Anyone Diabetic?

A

annie2867

Cathlete
Cos I need some help.

I was having some weird feelings so I went to the doctor and it turns out that I am borderline diabetic with high cholesterol. of 293.

Cut down on suger, OH NO! I have never had a weight problem and all my life have eaten loads of sugar and chocolate, now I have to cut down. I am looking for some suggestions. I went to the store and those no sugar chocolates are loaded with fat. I also love those flavored creamers in my coffee. How do you satisfy your sugar cravings? I also love red wine and someone told me to switch to white which has less sugar.

Suggestions anyone???????:
 
Sugar-free jello. I eat tons of it. It's not the best food in the world nutritionally, but it sure helps with those sugar cravings, which I never had UNTIL I became diabetic. (I'm off meds now and control the diabetes with diet and exercise, but I still can't eat badly or my sugar goes through the roof.) Oh, yeah, and fat-free sugar-free pudding. Totally yummy, but a bit of a splurge for me.

Shari
 
I am type 1 diabetic, and I eat sugar. Actually I eat everything. It's a common misconception that diabetics can't eat sugar or other foods. I was taught this when I was diagnosed and took diabetes education classes at my local hospital to learn how to take care of myself.

The key to eating well and maintaining your blood sugar is learning how to count carbohydrates, and to eat a certain set amount of carbohydrates per meal and snack each day. For example, with my lunch I can have 45g of carbs, so that might include a sandwich on 2 slices of whole grain bread, a small salad, and an apple for dessert. OR, I can opt to have 2 mini chocolate bars for dessert. It's not the necessarily the SOURCE of the carbs that affect your blood sugar, it's the AMOUNT of carbs. Naturally, you want to make healthier choices most of the time. But if you REALLY want a dessert or a bowl of pasta or something like that, you have to figure the carbs into your total. In reality, I have learned that a cup of ice cream affects my blood sugar the same as an equal amount of roasted potato or brown rice. It's all about choices. And don't let anybody tell you that you "can't" have something -- it's just not true. The main tool you have is PORTION CONTROL.

I recommend that you work with a diabetes nurse practitioner and/or a nutritionist specializing in diabetes to help you determine the amount of carbs you need each meal and snack to keep your blood sugar healthy. Check out if your local hospital has a diabetes educution program. And get the book "Diabetes for Dummies." It's really a great resource.
Best of luck,
Abby
 
Everything Abbyalex said is great advice. I am Type 1 also, and I don't know what I'd do without Splenda. To me, it tastes just like sugar, so I can have coffee that tastes ``normal.'' Can't do without that caffeine! It's also great on fruit.

Another thing I love is DaVinci sugar-free syrup. There are tons of flavors, and can change up the taste of coffee and bottled water. They can also make cottage cheese taste like dessert.
 
Thanks for all that good advice. I just ate a small KitKat and 2 gingersnap cookies, the craving was so huge I couldn't contain myself.

What I don't understand is that I am not a big carb eater, all my carbs come from vegetables fruits and basically healthy stuff. Typically in the morning I will eat an orange and have a blackbean burger, then later a snack of fresh fruit, then for lunch, vegetables and some protein, and then for dinner fish with salad, or a salad with some protein. Of course you can throw in the sweets and chocolate along with all the other stuff like a couple of glasses of wine. Unfortunately I went to one of those walk in clinics as I just moved to this city and I don't have a doctor. It was really expensive and they tell you nothing, they called with the results and told me to cut down on sugar, Huh!
 
Abby was right on when she said that you should talk to a diabetic nurse and find out how many carbs you can have. When my son was diagnosed with Type 1, like Abbys, it took them 5 full days to teach us how to figure out how many carbs are in all the foods, how many our son could have and how to balance his insulin if he eats too many, or not enough. Being that you are Type 2 it will be different for you. I believe that you can check your blood sugar at cetain times of the day and make sure that you are at where you should be.
The one red flag that I did see in your diet is the orange. They are loaded with carbs, and they are simple carbs so they spike your blood sugar. Avoid sugared sodas, fruit juice, and simple carbs like that. The clean eating that is very popular would help you out a lot, but not completely, because like I pointed out there are fruits out there that will spike your blood sugar. So, really I would find a nurse or a dietitian (oo, I know that's spelled wrong!) that could help you. I hope that you have health insurance because the most expensive disease to treat is diabetes.
Good luck to you!

Kathy
 
This is one time I think that being on insulin is easier! I have the luxury of adjusting my boluses to account for extra carbs in a meal, whereas when you are using diet alone to control your blood sugar, it requires a bit more discipline. I agree with everything that has been said already, and echo the sentiment that it is most important to keep your carb/sugar/starch intake steady, to avoid spikes in your blood sugar that will require your body to work extra hard to bring the levels down. You might try doing a search online for the glycemic index of common foods, that provides a guideline of how much simple sugar the foods contain. If you stick to those with a low glycemic index, you will see less of a rise in blood sugar. A book I just finished that I really found helpful is "Think Like a Pancreas" by Gary Scheiner, it takes into account diabetics who are advanced exercisers, which most plans don't. Keep us posted!
 
I don't know if you are a muffin person, but Southhaven Farm sells "whole grain mixes become incredible breads, muffins, and pancakes -- without any added sugar or fat". I have been pleased with the mixes (except one flavor). Cookie mixes are coming soon. This my help your sugar cravings.

Opps! Edited to add the link :)
http://www.southavenfarm.com/

Autumn
 
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/

I read about this book in US NEWS & WORLD REPORT magazine just last night. Thought you might be interested.

I have really cut down on sugars this year. The South Beach Diet really helped in that regard. I don't really diet anymore....I just stay away from foods HIGH in sugar.
 
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