Diabetes info?

[Miss Z]

My grandfather developed Type II Diabetes in his later years, and his best advice was staying happy by treating oneself on a regular basis to diabetic chocolate!

If your condition is relatively mild, I knew a diabetic who could eat fairly normally, and could ward off hyperglycaemia simply by taking a daily country walk. Of course, I think daily living advice is best discussed with a doctor.

I wish you the very best.

[Prairie Purrs]

An excellent resource is the American Diabetes Association website. There's a lot of good and reliable advice and updates. That's how I found my endocrinologist. I'm type 1 and an insulin junkie. Feel free to pm me anytime for support and encouragement.

I've got the ADA site on my favorites list--very helpful! And thanks for lending support! I'm sure there'll be days when I need all I can get.

My grandfather developed Type II Diabetes in his later years, and his best advice was staying happy by treating oneself on a regular basis to diabetic chocolate!

If your condition is relatively mild, I knew a diabetic who could eat fairly normally, and could ward off hyperglycaemia simply by taking a daily country walk. Of course, I think daily living advice is best discussed with a doctor.

I wish you the very best.

Thank you! I'll keep the diabetic chocolate in mind.

[Laura's Babies]

Prairie Purrs- Completely get that word "diet" out of your head! This is not a diet you are going to do but a whole new lifestyle change for a healthier YOU! What you are going to be doing is making better choices... What you will be saying instead of "I am on a diet now"... is "I am making better choices now" This is what one of my guys does since he also said he has failed at many diets over the years.

What I did was tell myself, "I can have THIS or I can have THAT, but I can not have both" and I would pick the healthiest.... OR, if I have been strict to my diet, I could have the not so good choice. I sat my goal of what I HAD to eat that day.. I HAD to eat a 12 ounce bowl of beans and a 12 ounce salad at lunch and supper, I HAD to eat my oatmeal and a banana for breakfast and throughout the day, I HAD to have at least 5 pieces of fruit. During the season of fresh fruit, I would eat sometimes 10 pieces of fruit a day while it was so good. I was always eating, never got hungry either. Once a month I treated myself to eating out and could have what I wanted... ANYTHING I wanted... IF I had remained faithful to my eating right.

Both my guys on the boat have a free day where they can eat anything they want, including desert and what surprises me is they don't eat anything they want all day long but just at one meal! Once they get started and start loosing that weight, they get excited and start setting more rules on themselves.

One thing I showed them both last trip that surprised them was to use Picante' sauce instead of salad dressing. It is chocked full of GOOD stuff and it is SOOOo good... not a bit of fat in it either.

Watch out for food or drinks you eat that make you hungry! I found that when I ate carbs or drank a soda, the next day I couldn't get enough to eat. That guy who failed on so many diets before did good on his diet until he got his sugar free soda's on the boat. The next day he was complaining he had been starving ALL DAY LONG and couldn't figure out why. I sweetly said "you got your soda's yesterday, how many did you drink? Didn't I warn you they would make you hungry?"..

So, keep a log of what you eat and if you had been doing good, then suddenly find yourself unable to control your appetite, go look at what you ate the day before!

I ate fish and boneless, skinless chicken once a week and one of my choices was steak day.. I could have a steak or hamburger... the hamburger won out every time.

I also only ate what I cooked. That way, I knew what was in what I ate and I still pretty much stick to cooking my own meals. Batch cook and freeze in single serving size. I still do that since it saves time and $$$$. I completely avoid processed food but since I am a cook, that is easy for me.

[Prairie Purrs]

Laura, that's a whole lot of great advice! Thank you!

One thing that's helped me tremendously has been to impose a regular meal schedule. I don't eat at precisely the same times every day, but I make sure I eat three meals a day. I used to regularly skip either breakfast or lunch, which meant that I was ravenous by dinnertime.

One thing that's difficult for me is staying away from processed food. I do rely on Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine a little too much, especially on days when I'm up against a work deadline. I definitely need to start batch cooking!

[emily_the_spoiled]

The other thing that might help is to graze throughout the day. I always have oranges, apples, strawberries, carrots, etc with me. I grew up with a mother who was a Type I diabetic, so we all kind of learned to eat smaller portions, but eat something in between (as long as it is healthy). You will find it is much easier to eat smaller portions at meal time then.

BTW, there are alot of good cookbooks and cooking websites that have diabetic recipies, so you will never run out of ideas.

[Prairie Purrs]

I wanted to update everyone on the Great Diabetes Adventure.

Since my diagnosis last March, I've lost 60 pounds. My blood glucose levels are entirely within normal range--almost always in the 90s, in fact. I'm still taking metformin, but perhaps my doctor will discontinue that next visit.

Much to my amazement, I actually enjoy going to the gym. I've been doing Zumba, which is a hoot. And I recently started yoga, which is wonderful, especially after a long workday hunched over a computer keyboard.

The only problem is that I've rediscovered my love of shopping for clothes, which I had hoped was gone with my lost youth. Fortunately, there's a decent resale store in town where I can indulge myself a little without demolishing the bank account.

Thanks again to everybody for the excellent advice! Your suggestions have been so helpful.

[Grace]

CONGRATULATIONS

You've done a marvelous job - that weight loss is phenomenal!!

[Karen]

The only problem is that I've rediscovered my love of shopping for clothes, which I had hoped was gone with my lost youth. Fortunately, there's a decent resale store in town where I can indulge myself a little without demolishing the bank account.

Thanks again to everybody for the excellent advice! Your suggestions have been so helpful.

Try selling clothes you have shrunk out of on Craig's List or at a consignment shop - that way you can not only use the bit of extra cash, you'll create room in your closet for bargains when you find them!

[Marigold2]

That is wonderful!!! So so so so happy for you. You are now my inspiration.

Laura, that's a whole lot of great advice! Thank you!

One thing that's helped me tremendously has been to impose a regular meal schedule. I don't eat at precisely the same times every day, but I make sure I eat three meals a day. I used to regularly skip either breakfast or lunch, which meant that I was ravenous by dinnertime.

One thing that's difficult for me is staying away from processed food. I do rely on Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine a little too much, especially on days when I'm up against a work deadline. I definitely need to start batch cooking!

[Prairie Purrs]

Try selling clothes you have shrunk out of on Craig's List or at a consignment shop - that way you can not only use the bit of extra cash, you'll create room in your closet for bargains when you find them!

I'm going to take some to the resale shop, but I want to give friends and family whatever they would like first. The problem is thinking of a graceful way to do that: "Here are my fat clothes" doesn't seem too tactful. And, frankly, I've been living in sweatpants and t-shirts for a few years, so there's not a lot that's marketable.

Just to brag a little bit more (because I just can't help myself, LOL!), last month I entered a 2-mile race-walk just for the heck of it. I've been walking two miles about three times a week, so I figured why not? Well, I came in second just walking my usual workout pace. Next year I'm going for the win!

[Catlady711]

You have every reason and right to brag. Congrats on all the improvements.

Instead of telling people you're giving away your 'fat clothes' just say you have a bunch of clothes you don't wear anymore and you hate to see them wasted by not being used.

[carole]

My mother, father and sister all have type two diabetes, none of them are extremely overweight at all,they could all loose a few pounds or so, but that is about all, my mother was only recently diagnosed, and she has managed to stay off any medication by watching her diet and walking daily, and she is 76 in november.

I am at high risk so i really watch my weight and diet , bit lacking on exercise, but apparently it really does help to do some,even if it is only walking.

You can get taken off medication if you work hard at it, but you will still be considered a diabetic, prevention is really the answer here, we cannot help our genetics, but we can help ourselves by eating well and exercising,so good luck with that, I am sure you will be able to get rid of your medication if you keep at it.,and CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss, WELL DONE INDEED.

[Prairie Purrs]

Carole, I should have taken better care of myself before now, because I knew that genetics were not on my side. Both of my grandmothers were diabetic. Good for you for being careful about your diet!

I've read about people claiming to be "cured" of diabetes, and I know that just doesn't happen. But I should be able to keep it under control for a very long time, as long as I watch what I eat and keep exercising. The crazy thing is that I'm probably healthier overall now, with diabetes, than I was before I developed it. I've definitely got more strength and stamina now than I had 15 years ago.

[carole]

Good for you, it is never too late, if you keep up with your new regime you should be fine, i am not perfect, but sure is a warning sign when you see all your family with it, scares me enough to keep trying to keep it away , i can only do what i can,it will have to be a lifestyle forever for me too, glad to hear you are feeling so much better, it is hard to stick with the diabetic diet, i know that, but you are doing so well, be proud of yourself and not too hard on yourself, we all learn by our mistakes ,not one of us is perfect, that's for sure, stay well, HUGS.