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Posted 5/29/2006 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all Im new to the forum. I have been DX'd with T2 since March 4,2006. I take 500g of Metformin 2x a day. I control it by diet and exercise. I have lost 27 pds in 8 weeks and dropped my A1c from 11.0 to 7.0. I walk 2 miles a day and stay away form bad carbs as well as sugars. it was real hard for me in the beginning to start a diet as I had never dieted before in my life but once i saw the results it encouraged me even more. I look at Diabetes as a life long diet and ecercise not an illness, I think everyone should being good and exercising.(too bad I didnt do it before) Im looking forward to reading your stories and posting mine as well.


Jaclyn
Posted 5/29/2006 2:19 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Jaclyn,

Welcome to the forum.  Type 2 diabetes is special in that it can be affected to a great degree by your lifestyle.  A HEALTHY lifestyle does a lot to bring you back into balance.  500mg of metformin 2x a day is really a "baby" or beginning dose of metformin so as you can see, the changes you've made in your lifestyle have made a huge impact on this disease!  Keep up the good work because as you said, its NOT a diet, its for life!

scool Warren
Posted 5/29/2006 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the welcome warren, I try hard to do everything right for myself,husband and kids. Its very hard to go to the park everynight, and hard not to have ice cream but My life and kids mean more to me then anything and there fore I will keep it up. life goes by to fast. I dont want to miss out on anything in life! As for Metformin my Dr said if I can lose all the weight and get my A1c down to under 6 she will most likly take me off the meds and control it by diet and exercise. might take some time as I still have a few more pds (cough) to lose but ill get there one day.
Are you Diabetic? which type?

Jaclyn
Posted 5/30/2006 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
Jaclyn,
You may have ice cream once a week. We were taught that in class. Real honest to goodness ice cream. Here's what you do... The evening you plan to have ice cream don't eat your potato/rice/pasta part of your meal, skip your milk, and eat a double portion of vegetables. You may also have an extra huge salad in place of a mountain of broccoli but be careful with your dressing. (We were taught to put the dressing in a shot glass and dip the fork before each bite.)

Anyway, back to the ice cream (mmmm...) Put 1/2 cup of your favorite ice cream that doesn't contain candy, marshmellow or fudge... Just flavored ice cream... into a bowl. I bought a 1/2 cup ice cream scoop just for this. Eat with a baby feeding spoon. I know it sounds nuts but that little 1/4 teaspoon size bite is every bit as delicious as a big bite and it takes longer to eat it that way. Another alternative is to put it on a cone and lick it. The longer it lasts the better the satisfacion... Enjoy! Unless you are a brittle diabetic this should not have any bad effect on your overall food plan.
Posted 5/30/2006 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jeannie143, Thanks for the info, Im not too good yet on how "exchanges work" I eat portions, I would love to have ice cream yum! maybe i will do it tonight lol. I read in another forum that a T2 can eat chcolate,candies ect and walk it off before it hits the blood.....I havent tried it but ive seen it being said lot in other forums ive read...
I usually have s/f jello and pudding to help the cravings. Its good stiff and taste like the real thing. thats as close as ive come to anything thats good.
My dietican told me that I could even eat raisin bran for bfast just the 1/2 cup and light orange juice(1/2 c) I dont care for that too much though, I eat Blue Bunny carb freedom yogurt(SP)? for snacks with an apple or orange.
I never ate bfast before i usually just snacked all day or grabbed some chips while walking by and my dietican wants me to eat 45g of carbs per meal. Thats alot for me. Im getting sick of eggs,cherrios,toast.... but I have to have bfast with my Metformin.
My bg readings are usually always 110-130 at any givin time of day. Rice seems to be the only thing that raises it so I dont eat it anymore.

Jaclyn1
Posted 5/30/2006 4:41 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Jaclyn,

Ya know, when you go to the park every night with the family you CAN have ice cream!! just get ice cream for hubby or the kidlet and have a couple of spoonfuls and call it a night!  Thats better than nothing and not enough to really hurt you or retard your weight loss!  I go to coldstone with friends, grab a spoon and have a taste of everyone elses!  When all is said and done, I've had a bit of sugar, but not so much that it really throws my BS into a tailspin, and its SO MUCH BETTER than standing there watching everyone else have ice creamgasms!

scool Warren
Posted 5/31/2006 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
Warren,
You are soooooooo funny! I'm laughing my face off here!

Jaclyn,
The stuff you read in the other forums is incorrect. Carbohydrates are broken down into simpler sugars in the small intestine. From there they are absorbed directly into the blood stream to circulate throughout the body. If enough insulin is available and it's working correctly the glucose molecules are delivered to each individual cell for its energy needs. After a short time a normal body converts the excess glucose into fat to keep for times of famine or food shortage.

In most Type 2's this regulating mechanism is not working correctly and the glucose has trouble getting into the cells (this is called insulin resistance). Instead it gets converted into fat right away... and this excess fat makes our bodies even more resistant to our own insulin.. so we make more fat... And the total kicker is that the poor cells are still hungry... looking for their glucose so they send out "I'm hungry!" signals to the brain causing us to feel hungry all the time even though we just finished eating. (One of the defining signs of T2 diabetes is to feel hungry right after dinner but hardly ever feel hungry for breakfast.)

Exercise often lowers insulin resistance and helps your body move sugars into the cells more efficiently but there is no way to exercise away your high blood glucose from a candy bar before it gets into your blood stream because it's already there. And high readings (over 150 more than 2 hrs. after a meal) cause damage to your eyes, kidneys and extremities... even if you exercise it off later... you still do damage. That being said, when you are more familiar with portions and how they affect your sugars you can eliminate your potato or bread and substitute a bite size snickers without wrecking your food plan. The exercise is important whether you are trying to work off carbs and fat or just trying to lower your insulin resistance. I hope this helps you out. Oh, and skip the orange juice and just eat real fruit (1/2 a navel or one small valencia is what I eat.) The fiber present slows the absorption of the fructose in your small intestine and it helps you feel full as well as aids in regularity.
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