Newly diagnosed with diabetes and need help with diabetic exchange diet

KnitterNotAQuitter

I was diagnosed as Type 2 on Thursday. I’m supposed to adhere to a 1,200 calorie a day diet based on the diabetic exchange plan, and my doctor gave me this sheet. And I totally don’t understand how this works.

Am I missing something? Where are the vegetables? How does one exchange equal three ounces of chicken in the example? Do you have to eat the same for every meal (e.g., breakfast is always one fruit, one meat, etc.)? I was so shocked and scared when the NP that handed me this and shortly explained it, I thought I understood it, but then she started looking at my feet and couldn’t feel a pulse and ordered a scary ABI test (which I had yesterday and don’t feel it went well).

So far, I’ve just been keeping to 1,200 calories, and going to the gym every day to walk for an hour, but I feel like not following the diet is not really following instructions.

Sorry if this is rambling, I’m waffling between being devastated to tears, feeling confident (“I got this!”) and “What the f*** does it matter what I eat? This is basically a death sentence I brought on myself anyway.”, which brings more tears and the cycle starts all over again.

And in the middle of all this, my friends are asking what’s going on with me and I’m too embarrassed to tell them, I’ve just been hiding at home since Thursday. I’ve only told my mom and sworn her to secrecy, but I’m visiting my family for Thanksgiving for the first time in years, and she’s already implied that it is now ruined.

I feel so scared and alone. If I could get my eating on track, at least I’d have that. Thanks for any help.

collectingblues

I'm type 1, but had lots of time on exchanges for that and for another condition. I'll take a crack at this as best I can.

So for vegetables -- in the diabetes exchange diet, those are off of your free-food list. (This is part of why vegetables get a reputation for being "free" foods.) Eat what you like of the non-starchy veg, within reason, and as your calorie count allows.

I'm not sure how their sample meal plan is getting 3 oz of chicken for one exchange. I was always taught that one exchange = 1 oz, and that's what everything I google is telling me as well (I double checked just in case I was misremembering).

Yes -- you don't need to eat the same *foods* for every meal, but you need to eat the number of changes the same as they are prescribed. So that'll mean one fruit, one carb, one meat, and one fat for each breakfast. Ditto with how the lunch, dinner, and snacks are set up. At this point, at least. I was usually given a little more flexibility, but part of the key with type 2 is *consistent* carbs -- so that's why things are set as they are.

bisky

I would ask for a referral to a nutritionist for help....most Dr's have little training in nutrition in med school. I don't blame you for feeling scared...diabetes is an insidious disease that can cause a lot of health problems if not properly taken care of. I think there are some diabetes forums here.

musicfan68

Don't ask for a referral to a nutritionist. You need to talk to a Certified Diabetes Educator, who usually is also a Registered Dietician. They may teach you how to count net carbs. My mom has Type 2 and can have 45 grams of net carbs per meal. It is really easy to figure that out just by reading the label on the package of food. Net carbs are just grams of carbs minus grams of fiber.

But ask to be referred to the Diabetes Educator. Most hospitals have one on staff.

rheddmobile

I'm sorry you're facing this situation. It is scary, but it's not a death sentence. You can definitely improve your condition with diet and exercise. What meds are you on? Are any of them glucose lowering, such as glimeperide and insulin? That makes a huge difference to whether you need to keep your carb intake constant or not. What was your A1c? How often are you testing your glucose?

With respect, the diabetes exchange diet is baloney and will keep you getting worse and worse. It's based on outdated information and the idea that most people don't have sense enough to eat right. Use it as a starting point to get an idea of how to design a balanced meal. Then use MFP's logging to look at exact net carb counts - that's what matters, not some estimate based on "carb points" and "exchanges." Depending on your own personal responses to glucose, you can probably eat between 30g and 50g of net carbs per meal, with a meal covering about a three hour period. But you won't learn the exact numbers until you start testing your own blood and seeing for yourself.

I'm a type 2 and I've lowered my A1c from 11 to 4.7 by doing what's called "eating to the meter." You buy a blood glucose meter, and you test after every meal, until you know how different foods affect your blood glucose levels. Then you keep your levels in check by eating food that doesn't cause your blood sugar to spike.

There's a diabetes support forum here with many experienced people, and we'd love to have you join.

As far as Thanksgiving is concerned, you need to be brave and strong. Remind your mother that visiting family is supposed to be about people who love us and care about us, and that she should be more concerned that you are getting what you need to be healthy than about stupid details. The meal will be in your mouth one day and in the toilet the next. Your life is more important. You did not bring this on yourself - no one chooses to have a dangerous disease.

I hope I'm not just confusing you worse. Please feel free to message me with specific questions.

rheddmobile

I was looking at the handouts they gave you, and wondering why so many foods are crossed out. Did anyone explain this?

bisky

Thank you music fan for correcting me...there can be some crazy nutritionists out there and I don't think they are regulated as Registered Dietician are.

KnitterNotAQuitter

@rheddmobile I forgot to mention, the scribbling was me — on the front, trying to figure out how the diet worked, and on the back, crossing out food I don’t really care for or probably won’t eat. Sorry for the confusion.

Regarding my vitals, I’m on Januvia 100mg, my A1C was 6.4 and my blood glucose was 155. The NP said I don’t need to test ... yet. She gave me the diet and only 90 days worth or medication. I have a follow-up appointment in a month and new labs in three months. I think she wanted to give me tough love which she referred to as “medical blackmail.”

T1DCarnivoreRunner

It's been nearly 20 years since I've seen anyone using the exchange diet; so I'm surprised your NP resurrected this out-dated method.

Each "exchange" of carb-heavy foods (grains/starch, fruit, milk) is approximately 15g of carbs; except the milk exchange is closer to 12g and has a small amount of protein. IIRC, a "meat" exchange is generally around 7g-10g of protein. The veggies are supposed to be non-starchy veggies (starchy vegetables such as corn or potatoes come out of your starch exchange). As such, they should be primarily fiber and have pretty close to 0 net carbs.

I'm a type 1 and started with the exchange diet in 1995. Everyone switched to counting carbs in the late '90's or early '00's. It is simpler, more accurate, and provides greater flexibility for most of us. As have others, I'm going to suggest seeing a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator).

dsboohead

bisky wrote: »

I would ask for a referral to a nutritionist for help....most Dr's have little training in nutrition in med school. I don't blame you for feeling scared...diabetes is an insidious disease that can cause a lot of health problems if not properly taken care of. I think there are some diabetes forums here.

This would be a helpful option.

dsboohead

I just hate when the MD throws you a book and says....there you go! Diabetes educator and nutritionalist should be referred for you and demand it!

rheddmobile

The good news is that 6.4 is not that high! You are very lucky to have been diagnosed at an early stage.

I urge you to disregard the recommendation not to test. I'm not sure why doctors do this, mine did it too, but he sure changed his tune after seeing my lab results. Without a meter you are shooting in the dark. A cheap meter costs ten dollars at Walmart, and you can get the best rated one available with everything else required to test for forty on Amazon.

I've never been on Januvia, but Januvia supposedly doesn't cause low blood sugar, so it's not as critical for you not to skip meals as it would be for someone on insulin or a sulfonylurea like glimeperide. What you need to worry about is not eating too many carbs at one time, and especially not eating too many quick acting carbs such as refined grains and added sugars. Slow acting carbs such as the ones in fruit or beans affect different people very differently, which is one reason to test - for example, I can eat a huge serving of potatoes with no problems, but only a small amount of rice spikes me. A friend of mine has trouble with fruit which I am fine with. Unless you test, you are just guessing. The goal is to keep your blood glucose within safe levels.

lorrpb

You did not ruin Thanksgiving. Everyone can bring what they want and eat what they want. I'm sorry your mother said that. It DOES matter what you eat, that you lose weight, and that you exercise. Even 10-20 lbs weight loss and exercise can start to reverse diabetes. It is a death sentence only if you do nothing to address it. T2DM is completely reversible with lifestyle changes. You've gotten much good advice above so I won't repeat it. You can tackle this, for sure!

rheddmobile

By the way, Thanksgiving is a terrible meal to have to figure out for diabetics! What a time to be diagnosed. But turkey is carb free. See if you can bring some sugar free cranberry sauce if you like cranberry sauce, and make sure there are some non-starchy vegetables available that aren't drenched in gravy or marshmellows.

dustbringer

Unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like on Thanksgiving you could have a serving each of turkey, a dinner roll, mashed potatoes, milk, and free vegetables with a serving of fat to cook your veggies or for salad dressing.

For your "bedtime snack" you could make pumpkin mousse by whipping up a serving of condensed milk and folding in a serving of pumpkin with some pumpkin spices.

And if your family eats Thanksgiving dinner like mine, we linger around the table talking long enough that maybe you'll have a long enough time at the table for it to be lunch, then your break, then dinner.

I don't know much about the exchanges (even though a few people close to me have diabetes), so don't take my suggestions too literally! Definitely take everyone's advice and see a proper nutritionist! But I wanted to give you some hope that Thanksgiving is not ruined.

RodaRose

Have some talks with your mom so she can be chilled out by Thanksgiving. Geez.

Yes, regarding meals being mostly the same everyday on this plan.e.g., breakfast is always one fruit, one meat, etc.)

You have veggies available to you: Bean sprouts, green beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, cooked mushrooms, onions, red or green peppers, cooked spinach, tomato, cooked zucchini, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, dill pickles.

Good luck. The beginning of any new experience can feel overwhelming. It will get better.

If you can find a Registered Dietician, you would (I hope) get someone who explains things to you better.

amyepdx

That is just heartbreaking that your mother would say that you ruined Thanksgiving. I’d be tempted to tell her to go ahead without me and spend the day on a nice long walk and time to reflect on what you need to do to get your health back on track.

As @lorrpb said, you can absolutely get that A1c down by losing 10-20 lbs to start (you don’t say how much you need/want to lose).

ZoneFive

Oh, honey. It's going to be okay. Diabetes is not a death sentence. You absolutely have it in your own hands to improve your condition. I was diagnosed with T2 eighteen months ago. I came to MFP with the intent of monitoring my sugars and starches, and soon moved to keeping track of my calories as well. Over the past year my A1c has gone from 7.9 to 5.4, and serum glucose from 157 to 94. Today I'm below the diabetes threshold and even the pre-diabetes threshold.

Insist on that referral to a Diabetes Educator and RD. That diet sheet you were given is definitely outdated. There are lots of people on this forum who have their diabetes well under control by diet alone, but even if you need medication, you can still make your life very comfortable and healthy. You're not alone.

And that was an awful thing for your mother to say. One person's diet is not what ruins Thanksgiving -- unkind and rigid attitudes do.

ptrcmcc6

I've never heard of the "exchange' thing so I can't comment on that but eating a low carb diet will definitely help you loose weight and quite possibly reverse your diabetes. Like another poster had pointed out, 6.4 is really not that high for an A1C and a b/s reading of 155 is a little high but not that high. Really, what you should be eating is protein (meats, eggs, cheese, etc.), complex carbs (non-starchy veggies), and fat. I would stay away from the carrots, along with the corn, as they are both pretty high in carbs. Some people seem to think switching to whole wheat pasta is okay if your diabetic but, honestly, it doesn't matter what kind of pasta it is....... whole wheat might be a little healthier but, it all turns to glucose (sugar) once it enters the body and it will cause your sugar to spike. As far as I know, I am not diabetic but it does run in my family. For this reason, I choose to follow a low carb way of eating. I try to keep my carbs below 60 net grams for the day. For breakfast (if I don't have to work), I'll have bacon or sausage, eggs, and maybe one slice of low carb bread with butter. Lunch could be anything from a cup of homemade chili, or turkey/cheese rolled up around a slice of pickle, or a cup of homemade broccoli cheddar soup, or a salad with a can of tuna or chicken added or pizza (sauce, cheese, pepperoni baked/broiled on a low carb wrap) or fried cauliflower rice. Dinner is usually some kind of protein (chicken, fish, beef, pork) along with a non-starchy veggie and, my new favorite thing to eat, mashed cauliflower (instead of potatoes). I usually eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. My go-to snack now is a pumpkin/cheesecake bake which I make just about every 2 weeks. It's really easy and simple. It's just cream cheese (softened), 15 oz. can pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling), 1 cup Splenda, 5 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Beat the cream cheese to get any lumps out, add the remaining ingredients, beat until smooth and pour into a glass pie dish which has been sprayed with any kind of cooking oil spray. Bake it at 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes. I also put a 9 x 11 Pyrex pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven with the pie on the center shelf to bake. The moisture from the water seems to keep the pie from cracking. I cut this into 8 slices once it cools and have a slice just about every night with Reddi-Whip whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a total of 6g net carbs per slice...... . There are so many different recipes out there you can make and keep your carbs down. One of my favorite sites is Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes.

And, also, I'm sorry your Mom said that to you. I'm sure it really hurt your feelings, as if having to deal with diabetes was not enough, but there are plenty of things you can do for Thanksgiving. Personally, I am making a bowl of mashed cauliflower to bring to my sister's house along with my Pumpkin/Cheesecake Bake. While everybody is eating mashed potatoes, I will be eating my mashed cauliflower and, instead of Pumpkin Pie, I will have my Pumpkin/Cheesecake Bake. I'm also thinking of making some low carb cranberry sauce to take along with me. I'm going to do a test run this week to see how it comes out. The recipe I found online seems easy enough. It's just 1 bag cranberries, 1 cup of water, 1 cup Splenda, and orange zest. Anyway, wishing you all the best. Feel free to send me a friend request.

jgnatca

First of all, if I were to pick a chronic disease, I’d pick diabetes. Control is all in your hands. Monitor and control your eating and you can postpone the effects of the disease for decades.

The meal plan is reasonable. There are lots of veggies in there and I suggest you treat them as practically “free”.

Mom needs to get a realty check. The typical thanksgiving menu has everything a diabetic needs. You’ll just have to skip dessert. Your portions will be different. Load up on the salad and pick your carb. The carb will be the bun OR the potato OR the dressing. Turkey is terrific.

I am not a fan of the tough love approach. People don’t get smart when they are afraid. Frightened people make poor decisions and can rush right off a cliff edge.

I’m a fan of breaking down tough jobs in to manageable pieces.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have much patience with people who ignore this disease. I just want to be effective in explaining that a life makeover is very possible.

I am in remission now but the decade and more that I was diabetic I avoided the nerve damage and other scary things that comes from uncontrolled diabetes.

xvolution

The main part of the exchange diet you should focus on is the carbs, since that is what will cause your blood sugars to go up the most. The simplest way to count carbs is to remember that 15g carb = 1 carb exchange, so take the carb information from the Nutritional Facts label and divide that by 15. That's how many carb exchanges the food has. Fruit exchanges (if you have any) are also 15g carbs each but are exclusive to fruits. Meat exchanges (I'm assuming that 1oz = 1 meat exchange) are 7g protein, but only if there's actual meat in it as carb exchanges can also include 2g protein.

callsitlikeiseeit

your mother is a *kitten*. dont feel bad, i have one of those for a mother too.

anyways, i do NOT have diabetes, but i did care and cook for my ex and grandfather who were both type 2 diabetics (among many other health conditions).

the info you were given is outdated and makes thing harder than they are. I agree with the other poster that you DO need to test - how else are you supposed to know what your sugars are doing and how your body responds to certain foods?

my husband was on metformin and my grandfather on insulin. They were both allowed 30 (net) carbs per meal (labels make this easy). that is the long and short of it. take any meds you are given, exercise regularly, watch the carbs. with the lower carb counts (typically) comes lower calorie consumption. Focus on proteins and veggies.

you are NOT in a bad place, you have NOT ruined thanksgiving and there is NOTHING to be ashamed of. Do you have ANY idea how many people are diabetic? I know TONS. And every single one of them, manage it and control it, with a combination of diet, exercise, and medication (ive known a few who did so well with the diet and exercise part that they were able to stop medications, but they do continue to monitor!!!!)

LiftHeavyThings27105

@KnitterNotAQuitter - so many things running through my head right now.

So, as someone stated already (I am going to 100% enthusiastically agree) if there is a chronic disease to have then I would pick diabetes.

Can it be deadly? Absolutely. Can it wreak havoc on the human body? You, bet! But, of all the diseases "available", I feel that this is one of the few where MY DECISIONS | ACTIONS can greatly impact how this experience plays out.

I mean, I have a high A1C (it has been 6.4 for a decade) . Not to go down this path too long, I was a very high performance athlete in high school and college and very active until I was about 35. Then I moved to Roanoke, VA and got married and had kids and got really fat (from a lean and mean 190 to a very pudgy 250). My nutrition was HORRIBLE (I mean, a balanced diet is three different kind of burritos from Taco Bell, right? And that was just lunch....let's talk about the other four meals....). Anyway, there was a five year time span in my life where opening the top of the 15 Mountain Dews I consumed a day was the only exercise I got. That all changed. I started running - a lot. Nutrition was still a mess, but a lot better. I lost 60 pounds and was strong as an ox and could run and run and run. Still, A1C was high. I am getting my nutrition in order now. And training is going well. I went to the Doctor for the first time in a decade to have a cyst on my back removed. I do not trust Doctors. Just going to be 100% upfront about that. In my experience, all they want you to do is to take one pill for your issue and then four more pills to 'control' the side effects. No thank you! I can find the real solution (nutritionally speaking and exercisely speaking....yes, that is a word...I just used it! LOL).

Now, my prejudice against doctors notwithstanding, I would honestly suggest that you take any "nutritional advice" that a Doctor gives you with a grain of salt. Again, generally speaking. Most Doctors have little to no clue about this topic. So, they are generally ignorant regarding nutrition. I would absolutely recommend that you get with a nutritionist (or, is that a registered dietitian - I can never remember the difference) and get with one that has experience with your condition. It can literally be the game changer for you.

Exercise (what I call 'training') will really help as well.

Losing 10% of your current body weight can do - generally speaking - a world of difference. Please keep in mind that this comment is super general in nature and not specific to your situation.

This is actually a really great opportunity for you to change life styles and to get really healthy. That is how I am (finally) looking at my situation.

Don't look at this as a death sentence. I mean, just to be blunt, we are all going to die anyway, right? No one really knows when or how, but that moment will come for all of us. It is what we do while we are here that defines us. So, take this as an opportunity to make some simple (but not easy) changes and kick *kitten*!

2snakeswoman

I was recently diagnosed with prediabetes, A1c of 5.9. My doctor told me to reduce my carbs and increase my protein intake; that's all. Since then I've been on a mission to finally get serious about this weight loss thing. I set my diet goals to count sugars and carbs. I found a diabetes exchange diet online and was pretty dismayed to see that it allowed 8 (8!) servings of starch per day and only 6 of protein. That doesn't seem right! Anyway, I'm in the anti-diabetes struggle too; you're not alone.

nvmomketo

I agree that your doctor is woefully outdated. A CDE could help. Look up some books too. I found DrBernstein's DiabetesSolution to be a great book. He's a doctor with T1D who basically invented home testing and eating to your metre.

I completely disagree with not getting a blood glucose metre and testing at home. It is very intimidating the first few times you do it but the amount of information you get from it is invaluable. You may discover that you are fine with bread but noodles raise your blood glucose (BG) too much. You may discover that you can eat most fruits and be fine, or that bananas raise you BG a lot and so you can not eat more than half a small banana at a time.

Consider getting a metre. Then test when you wake up, before a meal, and then every 30-60 minutes after until your BG goes back down to pre-meal levels (usually two hours in diabetics).


You want your BG to stay as steady as possible. No big spikes. Spikes are made the worst by sugars and refined grains (flour - bread, cereal, muffins, noodles). Most whole grains will raise BG a lot too (corn, oats,rice, pearl barley). Fruit is also a source of carbs and sugar, but dried fruit (raisins, dates) and tropical fruit (bananas, mangos, grapes, etc) tend to raise BG more than fruit grown in North America (apples, oranges, nectarines, berries, some melon).

Meats, seafood, eggs, full fat dairy (cheese, 14% sour cream, butter, whipped cream) will not raise your BG. Foods like olives, avocados, plain yogurt, some nuts and seeds, and non-starchy vegetables (not root vegetables like potatoes or turnips) will raise your BG some but usually not like grains, sugars and highly refined and processed foods often do.

But, the only way to know how those foods affect you is to test.

nvmomketo

This video could help diabetics with reducing carbs and BG.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ

kittybenn

I feel so bad for you. It IS scary. My doctor told me I had pre-diabetes a year and a half ago. I was so depressed and terrified. But you know what? It shocked me into doing something - immediately. Flash forward to today and I'm down 70 lbs and feel great. You'll figure the exchange thing out, with the help with people here. This will take time so don't be hard on yourself if you're not an expert the day after getting your diagnosis. I'm positive you'll look back on this a couple of months from now and be thrilled with how far you've come and how much better your numbers are next time you see your doctor. One of my goals was to shock the *kitten* out of my doctor on the next visit - and I did. It was so satisfying! Best of luck to you!

150poundsofme

Hi, 6.4 AC1 not high. Did you fast before your lab test? If you didn't the 150 is so not high, and either way not high. More like prediabetic. Hospitals, if your insurance covers, they usually have classes - 5 of them, one on nutrition, one on what to eat and do when you are sick, one a counselor and 2 others. I was told 12+ years ago to do the exchange. Didn't understand either. Went to my first endocrinologist. He said I don't believe in the food exchange and then I was more confused. He didn't tell me what to do. As a diabetic, you can eat carbs, just in the right proportion, like a "normal" meal. You can still have a portion of sweet potatoes, a small piece of corn bread and a small slice of pie for your carbs. Everyone can still eat the same. Your food choices should not effect anyone. You are making your own decisions which should feel good and give you control over yourself. You should have definitely been given a blood glucose monitor so you can see after you fasted when you were asleep, what your a.m. sugar is. Then two hours after a meal you can test again. You would record these numbers to see what foods effect you more than others. Maybe you should visit an endocrinologist. They are the ones who usually have free monitors they give out. I never thought my having diabetes was embarrassing at all. Thin people, heavy people, obese people can get Type 2 diabetes. Whenever I lose weight and not eat too many carbs, my numbers are good. So focus on yourself, don't let anyone push food on you and remember, you are number 1. Hugs and more hugs

dsboohead

Your MFP name implies strength so get it together!
Your mom was wrong by what she said about thanksgiving but it stems from ignorance!
Remember..."knowledge is power"!
Everyone here has given you that so use it to your advantage

nvmomketo

I thought I'd post my thanksgiving meal (I'm in Canada so it was a month ago). We had:

• turkey
• stuffing (heavy on sausage, onions and celery)
• gravy
• mashed carrot and turnip casserole (no sugar)
• cranberry sauce (used stevia and no sugar)
• mashed potato
• roasted veggies (yam, snap peas, onion) in a roasted small pumpkin
• roasted shredded brussel sprouts and bacon
• ham
• salad
• pumpkin pie (no sugar) on a cookie crust, and one with more egg and no crust
• whipped cream (with steavia and spices)
• chocolate vanilla swirl cheese cake squares (stevia)

I ate small amounts (large tablespoon) of the carrot casserole and stuffing. I took a small spoon of cranberries for the taste on turkey. I used a small amount of gravy on the turkey. I also did not eat huge servings of the roasted root veggies. I had lots of meats, sprouts, salad and two types of dessert, and extra helping. I also had a bit of coffee with my whipped cream.

It was a feast. Being a gluten free person with insulin resistance did not hold me back. I doubt my guests had any clue that their meal was GF and low carb.

KnitterNotAQuitter

OP here. Thank you, everyone, for the great advice. I feel better now. I talked with my mom, and we’ve worked out *some* Thanksgiving stuff. (Most ridiculous moment: I suggested a tossed salad, and her exact words were “You don’t have tossed salad on Thanksgiving!” Seriously. I asked if that was an unwritten rule in the Thanksgiving Bible and apparently, it is! But we’re having a salad.) I’m going to look into testing, but I have to travel cross-country for Thanksgiving, and flying gives me anxiety attacks (it was keeping me up at night before I got the diagnoses, so I haven’t been sleeping a lot at all for the past couple weeks) so not until I return home.

A couple people asked about my weight loss goals. I am obese at 349 pounds. My goal is to lose 15-17 pounds before my follow-up appointment in four weeks. I know that’s a lot, but that’s how much I *should* lose mathematically, given my size, current activity level (zero), the number of calories I burn being alive, the number of calories I’m eating, plus the exercise (30 minutes 3x a week) I’ve been prescribed — if I stick to it.

There was another thread going in another area about a study showing doctors/medical professionals treating obese patients differently, and after reading that, I kinda feel like that’s at play here. Granted, I didn’t get this way overnight; I’ve had plenty of time/opportunity to do something about my weight, and over the years I’ve made efforts, some more serious than others. But now I’m ready to play ball, and I feel like I only got half the rules to the game because they already think I’ll want to stick to the bench. It is a fair assessment, given my history. So I’m just going to take this four weeks, and prove I’m worth their time.

Thanks again everyone!