Diabetes

The South Beach plan is good for diabetes, as well as Paleo/Primal.

I basically cut out most processed sugars, and most grains and starchy veggies.
I eat lean proteins, beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, etc
Lots of non starch veggies
And healthy fats like nuts and avocados.

I have some fruit, but usually only one serving per day.

I keep my carb total below 100g, and shoot for net carbs (minus fiber grams) under 50-60.
I also shoot for 80-90 grams of protein.

My macros are 20%Carbs/30%Pro/30%Fat

Sad to say, it's not only fruit that are carbs ... it's everything that isn't protein or fat (like nuts, oil, etc). So that includes all your grains, beans and legumes, and vegetables as well as fruit.

This is true! Blood sugar is effected by carbs. Which carbs should be avoided and which carbs should be moderated is something you have to decide for yourself based on your own personal sensitivity, activity level and medications.

Do you have a meter? If not, Walmart's ReliOn meter and strips are quite inexpensive - often cheaper than what your insurance co-pay would be for a brand-name. I've have tremendous success using my meter to determine which foods in which portions are acceptable. The BEST advice I ever received was "If your meter doesn’t like a certain food, then stop eating it! Don’t continue to eat cereal or bread if it spikes your glucose, no matter what your CDE (Certified Diabetic Educator) says."

It's extremely unhelpful to compare your eating plan, your eating plan and your medications to those of any other diabetic, or to think that one size fits all. Trust your meter to tell you what's "good" and what's "bad"

Technique for eating to your meter:

Establish your target range for blood sugar levels.(http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045621.php) Commit to keeping your blood sugar under this level.
Test right before eating. Log the reading.
Test again one hour after your first bite, and log the reading along with what and how much you ate. This is assumed to be about the highest peak - the spike - from the meal.
Test a third time two hours after your first bite. This is hoped to show your blood sugar dropping back to roughly what it was before the meal. If it is, you're showing a good second phase insulin response. If it is not, you should continue testing until you find your blood sugar beginning to drop.

Analyzing these readings along with the foods you've eaten enables you to see which foods have the worst effect on your blood sugar, so you can avoid consuming them in the future.

It's fair to give each meal a second chance, in case there could be an outside influence on the elevated reading, but after two or three experiments, it is wise to avoid or sharply restrict the foods which drastically spike your blood sugar. After several weeks of extensive testing this way, you'll have compiled a personalized list of foods you can eat safely, for the most part. Not saying things don't change, and foods which were safe at one time could become troublesome later (and thankfully, the reverse as well), but for the most part, eating to your meter is an excellent way to control diabetes and keep side effects at bay.

This can also be used to test individual foods such as fruits and things you suspect are going to spike you, but you'd like to know if perhaps you can eat small amounts.

Sad to say, it's not only fruit that are carbs ... it's everything that isn't protein or fat (like nuts, oil, etc). So that includes all your grains, beans and legumes, and vegetables as well as fruit.

This is true! Blood sugar is effected by carbs. Which carbs should be avoided and which carbs should be moderated is something you have to decide for yourself based on your own personal sensitivity, activity level and medications.

Do you have a meter? If not, Walmart's ReliOn meter and strips are quite inexpensive - often cheaper than what your insurance co-pay would be for a brand-name. I've have tremendous success using my meter to determine which foods in which portions are acceptable. The BEST advice I ever received was "If your meter doesn’t like a certain food, then stop eating it! Don’t continue to eat cereal or bread if it spikes your glucose, no matter what your CDE (Certified Diabetic Educator) says."

It's extremely unhelpful to compare your eating plan, your eating plan and your medications to those of any other diabetic, or to think that one size fits all. Trust your meter to tell you what's "good" and what's "bad"

Technique for eating to your meter:

Establish your target range for blood sugar levels.(http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045621.php) Commit to keeping your blood sugar under this level.
Test right before eating. Log the reading.
Test again one hour after your first bite, and log the reading along with what and how much you ate. This is assumed to be about the highest peak - the spike - from the meal.
Test a third time two hours after your first bite. This is hoped to show your blood sugar dropping back to roughly what it was before the meal. If it is, you're showing a good second phase insulin response. If it is not, you should continue testing until you find your blood sugar beginning to drop.

Analyzing these readings along with the foods you've eaten enables you to see which foods have the worst effect on your blood sugar, so you can avoid consuming them in the future.

It's fair to give each meal a second chance, in case there could be an outside influence on the elevated reading, but after two or three experiments, it is wise to avoid or sharply restrict the foods which drastically spike your blood sugar. After several weeks of extensive testing this way, you'll have compiled a personalized list of foods you can eat safely, for the most part. Not saying things don't change, and foods which were safe at one time could become troublesome later (and thankfully, the reverse as well), but for the most part, eating to your meter is an excellent way to control diabetes and keep side effects at bay.

This can also be used to test individual foods such as fruits and things you suspect are going to spike you, but you'd like to know if perhaps you can eat small amounts.

To me this is exellent advice. Testing has shown me what certin foods are doing to my blood suger. Some foods will suprise you and each person is different. Some of the foods I would have thought would have spiked did not and then some I thought would not spike did so. I did find out I could get away with a couple extra cookies every now and then. The way you eat and just getting some simple exercise like walking has so far kept me of the meds, and suprise I also lost weight.

How true! I can't touch oatmeal with a 50 ft pole, but my mom can eat it and her sugars are okay. My mom is on metaformin., which did nothing for me except make me puke. I am to start metaformin ER with the low carb, to see how that works. Even after I lost about 60 lbs nothing changed. My levels were still the same. I had slightly better control but still on meds. Only time I can quit meds is when I get rid of the carbs... potatoes, rice, pasta. For me I can do low carb, working on a new menu plan with the DR who is allowing me to go 100g. My last doctor freaked out at that idea. However, sometimes it is hard to stay on a low carb diet, since my husband lives on rice and potatoes, his favorite foods. He was also blessed with a metabolism where he can eat ANYTHING and not gain. The dr wants him to gain 5-7 lbs... wth!

If I lose 15lbs i will be within my healthy BMI... so I am hoping the low carb will help.

Controlling diet should be your top priority. That said, don't overlook the importance of exercise. Exercise (particularly strength training) is of great benefit for those with IR or diabetes.

thank you for all the advice. What got me was my Doc didn't want me to test....and I want to. For the very reasons you all stated. I need to know how food affects my glucose levels. Should I get a second opinion?

One reading slightly too high (I'm assuming you weren't sky high!) where you may or may not have been adequately fasted doesn't let him actually diagnose you as diabetic. He needs to do the glucose tolerance test on you at the very least to make that diagnosis. And for him to prescribe you a glucose meter, he'd have to actually diagnose you or the insurance company won't pay for it.

Basically, it might just be a false alarm.

Even if you do turn out to be diabetic, elevated sugars for a week or two more (who knows how long they've been high?) isn't going to kill you outright.

If you want to test, you need to know what to look for. Basically, 2 hours post prandial (i.e. 2 h after you have the first bite of a meal) is the critical reading, along with the fasted one right when you wake up. Can you borrow your Mom's meter? Meters are sometimes very cheap (or free), but the test strips can cost a lot!

These numbers are from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=17384 although your Doc may alter them slightly for you:

On waking up (before breakfast) 80 to 120
Before meals 80 to 120
2 hours after meals 160 or less
At bedtime 100 to 140

I understand the "I want to know now" feeling - I was diagnosed prediabetic last year. You want to do everything NOW to prevent it getting worse. But don't panic. Breathe! Do the tolerance test, have the blood work done, and take it a step at a time.

For me, I was at goal weight when diagnosed (having just lost 40 lb). I control my sugar with diet and exercise.

If you want to do something in the short term while you wait, focus on diet & exercise - cut out as much processed sugar as possible, reduce simple carbs in things like rice and pasta and bread (but you don't have to eliminate them completely), and switch the white varieties for whole wheat if possible (I hate whole wheat pasta though. Not going to happen!). Do 30 mins of exercise a day. And maybe use this as a stimulus to lose that weight and eat healthier even if it is a false alarm! If it isn't, make sure you get referred to a dietitian or diabetes education group.

Ask your MD to refer you to the nearest Diabetes Self-Management Program to get proper education and treatment with a qualified RD/CDE for your type 2 diabetes.

You can go on line to http://www.diabeteseducator.org/?vm=r and click on "Find a diabetes educator" on the right hand side of the screen to find a program near you.