Diabetics - your advice please

Malgorzata79 · June 2014

Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes. I am stuck with my weight loss journey and would like to get some advice from an diabetics on MFP.

I lost 60 lbs with the Paleo lifestyle 2 years ago, however, I slipped and started bringing regular foods into my eating and the next thing I know I gained 30 lbs. I tried WW, but their system is not for me.

I started working out again 2 weeks ago, 4-5 days a week, between running, cycling, and doing Bob Harper videos, however the scale nor the inches are showing any results.

Anyone that is a diabetic, can you tell me your journey? How did you do it? How are you doing it? What are you watching: carbs, calories? How often are you exercising? When did you start seeing physical results?

Thank you for all your advice, I greatly appreciate it!

Phrick · June 2014

I am not diabetic, however, I took a gander at your diary and the first thing that jumped out is that you're not logging your exercise and you're not being very accurate in your food logging either - not to mention the logging you DO do is very spotty (gaps of several days I saw in there more than once) as well as your calories being all over the map (one day over 1,000 calories over your goal, etc),

You'll start to see a pattern of consistent results when you start being more consistent with keeping to your calorie goal. Till then you're only fooling yourself unfortunately.

123_lac · June 2014

I am diabetic and used to be on basal and bolus insulin. After starting to eat low carb high fat, I was able to stop using insulin. I'm on no medications at all. My last hgba1c was 5.5. I expect my next one to be even better based on my meter readings. I also have no hypo's at all. My cholesterol is normal as well. I'm not telling you to eat this way. You should do a lot of research and do what's best for you. Every diabetic is different. Some diabetics say they can eat quite a few carbs. I am not one of them. I use my meter to guide me in what I can and cannot eat. My suggestion is to check your blood glucose a lot and record it with how many carbs you ate and what you ate. You will start to see which foods give you problems and which ones you can tolerate. From my personal experience, if my blood glucose is not controlled, I can't lose weight. Good luck to you, and I hope you find something that works for you.

Also I was able to stop using insulin within days of eating low carb high fat. I had not lost any weight yet. Once my blood glucose was normal, the weight loss began.

itsbasschick · June 2014

i'm type 2, and when my A1c hit 1250, it was time to get real. i've got my blood sugar down with diet and exercise. i've also discovered that walking at an average pace for longer has more of an effect than walking faster for shorter periods. my son and i go shopping to several stores once a week, and we keep walking in them. i probably did 3 1/2 hours of walking through stores, each with a 10 minute driving break, and my blood sugar was down to normal when i get home. and that's without taking medication.

that being said, i also eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day rather than bigger meals, which causes less increase in blood sugar, and have experimented with what foods cause what increases with many, many tests (ouch!). for some reason, my favorite soy burger causes the greatest increase of anything i eat, so i now only eat it before a walk, and instead of going up, my blood sugar goes down due to the walking. unsweetened soy milk causes less increase than milk - if you test 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours after you eat, you can figure out what foods cause the most and least increases. that 1 1/2 to 2 hours is for the smaller meals - it may be a different amount of time if you eat full larger meals.

i haven't eaten sugar, honey or the other sweeteners like agave syrup except for small traces for years, but i do use pure stevia, and sometimes i'll have a couple teaspoons of xylitol on my cereal (it metabolizes differently than sugar and has less calories per teaspoon, as well).

knowledge is power. i suggest that instead of relying on your doctor, you can take control by reading. i suggest avoiding anything that promises a fast cure and read stuff that explains how diabetes works. understanding type 2 has made a huge difference to what i've been doing and my health!

looks like 123_lac and i were typing part of the same info at the same time

123_lac · June 2014

I have also found pure liquid Stevia to be the best sweetener for my sugars. Artificial sweeteners have small amounts of dextrose as a filler in them I believe and cause me to spike. Also sugar alcohols in many "sugar free" foods cause mine to spike too. Also you may want to watch your protein. Too much protein causes spikes in many diabetics.

skyblue2001 · June 2014

Most diabetics are way more sensitive to carbs. I'm not a big eater, but do fluctuate 20lbs, which can make a huge difference in my A1C numbers. I'm getting better at maintaining, but if my weight gets to low I will add more carbs. For the most part, I keep carbs to less than 100g per day. I looked at your diary and a few of your days would have sent me to the ER with glucose numbers probably 400-500. I do take one pill a day, but mostly diet and exercise control my diabetes. I've been very successful with that for about 7 years. I run into the trying to gain, then needing to lose game though.
I will tell you when I do get in the situation of needing to lose 10-15 lbs, nothing short of counting calories and carbs will do it and it always works. A little too well at times, hence me counting now. Regardless of calories, I'm always careful with carbs. The blood sugar spikes and feeling like crap are just not worth it. Did your doctor talk to you at all about carbs and sugar?

acpgee · June 2014

I consider myself an ex diabetic though some people will say I have just put my diabetes into remission.

I was diagnose as Type 2 in August 2012 with an hba1c of 10+ and joined MFP immediately. After losing about 10% of my body weight my hba1c had improved and I was given license from my GP to experiment with reducing medication. I was originally prescribed 2000 mg of metformin daily. By November 2013 I was down 20% from my highest weight, my hba1c several tests running was 4.9 and I was only taking a single 500 mg tablet of metformin every other day. At this point I was instructed to stop medicating completely. My last hba1c was in March 2014 and was 5.0.

The Newcastle study I link below helped me enormously. It contends that type 2 is caused by excess fat in the liver and pancreas, so that if you can lose enough visceral fat, all symptoms can be reversed.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

sue_stef · June 2014

I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure on Dec 2nd 2013
my A1c was a 9.7
my BP was 168/99
my cholesterols were out of control low was high high was low and triglicerides were crazy

I cut the crap
no I do not eat Paleo
I log everything
I weigh and measure everything
I walk

I eat low carb
low sugar (including watching my sugars in vegetables and fruits)
and low sodium

I did not go on meds
I went to my doc 2 months after that initial appointment my numbers were better but not where I wanted them yet
I went back in May my numbers now say
I am in the "prediabetic" range (6.0) my goal is to get them under a 5.5 by the time I see her again in November
my blood pressure is now normal
my cholesterol levels are normal

my main exercise is walking

I have gone from a size 24/26 to a size 12/14
I have lost 66lbs

eat real portions
do not fall for fads
OH I do use stevia I have a stevia plant I use a leaf or two in my lemon water when in the mood for "lemonade" but mostly I just drink water

sue_stef · June 2014

I consider myself an ex diabetic though some people will say I have just put my diabetes into remission.

I was diagnose as Type 2 in August 2012 with an hba1c of 10+ and joined MFP immediately. After losing about 10% of my body weight my hba1c had improved and I was given license from my GP to experiment with reducing medication. I was originally prescribed 2000 mg of metformin daily. By November 2013 I was down 20% from my highest weight, my hba1c several tests running was 4.9 and I was only taking a single 500 mg tablet of metformin every other day. At this point I was instructed to stop medicating completely. My last hba1c was in March 2014 and was 5.0.

The Newcastle study I link below helped me enormously. It contends that type 2 is caused by excess fat in the liver and pancreas, so that if you can lose enough visceral fat, all symptoms can be reversed.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

that study is one that I use as well and it has worked

amberj32 · June 2014

I was diagnosed diabetic at the end of April 2014. My A1C was 11.4 when I was diagnosed and after 3 weeks of MFP it went down to 8.9. The doctor told me to eat 1800-2000 calories a day and about 30-45 carbs per meal and 15-30 for snacks. My daily calorie macro is 1720. I try to keep the carbs down, usually under 200 a day but I know others go less than 100 a day. What I'm doing is working for me. I've lost 20 lbs since I've been using MFP, about 6 weeks. Make sure to log everything you eat!!! Use a digital scale. I also log my exercise but only eat back half my calories. The first few weeks I didn't exercise at all.

Feel free to add me as a friend and you can view my food diary. I still eat out and I drink diet sodas. The artificial sweeteners don't affect my blood sugar.

I started taking 10mg of glipizide once a day with 500 mg of metformin twice a day when I was diagnosed. The glipizide was dropping my sugars too low so now I take 3 metformin (500mg) a day. I also take two different pills once a day for blood pressure.

mstripes · June 2014

Was pre-diabetic for years. diagnosed 5 or so years ago. After my diagnosis I started cycling to lose weight and made no other changes. I over compensated with my eating, thinking I was exercising so I could eat more. Well you can guess how that worked for me. Next spring after having my meds increased I started getting more serious with my cycling and used a fitness tracking app that cross posted to Facebook my rides. The support I got from friends and family was invaluable. I went from a high of 289 to a plateau of 235 in about a year. This plateau lasted until this winter in early February when I started using MFP.

Last year I cycled for 5000+ miles which included several centuries and one double century. I had gained my winter 10 by early January. As of right now I have cycled 3149 miles this year with a goal of 6k+. Less than a month ago I was taken off all but my bp meds. What I have learned is that exercise/ activity builds health. Diet, tracking, and having a plan to lose weight works for weight control and loss.

I log 95%+ as accurately as I am willing meaning that I sometimes guess, sometimes estimate and sometimes weigh and measure. When I guess or estimate I round up. I base my fitness calories on my Garmin HRM and try to not eat them all back. I drink lots of water. I weigh myself every day but pick one day a week to pay attention to, which is Saturday. If I lose 1-2 pounds week to week that is success, if I don't then I ride more and eat less or just don't worry about it. It took me 25 years+ to get as fat as I was, it will take time to lose it. When it comes off I want to be able to sustain the loss. I am lucky that I love cycling, folks that have not found an exercise that they love have a harder time IMHO. I am lately testing BG at least once a day which I think is really important since I am only using my diet (what I eat) and exercise to control my disease.

My diet consists of:
2 eggs every morning for breakfast
breakfast meat several days a week
toast with real butter or hashbrowns
It has been a while but sometimes homemade pancakes w/ the eggs followed by a ride of 40+ miles

Lunch m-f usually is a salad with meat or sunflower seeds and oil and vinegar dressing.
Sometimes, rarely I'll do something different.
Weekends I try to plan to be on the bike over lunch and just eat 100-200 calories an hour if the ride is long enough. If not I'll eat lunch.

Dinners always have meat and fat
veggies fresh or canned
some carbs either rice or potatoes
I eat mexican food often so that adds corn tortillas I buy for me, 3 = 130 calories IIRC....
I drink beer (craft brewery mostly) and hard stuff as well in moderation

By the way my A1C was 5.8 last test. I've lost over 70 pounds since my highest. YMMV.

If you are pre-diabetic do something today seriously. You have the power to prevent the disease or at least delay the onset. Lose weight. I think the single best thing you can do though is to exercise. Exercise lots. Our bodies were designed to move, often. The more you can exercise and still stay healthy (avoid injury and illness) the better off you will be. Listen to what your body tells you about how much exercise to get but when you need rest consider an active rest day or two where you still get light exercise like walking or slow low gear cycling.... Don't ever again spend a day laying around or sitting around.

SamiDee12 · June 2014

I was diagnosed about 4 years ago with type 2 diabetes, and after a few months of testing it turns out it is being caused by another disorder, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. My diabetes has never been aggressive, and it has got to the point where I can't take the medicine without my blood sugar dropping into the 50s and 60s. I've been told by several doctors that once I get down to a healthier weight, my diabetes will be almost non-existent, and the best way for me to lose 100+ lbs is to try WLS. However, I am very much against the idea of surgery and of taking medicine. I have to admit, I haven't been watching my carb intake too much, since I'm already creating a calorie deficit and I workout on a daily basis almost. However, lately I think I am going to limit myself to 100g of carbs a day, and after a couple of months of that I may decrease it more. The only advice I really have is to limit your carbs, and the carbs you do eat, make sure they are complex. This means things like whole wheat pasta, bread, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. Second, keep up your cardio! Cardio definitely helps me burn off any extra sugar.

LEOrzech · June 2014

Was DX with T2 in February at weight of 296. A1C 6.9, FBG 140. Enter MFP. Walking every day 1-4 miles. At my appointment in early May, I was down 35 pounds. A1C 5.7, FBG 101. Was prescribed metformin in February and never took a single dose. Now down about 44 pounds and still walking. Lost 20.5 inches off my neck, waist, and hips. Doc removed RX for metformin, took me off trilipix. Cut my nexium down from 40mg to 20mg. Yes, diabetes can be beaten if you act quickly and stick to it. Any relapse and it is likely to roar back with a vengeance, so stay true to MFP. Record everything and also record your exercise! I have mine set to 2 lbs/week loss and once I hit the 50 pound mark, I will adjust to 1.5 lbs/week, until I get to 70, then 1 lb/week until goal is reached. I figure this slow pace will result in less of the loose skin effect. So far I don't have that problem. Good luck!!!

Amberonamission · June 2014

Paleo has resolved my high blood sugar. Go back to what works.

kethry70 · June 2014

I have PCOS and am at high risk for T2 diabetes. I have been pretty successful at counting calories combines with limiting my carb intake (approx 25+/- % of my calories and usually under 100g net per day)

Feel free to check out my diary for ideas. And, yes, I still ahve treats but I limit them and try to "ballast" them with fat and protein

Diabetics - your advice please

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