I’m thinking fried chicken. What are your thoughts???
I consider processed breakfast cereal as poisonous:-)
Theoretically I can eat anything. But my meter tells me that the right portion size for some things is about the size and thickness of a postage stamp; bananas, Pavlova and Mud-cake are in that category.
Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia
Fried chicken works fine for me. The fat balances the breading. I don’t do well with oatmeal, to my great dismay. I expect processed breakfast cereal would be even worse. Juice, of any kind, acts like a glucose tolerance test for me, and there are lots of things I can only have in tiny amounts, such as grapes, so it’s really not worth it, except when I’m treating a low.
Dito on the juice unless I get the low sugar kind which is way kewl that the stores have it now 
Other than that, I don’t eat pasta unless I get the high fiber kind (wheat) since it counter acts the carbs with the fiber. Plus I typically choose Angelhair pasta …
But most things in moderation I can always have a small amount - a nibblet of course 
I find fruits to be problematic. Right now my bg is 298. 2 hours ago, when I was 142, I thought I’d have plain yogurt and a peach for breakfast. I bolused for 30 carbs, 15 for the yogurt and 15 for the peach. I guess I’ll change my infusion set.
I love fried chicken - especially wings and skin!
It might be the !*#!!! dairy. I don’t know about yogurt specifically, but milk is the devil for me. Which combined with cereal, as listed by a few of us above, is about as bad as it gets.
Everything is fine in moderation. We just need to be more moderate than most
I think…that I love fried chicken. … =)
I also think that if you are restricting yourself from a food for the rest of your life just because you are diabetic, you need to ease up a little. Granted, there are foods that you probably shouldn’t eat on a daily basis, which are usually the foods that affect your blood sugar the most, but hey, you’ve got to live a little.
All this black and white thinking really gets under my skin, primarily because that’s what it was like when I was a kid, and that good food-bad food approach really poisoned my entire approach to eating for a long, long time. My understanding is that some (most?) type 2’s do have to limit certain foods, but I think it’s really not necessary to entirely eliminate any foods. There are ways to eat the things you like, and moderation and portion control are the key. If there’s something that makes managing your BG more challenging and it happens to be something you can live without because you don’t care for it a lot, that’s one thing. If it’s something you really enjoy, you should talk to a nutritionist or your doctor about how to safely incorporate it into your diet. There are already so many rules to live with when you’re diabetic, I don’t know why people voluntarily impose more on themselves when a little chat with your health care provider, some creative problem solving and willingness to compromise might ultimately let you safely have and do things that make you happy. I know some people are happy with the extra rules, but I think most people are happier if they have a little flexibility built into their nutrition plan. There are multiple ways to do something, and one isn’t always better than the others. If you like fried chicken (or whatever else) and want to eat it, at least talk to your RD/CDE about it before you decide you can never have it again.
Examples of how I’ve adapted to more problematic foods:
Juice: I only drink it if my BG is low. Otherwise, I’m not missing it.
Pizza: I have 1 slice, trying to get the smallest piece of the pie, and thinner crust when given the choice. I eat a nice big salad with it to make up for not eating 2 or 3 pieces.
Most Desserts: Small portions. I try to go for high quality because if it’s extra flavorful and rich, I really enjoy a few bites anyway.
Also, if you’re working to incorporate smaller portions of ‘special’ foods, do some research on “mindful eating”. It can help you get more enjoyment out of a smaller portion without sacrificing satisfaction. I said it before, but find a good RD that you like, and talk to her!
Broken glass and hot coals. That’s all I could think of…
I agree with you 100%, Lee Ann.
I understand eliminating it if you can’t find a way to manage it in the quantity you enjoy, but with moderation, you shouldn’t have to complete deny yourself.
Gotta agree with you there! Funny! I was “told” I couldn’t eat anything that pretty much gave me pleasure when I was diagnosed. Then decided: pizza, beer, fast food (if I want)= yum! So I learned with the nutritionist what insulin to work with. I do avoid fruit juices and fruits… ya’ll know why. But I would never be told I could never eat something. NEVER!
PS- I was vegetarian, skinny as heck and worked in the fitness industry, and always ate healthy when diagnosed… and still got diabetes. Hmmmmmmmmmm…
Under any circumstances, a diabetic should NEVER ever eat paint chips. I don’t care if its your favorite color. We should also avoid all pet foods, either canned or dry.
OK seriously…for me this is about mindset and willingness to sacrifice and move on. I think we were all a little brainwashed at diagnosis, and depending when we were diagnosed, we were told to eat different things (also based on the type of insulin that was available at the time.)
I think WE ALL KNOW that some foods are better for our blood sugars than others. French Fries vs. Steamed Veggies…c’mon, no brainer. But here’s the underlying factor…
Diabetics have a natural desire to eat like the rest of the world. So some of us deal with this by eating a tiny portion of “bad” food (high glycemic, high sugar, fried carbs) , while others prefer to eat larger portions of “good” food (low glycemic, high fiber, quality protein). It’s low quality, low quantity vs. high quality, high quantity.
Either way, I don’t think anyone needs to eliminate any food completely. But, most importantly, we should NEVER resent our diabetes for “taking away” our ability to eat a bucket of ice cream or an entire medium pizza. I lived like that for years, and I found myself in complete diabetic denial, and I hated myself for having Type 1. I think it’s better to just embrace the limitations the diabetes puts on us, and enjoy the health benefits and well being that a good diet brings…
…and maybe have a little fried chicken along the way
I’d have to say that I don’t particularly stay away from anything either. I do eat bagels, pasta, pizza, yogurt, etc. I’m actually eating sesame chicken & rice right now for lunch … chinese food is sometimes hit or miss for me so we’ll see in 2 hours lol. Pizza requires a dual wave bolus for me and it works out well. Breakfast cereal on the other hand shoots my bg up even if I bolus correctly so that may be the one thing that I don’t eat too often. Like Lee Ann said, it was a whole different ball game growing up but now that I count carbs & especially being on the pump I eat what I like to eat. As for the fried chicken, I don’t really eat it so I can’t really comment on the effect on bg but would be a bit surprised for it to be a problem for some people. As long as their is insulin available, I say eat up! :o)
I’ve never had a problem with lowfat dairy. ok, I just changed my set, so I should be okay for tomorrow’s experiment - eat the same thing (it was a perfect peach), and see what happens. I think it was my set. I’m lucky if I can go two days on one now.
LOL. You’re great, Dino, as always.
There are incriminating photos of me as a toddler in a bowl of dog kibble. I’m told that I loved the stuff.
The same sort of foods that a non-diabetic should NEVER eat: anything containing high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated vegetable oils, BHT, and a number of other assorted poisons masquerading as artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives.
Also, one should limit the same sort of foods that a non-diabetic should limit: refined flours, refined sugars, and overly processed foods.
Beyond that, it’s a matter of portion size, satiety, nutritional density, and combining foods for optimum health effects – which may include blood lipid profile and cardiovascular health as well as blood glucose profile. How we choose to work with these is an individual choice – which may also be moderated by your specific hyperglycemic metabolic disorder (autoimmune diabetes, diabesity, insulin resistance, etc.) and the treatment program you are currently following.
I miss juice too! No fair! Isn’t it sad when you get an occasional low and get to have that dose of juice??
But you have to make yourself limit it to 4 oz! Such a tease.