Diabetic

rayvinish1

I just started this and so far I love it, I am just wondering if anyone has diabetes 2 I am curious how you have your goals set up.

concordancia

Type II, lifestyle control (no meds)

I found that when I was tracking, it worked well for me to set the macros at about 34/33/33 and to consider carbs a maximum, protein a minimum and not really worry much at all about the fat. I believe the premium allows you to set up carb goals per meal, but I wouldn't swear to that.

I say "when I was tracking" because I am not currently tracking. I eat a basically Mediterranean style diet, with more meats and less whole grains and beans than is typically depicted. That is, I do prefer whole grains when I have grains at all, but I don't have them every day. And I usually only have beans a couple of times a week; I don't think I even had any last week.

If you are monitoring your blood sugar, it will be easier for you to see what works for you. I currently just track my morning fasting numbers, but if you have access to a continuous monitor, that would be more scientific.

Two things that tend to be mentioned for diabetics, but perhaps not quite enough emphasis compared to all the time spent talking about carb counting:

-Fiber plays an important role in regulating blood sugar, so consider tracking this in addition to macros.

-Exercise is also very important. How much and how intense will depend on you and your body, but I try to get at least 40 minutes a day, even if it is broken up.

jogman

I was diagnosed three years ago. I’m 54 now. MY A1C was 9.2 and blood sugar was 322. I kind of knew it was coming because of my junk food diet and sugar consumption. The doctor offered me metformin but I opted to do some research and see what I could do on my own. After many hours researching, watching You Tube channels and reading, I came to the conclusion I needed to dramatically control my carb intake. I went a little nuts at first and reduced my carbs to under 20 grams per day. I didn’t lose any weight for 3 months but almost immediately my high blood sugar corrected itself, skin allergies went away, and a nagging cough I had had for 2 years also disappeared. Result of lower carbs? Maybe, maybe not. Most likely the overall dietary change which was way more healthy. I spent the next six months perfecting recipes for stuff I missed; Cookies, Cake, Muffins, Bread, Fudge that was low carb. I managed to lose 20 lbs during that six months. I am sure it was a result of calorie deficit but I was mostly counting carbs. For the past two years I have been doing lower carb but recognize the role fiber plays as coccordancia points out. So now I go with net carbs as my guide (carbs - fiber- sugar alcohols). I try to keep net carbs below 50 grams per day which means total carbs usually runs from 100-150. I restarted tracking in MFP September of 2019 because my weight loss had stalled and i decided I now needed to focus on calories as well as carbs. My current settings are 20% carbs, 40% Protein, and 40% Fat. I don’t do much cardio but I do lift heavy four times a week with an occasional virtual boxing thrown in for cardio. I have lost slowly over the past 3 years down 87 lbs from my starting point of 295 and still looking to lose 30ish over the next 18 months. A1C and BS have been normal for the last 2.5 years Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

jogman

Forgot to mention my high blood pressure also resolved itself in the first month of lower carb intake.