anyone else with diabetes?
 

i'm new to fitday and the forums, looking for women to go through this with. i just found out today that i have diabetes.:( i have to go to the dr. tomorrow to discuss it. i have made significant changes to my diet this past month, and i think they are all on target for what a diabetic diet calls for, but i really know nothing about the disease. anyone want to give help and advice? also, i had lost several pounds over the past 2-3 weeks, but we went to disneyland with the kids and i fell off the wagon with a very loud thud. what took 3 weeks to lose only took 3 days to gain back. :mad: i can def. tell the difference in how i feel, though, and glad to be back on my healthy diet today. any help with diabetes and healthy eating would be welcome. thanks.
~lisa

Hi Lisa, there's lots of us out here, and the support is here!

IMO, diabetic eating is no different than healthy eating. Try to substitute brown grains for all the white starchy processed grains. White carbs turn to sugar quickly in your body, making your sugar readings go up. Brown grains break down in your body much slower, and help with your levels. This has been the hardest thing for me. Nothing to me is better than a huge piece of warm, buttered white bread! If you can, eat protein with all your meals and snacks, you can find it in nuts, meats, beans, low fat cheeses, greek yogurt. Include Lots of veggies of course. Fruit is good, some fruits have higher sugars in them than others.

No one is perfect. Don't try to be all at once, or you'll get discouraged real fast. I've been fighting my diagnosis for 7 yrs. finally, this year, now on insulin, I've come to realize, if I take good care of myself, diabetes is not a death sentence.

Visit the ADA website. There are many diabetic bloggers out there on the web, who share their experiences. Find them and find those people u can relate to their stories. I promise it helps. And hang out here, there are type 1s, type 2s, IR people, and Type 1.5ers like me.

I have this quote on my wall at work,

"Poor diabetes management causes neuropathy and amputation.
Good diabetes management causes NOTHING.".

Good luck! See u in the forums!

I'm not diabetic, but I eat like I am! It is a healthy way to eat!!! A good book to read is "The New Glucose Revolution". It is a wealth of information. My Diabetic friend recommended it to me to read. It totally changed my eating habits, controlling blood sugar, etc. There is also one called "the new glucose revolution for Diabetes" I haven't read that one but I imagine it is more disease specific.

thanks for the encouragement, ladies. i did some reading this morning, and it looks like the changes i've made so far are good ones. like you said, i'm eliminating white things and replacing them with whole grains. i love bread, but i'm cutting that out as much as possible. one thing i'm not seeing on any of the exchange lists or diabetic diet lists is oatmeal. i love having a packet of instant oatmeal in the morning for breakfast with 1/2 c skim milk. if i'm keeping an eye on my overall daily carbs, will that become a big problem to have oatmeal in the a.m.?

i'm also wondering if my dr. will want me to see a dietician or anything like that or if he'll just keep telling me to cut back on carbs. what is a healthy level of carb grams per day with diabetes? i read that a healthy range is 100-150g/day. do any of you know more about this?

and thank you for the book recommendation! i get kind of neurotic about reading and learning about whatever comes into my life and i had planned on going to the bookstore later. now i know what to look for!

My endocrinology group had me meet with a dietician, it's part of their services. It was awesome. Learned about portion sizes, we reviewed my food logs to see how my body reacts to different foods I eat. Really, really helpful. There's another great book out there called "think like a pancreas". Learned a TON with that book! Good luck, keep us posted on your progress!

Hello- I am a type 2 diabetic, diagnosed 10 years ago but only recently have made changes and got in control.

Oatmeal ( real oatmeal, not processed with sugar) is great for breakfast, oats in general help keep the blood glucose stable.

I really liked the website Diabetic Living, helped me with meal planning etc. I haven't mastered carb counting, but do try to eat with the plate method.

chris, thanks for the recommendation on the book. i am definitely going to check that one out too. off to amazon.com here in a minute. mrskate, since the instant packets are processed, then it would be better to have real oats, sugar substitute, and add my own cinnamon and diced apples i bet. i hadn't really thought about concocting my own, but it makes sense. i'm going to check out the website diabetic living, too, and see what i can learn. you're all very helpful!

About six months ago (September 2011) I also go told I was pre-diabetic. My docotor right away had me check in with a diatition (sp?). I learned today that any reading of 101 or more two hours after a meal is considered an impaired glocuse reading. Feel free to send me a message anytime and maybe I can be of some help to you since I'm fairly new to this too.

Lcriswell- Mrskate is right, whole oats "old fashioned" they are sometimes called, or if you can find Steel Cut Oats-what used to be called Groats, (I prefer Bob's Red Mill brand, they only take 10 minutes to cook!) are "Slow burn Carbs" and much better for you than the little packets.

If you are a bread-lover, according to the book that I recommended, Rye, sour dough bread and Pumpernickel are not "fast burn" carbohydrates. It doesn't mean you have a free ticket with them, they just don't spike the sugar as much as straight white bread.

And don't let the variance on the scale affect your mood. I weighed in yesterday 1.5 pounds heavier than I did this morning. I seriously did not burn 5000 calories yesterday... weight fluctuates...

yes, i know weight fluctuates throughout the day. i step on the scale periodically to see if i'm at the "light time" of the day. lol i tried regular oats this morning with 1/2 diced gala apple, 1 c skim milk and 2 tsp sugar (i know i know...i need to buy some splenda at the store today). it didn't taste quite as good to me as the instant, or maybe it's just different and i have to get used to it. but i could eat twice as much for the same calories and carbs as the instant.

i ordered 2 books from amazon.com..."Diabetes Without Drugs: The 5-Step Program to Control Blood Sugar Naturally and Prevent Diabetes Complications" and "The New Glucose Revoltion for Diabetes: The Definitive Guide to Managing Diabetes and Prediabetes Using the Glycemic Index". I think they should be good. the first one got 4.5 stars and the one that frenchhen recommended got 4 stars. can't wait to get them!

Lcriswell - as a previous poster said, diabetes is not a death sentence, or even anywhere close. I've been a type 1 diabetic for... I think it's 16 years now. I don't know if your diagnosis is type 1 or 2, but if you ever have any questions, feel free to message me - I like to think I've learned some things over the years :D Anyway, I live what I feel like is a very normal life, with extra motivation to be healthy. Logging food here on fitday has been a tremendous help with that.