Hi all, I am just casting about looking for some support, advice, community before I go for my first endocrinologist appt on Feb 25th.
Background: I’m 49, slightly overweight (BMI of 27.8). I had gestational diabetes with my 2nd daughter, 15 years ago, but controlled it with diet only.
I recently had a blood panel which showed that I had a fasting BG of 123. My A1C is 6.8. I was on a pretty high carb, unhealthy diet for the past year. Since my blood test a month ago I have lost 9 lbs., mostly doing a South Beach esque diet since now I am terrified of carbs. I got a home testing machine and one day my fasting was 167 and I FREAKED. But I am really doing this unsupervised, which is dumb.
I really don’t want to have to take medication or insulin and would reallllllllly like to control this with diet and exercise if I can. I know that I will get some advice on the 25th but if you have any advice of what to eat/do in the meantime I’d appreciate it. I have certainly upped my exercise to at least 5 days a week.
Hello! Here is what my carb intake looks like.
Breakfast 20-30 grams of carbs, 15g of carbs for a mid morning snack, 30-40 grams of carbs for lunch and 30-40g of carbs for dinner. I don’t eat a bed time snack, they ten to raise my fasting blood sugars. Thats how I maintain tight control. We are all different and have different meal plans. When you go to your physician ask him about seeing a nutritionist or CDE. They’ll be able to tell you more about carbs per meal, you may alter what they suggest and you may not.
I would also recommend Calorieking.com. You can get nutritional info on almost anything you eat, fast food included.
You’ve joined a pretty awesome community. Keep asking questions and someone will answer. Keep us posted.
Cherise
Ps
I would recommend making a list of questions to ask the Endo. If you go in the office with questions and get answers your in good hands.
Personally, I don’t think doing it unsupervised is all that dumb if you do a little homework. First of all, your numbers aren’t all that different from mine a few years ago, nor all they all that scary. Yes, you need some fine tuning, but I think your goal of doing it with diet and exercise alone is not only a worthy one, it’s quite do-able. Basically, it’s more about learning what types of carbs than how many. What I mean by that is the more natural they are, the better. Natural foods tend to have more essential nutrients that are vital in getting your insulin resistance back down. Exercise helps too. There are lots of supplements that can help as well. Green tea is one that comes to mind, but there are many others. Here are some recommended links:
Cherise, thanks so much. That is really helpful. My question is, are carbs necessary, or is that just a maximum limit? Does something bad happen if you have less than those amounts? I got so freaked out that I started Phase One of South Beach and have been pretty limited. But are a certain number of carbs necessary?
When I first started out on my journey has a diabetic I visited with a nutritionist. She gave me those numbers 4 years ago. I tried other things but why fix something that isn’t broke?
Your body needs carbs but you have to know the good carbs from the not so good carbs. The more you learn about diabetes and how your body reacts to certain foods, you’ll be able to decide what’s best for you.
I actually love the south beach meals. I don’t follow the diet but love the meals. Not too many carbs and the food tastes good.
Hi- I don’t have much advice, although I am searching for answers and scared like you. I had GDM with my three pregnancies and the third one I took Glyburide the last two months. My baby is seven weeks old and my numbers are higher than normal. I am 35 and could loose about 20lbs (not obese) but I’m in shock that my body just isn’t working how it should. I saw a Registerd Dietician which helped put me on a diet and beginning an exercise routine. The diet they put me on is 45cb Breakfast, 30cb snack 45 lunch, 30 snack, 45 dinner 30 snack- this equals to approx 1900 calories which is not for weight loss since I’m nursing. My numbers have improved. I have sooooo many questions about diabetes. Maybe we could chat. I want to go to an endo. but my OB is having me self moniter for a couple of weeks first.
Dawn, it’s all a little overwhelming isn’t it? All this to fret about and with a new baby too! (congratulations btw) I’m glad the diet helped and I hope I will get some direction soon. I am wondering which is more helpful in terms of the diabetes, losing the weight or sticking to a diet like that. I don’t think I could lose weight on 1900 cals.
Hang in there and keep posted on how it’s going…
Why so many carbs, 220 per day ? . Most diabetics BG would go to the moon on such a diet. And it is a near certainty that such a diet will finish off your pancreas the more so if you dont inject outside insulin to help.
Thank you for detailed answer. Carbohydrate intake is as variable as shoe size. Everyone wears a pair but they are all different sizes. I am very “carbohydrate conversative” and provide my patients with a guideline that can be adjusted upward or downward based on blood glucose levels. To find a certified diabetes educator visit www.diabeteseducator.org.
220 isn’t high. Lots of Diabetes programs suggest 40%-50% of your daily calories come from carbohydrates. For someone eating, for example, 2000 calories a day, 40% is 200 carbs a day.
I know a lot of people on this board like to advocate extremely low carb diets, and that’s great if they work for them. But everyone is different, extremely low carb isn’t the best choice for some people, me included. Low carb, yes! Extremely low carb, not unless I have absolutely no other choice.
I just thought of something that’s pretty relevant here. A couple of years ago, I began a quest to burn off fat. Since then, I’ve turned my body into a fat burning “machine” which allows me to cut back on carbs and utilize more fat more effectively. The daily exercise, the high nutrient diet, and a few supplements like green tea, have all contributed to the fat burning. Fat burning brings some advantages for type twos… by keeping the fat minimized, the whole metabolic process works more efficiently, weight comes down, and (here’s the good part) it keeps insulin resistance down. This article on that concept, might interest you: Medical News Today article.
Thanks for the article, it was really interesting and good. Does it mean to eliminate fat from our bodies, or eliminate fat from our diets, or both…? I’m definitely exercising more these days and have lost 10 lbs since that bad blood test. I want to get tested again before I go to the doctor because I do think things have changed even a little.
What it means to me, just like carbs, is to take in the healthiest ones you can, take in no more than you need, and make sure your body is utilizing them (burning them). This means (going back to my original premise) eat only the healthiest foods and get adequate daily exercise.
We don’t want to eliminate fat any more than we want to eliminate carbohydrates from our diets. Our bodies need them both. The whole secret to this thing is balance. What we take in, we must utilize, or it will be stored (not always a good thing). Excessive consumption of certain types of foods and the resultant storage of the unused carbs and fats are what brought us here. Getting things under control is about encouraging our bodies to use up the excess, and to no longer take in what we don’t need. This is where the diet I advocate (high nutrient, low carb, medium fat) comes in. It gives you the energy you need, satiates your hunger urge, and allows you to keep excess weight off. Provided, of course, that you’re getting enough daily exercise to encourage your body to properly utilize the food you take in.
I have no doubt that, with a little patience, persistence, and positivity, that you will find this to be a lot easier and more rewarding than you ever expected. I’ve gotten to where I actually enjoy being diabetic, because it has taught me so much about good health. So much, that I’m toying with the idea of starting a health resort in the mountains. All I have to do is find the funding. Hey Manny?? Think we can generate enough support to start a diabetic health resort in the mountains?
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I actually am enjoying the process of being more conscious, of really thinking about what I eat.
Re your diabetic health resort: I would come to that!
I am nursing my baby and that is her only nutrition so I understand nursing burns extra calories. They also said they would cut my carbs back when the baby starts eating other foods. Then they would begin a weight loss diet by cutting back my carbs. Does this sound accurate?
