New, need general direction to maintain and not gain

Hi,
My name is Amy and I’m a new diabetic. Diagnosed Sept 18, type 2 on glyburide/met and insulin. At first my weight went down quickly to 142. Let me just say, I’ve been on a constant diet since age 13. I was 185, exercised my way down to about 160. Still struggling though. When I got sick, (I wasn’t aware of it though), my weight went to 142, I WAS SOOO HAPPY. When I found out why I lost so much weight I wasn’t happy anymore.

Now I hover around 150. With the new way I have to eat, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Like I need to relearn it all and I feel lost. I never worried about carbs, ever. I would always look at the fat content .

So, does anybody have a good guideline to follow in general and also to lose weight or at least to maintain without gaining. I ordered the booklet Calorie King online and hope to recieve it in the mail any day now. That’s what I’ve done so far.

Thanks, Amy:)

That is a great resource that you have ordered there. Have you met with a dietician to get their suggestion on carb intake, calorie intake, etc. per day based on your body style, height, etc? A good dietician is and extremely important part of your diabetes team.

I agree with Big Al, a good diabetes educator/nutritionist/registered dietician is an invaluble member of your health care team. Meanwhile, try to focus on eating high-fiber/whole grain carbs, veggies, and high fiber fruits; also protein and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, nuts). I try to plan out my day’s meals/snacks the night before, pack a cooler bag for the day with everything I need, and that way I’m not tempted to grab whatever is handy. If you’re a record-keeper like I am, its easier to track what works and what doesn’t. I keep an “excel” file on my computer with the date/time/bloodsugar reading, insulin taken and detailed meal and exercise. It helps both me and my Dr. see what is happening and how certain things affect my readings.

I think you & I have very similar stories, down to the exact date of diagnosis (9/18 for me too). I won’t go into what I weighed or what I weigh now, but I also lost about 45 lbs right before being diagnosed. I thought it was because I cut out eating fast food (I was kind of poor after a trip to Vegas in June & couldn’t afford it anymore). Now I’ve hit a wall & have only been able to drop about 5-6 more pounds since then. But, right now, I can’t stress over that. I know I’m eating well. My sugar numbers have come down greatly (my a1c dropped from 13 to 8.5 in 3 weeks). Basically, I know I’m doing well with my diet & have been exercising. But a lot of people hit a plateau and will stop there for a while in regards to weight loss. That’s where I’m at now. Definitely seeing a dietician/nutritionist will be helpful. I was in the same scenario with you where I would only look at fat & not carbs. My nutritionist explained about balancing food and portion size. I just have a hard time getting the fruits & vegetable in me. :frowning: The Calorie King book is also really helpful. If I’m stuck at work & unable to prepare anything, it’s help me with finding a ‘decent’ fast food meal. Another thing I do, especially to prevent me from shoving more food in my mouth, is write everything I eat down. It helps to give a idea about how your sugar numbers react to what you are eating, but it also psychs me out from eating that extra graham cracker, cause I know I’ll feel like a pig writing it down and having proof of my overindulgence! I’ve slowly been dropping a pound here and there, but at the minimum, I’m not gaining & I know I’m not hurting myself nutritionally either.

Good luck to you! :slight_smile: