Couchtater: I'm newly diagnosed as pre-diabetic - what to eat?

Welcome to the Diabetes Forum, Joy.  I hope you can find all your answers here.  I think the extra weight you're carrying around has a big effect on GERD, apnea and the diabetes.  Do you have a blood glucose monitor?  I hope so because you need to be testing your blood sugar everyday.  We have talked a lot about diet here and how many of us have been able to control our blood sugar by diet and exercise.  Please spend some times going back over our older threads that talk about food/diet and exercise.  Read Chris' post "For Newbies" and "Why Does Our Blood Sugar Rise - Some things to Consider".  You need to know that consistant high blood sugar can damage your heart, kidneys, eyesight, nerve endings among other things over time.  You say you don't want to add another medication and you're ready to take on this challenge.  I know you can do this providing you stick to it.  Half-heated attempts won't cut it.  Chris (TVEditor) and I are two of many people who have been successful controlling our blood sugar and staying off diabetes meds.  Wanna know how?  Read those old posts and then ask all your questions!!  I promise we'll answer.

Post Edited (LanieG) : 7/23/2009 8:12:03 PM (GMT-6)

Hiya couchtater,

If you Google 'low carb diet', you'll find a whole bunch of ideas on what to eat and other resources like forums dedicated to the low-carb lifestyle.  A lot of this information is geared mainly toward weight-loss so you should consult with your doctor before trying anything radical, especially if you are taking medications.

Personally, I like the low-carb forums because the people there don't spend a lot of time whining about what they can't eat and instead focus on what they can.  That's the approach that worked for me.  I used to love a BBQ'd steak and a baked potato - just 1 potato ??? ... ok, ok ... maybe 2 or 3      When I found out I could still eat the steak (protein & fat), it wasn't that hard to find a replacement for the potato.

Some good foods are bacon, butter, eggs, beef, nuts, chicken, cottage cheese, fruit, veggies ... you'll have to do your own research and make your own list.  Some fruits & veggies are high in sugar (corn for instance) so you'll need to do some homework on this too.  In general, nothing white except cauliflower, eggs, cottage cheese and cat fur.

I was kidding about the cat fur   It seems to be in everything at our house.

Also, eat smaller quantities of everything and more often (snacks).

Joy, the best way to tackle this project titled "How I Will Control My Blood Sugar" is to keep a daily log.  I believe most monitors come with a little booklet to record your blood sugar.  Because I'm so picky, I made my own on Word and printed out sheets (front and back).  I made places to record fasting upon awakening, readings before meals, after meals and between meals and before bed.  I made lines to write what I ate and also to make notations about what exercise I did.  It became very clear what food affected my blood sugar, even though I followed a low glycemic food list in the beginning.  Eventually I just went low carb and cut out everything made with flour, everything that had sugar, potatoes, rice, pasta (well, that's made with flour...), most fruit and milk.  I do eat some yogurt, as well as cream cheese and sour cream.  I was never a fan of cottage cheese.  And you do have to be careful of the carbs in milk products except heavy cream, which has none.  My point is that I realized I could take control of my health because I could control what I put in my mouth.  Diabetes may be different from other diseases or conditions in that we know for a fact that one element makes it worse: carbohydrates.  If I can do this, anyone can, honest! 

   And, if you really want to chew on your white pillow, you have permission!  But, really, carb cravings do disappear after you stop eating them.  Another benefit of going low-carb besides blood sugar control is that you will lose weight.

Cats have no carbs.     Our Kitty (yes, her real name) likes to watch me on the exercise bike as she keeps me company!

If you're still getting high blood sugar readings, it's because of the bread.  When I was prescribed the blood sugar monitor, I switched to a "diabetic" cereal called Eat Well, Be Well (or something like that, can't remember) and my pp readings were too high.  It was because of the cereal.  This was a smack in the head moment as I realized I cannot eat any grains without having high blood sugar.  If I continued like that, I'd be on meds.  You can Google 'glycemic index' and find a lot of sites that have lists.  It boils down to: no potatoes, no rice, no pasta, no cereal, no corn, no bread.  You can eat: green vegetables, leafy vegetables, summer squashes, mushrooms, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, celery, green beans .... butter, cream, cream cheese, cheese,,, meats, fish, fowl, bacon (check for carbs),,, and you can drink wine with your meals.    Please spend some time and read back over the past topics in which we talk about food and recipes.