Prediabetic Questions

tifflong109

So Monday they doctor said I was pre diabetic, and until August she wants me to workout 5 times a week and stay away from all carbs and sugars (pasta bread tortillas potatoes, tomatoes, sugary fruits carby fruits and veggies) and Monday and tuesday was somewhat easy, but im running out of Money and have no Idea what to eat. And this may be tmi but im pretty constipated too. Its now really hard to atleast get to 1300 calories a day, and im really sick of eating eggs in the morning, does anyone have any suggestions? Anything will help

jemhh

Yikes. That directive was not healthy. My suggestion would be not to avoid all carbs and sugars, but to eat them in moderation. The American Diabetes Association has a nice website that covers meal planning for diabetics. Though you are not a full diabetic, I think you'll find it handy because it shows how you can include carbs in your diet.

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/?loc=ff-slabnav

Isak42

I do have diabetes. Actually all natural foods have carbs. Just some more than others. lol .. some a LOT more than others. So you are getting carbs even limiting your food intake to your doctor's advice, which in my opinion is excellent. I actually think your doctor is not saying to avoid all carbs. It sounds more like he/she is saying be selective about WHICH carbs you eat. Like brown rice instead of white rice .. or whole grain bread instead of white bread, etc. The advice seems to be exactly what would be needed to avoid becoming a diabetic.

On the American Diabetes Association site there is a list of 'grains and starchy foods' that go in the section of the plate method that is reserved for where you would put carbs. http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/grains-and-starchy-vegetables.html?loc=cyp

There is precious little there that most people would call 'carbs'. Your doctor is pretty spot on and I would encourage you to follow his/her directions. If you have to eat carbs, find out from your doctor how many per meal. The dietitian told me 50 per meal (3x a day) and 15 for each of two snacks a day. Not much in actual practice. But ask your doctor or dietitian and follow that. It was different for my husband .. but not by much.

I understand your frustration .. I am dealing with figuring out what to eat instead STILL and I have been trying to follow the same kind of food choices that your doctor has listed .. as it is also what my doctor has advised.

I am not a good cook, hate to cook and am getting very bored of meat, fruit, veggies and whole grains (which I hate so eat very little of). As a result .. I began to cheat. As a result .. my sugar levels are beginning to creep back up. So I once again am trying to follow the regime.

Constipation may resolve once your body gets used to your new food choices but make sure you are eating enough fiber, drink lots of water and eat fruit (from the recommended list). Also, ask your doctor about dealing with that and follow that advice.

As regards what else to eat? More of the same Maybe try to widen your normal list of veggies you like .. grains you have eaten .. find new recipes (the American Diabetes site again for that). I have tried to tell myself .. this is not a 'diet' .. it is a new way of eating .. permanently. But it is hard.

And by the way .. the exercise .. invaluable in terms of maintaining and avoiding diabetes!

In general, your doctor's advice is based on experience, training and expertise. If you really doubt his/her advice, then ask another doctor before ignoring it. Diabetes is no joke and you are at the cusp of being able to avoid it. So don't go ignoring the advice without checking it out from other knowledgeable experts .. like other doctors or dietitians.

Good luck!

julie_broadhead

Isak42 wrote: »

I do have diabetes. Actually all natural foods have carbs. Just some more than others. lol .. some a LOT more than others. So you are getting carbs even limiting your food intake to your doctor's advice, which in my opinion is excellent. I actually think your doctor is not saying to avoid all carbs. It sounds more like he/she is saying be selective about WHICH carbs you eat. Like brown rice instead of white rice .. or whole grain bread instead of white bread, etc. The advice seems to be exactly what would be needed to avoid becoming a diabetic.

On the American Diabetes Association site there is a list of 'grains and starchy foods' that go in the section of the plate method that is reserved for where you would put carbs. http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/grains-and-starchy-vegetables.html?loc=cyp

There is precious little there that most people would call 'carbs'. Your doctor is pretty spot on and I would encourage you to follow his/her directions. If you have to eat carbs, find out from your doctor how many per meal. The dietitian told me 50 per meal (3x a day) and 15 for each of two snacks a day. Not much in actual practice. But ask your doctor or dietitian and follow that. It was different for my husband .. but not by much.

I understand your frustration .. I am dealing with figuring out what to eat instead STILL and I have been trying to follow the same kind of food choices that your doctor has listed .. as it is also what my doctor has advised.

I am not a good cook, hate to cook and am getting very bored of meat, fruit, veggies and whole grains (which I hate so eat very little of). As a result .. I began to cheat. As a result .. my sugar levels are beginning to creep back up. So I once again am trying to follow the regime.

Constipation may resolve once your body gets used to your new food choices but make sure you are eating enough fiber, drink lots of water and eat fruit (from the recommended list). Also, ask your doctor about dealing with that and follow that advice.

As regards what else to eat? More of the same Maybe try to widen your normal list of veggies you like .. grains you have eaten .. find new recipes (the American Diabetes site again for that). I have tried to tell myself .. this is not a 'diet' .. it is a new way of eating .. permanently. But it is hard.

And by the way .. the exercise .. invaluable in terms of maintaining and avoiding diabetes!

In general, your doctor's advice is based on experience, training and expertise. If you really doubt his/her advice, then ask another doctor before ignoring it. Diabetes is no joke and you are at the cusp of being able to avoid it. So don't go ignoring the advice without checking it out from other knowledgeable experts .. like other doctors or dietitians.

Good luck!

^Solid advice! When I was on the gestational diabetes diet, I ate nut cereals like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KRFL5L6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?qid=1463779325&sr=8-1&keywords=nut+granola&pi=SY200_QL40
I also ate plain Greek yogurt with berries and nuts as an alternative to eggs. Best of luck to you:-)

RodaRose

tifflong109 wrote: »

So Monday they doctor said I was pre diabetic, and until August she wants me to workout 5 times a week and stay away from all carbs and sugars (pasta bread tortillas potatoes, tomatoes, sugary fruits carby fruits and veggies) and Monday and tuesday was somewhat easy, but im running out of Money and have no Idea what to eat. And this may be tmi but im pretty constipated too. Its now really hard to atleast get to 1300 calories a day, and im really sick of eating eggs in the morning, does anyone have any suggestions? Anything will help

Increase your fats and oils: butter, ground or dark meat turkey or chicken, pork chops, tuna, salmon, small steaks, eggs, bacon, sausage, cottage cheese, full fat yogurt, cheese, full fat salad dressing, mayo, cows milk or soy milk, hummus, black and green olives.

Low carb veggies include cabbage, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, bell peppers, zucchini, beets, bok choy, brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, celery, collard, greens, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, lettuce, onion, peas, peppers, dill pickles, pumpkin, radish, yellow squash, kale, collards.

Some veggies are cheap fresh -- like cabbage and green beans. Others you can buy frozen or canned.
If it fits her plan, eat beans, chic peas, and lentils as they are cheap.

Eating more oil will help with constipation.

For breakfast make a cheese burger with pickle and lettuce (no bread) or cook the meat the night before and heat it up in the morning.

nvmomketo

I was prediabetic but I reversed it by going low carb - it really can help!

I followed the book Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It's all about eating low carb in order to reduce insulin needs, and helping all diabetics control their disease better. It works very very well.

If you prefer videos, he has a bunch of them on youtube. He's a bit dry but he makes sense. Here's one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VaNJO7KMgg

This talk by Sarah Hallberg is about the same idea but she's a bit more animated. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ

Low carb foods include meats, eggs, bacon, nuts, full fat dairy (like cheese, whipping cream, butter, 14% sour cream), olives, coconut (cream, shredded, oil), avocado, and veggies (green leafy, or green is lowest carb).

It is best to avoid foods with added sugars (like honey , anything ending in "ose" like sucrose, syrup or agave) which will include many processed foods. I would also skip, or really limit foods from grains (wheat, rice, corn, etc) which includes most baked goods. It's best to limit starchy root vegetables too, such as potatoes, yams, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, etc; and limiting high sugar (or GI) fruits like bananas, grapes, raisins, and tropical fruits helps too. The lowest GI fruits are berries followed by fruits grown in temperate regions like apples, nectarines, peaches, oranges, and plums.

I eat very low carb and high fat. A typical dinner for me is a meat with a side of vegetables, usually with a cheese or oil sauce on it. If my family is having spaghetti with meat sauce I'll skip the noodles and perhaps use spaghetti squash as a substitute, or just eat the sauce with cheese. If we have tacos I skip the shell and refried beans and go with beef, cheese, sour cream, avocado, salsa and some veggies. A big salad with nuts, cheese, meat or egg, and full fat dressing, is a good meal too. Snacks are often nuts, pepperoni or cheese, or raw veggies (celery, cucumber, pepper, snap peas) with a creamy dip.

My favourite breakfast is leftovers, or I'll often skip it in favor of coffee with whipping cream.

You may want to join the Low Carber Daily group for more ideas on food. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

Good luck!

cw106

The response from lsak42 was spot on.
Your doctor is correct,its exactly the sort of advice i used to reverse full blown t2 diabetes.

Googling low gylcemic index foods might also help you.
Good luck.
Diet and exercise can solve this.

jesssiebee1983

Your doctor sounds reasonable. Here are some low cost ways to eat as she directed:
*substitute. Instead of pasta, use spaghetti squash if you're in the USA (I'm in Australia, we cant get it here which is sad!), or spiralise some zucchini (unfortunately the machine is a cost but believe me, once you've got it you'll get your moneys worth!). Instead of bread, grill a mushroom, or some capsicum. Instead of tortillas, use a lettuce cup, or some steamed cabbage, or make some cauliflower bread ( http://www.opticook.org/i-just-made-bread-yes-100-intensive-compliant-low-cal-carb-flat-bread-say-no-more/ ). Substitute carb vegetables for non carb vegetables. And fruit for protein like nuts or a boiled egg. I always have a bunch of boiled eggs in the fridge (they last about a week in their shells) and load them with salt (I have low blood pressure so I can). Healthy meats like ham or chicken breast can be great snacks too. Also, I grill flat chunks of hard tofu and season with salt and pepper- delicious! This website is Australian but goes into all sorts of different and amazing substitutions for low calorie everyday foods, it might help you a lot! It has very low carb tortillas, lasagne, pizza, bread. . . everything! http://www.opticook.org
*Keep on losing weight. That will help get your BSL/ insulin levels normal again.

treehugnmama

I did the same thing two weeks ago. I have insulin resistance. I was tired of eggs and veggie omelets. In working with and in the beginning anyway I could have steel cut oats so I have that once a week. I found puffed quinoa. It is great with milk fruit and a couple walnuts, I have a smooth with milk plain Greek yogurt and a fruit nice change from eggs. Today I'm trying a wheat free pancake recipie with almond flour and I'm going to put squished strawberries on it.

Having same with constipation...suprised as I am eating sooooo many green veggies???

For other meals I have just taken out the bread. If family has homemade hamburgers I have homemade hamburger salad all the same stuff but on shredded lettuce instead of a bun.
Feel free to friend me if you want someone to struggle through with...I am learning as I go