New Please Help

Welcome to HealingWell, Dolppl,
I'm going to repost something I had in another post rather than have you go digging for it.

For myself, I have found that leaving the grains and tubers out of my food plan keeps me level, avoids lows, and best of all I'm losing pounds and inches. This means no rice, wheat, corn or potatoes (or anything made from them) most every day. I have had two ears of corn this month because if you can't have corn on the cob and you live in Michigan, life isn't worth living. (LOL!)

I usually start the day with two eggs and a slice of cheese with a piece of fruit and coffee. The fruit is the thing that gives you micronutrients and keeps your appetite happy. I use oranges, strawberries, sliced melon, all the good vitamin C fruits and no juices.

Lunch is usually left over meat from dinner or deli style cold meat (turkey, chicken, ham) along with some salad greens, raw collards, raw beet greens, raw spinach, raw zuchini, cucumbers, radishes, just about anything that grows and can be eaten raw goes into my salads. I use about a tablespoon of ranch dressing and then about two tablespoons of olive oil on my salads. This gives you the fats you need to be able to absorb the vitamin A in the greens. I also make tuna or chicken salad with real mayo and serve it over a big fat sliced tomato. (Olive oil, peanuts, peanut butter, olives and avocado are the 'good' fats that you need to keep your hunger at bay, lower your bad cholesterol and raise your HDL's.)

Dinner is meat cooked on the grill most nights,(chicken, lean pork, hamburger steaks and even pot roast!) sautéed vegetables in olive oil with chopped garlic from the jar. More salad and fruit. What I don't eat in 'starches' I make up for in vegetables. I have planted a ton of spaghetti squash and will be eating that with sauce and cheese all fall.

Night time snack is usually a banana with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Once a week I have a small ice cream cone with real ice cream. We need the fat in the ice cream to slow the absorption of the sugars and the cream has a high satisfaction factor as well.The cone is a very small amount of starch and helps with the portion control of the ice cream. Some nights I munch on nuts or may eat a couple of sugar-free pop cicles if it's hot out.

I will admit, eating pot roast with just carrots and salad feels weird, but I've been doing this since April and having great success with it. I'm eating no noodles, pasta, potatoes, rice, cereal, pancakes, toast or any of those other things that 'fill out' a meal. If you do this for a month you will experience a natural drop in your blood sugar without fatigue. Also, walk away from your home or work for 15 minutes then turn around and walk back and you will have your 30 minutes of daily exercise that is recommended for diabetics. Exercise enhances our ability to utilize our own insulin and works just like some of the diabetes meds. It is the singularly best thing you can do for your blood glucose after food plan control.

Hope this helps. Take care and let us know how you are doing. Regardless of your diagnosis, we will be here for you and help you along the path one step at a time.

Hi Dolppl,

I also want to welcome you to the diabetes forum. I hope your blood work comes back fine, but if it shows diabetes, this is the right place to be!

You didn't mention what symptoms you are having other than the fatigue... I was wondering if there are any other symptoms?? I had all of the typical diabetes symptoms when I was diagnosed, sudden weight loss, thirst, frequent urination, etc. I knew something was wrong when I lost 10 pounds without trying... (I NEVER lose weight LOL). I was just diagnosed in April, and my numbers were truly awful at my diagnosis. I came here and got wonderful advice from all the great members, and at my 3 month checkup, my doctor couldn't believe that my blood glucose levels over the 3 months were normal! I was able to reduce my 1 pill a day to 1/2 pill very quickly also. I've been trying to follow the great advice from my diabetes buddies here, and it's made a big difference! I still have a long way to go with my cholesterol problems, but I'm a lot better than I was .

Let us know how you're doing,

Bear

tutorgirl,
you're a quick learner! Those are indeed the basics - eliminate the starchy carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.) to normailse your blood sugars. As for peas, they don't effect me too badly, but that's certainly not true for everyone. To some extent we have to find out by experimentation what does and doesn't work for each of us. And no, as a rule doctors aren't ok with this. Their teaching tells them otherwise and they are typically repeating what they've been told. I have a doctor friend who tells me she had 1 lecture on the subject of nutrition in her entire university education. 1!. I think everyone here has a great deal more experience on the cause and effect of high blood sugars and would disagree with the conventional beliefs.
Exercise is the other thing, as you say. Probably just as important as a good diet, and pretty much vital if you want to normalise your blood glucose.
All the best, and keep in touch.

fergusc

Hello, I need all the help I can get, my blood sugar was 130 at two times a month a go in a routine check. I never had any symptoms so I was shocked. My doctor said I might have pre diabetes and start metformine 500 once a day. I kept my home test and its between 110-120. I checked lab twice feasting and have reading of 112 and 120. I lost a lot of weight although am not over weighted as am not eating a lot and no carb. I am confused and scared to go back to the doctor a gain. Please give me your thoughts

Thanks Lanie, I am very overwhelmed with such forum, indeed people need to help each other. the time we are diagnosed is the worse I guess!!!!!!!!!

Hello new members,

You have been given great advice about eating by Lanie, fergusc, and others. They basically follow the eating plan developed by Dr. Richard Bernstein (The Diabetes Solution). You may be thinking that your days of enjoying carb foods are over, but you may not have to eat that low carb to maintain control. I found the plan to be too restrictive for me, although I follow the basic principles. It will be hard work and will require frequent testing in the early days, but you may well be able to enjoy some starchy foods such as peas, beans, lentils, oatmeal, barley, brown rice, and others.

I follow a modified version of the Insulin Resistance Diet (The Insulin-Resistance Diet : How to Turn Off Your Body's Fat-Making Machine (Paperback)
by Cheryle R. Hart M.D. (Author), Mary Kay Grossman R.D. )

This system teaches you how to eat carbs by linking them with proteins and fat. It works great for me. I am able to enjoy low carb yogurt, berries and other fruits, oatmeal, beans, peas, and barley, large salads made from local, fresh veggies in season, plenty of other veggies, olives, avocados, nuts, cheeses, and veggie protein foods.  I eat out frequently and am able to maintain my blood glucose control while on the road for weeks at a time.  I don't have cravings- and find I am able to walk away from the foods that used to tempt me so badly without feeling deprived. You may want to check it out , along with Bernstein and Atkins, and the glycemic index as you develop your approach to managing your diabetes. 

The ADA feeding plan is designed to trap you in a downward spiral of increasingly poor health and the need for more and more drug intervention as time goes on.

One thing that has really helped me is increasing my exercise. I do short bursts of activity ( 3 x 10-15 minutes on a treadmill) and one long session (30-45 min exercise bike) every day. I have some toning and yoga routines that are performed while seated in a chair- that I do to relieve stress.

The combination of diet and exercise has enabled me to drop my A1c from 15 to 5.0 (almost as good as fergusc!) in a year. 

sandy

Hi amjd, as we agreed before, the beginning of all this is confusing and a little scary.  The more information you have about diabetes, the better off you'll be in taking control of your health, so read through the posts on this Forum and learn as much as you can from others who are experiencing the same thing.  It's probably true that some people become obsessive testers, especially in the beginning.  I myself tested a lot more when I was first diagnosed because I needed to find out which food raised my blood sugar and which food didn't as much.  This was how I decided to eat a very low carbohydrate diet because it was the only way for me to have normal blood sugar.  Everyone is different and you may react differently to different foods.  Do make a food journal in which you write down every thing you eat and then what your blood glucose is when you test.  If your doctor is asking you to do it twice a week, follow his instructions and show it to him the next visit.  In my opinion, you don't have to limit that to twice a week.  You want to test after you eat certain meals to know how your b.s. is, as I wrote.  Yes, changing your diet may affect family life a little bit.  What does your family normally eat everyday?  Why do you think that they are "paying the price" too?  All of us here have lots of suggestions for very good ways to make good meals the everyone can enjoy, so be sure to check back, ok?

Hi amjd, you have many people in your family who depend on you and I think feeling responsible for them is making you feel depressed if you feel your health is changing.  This is more complicated than just your blood sugar.  I hope you have some way to get advice about taking care of these other feelings.  Maybe you can discuss this with your doctor, a family member, a clergyman or a trusted friend?   There is also a Depression forum here; maybe you can find some advice there if you post some questions.  The good news is that your glucose numbers are not critical.  (I am not a doctor.  This is my opinion from experience.)  Even so, I'm sure with a little change of diet and with the medication you take that you can improve your fasting glucose.  How have you changed your diet?  Please do not think this is the end of the world!  Think positively!  It's fortunate that you are aware of a potential health problem now so you can avoid health problems in the future.  What do you eat everyday?