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Why Do Diabetics Fail To Adhere To Dietary Regimes?

Why do the majority of diabetic patients fail to follow their dietary regimens? Primary reason.

  • Socioeconomic; lack of funds to purchase healthy choices

  • Lack of education or knowledge about diabetes

  • Fresh vegetables and healthy food is not available.

  • Depression or mental health issues

  • Does not understand about the progression of diabetes if not managed.

  • Not willing to change or not ready to make a change.

  • Advanced age; in denial that dietary changes can make a difference.

  • Youth: The idea that they are invincible to these problems & unwilling to give up fast foods.

  • The prescribed diet was not effective.

Results are only viewable after voting.
zand said:
My prescribed diet made me gain 8 pounds in 2 weeks! That's why I didn't stick to it after 2 weeks.
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I do not blame you one bit. That diet added to the problem, and obviously it was not the right fit for you. This happened to me as well, and I felt terrible. What have you found out for yourself about the foods that make it work for you?
 
Aren't my posts worth answering?
I think the op doesn't understand the nitty gritty of the understanding of how some people have hyperinsulinaemia then insulin resistance then obesity, then T2?
 
None of the above option from me too - how condescending are those options ....

Brushed me up the wrong way totally ...
 
The 130g of carbs figure for brain function is doubtful. My BG spike far too high on this amount of carbs. Low Carb Healthy Fat eating does provide an alternative. My last Hba1c 33.
 
Quite right.
 
I did wonder that myself.
 

May I ask, do you have your cholesterol checked regularly?do you advise your patients to have it checked at the beginning of changing their diets and 3 months after?
How do you evaluate that everybody is getting their daily balance of correct vitamins and minerals with the foods that they decide to eat? Do you as I do, get portion sizes weighed for a week say, and work out all the vitamins/minerals for them to ensure no deficiencies?

Ie if you give up dairy and your patients how are you compensating those minerals and vitamins? If you say give up milk you are missing out possibly on say B12 in A2 milk and from 15g feta cheese you can get 2.5 B12, calcium you would be missing out on at least 74for the feta 15g portion and 500ml of A2 milk gives 635.. How do you ensure that a persons whole health is considered, not just diabetes?
 
I totally agree.

My new dietician is a good listener and has asked me to increase my carbs to 130g per day. I did for 3weeks. I'm on double my insulin units. 2000mg metformin too.
Previously i was on 30-50g carbs but i was eating too much protein instead of more veg. I only needed 44units on an evening to start my day averaging 6.0mmol/l and no metformin.
Now. The metformin is needed for hormones, even on low carb. I started getting palpatations (overactive thyroid as on 200mg levothyroxine). I was given a beta blocker. Felt very very ill so increased carbs back to 50-100gs daily. No palpatations.
In the future i will reduce my levothyroxine before reducing my carbs to 30g to see if the solution. I will monitor my own blood pressure and stop beta blocker if blood pressure gets too low. Then make an appointment with gp for tablets to be reduced.
I aim to reduce my insulin need and blood pressure tablet and thyroid med.
All with a 30g carb diet. @datkins65 .
As you appreciate the right diet can make all the difference. Hopefully.
 
I doubt I would "comply" if the diet I was being told to follow made me feel as sick as I felt prior to diagnosis and my BG levels did not improve.

Not complying has improved my health immeasurably (apart from my HbA1c which has improved measurably)

I will gladly accept whatever punishment is deemed necessary for my non compliance
 
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I have been on this way of eating since April 2014. Initially on somewhere around 100g carbs but my meter told me this was too many for me so gradually reduced the carbs and increased the fats to compensate for any potential lack of energy or hunger. I left my protein amount alone. Eventually arrived at 30g carbs, which is clearly my threshold. I lost 33% of my body weight and have maintained my new slim figure for nearly 2 years with good blood glucose control and ideal lipids and other markers. My kidneys are fine. In fact my EGFR has increased from 68 to above 90. I am 68 years old and feel 21. Before this way of eating I felt 90.
 
Brunneria said:
Could you give us an idea of the kind of dietary tinkering that you usually suggest?
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Sure. For one of my patients, who had difficulties with keeping her proportions reasonable.....she found her own solution. She found a beautiful ceramic plate that was divided into four sections. (Wish I could find this plate. It is really attractive.) She used it to help her reduce the amount she ate. This was after her husband (who was overweight & wanted to participate) and she sat down and wrote down a list of 30 favorite food products (low glycemic index)(means it does not jack up the blood glucose) and constructed their own menus for a month. Within six weeks, they had lost 26 lb (12 kg) between them. This really motivated them both. Basically, this was a low-low-carb, low-cholesterol, 2,200 calorie diet limiting servings of meat to chicken (no skin), fish (not fried) or turkey to 3 oz per meal. What I love about this particular family is that this gentlemen was on fire with enthusiasm and he was able to highly motivate his wife. With minor adjustments to their chosen diet, and walking for 45 minutes 3 x week, and coming to the mission dance 2 x month, they were able to lose a substantial amount of weight (over 50 kg). This patient no longer needed Metformin. We see them ever 3 months or when they need a change. They have been able to maintain the weight loss.

Their 30 foods (CHOOSE ONE)( 3 oz skinless chicken)(6 oz Atlantic cod grilled)(baked turkey breast)(6 oz beef tenderloin shared)(1 lamb chop grilled) (CHOOSE ONE) (1/2 c brown rice)(1/2 c. whole wheat elbow)(CHOOSE ONE)(3 Tbsp olive oil)(3 Tbsp grape seed oil)(1 Tbsp cholesterol free margarine or 1 tsp butter) (CHOOSE ONE) 1 cup beans, 1 cup carrots, 1 small sweet potato, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup green peas, 1 cup squash, 1 cup eggplant, 1 cup okra, 1 cup turnip greens, 1/2 ear of corn, 1/3 cup corn, 1/2 cup turnips, 1/2 cup beets, or 3 cups mixed salad; (CHOOSE ONE) 1 apple, plum, pear, apricot, 1/2 banana, 1/2 orange, 1 slice pineapple, 1/4 mango, 1/2 cup grapes (CHOOSE ONE) 1 slice sugar-free coffee cake, whole grain bread, sugar-free pie, 1 cup sugar free pudding, 3 sugar-free cookies.

Another patient, (young) could stay away from his craving for sugary drinks by totally replacing all he drank with bottled water or tap water. He also started to play soccer with his chums in the neighborhood. You may laugh, but he lost 5 kg which motivated him to start choosing more healthy foods to snack on and eat, generally. The mother thought he needed a specific diet, and since he was not to happy about giving up his french fries and cheeseburgers daily, I suggested to her that we start first with the 20+ soft drinks. After all, this young man walked the office with a Mountain Dew in his hand. Later, with his mother's he, he constructed his own low-carb, high-fiber, low-cholesterol and high-protein diet. Over the past year he lost a total of 32.6 lbs (14.7 kg). His self-esteem and grades in school greatly improved. It does not matter the age. Young as this 17 year old or as old as I am, we all have our own requirements and we change only when we want.

There is a high success rate with this clinic, but we also have failures. I never blame the patient, because it is the treatment that has failed the patient. I will work on one with metric conversion.

I can share the low-glycemic food list with the forum, if you like. I will have to change it to a PDF file, but I am more than willing to share.
 
@datkins65 This is a global yet UK based forum. You obviously have no idea about the media driven perception of diabetics and the stigma we have to put up with in the UK otherwise you would not have posted such a judgemental poll. Can you still not tell how poorly judged this poll has been?

We also have a thing here in the UK called "irony." You using the words "culturally sensitive" is an example of irony.

https://www.researchgate.net/projec...itive-Diabetes-Education-Maintenance-Programs
 

If I was not going to prepare dinner for the house, I think I might have opened a bag of popcorn to read the rest of this thread having just finished the last paragraph above.... or might get my tin hat.
 
I apologize for your interpretation of the purpose of my blog.

First, culturally sensitive is a word applied to diabetic education which denotes an applied RESPECT for the desired and traditional foods of a culture. For instance, when dietary changes are suggested, we never alienate traditional food from the diet, because this adds to the inability of compliance to a prescribed diet.

I am so sorry for the "stigma" that is placed on diabetics in the UK. This is a shame, as diabetes is a worldwide problem and it requires asking public opinion as to why the treatment regimens are failing. By the way, Avocado, THIS IS NOT PLACING JUDGEMENT ON ANYONE, sir. It is merely asking an opinion of intelligent knowledgeable people who suffer from diabetes as to what they feel is the main reason we have problems adhering to a prescribed dietary regimen. If you do not wish to participate, then please do not. There is no room for prejudice and finger pointing in finding a solution to this devastating disease. Diabetes does not care if you are the Prime Minister of the UK or the President of the United States, it strikes down anyone regardless of status, race, age, or socioeconomic status. Focus on helping others, sir, not slamming down any attempt to gather knowledge. Blessing to you and your health.
 
hankjam said:
If I was not going to prepare dinner for the house, I think I might have opened a bag of popcorn to read the rest of this thread having just finished the last paragraph above.... or might get my tin hat.
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Sir, I am afraid I do not follow the sarcasm regarding my education. I am far older than you, and if you require a resume, please let me know.
 
datkins65 said:
Many of us are carbohydrate intolerant literally! That is no joke.
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I am totally carb intolerant and I'm not laughing.

I was given the low GI diet, as has the wife!
Unfortunately it has too many carbs in it! And put me in hospital!
But some T2s can tolerate some carbs and having an open mind to each diabetic should be a prerequisite!
A carb is a carb, sugar is sugar, intolerant or not it will raise blood glucose levels.
If I said you have a peanut intolerance, would you recommend eating them?

It is the same with most carbs, it's only the difference in absorption that it differs!

You are still not accepting the reasoning behind low carb eating!

You still haven't answered my questions, is it because your understanding of diabetes, hasn't got to insulinoma or hyperinsulinaemia?
 
Don't worry, I am not going anywhere, sir.
 
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