confused

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
hi, im having a lot of difficulties controling my sugar levels , depsite sticking to diet, which i also find hard as i dont really like veg ,salad ,fish or chicken . i was diagnosed 3 years ago and still i cant come to terms with it , the thing is my weight is increasing and doc says, in almost a threatening way that insulin is next , insulin itself will cause weight gain according to doc and i get the same feeling from what i see posted elsewhere in majority of cases , people generally gain weight on it .
i dont want to take it as i am overweight already ,is fasting levels of 7 to 11 very bad ? im thinking i will try and manage with them . when i look into fridge i become overwhelmed with trying to count calories and carbs before i eat anything , its all so confusing ,am i alone in thinking like this ? i am unsure as what to do now.....advice appreciated ,
p.s janmuet is causing weight gain despite doc saying it wont :(
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. First Janumet shouldn't cause weight gain as neither of the ingredients individually cause weight gain. Insulin only normally causes weight gain if you eat too much whilst on it, but you certainly don't want to go onto insulin if you are overweight and your body is insulin resistant. So, you must get your weight down and it appears from what you say that you aren't quite sure how to tackle that? Red meat is fine with or without fat and I can't believe that there are no veg or salads that you will eat? Fruit is good if it isn't the very sweet kind i.e. avoid bananas, melons and similar. Keep carbs low'ish and low-GI if you can. Keep portion sizes sensible. What foods do you eat and/or like? I have home-made muesli for breakfast sometimes with egg and bacon? I have low-GI bread with cheese or ham etc
 

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
i didnt realise bacon was ok, i like some veg but not a lot , turnips ,carrots, cabbage ,onions are ok,im not a lettuce fan or a salad fan i like my veg cooked i dont like cucumbers and i hate cauliflower ,brocolli ,sprouts, i know i shouldnt but i do , can i eat apples ,oranges ,the odd pear , potatoes ,brown rice , sausages ,yogurts ?
im kinda lost really diabetic nurse handed me a booklet ,said eat sensibly ,mostly greens and in small portions , i left feeling i was missing someting . maybe its fluid retention i have as my ankles ,legs and face are swollen along with arms and stomach , doc gives impression that its a thing i should be sorting my self .
is wholegrain,multigrain bread ok ? im confused as some say go for very low carb diet and some say go for wholegrains (inc diabetic nurse ), what about cheeses ?
should i be on max dose of glucophage instead of janumet ,would it be better ?
lotsa questions i know but im anxious to try and sort it . i havnt been on any desmond course ,should i have done so ?
thanks in advance
 

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
is there any recommended diet book that says simply what you can and cannot eat ? and what amounts to eat ?
 

Fraddycat

Well-Known Member
Messages
709
Hi Shanet, my best advice to you would be to get a blood glucose meter and then test to see which foods are ok and which foods you are sensitive to. Your doctor probably won't prescribe you a meter although its worth asking, but you can buy them on Amazon. The thing is everyone is different, everyone's response to foods is different and so you should try to eat to your meter.

For me personally I have found that I am very sensitive to carbs so I have made quite a few changes to my diet. I don't eat bread, rice, potatoes or pasta anymore. But I do eat cheese, cream, meat and veggies that grow above the ground. You can make things like brocolli and cauliflower taste better by baking them covered with grated cheese :)

I found the dietdoctor website really helpful and followed this to get myself started www.dietdoctor.com/lchf there are lots of ideas and suggestions to help. I have lost 3 stone without really trying that hard, its just changing some things not feeling deprived.

Its an adjustment but once you get yourself in control you will feel stronger. Good luck!
 

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
thats a great help ,thank you for link, one question , it says avoid low fat products , wouldnt i be better off on low fat milk , cheese and butter from a weight point of view ?
i have a meter but most of my meals shoots the numbers up except today,when i had roast beef ,a big onion roasted a portion of cauliflower and brocoll,i which i didnt really like ,all smothered in gravy made from juice of roast, wow i was only 4.4 two hours after the meal and my glucophage of course :D :D :D
i think i will have to like these veg regardless as they do work , i miss my spuds though .
i guess im still not eating enough low carb , i will have to be more strict about it .
 

sundowner

Newbie
Messages
3
Shanet, Dr.Mark Hyman recently wrote a book titled,"The Blood Sugar Solution".After reading a free copy from the library,I decided to buy a copy because it is a blue print for our fight against blood sugar.He explains all the technical stuff and also gives a road map of what to do and how to do it along with some recipes.I have been fighting this malady for 27 years and still have wins and losses.One of my disappointments was Metformin.It did a terrific job of lowering my sugar but my urine showed (B.U.N.) traces and my doctor suggested we discontinue it.
My wife is a retired registered nurse with 33 years experience starting with delivering babies and ending with HIV/ AIDS.She firmly believes that Diabetes is more dangerous than AIDS because people with diabetes don't take it seriously.It is an insidious disease that sneaks up on us and takes advantage of our complacency.
I hope the book helps both of us.-------Remember the diabetics mantra."If it doesn't taste like cardboard,Don't eat it"
Sundowner-----USA Must run.I have a date with my stationary bike.
 

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
that looks like an interesting book i have ordered one from amazon, i appreciate the information ,thanks
 

dawnmc

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,431
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Also check out bloodsugar101, very good website with loads of info.
 

Fraddycat

Well-Known Member
Messages
709
on the subject of low fat, its amazing, the higher fat versions contain less carbs! Believe it or not low fat mayo is higher in carbs than full fat. Have a look at the labels. The reason is that fat gives flavour, when they take out the fat they have to boost the flavour with carbs.

Plus, fat is filling. You know how you are feeling empty right now, well a blob of mayonaise or a creamy sauce or some butter on your veggies will help to fill you up. Even though its high in calories its filling and you will find you don't need a lot to fill you up. The other day I had some pate for lunch, about 50 grams, cubes of pate wrapped in lettuce, yummy snack! Its about 100 calories and it was completely satisfying! Fat has been made a demon for many years but fat doesn't make you fat, carbs and sugar does. Don't fear the fat!
 

the east man

Well-Known Member
Messages
133
Dislikes
having to think about everything I eat
If you are eating high fat, make sure your carbs are low, or you just defeating the purpose. :thumbup:
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,406
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I am a fairly new convert to low carbing. Nothing too drastic yet but I noticed am improvement in bs almost immediately. Wouldn't and couldn't have done it without this forum so thanks to everyone who ever took the time to share their knowledge and experience. You are all, literally, life savers. My only concern, and the reason I have not cut carbs back further, is about eating fat. I am absolutely petrified of raising my cholesterol. I know sp many of you are successfully low carbing amd maintaining normal cholesterol levels - could you please help me. What is a safe amount of grams of unsaturated fat to eat daily? Are you allowed a set amount of grams of saturated fat? I would really appreciate your help on this. Thank you

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

spanieleyes

Newbie
Messages
3
You have to maintain a certain caloric intake which should be more than your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate - the amount your body would need to keep all your organs working if you did nothing) but to lose weight should be less than your TDEE (the amount your body would need to maintain your current weight).
For instance I am 250lbs, 5'9", my BMR is 1818 and my TDEE is 2500. I allow myself 2000 calories a day which is TDEE - 20%. As I have T2, I wish to limit carbs so I set my carb limit at 100g which accounts for 400 calories (1g of carbs = 4 calories). In order to eat 2000 calories, this means I have to eat more fat or more protein. Usually, the carb:fat:protein ratios may be set at something like 40:30:30. My ratio is 20:50:30 so my caloric intake is still 2000 but, as I limit carbs, I increase my fat intake to maintain the number of calories.
Hope this makes sense. I've lost over 18lbs since January.
Forgot to mention: Good website (and it's free!) for monitoring what you eat including calories, carbs, fat and protein is http://www.myfitnesspal.com.
 

shanet

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
im trying to do it as simple as possible as im not a mathematician :D , i would be starved to death by time i calculate ratios,calorie counts etc as i havent a clue how to do it ,but i am very concerned about fat intake and cholestrol too, i didnt realise it was ok for me to have full fat as i was told by nurse to go low fat on everything ,she scared the watsits outa me telling me all sorts of things would happen if i ate full fat food. so spaniel eyes ,lets say im 6ft 260 lbs ,type 2, i obviously need to loose weight im 48 yrs old male what would you estimate my calore in take should be ? i can look at that then and it would give me a starting point.you say ratios are certain readings ,can you give me a example of what you would eat in a day including snacks ? plse