Pre-Diabetic

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Replies

  • Pollywog_la
    Pollywog_la Posts: 103 Member
    cafeaulait7 wrote: »
    It might be helpful to read up on Glycemic Index/Glycemic Load of different carbs, too, if you are eating to a glucose monitor. I have a higher carb count if I don't count things like lentils that don't spike my BG. I find that the lower GI foods really are good for me to eat, carbs or no. And the high ones really are the ones that spike my glucose.

    You can also prepare things different ways and it affects how the carbs will be absorbed by the body. Sweet potatoes are like candy if the sugars get caramelized. You have to boil them for them to stay medium GI. Pasta is lower if cooked al dente, etc. Quick oatmeal spikes BG more than non-quick oats.

    And common sense tells me that an apple is probably better than a cookie. Unfortunately, if you test your glucose, you'll probably find that's true for you, too, lol. A lot of sugar in a food really is one thing I have to watch very closely for portion size. I have to eat half a cookie, usually. And I take the top buns off of burgers or sandwiches.

    Spread out the carbs. You might be able to eat a fairly high total number if you don't eat them at the same time. For me, my overnight BG will start creeping up if I don't watch the overall total, though, even if the spikes were ironed out nicely. I tried to sneak another sweet a day in, but that doesn't work for long, darnit!

    If you do eat something like a couple of cookies, go for a walk after. Use up the extra glucose by getting it into those muscles. Regular exercise is very important for BG problems anyway.

    It can sometimes deceiving. Foods with fructose as opposed to glucose or sucrose (glucose and fructose) won't be as high. Fructose is mainly handled by your liver, and will not affect blood glucose readings the same as glucose.

    And items like ice cream appear low because of the fat content even with all the sugar it has.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Hi, I was pre-diabetic for years, controlling through diet, and I am now in remission from significant weight loss. The life of a diabetic is one of balance. The most important advice I got in those early days was to eat on a routine starting with breakfa
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Breakfast. The second tip was to portion my plate with all the macros with lots of fruit and vegetables.

    http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/create-your-plate/
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    @earlnabby wrote this on another thread but she is T2D
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Late to the party. Let me explain. No, there is too much, let me sum up:
    1. I am T2Dm
    2. I did not get it by eating too much sugar. I got it by eating too much food and by taking antidepressants for a long period of time (one of the lesser risk factors. Other medications like statins are also a known risk factor)
    3. People who develop T2Dm typically have a combination of 2 or more risk factors. Genetics being the most common, excess weight being the second most common.
    4. I was diagnosed with an A1C of 7.3.
    5. I don't know (or care) if I am IR or my body does not produce enough insulin. The results are the same, as is the management
    6. I do NOT watch my sugar intake
    7. I DO watch my total carb intake, keeping it to less than 180 g daily
    8. I am in total remission
    9. I do not take medication, my remission is due to diet and exercise only
    10. My last A1C (done a week ago) was 5.0
    11. I am not unusual OR special. Most who are in remission have done it exactly the way I have (according to my Certified Diabetes Educator doctor)

    This. Restrictive low carb is not necessary, unless your doctor prescribes this.

    I would rewrite that to say " restrictive low carb is not always necessary."

    No thanks, I won't be rewriting anything. ;)

    Yeah... That's why I wrote:
    " I " would rewrite that to say " restrictive low carb is not always necessary."



    " I " would rewrite that to say " restrictive low carb is not usually necessary."

    This is what I agree with. :)
  • Leslierussell4134
    Leslierussell4134 Posts: 376 Member
    fatgirlslims87 wrote: »
    I am currently just cutting out snacks as the snacks I ate I knew was bad, so it's a start with the calorie deficit.
    The aim from tomorrow is to start calorie and macro counting properly from tomorrow as I think the diagnosis has given me the kick up the bum I need to lose weight.

    Good for you that you want to nip it in the butt before an actual diagnosis, because even people who reverse their type 2, it never goes away in the medical record. So cheers to that!
    Honestly, doctors aren't usually the people to help in the diet and food department, as you said, an appointment with the dietitian is likely the best bet. May take a few sessions to get things moving and learn the basics. I work with many of them and often I see the recommendation to cut out the snacks, as you mentioned before and aim for 3 well balanced meals. Three meals verses 6 smaller meals can actually help to balance out average glucose levels as the body has more time to metabolize in between and get back to a baseline before the next feed.
    As many have said, the weight loss should help direct everything back to normal. Diabetes is a terrible disease and it rips through people and families. Prevention is definitely the answer. You will be able to do this if you don't give yourself any other option!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    DeguelloTex wrote: »

    " I " would rewrite that to say " restrictive low carb is not usually necessary."
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    This is what I agree with. :)

    This is what I agree with too, as does the majority of those in the medical field trained to treat diabetes.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Leslierussell4134 wrote: »
    fatgirlslims87 wrote: »
    I am currently just cutting out snacks as the snacks I ate I knew was bad, so it's a start with the calorie deficit.
    The aim from tomorrow is to start calorie and macro counting properly from tomorrow as I think the diagnosis has given me the kick up the bum I need to lose weight.

    Good for you that you want to nip it in the butt before an actual diagnosis, because even people who reverse their type 2, it never goes away in the medical record. So cheers to that!
    Honestly, doctors aren't usually the people to help in the diet and food department, as you said, an appointment with the dietitian is likely the best bet. May take a few sessions to get things moving and learn the basics. I work with many of them and often I see the recommendation to cut out the snacks, as you mentioned before and aim for 3 well balanced meals. Three meals verses 6 smaller meals can actually help to balance out average glucose levels as the body has more time to metabolize in between and get back to a baseline before the next feed.
    As many have said, the weight loss should help direct everything back to normal. Diabetes is a terrible disease and it rips through people and families. Prevention is definitely the answer. You will be able to do this if you don't give yourself any other option!

    Actually, many feel that 3 meals and 2 snacks balances out the blood sugars better so you don't get the highs and lows. The trick is to keep the snacks small and, if it is a carb snack, include protein and fat.

    Good snacks: a hard cooked egg or piece of cheese with some nuts. Greek yogurt with some fresh fruit. A snack bar (watch the macros on these, though). Peanut butter on celery. Hummus with fresh veggies.
  • norcogrrl
    norcogrrl Posts: 129 Member
    I have to admit . . . I'm quite surprised, and very disappointed, that your physician has given you so little direction.

    I have not been diagnosed as "pre-diabetic." I've been diagnosed as "insulin resistant," which is kind of a step before your diagnosis. Basically, my blood glucose is horribly regulated and is all over the place (low and high), but it doesn't quite approach pre-diabetes levels when it is high.

    My physician spent decades working in Africa with "Doctors without Borders." As a result of frequently not having the medicine he required to treat people (or not having enough of what medication he did have), his approaching to treating conditions is always nutrition and lifestyle first. Trying to get a prescription for anything out of the man is like pulling teeth, unless it is 100% required.

    My physician prescribed me almost a total elimination diet (he still permits me to have high fat dairy) that is low-carb and high (saturated) fat, with moderate protein. Basically, it is low-carb paleo with high-fat dairy. He demanded that I commit to eight weeks of his eating plan. I asked to be referred to a dietitian. He rolled his eyes, but referred me to a registered dietitian (NOT a "nutritionist"). She concurs with him.

    Tracking my blood glucose levels was a real eyeopener.

    By the end of week one my blood glucose levels had stabilized to a very narrow window well within the healthy range, concluded from readings taken once an hour (with well timed meals and snacks) during waking hours. Note that stable and healthy doesn't mean perfect. My fasting glucose is still a touch high (not officially pre-diabetic, but not quite normal). My physician also suspects that I'm dealing with one episode of transient night-time hypoglycemia which we are now trying to deal with. I have only had one episode of daytime hypoglycemia in the last month. I used to have two or three episodes a day.

    My recommendation would be to start tracking your blood glucose levels right away. If anything causes a big spike don't consume that item, in the same way, again. This is something you can start doing before you see a dietitian, and it might provide you with some data you can give to the dietitian: to get a head start on developing your new nutrition plan.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited November 2015
    norcogrrl wrote: »
    By the end of week one my blood glucose levels had stabilized to a very narrow window well within the healthy range, concluded from readings taken once an hour (with well timed meals and snacks) during waking hours. Note that stable and healthy doesn't mean perfect. My fasting glucose is still a touch high (not officially pre-diabetic, but not quite normal). My physician also suspects that I'm dealing with one episode of transient night-time hypoglycemia which we are now trying to deal with. I have only had one episode of daytime hypoglycemia in the last month. I used to have two or three episodes a day.

    My recommendation would be to start tracking your blood glucose levels right away. If anything causes a big spike don't consume that item, in the same way, again. This is something you can start doing before you see a dietitian, and it might provide you with some data you can give to the dietitian: to get a head start on developing your new nutrition plan.

    I'm glad your hypoglycemia is resolving. That is no fun.
    I seem to have had issues with hypoglycemia too. My BG would spike up after carbs and then plummet below where ther started. If I stay in ketosis, it doesn't seem to happen. I did slip out of ketosis for a week or so when I stopped checeking with ketostx and my carbs were up to 30-50g per day. When I lowered my carbs again I had my first repeat of hypoglycemia in months. Shakes, weak, not as with it as normal. My BG was between a 3.2 and 3.6 (about a 55-67). Once I had my glycogen stores depleted again the problem seems to have disappeared. I'm usually between a 4.4 and 5.4 now. It's pretty stable unless my carbs get above 30g or I eat too much protein, or just too much, at night.

    My FBG is usually my highest reading of the day. Dawn phenomenom I guess. It seems weird that it goes up when I haven't eaten anything for 12 hours. My FBG bounces back into prediabetic range when I just had a "higher" carb day of over 30g, have eaten too much the previous evening, or had too much protein (over 85g seems to be a problem for me). In fact last night was the Gey Cup and I ate a lot of meats, shrimp, pistachios and cheeses. This morning my FBG was back to a 5.8-5.9, which is prediabetic here.

    To the OP: Sorry. I rambled on. I do agree to eating to your metre. It's the only way to find out what will work for you. Moderate carb and exercise might be fine, or you might need something more restrictive like I do, but the only way to know is to test frequently.

  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    My doctor didn't like what my insulin resistance was doing. His attitude is that many, many people reverse the problem completely by losing weight and increasing exercise. Even a 20-pound loss sometimes does the trick. It's not necessarily all that important exactly what you eat to achieve the loss as long as you achieve it. If you're confused about grams of this and that, and "good" and "bad" foods, why not try getting a certain amount of weight off to start with? It could be as simple as limiting portions of the foods you prefer. And--bonus--you'll look and feel better. If you get your weight down and your blood sugar still looks iffy, you could always start watching your carbs like a hawk, and you'd be starting from a position of greater health, too.
  • fatgirlslims87
    fatgirlslims87 Posts: 8 Member
    So went to see my health advisor... I know haven't been logging ( keep forgetting) but put half a pound on. Not happy considering what I have given up since finding out... Finally appointing me with a diabetes nurse but not a dietician! Arghhh xxx

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