Hoping this helps!
 

Been recently diagnosed as type 2 diabetic in March. While my A1C is still on the lower end my Dr really wants me to lose weight--well to put it bluntly, I HAVE TO lose weight.
Hoping keeping a log of what I eat will help me to see where I can cut back. Having a hard time being motivated to exercise when it's 90 degrees outside. I use video games (Wii Fit and Biggest Loser) for exercise and walk.

Welcome! I applaud you for taking action. There is a thread in the exercise section that I find helpful - I think it is called "have you exercised today?" Seeing others working out in some way every day encourages me. Tracking food has also helped. Counting calories manually is way too burdensome - FitDay has allowed me to make adjustments that I can live with. I was motivated to start after a friend lost a lot of weight and got fit using a similar program. So far (one month) I haven't lost a lot of weight, but have lost fat and added muscle, and am feeling much healthier. Good luck!

I was diagnosed as boarder line type 2 in September of last year. From one person who has been on this journy for almost a year, I am happy to share with you that keeping a log of what you eat will help you see where to cut back on. Small steps work the best. Before I was even diagnosed I was watching how much pop I was drinking, and how many sweet treats I was enjoying. I also use the Wii Fit as my work out. I love the plank, and the stepping. The other games are so fun that they don't even feel like your working out. As much as I hate getting lab every 3 months to check my A1C, I am thankful my doctor ran the test. I have learned so much since this site was recommended to me. As far as losing weight I have been able to maiantain a 40lb lose. Don't give up on what you are doing, you will see changes even if no one else does, do to them being tiny from month to month.

Thank you for your support. Also need to add that my Mom is not supportive in my lifestyle change. She brings out strawberries for dessert with ice cream. I do tell her that I'm only having the berries but sometimes it's difficult to turn down sweets. I think she's tired of me talking about it. We have entirely different meals for lunch. One of the Diabetes Educators suggested printing off a picture of my new niece as motivation (for why I want a live a healthy life!)

Sorry to hear your mom is not supportive. One of the good things about FitDay is that it gives you a place to talk about the lifestyle changes you are making without boring your whole family. (My husband has never had to diet, and my father is an obese type 2 diabetic who when I planned a healthy dinner for my birthday celebration brought a blender to make ice cream and yogurt smoothies for a before-dinner drink!) Actions speak louder than words - every time you eat the strawberries and say "no thanks" to the ice cream, you are teaching your mom - and yourself! - that you are committed to this new way of healthy eating.

jjrudd: At first my family didn't understand why I kept my oppointments with my dietitian. They kept trying to tell me I shouldn't go to the apppoinments. I to find it hard to turn down sweets at times. These last few days I've been craving them so bad. So, I have gave in to them. Now I'm getting back on track with everything, as in the mornings I feel the so tired do to going over my carbs. I wish more people would talk about there journey. I always learn from sharing. Meal planing has been a challenge for me too. Instead of lunches for me it's the actually dinner that I have trouble planning. Pictures are motivating. I have a picture of when I was at my heaviest, and every month I take a new picture and put it up as a reminder of how far I come. Also because I don't ever want to go back to that weight ever again.

It's hard not to focus on all the things that I can't eat but if I'm counting carbs/calories I need to be more aware of what goes into my body. Anybody else have that feeling? I miss having pizza but the salt and fat content is insane!! This site makes it easier to calculate.

You can see at the end of the day, if you feel that you've eaten well, what balance of macronutrients you've had - protein, fat and carbs. You might notice days when you feel like your food choices have been more successful and you've felt satisfied. Then, notice the balance and see if you can replicate that balance again.

I keep my eye on fiber. If I eat more fiber, then I feel more full with fewer calories (fiber is in cereals, high-fiber crackers or breads, and fruits and vegetables).

My biggest motivator in sticking to my low-carb plan is seeing the numbers on the glucometer when I take my blood sugar. I went from insanely high readings (18.0, 19.0):eek: to readings of 5 and 6 within 24 hours of cutting out all the starch, sugar, wheat, flour, pasta, rice, etc. out of my diet. My readings continue to be near normal, and I have gone from 3 diabetes meds (and the threat of having to go on insulin) to one med.

I do have days where I have something off plan (I was at an 80th birthday party a week ago and did have a piece of cake - I made sure it was an inside piece, and I didn't chow down on any of the chips, sandwiches or other high-carb goodies they served), but I promptly go right back on plan and my readings have continued to stay low.

I have been lucky in that I am not craving bread, pasta or sweets, I think cutting them out completely has helped with that, and I have lost 8 lbs. in the past 2 months. could have been more but I have been experimenting a little with low-carb recipes and eating lifestyle. This is a permanent change and I have to learn how to live within a certain range of carbs if I want to keep having good results on the glucometer. BTW, my dr. is thrilled and I am actually looking forward to seeing my 3 month A1c results when I go on Aug. 7.

You can do this, and if your family and friends are not supportive in the beginning you can vent here. I think they will change when they see that you are committed to improving your health. I see that one of our frequent posters has started a new thread in the food talk forum for low-carb recipes you might look there for ideas.

Welcome to our world! I've been on my latest journey since january. Im down 26 lbs and am definitely having a tough time with my last 5 pounds, I havent made a dent in about a month! But that is OK, I will never give up! Lets just say that I am practicing my maintenance routine this summer! LOL

But having said that, my A1C is so much better than it was around christmas. 6.4 down from 7.1. Yours will get better too, its amazing what even 5% weight loss with a little bit of exercise can do for your sugar levels! I have more energy and I feel wonderful. I know at some point I will finally chip away these last few pounds. I'm trying the couch to 5K program, I've never been a runner, but its fun being a work in progress. The compliments I've heard from people I dont see very often have been motivating and satisfying. My kids are 8 and 10 and they see a difference too, and now even they come to the track with me and we do our laps all together.

Logging in what I eat and planning has been what has made me successful. If Fitday doesnt have the food, I google it and find it somewhere and make it a custom food. I am really good about this stuff during the week, and my newest mini goal is to be diligent about this over the coming weekend, to get the weight loss back on track. Even -.5 lb in a week is a loss, and is just a bit closer to the goal. I have found the weekends are my toughest time, but soccer season is about to start, and my soccer mom friends and I are committed to helping one another. No sitting in our lawnchairs on the sidelines until our track work is done first!!!!

Stay strong, and when family members tempt you, come here and we will be here by your side to help you abstain. And if you indulge, we will still be here by your side, encouraging you to start fresh tomorrow. I love this place, it will be my online home for many years to come.

Welcome, have fun!

Cate--still figuring out the balance that is right. Had high fibre cereal and yogurt for breakfast on Sat and learned it wasn't enough to hold me til lunch. My reading the next morning spiked because I hadn't had enough to eat. Going to go back to cereal and toast and lower carb lunch. Wishing the weight would start to go down--even a pound.

I find that a high-protein, low-carb, breakfast is the most important part of losing weight. My most consistent one is an omelet with mushrooms, 2 eggs, and 1 egg-white. A book that helps me is Protein Power. It helps calculate how much protein you need each meal, and has suggestions for vegetables with low glycemic impact.

On weight, if you are starting to exercise you might be gaining muscle, which will prevent your initial fat loss from showing up on the scales but will fuel later fat loss. Be patient and strong! Your efforts will pay off!

That's the hard part...I'm also on low protein diet (for about a yr) because I have too much protein in kidney's (body doesn't filter). Kidney function is fine. Unfortunately Dr has never told me how much protein to have--just decrease the amount. I seem to be doing ok since the number went down a lot. I just try to increase fruits and vegetables. It's frustrating trying to find the balance for menu preparation. The dietician at kidney specialist only told me what I couldn't eat, it was very discouraging.

That does sound very difficult. Do you know how much protein you were eating before the doctor said you had to reduce it? Many of us actually eat way more protein than we need - but imbalanced, so we eat just carbs in the morning and then eat a lot of fatty protein in the evening. If you even out your daily allowance into three meals plus a couple of snacks, you might be able to reduce protein while also keeping your insulin levels on an even keel.

Your strategy of increasing fruits and vegetables sounds really good. The "standard American diet" has WAY too few vegetables. Reading cookbooks for cuisines that are more vegetable-based might be helpful in countering the "you can't eat this" mentality. The Mediterranean diet has a lot of vegies, olive oil (which most people now say is good for us), and some protein. (Think Greek Salad, or ratatouille.) Chinese home cooking also has lots of vegies, some protein and rice and not much sugar. (Stir-fried broccoli with chicken, for example.)

Someplace on You Tube there is an inspiring video by a doctor who relieved her MS symptoms drastically by eating three large plates a day of different kinds of vegetables, plus lean protein. She thinks some of our health problems come from the fact that our diet is deficient in the micro-nutrients we get from a variety of vegetables. Also, high-fiber vegetables help relieve hunger. (When I don't have time for my omelet, but have to get in the car, I take along 2 pieces of string cheese and two sticks of celery. It is a weird-sounding breakfast, but if I just eat the cheese I am still hungry.)

You have a tough row to how, but we are all here for you!

How much protein are you currently consuming? For me I tend to lose better when my protein is 30% or more of my calories. If you are exercising you need .75 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of LEAN body weight. Would be interested to know where your macros are?

It might be helpful to have a consultation with a dietician. Possibly, if your doctor refers you, insurance could pay for it. It does sound like you have a puzzle there and I can understand you being wary of protein with your kidney problems.

There is quite a debate about how much protein one needs; some say we don't eat enough, others say we eat way too much. But everything in the articles I've seen that recommend upping the protein say "unless you have kidney problems," so I would use caution and talk to a professional, if your doctor can't give you answers.

I have met with dietician at Diabetes Education Centre--completely free and my GP did send me there. She did say that I could probably up the amount. Currently I'm trying to keep my meat portion (ie chicken) to dinner time. The protein level has gone down considerably from 1.78 to 1.28 (a normal person's is .30). Unfortunately it's kind of hard to know whether I'm doing ok since I only go to kidney specialist every 6 months.

Dietican said my carb intake should be 30g per meal. She did say I should probably be eating 3 small meals with snacks in between but I'm not really a snacker. BTW I have appointment a month from now to see dietician again.

Thanks everyone for advice. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm boring my friens with my health issues:(

jj, even if you are boring your friends, we love to talk about this stuff here, so you'll always have us ;).

A little frustrated today as I did my weekly weigh-in and the number is the same:( Have been drinking more water and didn't quite meet my goal of 30 mins exercise did some 5 days this week. Then a friend of mine posts about her 50lb weight loss and how easy it was. This is not easy for me and it's hard when I see people whose weight seems to slide right off.
I know I need to go shopping tomorrow as I don't have enough veggies in the house.
Jenn

Jenn,
I was just re-reading this post and trying to understand your dietician's recommendations. I am a IT analyst by profession so please bear with me. 30g of carbs times 3 meals a day = 90g of carbs or 360 calories from carbs (carbs and protein contain 4 calories per gram while fat contains 9 calories per gram). Assuming a diet of 1500 calories total that leaves 1140 calories from Protein and Fat. If your dietician is like most then your fat calories would be restricted to about 20% of your total or 300 calories. That would leave protein to fill the other 66% of your diet (840 calories from 210 grams). This means macros are 24% carbs, 20% fat and 66% Protein.

This would seem to be double what a person with normal kidney function and protein levels would be eating (see my previous post) so I am concerned that you would be consuming so much. :eek: Of course I can be completely off with my assumptions but you said you have been on a low protein diet and this looks like a High protein diet. Excuse my if assumptions are incorrect or you meant 30g of net carbs or from simple carb sources like bread, sugar and processed foods and not total carbs.

You aren't the only one that has to fight for the weight loss. Keep to the good fight. You can do it!

Yes, I should have said net carbs--or 3 carb choices (like 1/2 large apple is 1 carb).

Thanks Ron,
re-checked Diabetes website and they are using 15g per carb so it would actually be 45g (or 30 for breakfast and 15 for mid morning snack). Not knowing how many grams I should have for protein means I don't know if I'm eating the right amount or not. Dietician is only concerned about carbs.

Thank you for your help.

Hi. Thought I would give an update
I have Dr appointment next tues. I have been able to maintain A1C of 7 since diagnosed.

I keep track of how much I exercise by writing it down on a calendar. I have more energy lately too. Unfortunately my weight fluctuates a lot because I retain water with kidney issue. Frustrating to work out for 30-40 mins 5 times a week and see no difference in the scale.

At the end of the day after logging what I ate I can see what sort of meals I had on a good day. Keeping carbs under my allotment is hard because I can't go over 60 grams of protein.

I don't know what I would do without the support of this community.
Thanks

Jenn

Thanks for the update Jenn.

You know you can track your exercise on Fitday by using the Activities tab? Just an easy place to log it while you are here logging your food.