Type II Diabetics - Let's Support Each Other

I have lost 63 pounds in 16 weeks and would like to lose another 24 pounds to get down to my ideal weight.



Brian

Hi! I'm pretty new to this site, joined maybe 2 weeks ago. I am a type II diabetic - was diagnosed in 2003. I've pretty much been up and down on the A1c scale, high of 9.8, low of 6.1. Up until recently, I was ashamed and unwilling to accept that I was a diabetic. I think I thought that if I ignored it, it would just go away. But instead (surprise, surprise) it got worse. I'm finally coming to terms that this is a life-changer and I have to make a serious lifestyle change or I'm headed down the road of very bad health and bad consequences. I could really use some support from anyone who's willing. I'm doing this with a few friends, which is awesome, but they are trying to lose weight to get in better shape and don't quite understand the diabetes-side of it. I really want to succeed this time and can't do it without support and hard work.

I think we've all been there at one point or another - I know I have been guilty of not taking it seriously and ignoring my heath rather than deal with the emotional aspect of living with it. You can do it, and while it's not always sunshine and lollipops, you will feel so much better emotionally/mentally as your work shows results. Hang in there, and remember you're not alone

Hello everyone!!! My name is nellie

hi Nellie, I'm Chris...welcome!

I have a question what kind of fruit and veggis are good for u

All of them are good for you really, but some should be eaten with caution. You can't eat a couple of bananas and expect your sugar not to spike...things like apples, strawberries, pears, peaches, kiwi are things that I try to mix in with my diet, along with avocado. What I found worked well for me is to eat the same thing for lunch every day for a couple days, and take my blood sugar 2 hours after i started eating lunch - giving me a baseline sugar, then i'd have the same lunch but add an apple, and test 2 hours later...finding that things like banana and pineapple cause pretty decent spikes, apples and strawberries surprisingly not so bad. I've also found that it's very helpful to eat them in conjunction with some protein or fat, which seems to change the way they metabolize- so i'll have an apple with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, or a stick of string cheese (when i'm adding them as a snack), or i'll eat them after i eat my lunch/dinner so that the carbs become part of the overall meal.

The glycemic index is really helpful here as a starting point, the lower the GI of something, the less likely it is going to cause a blood sugar spike.

and how do u stop the cravings for potatoes i love mashed potatoes and its been hard to stop

I won't sugar coat it - i don't think that you ever can get to not "craving" it, but you learn to manage it, and you learn to work them into your meal in decent portions balanced with the rest of your plate.

Before I cared what my sugar was, a typical meal for me was maybe a spoonfull of veggies (token veggies i call them), half a plate of carbs (pasta/potatos/etc), and half a plate of protein (meat).

When I started to pay attention to my sugar religiously, I cut way down on carbs, too far really, and it made me discouraged...so i started working them back in slowly. I'll still have some potatoes, but i'll have a small spoonful and a large helping of veggies. I'll eat large bites of the veggies then small bites of the starch and somehow my mind is ok with that.

I find it helpful to make my plate, with nice small portions, then put the bad stuff away - if there's left overs or whatever, they go into containers and into the fridge.

Also the idea of a goal to keep for this week is great mine is to get some kind of exercise in a day for atleast 25 mins

This is a great and achievable goal, and you can do it. Remember, exercise does not mean you have to kill yourself with exertion, or break a drenching sweat, or run marathons...get your heart rate up a little, doing whatever you can, even if it's just sitting in your chair and swinging your arms around for a few minutes. As you do whatever activity (zumba sounds fantastic), you'll find that it's not long before you can go another minute, or 2 minutes, or 5...but remember - likely, whatever exercise you get, it's probably more than you got before you "had to", so any is better than none. It took some fair amount of time for you to develop T2 diabetes, but the good news is that it won't take as long to manage it - but it won't happen overnight, and it won't always be easy - but absolutely, without a doubt, it's something everyone can do. You can do it, I believe in you.