Dieting with type 2 Diabeties

MissRed1979

Hi all, I'm returning to MFP after a long illness and we have just found out my partner is diabetic ....does anyone here have experiance to help us to lose weight and not affect his condition ? ? I'm going to be doing it with him as I've put weight back on with being ill myself this last year and I'm more than willing to eat what he has to..

Any advice tips etc would be gratefully received
thanks in advance

Susan aka MissRed

nvmomketo

I found the book, Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution to be a big help. It is a low carb high fat eating plan designed to reduce insulin and blood glucose levels in the blood. It helps before you even have an significant weight loss. A really good plan.

Dr Jason Fung's Obesity Code is also a good plan for diabetics. It is also a LCHF plan, though not as low as Bernstein's so he incorporates fasting into it as well.

My other tip would be to buy a glucose monitor and test multiple times per day. Before every meal and 1 and 2 hours afterwards. That way you'll know how your meals are affecting you.

Good luck.

RodaRose

Has his doctor or dietician given him any instructions?

RavenLibra

there's a group here for type 2... BUT immediately STOP all added sugar, NO white bread, only whole grain, multi grain and as little as possible. NO rice, or potatoes... LOTS of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and other colorful vegetables. washed and raw or steamed. and TONS of exercise... walking is a good start, turn off the TV... better yet... get rid of it. THEN see about a dietician.

xvolution

RavenLibra wrote: »

there's a group here for type 2... BUT immediately STOP all added sugar, NO white bread, only whole grain, multi grain and as little as possible. NO rice, or potatoes... LOTS of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and other colorful vegetables. washed and raw or steamed. and TONS of exercise... walking is a good start, turn off the TV... better yet... get rid of it. THEN see about a dietician.

This seems a bit extreme, and I have Type 2 Diabetes myself. I agree with most of it, but you can have brown rice and there's no need to get rid of the TV. What your partner needs to focus on more is the Glycemic Index of food items. The higher the number, the more of an impact that food will have on the bloodstream. Low glycemic foods are absorbed more slowly and are preferred over foods with a high glycemic index [which is quickly metabolized and quickly raises blood sugars].

nvmomketo

xvolution wrote: »

RavenLibra wrote: »

there's a group here for type 2... BUT immediately STOP all added sugar, NO white bread, only whole grain, multi grain and as little as possible. NO rice, or potatoes... LOTS of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and other colorful vegetables. washed and raw or steamed. and TONS of exercise... walking is a good start, turn off the TV... better yet... get rid of it. THEN see about a dietician.

This seems a bit extreme, and I have Type 2 Diabetes myself. I agree with most of it, but you can have brown rice and there's no need to get rid of the TV. What your partner needs to focus on more is the Glycemic Index of food items. The higher the number, the more of an impact that food will have on the bloodstream. Low glycemic foods are absorbed more slowly and are preferred over foods with a high glycemic index [which is quickly metabolized and quickly raises blood sugars].

It all really depends on the case. Eliminating most carbs and all grains (whole or not) will bring down BG although it may not be enough.

I lost 20% of my body weight and walk every day for 30-90 minutes and without a LCHF diet my BG is high. Some find that just exercise is enough and others find that reducing some carbs is enough. It varies between people.

MissRed1979

RodaRose wrote: »

Has his doctor or dietician given him any instructions?

We were fitted in as an urgent appointment with the diabetic nurse but it was a shorter appointment so she only went through the medication and the tester kit and she has no appointments until 3rd of august now so hoping to get some advice before that if you see what i mean

MissRed1979

Thanks for the replies guys much appriciated, its given me things i can work on as i do most of the cooking and make up packed lunches etc

jgnatca

Since the nurse has started with the testing, this is a good place to start. Your partner should start testing and logging the results (this is a major lifestyle change all in itself). Logging all meals will help, too, as he will start associating meals with blood sugar readings with how he feels.

After a month of testing I quickly associated certain foods with a blood sugar high and avoided them. I also learned to recognize signs of blood sugar highs and lows.

The diabetic plate helped me visualize what my meals should look like:

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/create-your-plate/

jgnatca

By keeping good logs now it will help you with your next visit with the nurse, as you have some decent data to review.

nvmomketo

jgnatca wrote: »

Since the nurse has started with the testing, this is a good place to start. Your partner should start testing and logging the results (this is a major lifestyle change all in itself). Logging all meals will help, too, as he will start associating meals with blood sugar readings with how he feels.

After a month of testing I quickly associated certain foods with a blood sugar high and avoided them. I also learned to recognize signs of blood sugar highs and lows.

The diabetic plate helped me visualize what my meals should look like:

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/create-your-plate/

That diebtics plate would have been a disaster for me. 25% protein and 75% carbs? No fat? My BG would have been through the roof. I now go with 5% carbs, 20-25% protein, and a lot more at than they suggest.

And no, not everyone will need to cut carbs a much as I did.

It is great is that works for jgnatca, but if it isn't giving him fast results, cutting carbs is almost sure to help.

caroldavison332

I"m type 2. When I test my blood I write down what I ate previous. I know that I can eat fatty cheesecake with little impact on my blood sugar but not liverwurst sandwiches. Go figure. It helps to know what food impacts your blood sugar. I eat no grains, which includes sugar, no potatoes, no rice. No fake fat, no fake sugars. I've been doing it about a month and lost 3 pounds. My face look fantastic since dumping sugars.

gaston84

I have successfully reversed Type 2 diabetes in 3 months and lost 17Ib (1st 3Ib) I train in the gym 3-4 times a week doing at least a spin class and HIIT. My level where 59mmol and now I'm down to 45 so a big drop and am down to one Metformin a day from 3. I do a 12 hours working day on a shift so use my days off to hit the gym hard.

I changed my diet and substitute foods. Potatoes I have stopped and now have sweet potatoes. Rice I have wild but only once a week otherwise it's cauliflower rice instead. Pasta is always brown now and I limit that weekly to one maybe two portions. I eat lots of chicken or turkey and veg. I will have the odd bit of red meat in the week but mainly stick to chicken an turkey.
Bacon and eggs I eat plenty off and just remove the fat from the bacon so helps.
Bread I now get farmhouse grannery small loaf, 3 slices of that equate to 1 slice of white bread so keep my carb intake to a max of 40% of my daily in take.

I use PHD diet whey and protein bars as they are very low in calories and Suger. My daily calroie intake target is 1500, if I exercise then I will put 1/4 - 1/2 back in.

Best thing to do is take the time and pre plan meals and stack up on veg, I but frozen bags of them as quick and simple and most work places have a microwave so simple to do.

Good luck and don't rush it find what suits his levels and adjust from there.

scoii

I assume the type 2 was caused by being overweight. In general, any diet to lose weight will result in the pancreas being able to cope with the reduced workload from a reduced sugar (by sugar I mean anything that could raise blood sugars) intake. This is especially true if the diabetes is reasonably new as the pancreas has only just starting to struggle. Hopefully this can be reversed in a few months. My mother's a type 1 and happily eats potato, rice, pasta etc. Switching to low GI food is probably a good idea in the short term whilst the blood sugars are high but is probably not needed once the weight is dropping off.

The beginning will be tough if the diet is full of fast release energy but after a few weeks the body won't miss the sweet tastes as much.

MissRed1979

Thanks soo much guys weve been at it for 2 weeks and hes doing ok ....we are slowly learning between us what things he should and shouldnt have as I do the pack lunches and cooking its been a big adjustment .....im suddenly looking at foods I thought were ok and being shocked at the amount of sugar they contain !!! pack lunch meats for example wow !! so now im using more fresh meats tuna etc.
Experimenting with his pack lunch as he believes the yogurts I buy are affecting him so today I sent him with natural yogurt and fresh berries to see if that makes a difference

MissRed1979

scoii wrote: »

I assume the type 2 was caused by being overweight. In general, any diet to lose weight will result in the pancreas being able to cope with the reduced workload from a reduced sugar (by sugar I mean anything that could raise blood sugars) intake. This is especially true if the diabetes is reasonably new as the pancreas has only just starting to struggle. Hopefully this can be reversed in a few months. My mother's a type 1 and happily eats potato, rice, pasta etc. Switching to low GI food is probably a good idea in the short term whilst the blood sugars are high but is probably not needed once the weight is dropping off.

The beginning will be tough if the diet is full of fast release energy but after a few weeks the body won't miss the sweet tastes as much.

He did find the first week difficult as he did crave sugery things but he says this week has been much easier and he doesnt want the suger now his mood has improved no end and the tiredness has decreased so happy him equals happy me

ronjsteele1

I have to second The Diabetes Solution book!! It is a fabulous resource for really getting diabetes under control. The only thing I can say about the diabetes classes where they supposedly "teach" you how to eat is if I had followed them I would have been screwed. They basically teach you to eat whatever you want just balance it with enough fat and protein so the carbs don't matter. That is NOT going to work to actually get rid of someone's diabetes. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. I would really recommend getting that book used from Amazon and both of you read it. It will help so much! From there, you will have much more confidence in what you do.

jgnatca

The yogurt maybe affecting him as the carbs are too high without a balancing amount of fiber and protein.

Try Greek yogurt instead and see if you can include a crunchy Bran cereal topping.

xvolution

I have Type 2 as well. I've had it for so long that I know how certain foods affect my sugars, and know how much medicine to take to counteract it. Try to keep an eye on the Glycemic Index of foods [the higher the index, the faster it affects blood sugars].

KimiAR

Dr. Barnard has some good stuff at the pcrm.com website:

http://www.pcrm.org/media/experts/neal-barnard-diabetes-book