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Type2 diabetes question

Posted: Jun 13, 2010

My sister was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and asked me if I could help with meals/menu ideas, etc. She stopped sodas, milk products, is drinking more water, and has already lost 8 pounds in an effort to get her weight down (she's current at 220), but asked if I could find some info for her on nutrition. She went to the website for diabetes (ADA?) but was very confused and overwhelmed. Does anyone have any suggestions or know of websites that are easy to understand.

Thanks - Linda

;

Diabetes diet - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
After a lifetime of obesity and over 15 years as a type 2 diabetic, I finally started counting carbs, threw out the ADA and meal-exchange/low calorie diets. Within 2 days, I was off the medication and have lost a total of 164 pounds. There are some commercial low carbohydrate diets available, but it is not as confusing or complicated as some of the diets currently touted for diabetics. There is lots of information available on the Internet for low-carbohydrate diets. There is lots of controversy as well as naysayers. At over 55 years of age, I finally learned to pay no attention to the naysayers, and went with what felt right to me. I am happy with the result. I've never felt better.

Would you be able to give a little more info - Linda (sm)

[ In Reply To ..]
First I have to say congratulations to you. What a great accomplishment.

My questions are - you said you started counting carbs. How much and what types of foods do you eat? Do you eat low carbs? How low? What kind of carbs? What foods do you stay away from? My sister is 52 and to hear of your weight loss will be a great inspiration to her. I just turned 50 myself, and we have a hx in our family of diabetes, so I need to pay attention too.

I'd love to hear any advice you can assist us with.

Thanks, Linda

Diabetes - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for responding favorably to my response.

It is a long and complicated story, but I will try to be brief and to the point.

I mainly eat poultry, fish, some red meat, and lower-carb vegetables. By lower-carb vegetables, I mean mostly salads and the green leafy one. Ones that I stay away from are peas, excessive carrots, beets, winter squash, some that have more carbs than others.

I eat an egg a day. I do not go overboard with the protein foods, as the body does convert protein to glucose. Plus, I have no desire to eat a whole chicken or anything like that. Also, with regards to weight loss, I think that calories still do count, but with regards to blood sugar, the carbohydrates are more important than the calories. This is my opinion, based on what I have personally experienced.

I try to avoid social situations where eating junk food is almost expected. Otherwise, I will state that I am allergic. No one argues with me if I tell them I am allergic to certain foods. For ice cream, I'm allergic to milk. For cake, cookies, pie, etc., I'm allergic to flour. Etcetera. They may look at me like I'm some kind of a weirdo, but these are the same people who judged me and made fun of me when I was 359 pounds.. So, it doesn't bother me at all.

Everyone's body is different and may allow for higher carb intake without affecting blood sugar. I have experimented with this on myself, checking my fingerstick readings after eating certain foods. So, what applies to me may not apply to your sister. I also take multiple vitamins to cover for the nutrients that I may be missing.

May I suggest Dr. Atkin's book, New Diet Revolution, or South Beach Diet. Just in case this post is removed due to me mentioning these two books, I am going to email it to you privately, as well.

I know that some doctors and/or nutritionists/dieticians may not agree with my opinions. All I can say about that is that everyone has a right to their opinion. However, in my life, I have heard the opinions of many medical professionals and listened to them intently. I am a registered nurse, but was 200 pounds by the age of 12 and had been given amphetamine prescriptions beginning at age 8. In my 20s, I was under an MD's care to receive a diet drug called Fastin, along with biweekly injections of a drug derived from pregnant horses. I did the Medifast program under the care of a doctor. It was very expensive. When the fast was broken, I suffered an acute attack of cholecystitis. It seems to me that I have always been on a diet of some sort or another. My health declined while under the care of doctors. I decided that I would no longer turn to them for solutions to my weight loss problems. I truly believe that most of what they have told me is about 90% opinion and 10% fact. I also know that their medical education generally includes very little time spent on nutrition. It is mostly based on the pharmaceutical treatment of disease, which may not be the most efficient method of treating chronic illnesses/conditions.

At about age 42, I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and had taken insulin shots at one time. I have tried many commercial diets, which resulted in temporarily losing weight, but then gaining more. I joined and rejoined weight watchers more than 20 times. I just could not handle any complex carbohydrates, not even in limited amounts. My conclusion was that, due to the stimulation of the insulin response created by any carbohydrate intake, my appetite would also be increased, which would make it difficult for me to stay on the program.
On the low-carb program, appetite it controlled.

I do not advocate a "no carbohydrate" diet. For me, 30 carbohydrate grams or less per day works. There are minimal carbohydrates in the green vegetables. Actually, there is no need for carbohydrates in the diet, as the liver, through a process called glyconeogenesis, converts protein to carbohydrates.

Within two days of switching to my current style of eating, I was off the diabetic and high blood pressure medications (glyburide and lisinopril).

It has now been two years. I had blood tests after the first year, and everything is fine, including kidney function.

I'm not sure if I answered your questions well, but please feel free to contact me if you want to.

Best to you and your sister,

Judy

Thank you so so so much - see message - Linda

[ In Reply To ..]
Your reply was very very helpful and I now understand what you have done to get where you are at. I'm sending my sister a package tomorrow with some recipes I found and will include this note on how you did it. I know she will be very happy. She's at 228 (and her adoptive son who is mentally challenged is at almost 400 pounds right now) so I believe this is something they can understand and follow. I'm almost at the 200 pound mark right now and looking to lose also. I have no idea what my blood sugar is as the last time I was tested was years and years ago. What you wrote is exactly what I was looking for and thank you for posting.

Not to sound sappy, but your story is an inspiration for me and I will be thinking of you every time I want to pick up a cookie or bowl of ice cream, etc. :-)

Again thank you very very much. Think my sister and I will be able to follow along with this.

You're welcome - Judy

[ In Reply To ..]
You're very welcome, Linda. At 199 pounds, I also have a ways to go.

My son, age 22, has lost at least 75 pounds on the low-carb program. He joined me on the low-carb program last summer. At one time, at the pediatrician's office, at about age 15, his weight was so high that it did not register on the scale, which went up to 350 pounds. I'm sure he is/was insulin resistant/ prediabetic, but hopefully his change of eating habits has forestalled the development of diabetes in his future. I would wager a bet that your sister's son, at 400 pounds, is insulin resistant/prediabetic, so this change of eating habits could be a very healthy family affair. Truth is, it is much easier to stick with the program when the offending foods are out of the house and everyone in the household is on the same regimen.

Best to all of you.

Judy

There's a lot of info at MayoClinic.com - MTmom

[ In Reply To ..]
under diabetes diet. Also, when my MIL was diagnosed, her doc sent her to a diabet nutritionist who really helped out a lot with portion size and exchange lists, etc. Hope this helps

Thank you for your post - Linda (sm)

[ In Reply To ..]
I have not seen their website. Didn't even think to look there. I'll check it out. I'll check them out and then follow what Judy wrote and hopefully will keep my fingers crossed that my sisters blood sugar will go down. She has another physical in 5 weeks. I'm looking for something preventative as so I don't get it. Sis told me my dad was just diagnosed with type 2 a couple of months ago and with grandparents having it gotta do the preventive for me. Sis joked and said, well we wouldn't want you to feel left out of the family if you didn't get it now. LOL

Well - all suggestions are welcome. I've been reading about raw food diets and DH wants us to do that. We already don't eat much meat. Chicken maybe twice a week, but I want to cut out the sugars, etc. So going to check out the MayoClinic site and read up on what they post.

Thanks again. I am grateful for all information anyone can provide.

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have? ...