Sugar!

DawnB86

So I had some blood tests last week (same day I started MFP) and the results say I'm borderline diabetic! That's very scary to me. I added in the Sugar column on my food diary and I'm WAY over for today and it's only lunchtime (need to switch out my protein shake). Any tips from people in the same boat? What are your favorite low-sugar foods? Recipes?
I drink a lot of water every day (at least 8 cups) and keep all my other levels where they're supposed to be but the sugar is going to be a huge obstacle for me. Any words of wisdom?

0PhAtDaDdY

So I had some blood tests last week (same day I started MFP) and the results say I'm borderline diabetic! That's very scary to me. I added in the Sugar column on my food diary and I'm WAY over for today and it's only lunchtime (need to switch out my protein shake). Any tips from people in the same boat? What are your favorite low-sugar foods? Recipes?
I drink a lot of water every day (at least 8 cups) and keep all my other levels where they're supposed to be but the sugar is going to be a huge obstacle for me. Any words of wisdom?

Lose Weight, Exercise, and the borderline diabetic will be history..Good Luck

bizco

If the majority of your sugar comes from natural whole foods like fruit, milk and vegetables, etc. don't freak out too much. It's the refined or "added" sugars you need to focus on. Unfortunately natural sugars and refined sugars are all lumped together in MFP tracking and on nutrition panels.

Start by avoiding processed foods and shop mainly on the perimeter of the grocery store, avoiding most aisles. Think fresh produce, meat, and dairy. You have to actually cook, there's no way around it. Ditch all pre-packaged so-called "meals." Buy some cookbooks that emphasis healthy eating. Browse the Food & Nutrition and Recipes section of the community forum.

Martucha123

it's common mistake to belive that high sugar level comes from eating sugar
fat is the one to be blamed

don't get me wrong, you need to reduce sugar, but also, and mostly reduce fat, especially processed fat.

Most of my family is diabetic so I kind of keep diet for diabetics (for company) and what you have to watch is chips, fries, any other fast food, fried food (especially deep fired), processed food (like ready microoven meals-in addition they have lots of sugare, because it makes taste stronger)

you can eat fat that equals to 2 table spoons of oil (ideally olive oil, 30g) per day

try to cook your meet, or roast it (just spread some oil on it and bake in oven instead of frying)
vegies steamed or boiled, no sauce,

bread with margarine, not butter, and if you can go without margarine, better (It's kind of weird to eat bread with ham or chees ect, no butter, but you can get used to it, my trick: if you like tomato, cut it in half and rub it into bread, will not be so dry )

fruit is ok if you are not actually diabetic, but once you are most of fruit is banned.
you shouldn't eat nuts and dried fruit, and igf you do, remeber to deduct the amount of oil that was in nuts from the 30g allowed per day

if you eat fresh fruit and veggies, don't freak out, you will be ok, once you drop processed and fried food

DawnB86

Thanks for all your advice. There is absolutely no fried food in my diet and I don't eat much bread. I love to cook and rarely eat out. Never have frozen meals either. I think the main culprit is the protein shakes I've been drinking so I'll cut those out. I'll definitely watch the fat intake as well.
Definitely had a little anxiety attack there but I'm better now :-). It's been one bad thing after another with my doc so that was hard news to take.
I'll keep up with the exercises and try and get more veggies and fruits into my diet.

horaks

I also track my sugar-and love smoothies-I have been using Almond Silk-Milk and Greek yogurt with frozen mango, seems to keep the sugar down.

Read lots of labels.

Ral263

Fried food is not the only source of bad fats-- what does the rest of your diet look like? I definitely agree that it's not just sugar intake-- it's processed carbs (again, that's not just bread, it's essentially any kind of cracker, pretzel, chip, cereal, baked good, etc), and saturated fats. If you let us know what your diet currently looks like it'll be much easier to make some suggestions!

DawnB86

My diet basically consists of a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. Either fruit or a protein bar/granola bar for snacks twice a day. Lean chicken or beef, low sodium tuna (rinsed if from a can), soups, frozen veggies (sauteed with very little oil, no salt) and the occasional sandwich for dinner. No sugar added ice cream for a night time snack.

DawnB86

Tons of water and fat free milk, too. Caffeine free diet soda is an occasional thing.

abcwhite10

Fried food is not the only source of bad fats-- what does the rest of your diet look like? I definitely agree that it's not just sugar intake-- it's processed carbs (again, that's not just bread, it's essentially any kind of cracker, pretzel, chip, cereal, baked good, etc), and saturated fats. If you let us know what your diet currently looks like it'll be much easier to make some suggestions!

carbs, carbs, carbs.....................count carbs

VickiZei

My husband and I just met with a dietician. We both have a big sweet tooth. She made a statement that really startled me. She said "sugar will kill many many people before fat does". Since we are both over weight and concerned about diabetes her first step with us was to get our blood sugar on even keel throughout the day so that we don't grab sugary snacks. So she said that no matter what we're eating make sure we have fat, carbs (in the way of veggies, fruits or whole grains) and protein. This is the first time I've gone to someone for diet advice that didn't try to change my whole way of eating but just gave me one thing to concentrate on and that's getting those three things into every snack and every meal. By doing that, I'm not hungry, I don't crave sweet things and I've lowered my sugar intake considerably and I've lost four lbs in less than a week.

I think next time we meet with her she'll go deeper as far as how much protein and how much fat etc but this one thing is already working so it can't be bad.

Ral263

Based on what you posted about your diet, it seems like the vast majority of your calories come from highly processed foods-- the shakes, the granola bars, sugar free foods, etc. Even though calorically, you might be okay, I'd say your diet is majorly lacking in fresh vegetables and nutrient dense foods. Why not try swapping the shakes for say, egg whites sauteed with veggies with a whole wheat english muffin for breakfast, and then a salad with lean protein for lunch?

I think the key here is to eliminate processed food from your diet, and focus on getting in more whole, nutrient rich foods.