus. Our main concern is our insulin levels, and what it does to our skin. So we don't get to see numbers on a scale drop, and that can leave you wondering if the diet is even working for you??
In all honesty, it might take months before you see a change in your skin. (It also depends on how dark or thick your AN is.) I know that sounds very frustrating, but we can't stop insulin production entirely, we need it to survive. So without the help of medication, all we can do is try to lower our levels over time, and keep them low with diet.
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Originally Posted by paprika00
What vegetables do you recommend that is low in starch/ any recommendations for specific meal plans?
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Well I'm not a big lover of vegetables, so I mainly gave them up.
LOL I'll eat them once in awhile, but I can go weeks without eating any veggies just fine.
If you love veggies, I think Atkins is a wonderful place to start! (They have a list of foods you can eat on their website. )
http://www.atkins.com/Program/ProgramOverview.aspx
By using that diet I realized what I couldn't eat anymore, and what I could add back into my diet over time. Critics like to demonize the diet, but Atkins is more about experimenting with your diet more than anything, to see what works best for you. It works in phases where you start at 20g carbs per day, and then slowly add in more carbs (and different types of carbs) into your diet to see what you can handle. Because not all carbs are created equal.
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I read that you should eat whole cheese, and not fat-free cheese, and I'm assuming all dairy products are okay or not?
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Well fat is very important on a low-carb diet! As a matter of fact that's what you should be focusing on eating.
Read this blog, it's long, but she explains why we need fat.
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fat-not-protein.html
Also, If you eat too much lean meat and dairy, that can cause a spike your insulin levels. So you'll want to get most of your calories from fat.
Read this thread: (It will help explain why you may also want to stay away from Dairy.)
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=396357
I rarely touch dairy unless it's Cheese, or Heavy Cream... and that's because I can't bear to part with them. LOL But I limit how much I eat.
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I'm also assuming beer is out of the question, what about wine, alochol?
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From what I understand Alcohol might not raise glucose levels (that's debatable). But it does raise insulin levels. So I would keep any drinking to a minimum.