[ARW]

Wow; this looks like a great place for support and info.

I was diagnosed with t2 on Sept.5. BS of 16. A1C 7.7. I'm 6 foot 3 and 280 lb. 5 lb less than last week. Blood pressure and cholesterol are good according to the doc. He put me on 250 Metformin morning and night. A pretty light dose I think, but no side effects yet in the first 4 days.

I'm motivated to lose weight for my health and diabetes control, as well as for my job. I have to get stabilized with good BS numbers before I can go back to work.

So far, I'm brisk walking 30 minutes a day. Trying to replace the meat and potatoes, bread and butter diet I've been on for 56 years. I've been checking out nutrition labels and everything seems to have too much cholesterol or carbs or sodium. A friend tells me 60 grams of carbs per meal should do it. What do you folks think?

How about sodium? I've replaced the saltshaker with salsa.

How many tests a day?

I'm going to start logging my food intake tomorrow, with calories and carbs.

How am I doing so far?

[EllieK]

Welcome to DF!

Keeping track of what you eat for awhile is crucial. I'd concentrate of carbs and protein, not so much on fat.

the number of carbs you can eat is entirely dependent on how your body handles them, some people here go for 30 grams a day, some 30 a meal or more.

So that leads to testing,
To start I would suggest the following:
fasting - first thing when you wake up
before breakfast
2 hrs after your first bite
before lunch
2 hr after your first bite
before dinner
2 hr after your first bite
bedtime

testing before and after meals, along with tracking what you eat and how much will give you an idea of how your body handles which foods. You will quickly learn what spikes your blood sugar and what has less effect. Play with the carb amounts (within reason) and see what happens.

In general it is a good idea to avoid sugar, High fructose corn syrup, potatoes, white floor, rice, corn. Be wary of fruit, especially juice.

There are good books out there that help, I'm sure others will post with names - or you can find them in other threads. I'm blanking on the names right now.

Please ask lots of questions...

[davef]

Welcome to the forums, it is a great place for information and support.

Ellie has given you great advice about testing. In relation to replacing the "meat and potatoes, bread and butter" diet. It's the potatoes and bread part you need to watch in relation to controlling blood sugars. The meat is generally fine. Personally I wouldn't be able to handle 60g carbs per meal but that's were the testing comes in, as it lets you learn how many (an what type) of carbs you can tolerate.

One of the books I would recommend is "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes" by Gretchen Becker. I found it very informative and easy to read.

Visit often, ask lots of questions, by the sound of things you are on the right track to tackle taking control.

[ShottleBop]

And bookmark Blood Sugar 101.

[shutterbug]

Hello and welcome to DF. Ellie has answered your questions already.

Replace your meat with lean meat (fat trimmed) and chicken/turkey. Replace your bread with whole grain and low carb breads. You can still eat potatoes but in very small quantities. First thing that most of us with D think/thought is that we had to give up our favorite food. That's not entirely true. (Well, if someone's favorite food is a jar of sugar, then its true )

Portion control is key. Just keep your portions small. Adding vegitables, fruits and greens helps keep your BS in check. (you may want to check with your doc or nutrionist on what veggies and fruits you can add). Cut down on snacking on high carb stuff (chips etc). Also, as others here mentioned, test test test.. testing a lot especially during initial months after diagnosis is key. It tells you which foods your body handles better. Your a1c of 7.7 isin't that bad. Metformin will also help you loose weight (for most of us it did). Brisk walking that you are doing is great. 30 minutes a day does a lot of good. Loosing 5% of your body weight improves your BS numbers. Keep doing what you are doing. Come here often and chat with us or post your questions.


Good luck to you

[ARW]

Thanks all. I just got a 7.4 on waking this morning!

[Cassini]

Good morning ARW and conga-rats on your morning sugars and a hearty Welcome from mid Vancouver Island!
As you can already see from the responses, this is a great and informative site with people passing knowledge back and forth, compassion and caring for each others plight and endless information including what to read, links etc. Here are a couple I use everyday for further reading. Once again, Welcome!

Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com Great to find out what is in what foods you are eating

Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. A Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. Official Web Site This one is amazing, full book available to buy or read online.

Health Information, Resources, Tools, & News Online -- EverydayHealth.com Another good one where you can enter your entire daily intake and it does the math for you! (plus test test test, as everyone says

[ARW]

Thanks Cassini. Good luck with your results. I've made the websites faves. Thanks again!

[fgummett]

I agree with most of the above... especially cut right down on your carbs. Except for the "lean" meat suggestion... I believe that fat is not only an important part of what we eat but will also help to keep you feeling full for longer, slowing the digestion/release of any carbs you do eat and helping you maintain stable BS levels... fat is NOT the daemon we have all been led to believe. Check out the links in this thread...

[kgm0612]

Welcome to the forum, ARW.

My advice.........test often, lower your carb intake, keep a log of what foods you're eating so you'll know how those foods effect your blood sugars, and keep up the exercise.

Karen

[TeeJaxx]

Welcome Fellow 'Pegger!!
Theresa

[ARW]

Thanks all! Still waiting for dietician appointment.

What about V8 juice for us veggie haters? 1 can has
70 calories
710mg sodium
710mg potassium
14g carbs
3g fibre
10g sugar

Hey Theresa, is Dreamland pasta to be found in the Peg?
Art

[Cassini]

Good morning art and thanks for the thoughts and glad you checked out those sites.

I clicked on the dreamland pasta ad and there is a store locator there, I typed in my postal code and they found 3 in my area. Healthfood stores all of them. So I would recommend doing the same thing to find one nearby you in the city.
Good luck with your dietician and finding what you need,\
Cass

[ARW]

Hey Cass:
I've been waiting for a dietician appointment for 2 weeks now. It seems like not a big deal for them, just for us. Time to light some fires under some butts. I hope you get into DEC soon, but you're already on the right track by being in here.

The pasta website just has US locations as far as I can get.

Art

[soso]

Hi Arw welcome!
and Cass...I live on Vancouver island too!