Diet the doctor put me on

Food
1

My doctor put me on a VERY strict diet. It goes as follows

Breakfast: cereal w/milk (nothing frosted)
Lunch: 1/2 tuna, turkey, or chicken sandwich w/salad (anything from the garden)
NO: mayo or mayo based dressing, croutons, bacon bits, cheese
Dinner: 5/6 oz meat (grilled or baked)
2 vegetables
1 starch
More NO: pork, fried foods, french fries, chips, desserts, biscuits, cornbread
#of CHO Choices: milk or yogurt

So, I tried to talk to them about this. Like maybe a egg white omelet for breakfast instead of cereal every day. The reaction was: stick to the diet the way it is worded. I can’t! I HATE cereal.

So, my question is: can I make substitutes for certain items. I mean, really, they don’t even give me a number of CHO that I can have per day. From what I read, only 1 snack per day. I am having problems with this diet.

2

I would ask your doctor for a referral to a dietitian/nutritionist. Say that you want to understand your diet better and think you could learn a lot about your diet from a dietitian. Hopefully he’ll give you a referral and you can get a second opinion or some understanding. But I do agree with you, this seems pretty extreme. There are plenty of other just as healthy choices that you could eat. It’s just a matter of understanding those other choices and picking the right foods. Eating healthy isn’t just picking a few foods that you know are safe and not understanding why. Understanding food and how it works in your body is key. Well enough of my ramble (I want to become a dietitian!)

-Elizabeth

3

What is this diet for, Amanda? Do you have a lot of weight to lose? It sure can’t be just because you are diagnosed with diabetes! I absolutely agree with Elizabeth that this diet seems extreme. Even if you have weight to lose, it has been well documented that rigid diets don’t work. I personally believe the more variety the better, both in a weight loss diet and in a diabetic diet. Some diabetics do find they eat pretty much the same thing every day, but that is by choice. I eat different things all the time, but within guidelines that work for me. It’s funny he prescribed cereal. Many of us can’t eat cereal because it jacks up our blood sugar. You absolutely should not be eating things you dislike because you will NOT stick to a diet that makes you miserable. I would definitely ask to talk to a dietician who will work with you to design a diet that will work and suit your lifestyle.

4

I think that anyone would have problems with this diet. I would say that you need a doctor that to update his information on diabetes. Cereal no matter what kind it is makes my blood sugar sky rocket. What happened to the protein for breakfast? All those carbs and no protein?

Your doctor sounds like the doctor I had when I was first diagnosed with diabetes. She put me on a very strict diet and there was no way I could follow it. There was a lot of diary on her diet. I am lactose intolerant. She also told me that I was doing something wrong when the medication that she put me on did not work for me. I no longer see this doctor.

I would look into getting a referral to an endocrinologist and a nutritionist. The nutritionist would teach you how to count the carbs in your food so that you can eat a variety of foods. The endocrinologist would just be for managing your diabetes. I would request that the endocrinologist specializes in diabetes. If you do not click with the endocrinologist do not be afraid to go to another one. It has taken me a while but, I finally found one and she is worth her weight in gold.

5

Amanda, I hope your doctor gets diabetes. He deserves it. One really good way to drive up your BG is cereal, even cereal without sugar if you could find it. Grains are tough on BG.Don’t be afraid of eggs.

Mel

6

Amanda, you sound like an intelligent person. I don’t think you need to pay someone to tell you what you should eat. There is SO much free advice and information on the net. This forum is only one of many, there are articles, and there are actual books in libraries and stores, plus people that can tell you what you should try to eat. Your doctor is an idiot, no question about it. If you follow even some of the advice and experience you can find from actual diabetics, you will lose weight, and your blood sugar will come down.

Don’t eat cereal. Period. Have some. Sandwich? Better not be one with bread. Mayo? No carbs, calories and fat if you eat too much, but it breaks my heart to think you are being told such ridiculous crappola. Eat intelligently, and how will he/she isn’t gonna know? What, does he come to your house and watch you eat?

Unsalted peanuts, walnuts, bacon, eggs, sausage, non-fat/no sugar pudding with non fat milk, peanut butter, what’s wrong with pork now and the? Chicken, steaks, ground beef, deli meats… There are lots of things you can eat.

We didn’t get a lot of details on your condition, but unless you are in serious trouble with weight and/or BGs, there is really no reason to give good money to someone to tell you what to eat. You are surely free to do so, but we ought to give ourselves some credit for the ability to think for ourselves. If you create the diet and find one that works, you will stick with it. If someone else gives you orders on what you can and cannot eat, you will go crazy measuring 5 oz of meat, one cup of veggies, etc.

Ultimately, and sadly, this is YOUR disease, and you are the judge of what you eat and how you live. Your doctor has no clue about how to control diabetes, and frankly, based on the tiny bit of information you gave, he also doesn’t know much about weight loss either.

You didn’t mention his demands for exercise. What are those rules from him?

I wouldn’t wish diabetes upon anyone.

John

7

I would 1) get a new doctor - find a good endo! somebody you can talk to and will listen to you 2) go talk to a dietitian! I liked the one I had at the hospital and my doctors office has one that holds classes several days a month you can drop in for information. The hospital also has a program open to anyone to stop in for support. The above diet is nuts. Look up information on the Mediterranean Diet. I use that diet because it is healthy and suits my tastes! I eat in 5 small meals because I also have gastroparisis. The point being find what suits your schedule, your tastes, your diabetes situation (level of exercise - meds - etc.) and get rid of the box of cereal if you don’t like it. I have yogurt for breakfast myself. There are some great cookbooks out there with great ideas. You can certainly have variety. Good Luck!

8

I’ve been thinking about you! I hope things are better. Have you found a better diet? Hang in there and find the right menu for you. I just had a pretty good week – hope you have a good week, too.

9

Hi Amanda,

What a restrictive diet! Who wouldn’t have problems with this! It’s very low fat. Why were you given this meal plan? If your doctor is concerned about your lipid profile, then he/she needs to get with more current research that shows it’s carbs, not fat, that causes problems.

Prescribing a diet you hate isn’t the key to success. Also crazy to expect that anyone could follow what you were given for any length of time. How boring & unvaried.

Never heard a person with diabetes being told to have cereal & milk as a must for breakfast. He might as well have told you to eat a candy bar for what this can do to BG.

My personal experience with nutritionists & dieticians hasn’t been positive. They push the higher carb ADA guidelines & food pyramid. This doesn’t work well for many people with diabetes.

It’s your body & your health. There are other options for losing weight (if this is the motive) &/or improving lipid profile for heart health than this nonsense.

Research low carb diets. Tons of info about this & great sites for recipes.You can eat many more things & lose weight. .

I’d find another doctor.

10

all my doctors, diabetic educator, etc. have been really great. There are lots of books that show you what a carb serving is and how many carbs per meal according to weight, activity, etc. Plus I was given a book called THE CALORIE KING which really helps when you go out to eat or make meals at home.I hope you can get a referral to a diabetes educator and an endocrinologist. Good luck!

11

Sounds very low calorie which is good if you can keep it up.

Cereal for breakfast is about the worst you can do because of the dawn effect. Egg white omelet is a much netter idea. I also hate cereal and it is really bad for diabetics.

Modern pork is very lean and 0 carbs manna from heaven for a diabetic of course unless you are strickly Kosher.

12

Hi Amanda,

I see from your profile your are a Type 2, fairly recently diagnosed. Are you having weight issues or is there some other reason your doc is wanting you on such a restrictive diet? In my experience, docs are not good with nutrition. I was diagnosed as a Type 1 12 years ago. I was diagnosed on a Friday, and she put me on a 2000 calorie diet, following the FDA guidelines. So I went home, took my insulin and counted every calorie and stopped at 2000 cal/day. It was horrible. I’m 6’1" and normally weigh around 210 lbs. I should’ve been on a 2500-2800 calorie diet. So I spent my first weekend as a diabetic hungry, miserable, moping around, and left with the thought of “what I horrible life I’m about to start.”

Then, I met with my d-educator/nutritionist the following Monday and she got me sorted out. Once I found out how much I could eat and how I could pick the things I liked to eat, I was fine and dandy and happy as could be.

Short story long: meet with a nutritionist and figure out a meal plan that will work, because it HAS to be something you will stick to. If it’s one you can’t possibly hope to maintain, then it’s doomed to fail.

Best wishes to you. And cheers,
Mike