My Weekend Six - diagnosed with diabetes this week so....

M

music-city-missy

Well-known member
DH got the call just days before Christmas that he was diabetic and now me. He has a problem with sweets, me not so much. I do love bread and pasta though. I had already decided I was going to make this my year to loose the weight and get myself in shape so I am determined to kick this! My father has type 2 so it does run in the family and I lost a friend to diabetes that was in her 40's. So my goal is not to just control it but to get back within normal range before I turn 50 on April 15, 2013(hopefully earlier but that is my goal to have the weight off and be in the best shape of my adult life).

1) Got some of Cathy's Mexican cornbread in the oven (so worth the carbs) to go with some venison chili

2) Studying about what to eat and not eat but it seems that they no longer really say anything is off limits, it's a matter of portion control and balance.

3) Menu planning - think this is key to getting on the right track for both diabetes and weight loss.

4) Shopping to stock up on more fresh vegetables and whole grains for the week

5) Coworker having major dental surgery (implanting a cadaver bone) and she has requested my chicken and dumplings for her recovery period so I am going to go ahead and make that and portion it out and freeze it so her husband can pull it out for her when she feels like eating.

6) Prep and/or cook in advance - again, I think another key to staying on track and not pulling out quick to eat things like pasta and such.

 
Sorry to heat that...take care of yourselves. So many are being diagnosed with diatebes now

even children. What have we done to ourselves?

 
I think pasta is the biggest challenge. And carbs in general. H's sugars always went

crazy after pasta and he was on insulin 4 times a day. He just planned for it ahead of the meal with an extra jolt.

His other challenge was that he was all muscle and found it so difficult to find a place to inject. Don't let yourself get to the insulin-dependent level; it's presents a whole different set of problems.

Oats. Eat lots of oats.

 
Sorry to hear about your diabetes problem. I sympathize with your meal planning and studying what

is appropriate to eat. My DH has just been put on a "2 Gram Sodium Diet. So I'm also spending a great deal of time reading labels. I'm appalled at the amount of sodium and chemicals that our processed foods contain. Take care and good luck.

 
I just watched a local news special this week on the Paleo Diet/diabetes

It was on a research project at UCSF and stated it took only 2 weeks on this diet to make an significant impact on diabetics.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I will share it takes about 1-2 weeks of going through withdrawl from sugar/starchy carbs like bread/pasta, but then...you don't want it anymore. It won't even taste good - no cravings because eating it makes you crave more, when you cut it out completely, no more cravings. So if you decided to go this way, just know it will only be hard for about 2 weeks.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/11/07/healthwatch-caveman-diet-helps-diabetics-in-ucsf-study/

 
You sound in control. It is really not too hard when you get it set up. There is whole grain pasta .

so I think the hardest is potatoes.

Good luck.

 
The Paleo diet Maria is referencing is very

close to the diet that DH went on. His sugar was very very high. He was on medication, didn't help much, then they wanted to put him on insulin. He refused and decided to get his diet under control.
He went to a nutritionist that specializes in diabetes, which I think was key for him to learn how the body works with diff types of food, etc. and taught him what to eat, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, when. Example: your sugar is low as soon as you wake up in the AM, so you need to have something right away.

It's a whole new way of life and cooking, so hang in there!!

 
Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions

It's all so confusing. One article says no grain (Paleo), one says plant based and no meat but grain and dairy okay, one says vegan.

I do go to a diabetes counseling on Wednesday. A coworker that was diagnosed with diabetes and put on insulin immediately recently got herself off of all meds. She lost weight and watches what she eats but not much from what I can tell and now she is below 6 at 5.6 or something like that. And she is still very heavy. She said something I had never thought about and that is that different foods cause spikes for different people and only by tracking it can you find what works for you.

However, I am really torn. I want to make a significant difference/improvement by the time I have my first follow up visit with the doctor in 6 weeks. And two diets each claim extreme improvements - Paleo and vegan. However, their are two common things between them - both avoid dairy and both encourage a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Arghhhhhh what to do.

 
I am impressed at the extensive research you did in a short period of time. Will be thinking of

you during the next 2 weeks; your commitment and focused desire to change the bloodwork numbers will defintely pay off.

 
Maybe I can help simplify it a little for you...

I was diagnosed with T2 about 7 years ago (can it be that long?!) and the following is what works for ME... check with your doctor/diabetes counselor for what works for YOU.

I basically follow the Glycemic Index diet. The lower the number, the better.

Walk after a meal. Even when you don't feel like it (maybe especially when you don't feel like it). It does wonders for the numbers and makes you feel less tired.

Add as many vegetables as you can to your diet. Except for potatoes that is! ;o)

Milk is also surprisingly sugary - it has lactose, which is a sugar. Pasta is safer than bread, bread is safer than rice, and rice is safer than a potato (for me).

Greek yogurt, good. Sweetened yogurt, bad. Add fruit if you need to make it sweeter. Obviously honey is not good, but a little won't hurt. Everything in moderation, as you say.

Eat whole-grain when you have a choice.

Avoid "liquid sugar" - it goes straight into your bloodstream. Limit juice (you get the simple sugar but are losing the fiber), and when you do drink it, dilute it half with water.

Never eat a starch (or sugary food) alone - always include a protein and/or good fat with it. Those slow down the uptake of the sugar. (Starch breaks down to simple sugar in your body.)

For ME, avocados, tomato sauce, and cinnamon do wonders. Not proven, but they work for me.

Not sure about the vegan diet... you need protein (fish, turkey, chicken, low-fat beef) to balance the carbs - sugars and starches - and I'm not sure starchy beans for protein (vegans' main source of protein?) would be good for T2. There's always peanut butter, but that would get old fast!

What to eat and how to balance your diet will soon become second nature to you. Relax!

 
Not for me. I experience the "dawn" effect (really) and my blood sugars are

as high when I wake up in the a.m. as they are after I eat. Everybody's different, but don't be alarmed if you experience this. It's the 3-month average that is important. You'll find that they'll fluctuate for you all day.

 
Those whole grain pastas are so much better than the whole wheat ones of a few years ago.

It's much harder to tell the difference now. Not like the older versions that either turned to mush or became rubber bands.

 
You sound really focused! I predict you'll have it under control soon. Lots of luck to you--

My dad received a pre-diabetic diagnosis and has had to overhaul his whole eating lifestyle. He managed to get his blood sugar under control and keep it there for a year (so far, knock on wood).

 
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