[hrascoll]

i am new and looking for a diet plan. does any body have experence on sugar busters!. i was on it in the late 90's and lost about 25 pounds. is it a good diet for type 2 non-insulin. i have 70 pounds to loose

[Jan B]

I kinda like the idea of Sugar Busters . . . I looked at it briefly at Barnes & Noble today! I've been low-carbing recently (instead of the low-fat eating I'd been on for years).

[morrisma]

For me it's anything that keeps me accountable. I need the threat of nagging I guess.
Mike

[Evermont]

Hi! Welcome to the forum.

Personally, I don't believe in "diets" at all. I'm more of a good nutrition kinda guy. Oh yeah, and exercise too.

I think it's important to find a healthy way that we can live with for, well, a lifetime. Having diabetes just raises the stakes but doesn't change much about why we should or even the particulars of a healthy lifestyle.

Sometimes I think this is seen as a radical viewpoint. That confuses me a little, but I'm not wavering on it.

When the fad diets fall by the way side I'm always happy to talk about optimum nutrition.

[Jan B]

Originally Posted by Evermont

Hi! Welcome to the forum.

Personally, I don't believe in "diets" at all. I'm more of a good nutrition kinda guy. Oh yeah, and exercise too.

I think it's important to find a healthy way that we can live with for, well, a lifetime. Having diabetes just raises the stakes but doesn't change much about why we should or even the particulars of a healthy lifestyle.

Sometimes I think this is seen as a radical viewpoint. That confuses me a little, but I'm not wavering on it.

When the fad diets fall by the way side I'm always happy to talk about optimum nutrition.

This all sounds like common sense. But don't you know common sense isn't common?! Ha ha! If you want to talk about optimum nutrition, that's always appreciated Keith. I've read a lot of very conflicting doctor's opinions on optimum nutrition for diabetics.

[hrascoll]

there are so many options out there. i am a very busy person. i need a diet plan that gives me ideas and recipes laid out to eat every day. i am more concerned with low-carbs and losing weight.

[Evermont]

Originally Posted by Jan B

This all sounds like common sense. But don't you know common sense isn't common?! Ha ha! If you want to talk about optimum nutrition, that's always appreciated Keith. I've read a lot of very conflicting doctor's opinions on optimum nutrition for diabetics.

Well then Jan, if it's not common, let's just call it 'sense'. There are over 6 billion people on this planet, hundreds of thousands of doctors, maybe millions. Of course they don't all agree. We shouldn't expect them to. Some say that doctors are a poor guide for nutrition especially in Western medicine. Nutrition is almost not addressed at all in medical school. Western medicine seems to have missed the point completely when it comes to prevention. This is quite a shame. Is it because prevention isn't profitable?

Originally Posted by hrascoll

there are so many options out there. i am a very busy person. i need a diet plan that gives me ideas and recipes laid out to eat every day. i am more concerned with low-carbs and losing weight.

I really do understand and even appreciate your dilemma hrascoll. My daughter, a senior personal trainer and nutritional consultant, is reading a book called "The Omnivors Dilemma" (link) which essentially says that we have so many choices these days, we can't figure out which way to go. Some might say this is a good problem to have. Then again, so many of the choices are not good - the dilemma is really one of discerning which few choices are worthy.

I'm for low carb too - but mainly I'm for reducing bad carbs. Likewise for bad proteins and bad fats. A balanced diet of quality carbs, proteins, and fats is ideal. The trick is to be able to walk down a grocery store isle and to be able to instantly correctly discriminate between the good and bad. Another trick is to be able to prep and cook your good choices without turning them into bad ones or making an all day project of it. I am familiar with this, it's my current lifestyle.

What you put into your body matters. It's worth some time and effort to get this right.

As for weight loss, well, that's simple. Exercise a lot. Then exercise some more. It works.

[davef]

hrascoll,

I can only talk from my own experience. When I was DX'ed back at the end of November I knew I had to lose a lot of weight and was looking for the silver bullet. I have dieted before and on some fad diets have lost a lot, but it comes back just as fast. If you stop and think, any weight we are carrying did not appear overnight, we had to work hard to put the weight on in the first place , but for some reason when it comes to losing the weight we expect that we should be able to get rid of quickly, in my experience you can but it won't last.

As a friend of mine who heads up a weight loss organisation in Ireland says, it really is rocket science, you need to eat less and move more. It's easier to say than do.

Anyhow after I have searched around looking for this magic diabetic friendly diet, I came to the conclusion that what I need to do was form new habits and change some of the ones I already had. Then when I looked at the foods I was eating and the changes I needed to make to control my Diabetes that by looking after my diabetes I was going to shift the weight. I have been eating low-carb since DX and have lost 37 pounds in 15 weeks. It has been a steady loss and yes, I have had the odd splurge (Christmas/Birthdays) but once you start to make progress, you learn to splurge and enjoy it without losing control.

I am feeling so much better now, I'm continuing to lose weight (1-2lbs/week) and I'm confident that my new habits will help me keep the weight off.

I really think you need to be honest with yourself and not to expect miracle weight loss, for me the miracle was that I actually took the decision to do something about losing weight, doing nothing was not an option. Set yourself realistic goals and milestones, reward yourself (not necessarily with food) when you reach a goal. Don't be afraid to have a little treat every so often. It is so hard to lose and manage weight that it is so easy to lose motivation and having unrealistic goals hinder you greatly.

Take a look at the thread FINALLY .... my first mini-goal accomplished! and you will see how getting a positive comment can mean so much more than what a scales says (well done Kim!).

You have made a decision to lose weight, I would urge you to follow through in a sensible controlled way and not look for the silver bullet. Perhaps attending somewhere like Weight Watchers would help you to get started.

Sorry for waffling on so long, one final piece of advice, only weigh yourself once a week and at the same time of day. Weighing everyday can actually be demoralizing if you don't see a daily loss.

Best of luck,

[SpringRam]

Originally Posted by Evermont

Well then Jan, if it's not common, let's just call it 'sense'. There are over 6 billion people on this planet, hundreds of thousands of doctors, maybe millions. Of course they don't all agree. We shouldn't expect them to. Some say that doctors are a poor guide for nutrition especially in Western medicine. Nutrition is almost not addressed at all in medical school. Western medicine seems to have missed the point completely when it comes to prevention. This is quite a shame. Is it because prevention isn't profitable?



I really do understand and even appreciate your dilemma hrascoll. My daughter, a senior personal trainer and nutritional consultant, is reading a book called "The Omnivors Dilemma" (link) which essentially says that we have so many choices these days, we can't figure out which way to go. Some might say this is a good problem to have. Then again, so many of the choices are not good - the dilemma is really one of discerning which few choices are worthy.

I'm for low carb too - but mainly I'm for reducing bad carbs. Likewise for bad proteins and bad fats. A balanced diet of quality carbs, proteins, and fats is ideal. The trick is to be able to walk down a grocery store isle and to be able to instantly correctly discriminate between the good and bad. Another trick is to be able to prep and cook your good choices without turning them into bad ones or making an all day project of it. I am familiar with this, it's my current lifestyle.

What you put into your body matters. It's worth some time and effort to get this right.

As for weight loss, well, that's simple. Exercise a lot. Then exercise some more. It works.

Keith,

Weight loss is not simple. I agree with you that exercise is good for overall health, helps regulate blood sugar and has an effect on someone's weight loss program. But again, it just isn't that simple. It may add up on paper, math wise, to attempt to exercise body fat off but in the real world, humans have difficulty in doing so. How may calories are burned by a 250 lb woman in 45 minutes at 3.5 hour on a treadmill? Let's say its 300 calories. Sounds good! Now think about the fact that this woman has to get on this treadmill everyday of the week to get an 1800 calorie deficit (to make our math easier, we will forget about the basal calories she would have used had there been no exercise at all). Sounds good! The problem is humans do not stay on 7 day treadmill routines like this for any lengthy period of time to have any significant effect towards their weight loss goals. That 1800 calories represents only about 1/2 pound of body fat. This woman may work 8 hours at a job, have a total commute to and from work for an hour, have kids to take care of as well as perhaps do the cooking. Not much time to spend at the gym is there? Since she needs to lose maybe a 100 lbs, its going to take a long time for her to reach her goal only by exercising. Plus, there is no way that she will get on that treadmill 7 days a week even if she does have the time.

My point is, weight loss is not simple. It take primarily a reduction in calorie restriction as well as an increase in calorie outgo, ie., exercise. Plus it takes a lot of concentration and will power.

John

[SpringRam]

Oops!

I meant to say "a reduction in calorie intake"

Sorry,

John

[Evermont]

Hi John a.k.a SpringRam, welcome to DF!

You seem to disagree with me, but I think we probably agree about more than we disagree about. Even if we do disagree, that's OK. I also like that we get to discuss these things here where not only you and I, but so many others can benefit from the discussion.

I get from your post that you feel that it can be difficult to find time to exercise a lot. You mention some pretty tricky chores to compete with, like earning a living, childcare, and meal preparation. It sure would be hard (ok, impossible) to cut those things out of a busy schedule! So with all that going on, it makes losing weight by exercise take a very long time. OK. So it takes a long time. I'm not sure why that's a bad thing. Some might say it's better to lose the weight slowly. What's the hurry?

This theoretical woman you mentioned. Does she ever watch TV? Maybe there is time to exercise more. Perhaps you've presented a false dichotomy: Watch the kids or exercise. I do crazy things with my kids, like snowboarding or hiking in the mountains. Snowboarding burns 400 calories per hour and goes on all day. I taught my kids to cook too. An 11 year old can make a salad while mom tears up the elliptical.

Excuses are easy. Exercise is supposed to be hard. What I'm saying is simple is just the idea that if you want to lose weight, you must burn lots of calories. Of course taking in less calories is a complimentary approach. I know that many people have a real hard time sticking to a low cal diet (for a lifetime), and that a low cal diet presents a fuel challenge for intensive and extensive exercise. I didn't give much detail (in this thread) about my notion of good nutrition but I can tell you from my experience, it's hard to over eat when you stick to healthy foods. I'm not about low cal, I'm about good cal. Not low carb, good carb.

I still say it's simple. Maybe not obvious to many, but simple. Not easy, but simple. Perhaps some people see all that exercise as inconvenient. Perhaps it's their priorities that are inconvenient. A mom who can't take care of herself won't do well at taking care of the kids. Plus, we need to set a good example for them.

I have a full time job, in fact my job is supporting three generations of my family. I also shop and cook. I spend time with my grandson ever day. I also exercise a lot, and I'm losing weight slowly.

[SpringRam]

Keith,

You and I are are the same wavelength. My only thought is that to have any significant weight loss, one must first take in a smaller amount of calories than one needs. Exercise is very important for weight loss but not as much as eating less. It is much easier for folks to take in 250 less calories per day than to exercise 250 calories off. When I say eating less, you and I agree that diets do not work. It need to be a lifestyle change of eating the right foods. Complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, lean meat and some fruit are the way to success to weight loss. Cutting out the refined stuff is super important not just for good nutrition but for good blood sugar regulation. You and I are partners on this. There are people, however, who need to lose weight NOW. Morbidly obese folks need to work on lifestyle after they lose the fat that is killing them. Time is of the essence. There are programs at various hospitals/medical schools that have super low calorie programs for these people.
People do need to get off their bottoms because doing so contibutes to better blood sugar control and cardiovascular fitness, etc. My point is that you have to do a heck of a lot of it to achieve any real mount of weight loss.
I have worked with many very obese individuals who are in need of immediate weight loss, especially women. I am not talking about folks who need to lose a few pounds so they look good for the summer. Due to past sedentary habits and human vanity, they do not need to be told that if they do not jump into a super exercise routine they will be a failure in their weight loss program. These people need to be working on calorie reduction first since such is easier for them to achieve. As the weight comes down, they will feel better about themselves and hopefully will put on those walking shoes! If losing weight were easy for everyone, then this tread would not have existed in the first place.

John

[hrascoll]

ok fellow forumers, i got a lot of information/venting but not any about "sugar busters!" diet. but thx any for your replies