New to the Group? Introduce yourself here.
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Hello! I’m a type 2 who’s been on insulin for about ten years now. My blood sugar is quite brittle - ranging from 1.7 to 30, so they keep upping my insulin dose. Depressing, because now I’ve got the weight gain that comes with it. I’m moderately active. I play Roller Derby so that’s two, three hour intense practices a week plus I go to the gym three times a week. I’m still rocking at 260lbs a 6 feet tall. I was 220 earlier this summer.
I joined My Fitness Pal because I’m getting an insulin pump, hoping that will help to keep thing on a more even keel and reducing the amount of overall insulin that I will require.
I love this app! I’ve got to bring in reports, which used to include print outs from my meters, logs of food and exercise, and print outs from my FitBit. I’ve now combined all of these into this one app. I can log my insulin, my blood sugar, my meals (and get a more accurate carb count) and my exercise. I’m actually a little excited for my next appointment at the end of October. It’s going to be SO much easier to follow!
Oh, checking in from Hanna, Alberta, Canada. Small town about two hours east of Calgary.0 -
I should add that from my initial diagnosis, I lost 100lbs merely through diet and exercise. I was 325 pounds when first diagnosed, so it pains me to see that number creeping up again when I’m the most fit that I’ve ever been (I’m 51, lord it’s hard to keep this up as you get older!)
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Hi everyone, Im new to this group, I have diabetes, was diagnosed about 15 years ago and was treated with just oral meds, am now on insulin, I need to lose weight badly . Would like to meet new friends.2
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debralynn04 wrote: »Hi everyone, Im new to this group, I have diabetes, was diagnosed about 15 years ago and was treated with just oral meds, am now on insulin, I need to lose weight badly . Would like to meet new friends.
Good news - good chance you can get off insulin once you find a way of eating that works for you and your weight comes down. Gotta be a "forever" choice, though!1 -
Hi. My name is Richard and I've recently been diagnosed with T2D (September 2017) which was discovered during new patient lab tests after finally getting a new primary care physician. My a1c was recorded at 6.9 and the doc has given me 3 months to get it together and then retest before she starts writing prescriptions. So I've made some big life changes that I have been promising myself for years, now that I apparently have the appropriate motivation. As a stats and numbers kind of guy, MFP has proven to be a good fit (pun intended). 12 weeks after diagnosis I'm 16 lbs down in weight, go to the gym 4 times a week, walk my dogs every day, have a personal trainer and kissed candy and soda goodbye. I've even put beer on hold (temporarily). It's been an interesting rebalancing exercise (again pun intended). Trying to find the secret to a balanced, tasty and desirable eating plan.3
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Hello! My name is Stacey and I was diagnosed with T2D last November, the day after I turned 44 (happy bday to me!). My fasting blood sugar that day was 268 and my A1C was 7.9. My doc put me on Janumet and Glyburide and gave me some decent guidelines for food and exercise.
My Mom and Dad both had T2D and I was 60 pounds overweight with a huge soda dependancy so this was not a surprise. I spoke with my co-worker (the young bearded guy in my profile) and asked for his help in getting fit - he does marathons and Spartan races. He and I started working out together 5 days a week and he got me into running - I have completed 2 half marathons and am signed up for a full in April. I just had my check up a week ago and my fasting blood sugar was 84 and my A1C is now 7, although I have only lost 10 pounds over the last year (My doc thinks I added muscle). My Glyburide was decreased and I was taken off chloresterol meds because I am in a normal range. I test my sugar often and I aim for very tight control.
I still days when I feel confused - a high reading can send me into a tailspin for the day and I worry about whether I am getting worse. I work out 5 days a week, and I worry about what will happen if I get injured and cannot work out. I am actually scheduled with a therapist (and I AM a therapist!) because I sometimes have high anxiety about my diagnosis and my future. It's a scary disease! So I guess I am hoping for support and education here!1 -
Hi! I am Carma. I was diagnosed as type 2 in 2003. I have been on an interesting journey. I was adopted when I was 3 1/2 months old. In 2009 I found my biological family. My birth mother had five more children. All of them have type 2 diabetes. Both of my birth mothers parents had it as well. I have gone through a roller coaster and I am an emotional eater. I married to the love of my life and want to be around to have adventures with him. So it is time to tell this body I am in charge!
I am on Lantus long acting, Apidra for meal time insulin. My husband and I wake up at an insane hour so we can go and workout together. I try to go at least three to four times a week. Meanwhile my veteran goes into military mode and can do at least 5 to 6 days a week.
So that is a little about me. :-)3 -
I was here on MFP 2 years ago and was successful dropping 50 lbs and lowering my BG numbers to the point I went off the Metformin. I felt so much better, did a 5K race, and had the BG levels under control pretty well.
Then stuff happened, I "fell off the wagon" and gained all the weight back and went into denial that I have Type II diabetes. The denial has lasted several months. I was just eating whatever as if I no longer had the disease. Stopped testing my blood, because that would have reminded me I have Diabetes.
Of course, in addition to gaining the weight back, I started feeling awful. Tired, Low energy, Thirsty, Always hungry, intense cravings for sweets. Today, I decided to stop the denial. The only person preventing me from becoming more healthy is ME.
I have already gotten inspiration from this Group by browsing the threads, and from MFP in general. Today I started logging my food again, and making a plan to eat in a more healthy way. It will take more than a year to get to my goal weight, which is intimidating, but its one day at a time. My experience 2 years ago was that after dropping the weight and eating many fewer carbs, the BG came down as a result and I felt so much better. I know I can do it again. I'm the only one that can stop me.
So here I am; back at the beginning. Starting again.
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Hello all,
My name is Michael and I am a new type 2 diabetic looking for info on diet and living.1 -
Hi, my name is Linda & I live in Texas. I'm Type 2. I take no meds, just control it with diet. Boy has it been hard thelast few days. On top of that, I'm trying to lose weight also. I'm 77 yrs olds & walk with a walker so I can't do much exercising. So I need all the help I can get!3
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Hi, I'm Sandy. I was diagnosed with T2 in 2006. My doctor wants to me an injection to control my A1C, and she told me to think about the surgery, because I'm overweight all my life. I asked my doctor to give me 3 months to bring down A1C from 8.1 to 7. I'm addicted to carbs, and I don't like to cook either. Please help! Thanks in advance.1
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Hi, I'm Sandy. I was diagnosed with T2 in 2006. My doctor wants to me an injection to control my A1C, and she told me to think about the surgery, because I'm overweight all my life. I asked my doctor to give me 3 months to bring down A1C from 8.1 to 7. I'm addicted to carbs, and I don't like to cook either. Please help! Thanks in advance.
Hi Sandy! To lose weight, first start by weighing and logging everything for one week without trying to change, then take a good hard look and see where you're at. If you don't like to cook, we need to figure out how you can eat better with minimal cooking! Tell us some of your favorite foods and we can think about this.
Just fifteen minutes of intense exercise a day will make a huge difference in your insulin resistance. If you can schedule your exercise after meals, even better because it will bring your levels down. Even ten minutes is better than no minutes! Find something you can do rain or shine, no excuses, and just start. YouTube dance videos, swinging around water bottles while watching TV, anything.
As far as bringing your A1c down, how often do you test? The approach I used to bring mine from 11 to 4.7 was what's called eating to the meter. Get a blood glucose meter which has strips inexpensive enough that you aren't afraid to use them often, and test after every new food, until you learn how many carbs of which kinds you can tolerate. For example I can eat quite a bit of pasta and fruit but rice and tortillas are poison to me. This varies from person to person so testing is essential. When you see your levels are too high, go immediately and do some exercise to bring them down - fifteen minutes of hard cycling on a stationary bike will drop my levels from almost 170 to about 80, and when I don't have access to my bike, bodyweight squats work well. Even walking will bring them down faster than nothing.
Eventually you will learn what works for you. For example, if I test after dinner and find my levels are in the 120 range, I know now I can wait an hour and eat some dessert (usually fruit or cheese) and be fine - if I ate it right away I would have a spike. Or if my levels are below 100 I can go ahead. If I have messed up and miscalculated I can exercise and bring them down.
Keep posting, there are lots of helpful people here!
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Hello!
Dear fellow MFP folks, who also have Type II Diabetes, good wishes on reaching your goals.
I was just diagnosed and have an A1c of 11.4, I am at 201 lbs. and 5' 6" tall, I am 53. This is new to me and it seems like there are "tools" today to help people like me (us) "fine tune" our treatment. MFP is one and a blood meter that "syncs" automatically with MFP through my iphone - would be another, (if it exists).
I am seeking to learn about my daily intake of calories, nutrients, water, in terms of: total amount, proration at each meal of calories and nutrients, timing of meals over the day. Dally I would also like to “sync” this very detailed diary and record with estimations of my blood sugar levels timed before eating, and one and two hours after each meal.
This could seem a rather invasive or intense monitoring, but as a newly diagnosed type II diabetic, it seems this is the kind of data which would help me. I could learn how my specific diet interacts with my specific diabetes. If I later go to the MD, DO, or nutritionist, with this level of detailed data trended over time, I think that will help them guide my treatment best.
Do you know if MFP “syncs” automatically with any blood meters? (I have heard of one that connects to your iPhone)
I would like to test intensively at first to learn about me and my interactions with foods / sugars etc. For example, testing:
Before each meal
One hour after each meal
Two hours after each meal
And also sync with MFP Premium time stamped meals – using data with health team.
Please give counsel and advice from your view. This might seem like overkill but I think of it more as an experiment to learn about me and may specific diabetes / health plan.
Stay positive and keep striving for your goals!
Best, Joe
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Hallo
DIabetes 2 28 years,HBALC 54 (7.1) insulin basal 34 twice a day and novorapid 3x 20 per meal adjusted, trying to lose weight for neck stenosis affecting spinal cord operation, soon, low mobility prevents much exercise Trying to build up walking daily with walker and frequent sits, also heart failure early stages.Any advice welcome
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jfriona6204 wrote: »Hello!
Dear fellow MFP folks, who also have Type II Diabetes, good wishes on reaching your goals.
I was just diagnosed and have an A1c of 11.4, I am at 201 lbs. and 5' 6" tall, I am 53. This is new to me and it seems like there are "tools" today to help people like me (us) "fine tune" our treatment. MFP is one and a blood meter that "syncs" automatically with MFP through my iphone - would be another, (if it exists).
I am seeking to learn about my daily intake of calories, nutrients, water, in terms of: total amount, proration at each meal of calories and nutrients, timing of meals over the day. Dally I would also like to “sync” this very detailed diary and record with estimations of my blood sugar levels timed before eating, and one and two hours after each meal.
This could seem a rather invasive or intense monitoring, but as a newly diagnosed type II diabetic, it seems this is the kind of data which would help me. I could learn how my specific diet interacts with my specific diabetes. If I later go to the MD, DO, or nutritionist, with this level of detailed data trended over time, I think that will help them guide my treatment best.
Do you know if MFP “syncs” automatically with any blood meters? (I have heard of one that connects to your iPhone)
I would like to test intensively at first to learn about me and my interactions with foods / sugars etc. For example, testing:
Before each meal
One hour after each meal
Two hours after each meal
And also sync with MFP Premium time stamped meals – using data with health team.
Please give counsel and advice from your view. This might seem like overkill but I think of it more as an experiment to learn about me and may specific diabetes / health plan.
Stay positive and keep striving for your goals!
Best, Joe
Your plan sounds great! I'm not aware of any way to automatically sync your meter. I use an app called Glucose Wiz to record my readings and make notes on when I tested in relation to what I've eaten, and another app called Nowandthen to keep track of when I eat. It's cumbersome using three different apps, and if you figure out a more streamlined way of tracking, please share it. But it does work! My A1c was about where yours is when I was diagnosed and is now 4.7 after losing 113 lbs and improving my diet and fitness. My doctor is always very impressed by the reports generated by GlucoseWiz, but if your doctor has a preferred app, you should look into it.
One thing I would recommend is to change your MFP settings to show fiber in one of the columns - I removed sugar and added fiber - so that it's easier to calculate net carbs. Another thing is, buy a meter which has inexpensive strips so you don't feel reluctant about testing several times a day. Mine is the Bayer Contour next, which also gets good reviews on accuracy and strips cost about $22 per 100 on Amazon, but the model isn't important as long as the strips are a reasonable price.
Different people have very different reactions to specific foods - for example I can eat lots of potatoes and very little rice, while some people are the opposite - so testing as you describe is very helpful! After a year of regular testing I still get surprises, such as when I have an illness or am under stress.
Are you currently on any meds? That would affect when you should test. I currently test first thing on waking, after breakfast (which lets me know if anything weird is up with me that day) and after any new foods. But when starting out you should test, test test until you know what your sugar looks like in the middle of the night, before and after different workouts, and so on. My experience is that I generally peak about 45 minutes after eating, and am almost normal by 2 hrs, which is when many doctors recommend testing after meals. If I waited that long to test I would have no idea of my real spikes! I also know from testing that if I do have a spike, I can quickly bring my levels down with 15 minutes of stationary bike, or if I'm in a location away from my bike, using bodyweight squats - which you can even do in a bathroom with no one knowing if you have to!
Exercise is very important as well as diet - and studies have found that three ten minute walks after meals are better for control than one thirty minute walk. Higher intensity exercise may temporarily raise levels due to stress, but improves control long term. When I was diagnosed last year I was completely sedentary; today I run three times a week and lift weights twice a week. It really, really makes a difference - on days I work out, I can eat pasta, fruit, and French fries, and on days I don't, I can't tolerate those things without a spike.
Welcome and feel free to ask any questions you may have!1 -
sarahtrust wrote: »Hallo
DIabetes 2 28 years,HBALC 54 (7.1) insulin basal 34 twice a day and novorapid 3x 20 per meal adjusted, trying to lose weight for neck stenosis affecting spinal cord operation, soon, low mobility prevents much exercise Trying to build up walking daily with walker and frequent sits, also heart failure early stages.Any advice welcome
Welcome Sarah! It's difficult when exercise is limited, but you can lose weight by counting calories. MFP is a great program. Best of luck to you!1 -
Hello my name is Chris, I'm 59 years old I have type 2 diabetes, fibromyalgia, and just found out I have arthritis in my knees. Exercising is very difficult for me so any tips on that would be appreciated. I love to cook so right now I'm trying to adjust the recipes for my favorite things to make them more healthy.0
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Dear rheddmobile
Thank you for the in-depth response. I think you show great discipline in losing weight and moving to control A1C so well in year one.
I am at 201 lbs and will focus on weight loss as one goal as I also learn to eat in a way best for me. Since the last post I have had my first education meeting and I purchused a Reli-On Primier Blu Bluetooth From Walmart with the other needed pieces. I have taken early morning and before and after meals readings. My low is 100 and I typicly have between 100-110 just waking or before a meal. At two hours after a meal I range between 137 and 148 (so far). If the trend holds it does not (seem) that I have large spikes nor deep dips. (again this is new and I went very strict on the diet in order to create a new habit, knowing after 90 days I could add back some goodies - but after I have a baseline).
In terms of meds - I have two
metformin 1000 aka GLUCOPHAGE 2 / day morning and night
linaglipin 5 mg - one per day
I have yet to tests 1 hr after meals but plan to do so as in 1st post
I have yet to integrate exercise - but plan to do so
I will look into the fiber idea on the app and your other ideas.
I like that I have been disciplined so far on entering food, eating close to ranges 50/25/25 Carb/Fat/Protein and tests. I need to extend the testing and add the exercise.
Thanks again! - Joe3 -
Hi all! I'm Brenda. T2 since 2012. I am on Metformin 1000mg twice a day and Glipizide (sp) 5mg twice a day. Recent A1c (January) was 6.6 so pretty much under control but I have days when my BG goes down pretty low. One thing that I am not doing that I KNOW I should be doing is checking my BG three times a day. No excuse, just get tried of doing it I reckon...
It is nice to be in this group and thank you for allowing me to join.0 -
BrendaEldridge wrote: »Hi all! I'm Brenda. T2 since 2012. I am on Metformin 1000mg twice a day and Glipizide (sp) 5mg twice a day. Recent A1c (January) was 6.6 so pretty much under control but I have days when my BG goes down pretty low. One thing that I am not doing that I KNOW I should be doing is checking my BG three times a day. No excuse, just get tried of doing it I reckon...
It is nice to be in this group and thank you for allowing me to join.
Good mourning and welcome to the group.0
