Is Subway okay? [Archive] - Diabetes Forums

DietCokeKid

06-22-2007, 01:14 PM

Hello everyone!

I was diagnosed with type II a couple of days ago, it's been a difficult change. I commute to work, so I have eat out usually.

I was wondering if anyone had tried a subway club on the wrap bread, I just had one filled with meat/cheese/veggies -- it was kind of bland bread, but the nutrition info looked like what my Doc recomended.

My main question is right now I'm in a lowering phase. I was getting readings close to 400, now I'm usually 200 in the morning before eating and can spike up to 270, considering that I'm still lowering is this a BAD spike?:o

princesslinda

06-22-2007, 01:39 PM

Welcome DK Kid! Glad you found the forum. Lots of good info here.

Regarding Subway, I've had their wraps a couple of times without problems.
There's a great website "dietfacts.com" that lists restaurants and their menus to include carbs and fiber and fat. If we're going out to eat, I look up the menu and decide ahead of time what i'm having....less temptation to be bad that way. Calorie King also has a book and website you might want to refer to. I've printed out menus from our favorite places and keep them in the car to refer to if we're out and about and decide to eat.

What meds are you currently on?

Sounds like your #'s are moving in the right direction, but still have a ways to go. I was told to aim for 140 or less 2 hrs after the first bite of my meals. Fasting goal was 110 or less.

I would also encourage you to exercise regularly and watch your carb intakes, avoiding bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sugar, esp. here at first while your #'s are higher than you want.

Do you have a monitor? If not, get one and test often. 2 hrs after your first bite of food is good, as you'll see the effect certain foods have on your blood sugar and be able to make better choices. If you take your blood sugar before having subway then 2 hrs after, you'll see what it does to your blood sugar. Everyone reacts differently to different foods. Breads are a BIG no-no for me personally. The wraps are a better choice, but they also offer salad with everything you'd put on your sandwich minus the bread.

Post often, read and learn all you can about diabetes. As another poster once said, "diabetes is not a death sentance, but it is a life sentance." With proper care, you can have a happy and healthy life, but there are some adjustments that must be made.

Again, welcome to the "family."

Linda

DietCokeKid

06-22-2007, 01:44 PM

Thank you. It means a lot to know I'm not going through this alone. I do have a monitor, and I try to measure about 4 times daily. I am on Januvia right now, and my doctor thinks if I can get my weight down (I'm a large man...) that i should be able to control my diebetes with diet and exercise alone.

panda1076

06-22-2007, 01:51 PM

i used to eat at Subway a lot at my old job. When i was diagnosed, I started eating the low carb wrap. Previously i was eating there multiple times a week. But once I switched to the low carb wrap, i couldn't take it more than once every other week... the wrap was like elasticy and tasteless! but the regular bread definitely skyrockets the BG...

D'Angelos also has a low carb wrap. you could try those subs/wraps.

princesslinda

06-22-2007, 01:52 PM

Sounds like you're on the right track! Don't get discouraged. I'm a "big girl" myself. Since my diagnosis last fall, i'm down 56 lbs (give or take a pound, depending on the day) and still have aroud 80 more to go. I just tell myself that I didn't get the weight overnight, so won't come off that quickly either.

It's a great goal to be diet/exercise controlled and many here are able to do just that. I mentioned to my doc at the last visit that i'd like to go off my metformin or decrease it and he said it was up to me, but longterm studies show that it slows the progress of T2, so it's something I'm going to have to really think about.

There's a great book you should read that I found VERY helpful. "Type II Diabetes, The First Year," by Gretchen Becker. Amazon.com has it for around $12.I got mine at Borders. It has a lot of well-written, easy to understand information for the new diabetic. The author herself is a T2.

Just after diagnosis, seems we are on diabetic overload. I promise things get easier as time passes. Your weight loss will help a great deal. My A1C at diagnosis was 9.6 and is now 5.4, so I can promise you a larger person CAN manage to live with diabetes. Don't get discouraged, just take it day at a time and you'll do fine.

I didn't respond to your question about acceptable spikes, but I have read that you shouldn't go up over 50 points after a meal.

When first diagnosed, I kept a food journal, listing everything I put in my mouth and what the corresponding #'s were. After about a month of this, I had a good idea of what different foods did to my blood sugar. I don't write things down anymore, but I do test 4-5 times a day...gives me a feeling of control.

Take care,
Linda

shockme

06-22-2007, 02:58 PM

welcome dietcokekid!food affects each of us differently.try a single food item and then test 2 hrs.after to see if you can eat it or not.take care,trish

Kubilee

06-22-2007, 03:33 PM

I had one of the Subway subs on whole wheat night before last and it didn't spike me too much, maybe a few points but not like I expected it to. I was told I can't have white bread anymore, but that I could have whole grain breads and such in reasonable quantities. I had a 6" one and it was ok on my blood sugar, I think it spiked me like 10pts or whatever you call it.

I just got diagnosed a little over a month ago myself and since I have been on this board, I have picked up and learned so very much. Stick around here, READ READ READ, and ask lots of questions, they will help you with just about anything. They have been awesome to me and without them I think I would have been jumping off a cliff right now..... not literally, but I was feeling pretty desperate until I found this place.

I can't even think of enough good things to say about these people and I have only been here about a week or so.

Stick to it, it does get better and you can and will survive this.

If it helps you, I was diagnosed on May 11,07 with blood sugar up to almost 400 too, and I am down to an average of 100, and largely due to info I have gotten here. ;) I diet, excercise and DO NOT stress.... :)

mzteacher

06-22-2007, 11:09 PM

kubilee....those are great numbers in a short time! are you on meds?? what diet exercise things are you doing??
thanks...
susan

Kubilee

06-22-2007, 11:29 PM

Thank you, mzteacher.... I have been very diligent about this, I don't want to be one of those people that has a family that worries, lord knows they all have enough to worry about.

Meds, I take Actoplus Met 15/500 in the morning and with my evening meal.

I was told to eat 5-6 meals a day, and reluctantly I do. I am SO not food motivated so it's been tough cramming down all that food everyday, but I do it.

I don't eat ANY white bread at all, none, if it has a bun, I take the bun off, unless I get a burger, which I might eat once a week. It is whole grain or those wraps or things like that.

Precious little pasta, which is extremely tough on me as that's one of my favorites, but Doc said no, so I don't eat it but like once a week. If more, it is early in the day.

Absolutely NO sugar, none. If it has added sugar, I won't touch it. I eat no sugar added or like in my juices or something like that, I only drink the natural kind, nothing with any added sugars at all. LOTS of wholesome and natural foods.

The Doc said no potatoes, but I found out about a week ago after close watching that they don't spike me so I eat them, just in very close moderation.

My sister in law is a nurse/dietician and she told me if I have to have pasta, or white bread or something like that to always eat a green veggie with it, this slows down the digestion of the pasta or bread and won't spike me.

And I monitor, very very closely.. three times a day.

I am very much into veggies and fruits and not sweet motivated at all, so it hasn't been the struggle on me that it is with some, which I am fortunate in.

I also excercise 3 times a week on my excercise bike, 2 miles each time, and everyday I walk.... whether it is just outside with the kids or around the house, I walk alot. I also have a mitral valve prolapse so I am not allowed to do anything but low impact excercising.

I went one from eating not SO bad to eating VERY well, and from being stagnat (sp?) to moving around, literally overnight. I was hellbent on getting hold of this before it got a hold on me any further.

Lastly, and I thik most importantly, I have an amazing support system. My husband and my kids all have adapted to me so there are very precious few temptations even in my house anymore. The great thing about my house is when one of our diets change, we ALL change.... out of support and respect.

Kubilee

06-22-2007, 11:43 PM

Disclaimer on the above post:

I am not knocking people who aren't as "diligent", or have loved ones that do not take care of themselves with this "life sentence" we have been handed, I just simply meant that I don't want to give MY family more to worry about than the world already throws at them. It wasn't a personal attack to anyone, because I know alot of people cannot manage it so well, for whatever reason.

I just wanted that clear, I don't bash people lik that.

GhostRydr

06-23-2007, 08:45 AM

Sounds like you are doing great. I was diagnosed begining of May.

Like Linda, I keep a food journal, and record everything, and I mean everything I consume, including glasses of water :)

I in turn asked my doctor, a GP, to refer me to a dietician that is diabetes knowledgable. I was over eating proteins and not enough veggies and fruits in my diet. I also was told to avoid deli meats more so as they are fattier than say making my own roast.

I need to lose some weight, and currently the doctor has me controling things thru diet and excercise.

When I stop for a sub like sandwich, I go to Jimmy Johns. They are not nationwide i dont' think, but they make a lettuce wrap out of any sub. It's a great treat for me.

Does sound like you are doing well and working hard, best of luck.

mzteacher

06-23-2007, 03:28 PM

kubilee,
thanks for your quick response! it is great that you are doing so well! i was diagnosed later in may...still working on getting my numbers down!
thanks again,
susan

Stuboy

06-24-2007, 04:32 PM

I eat what i like, when i like!!

My blood sugars are fine.

Subway have a nutrition sheet, if they dont, ask for one, work out your carb:insulin ratio and inject for it.

Cyborg

06-24-2007, 07:58 PM

The bread from the subway sandwiches can spike my bg. If I eat a sub, I'll try to pre-bolus or use Symlin to help control the spike. Otherwise, the salads are great and very easy on my bg... :star:

kgm0612

06-25-2007, 07:46 AM

Dietcokekid......Anyway you can pack your own lunch rather than eating out every day?

Karen

DietCokeKid

06-25-2007, 10:37 AM

Yes, I'm just Lazy.. I mean busy... But yes, I am going to start doing that.

kgm0612

06-26-2007, 07:15 AM

LOL...........I know what you're saying!

I used to order out all the time at work but it was getting expensive and my meal choices were not the best. I now pack a lunch every night before bed. I'm saving a ton of money and I pretty much know how many carbs I'm consuming in that meal.

Good luck!

Karen

jerryn

06-26-2007, 06:39 PM

Subway isn't good for me, even the wheat bread.
I will spike me big time!

barko

07-03-2007, 03:43 PM

Subway isn't good for me, even the wheat bread.
I will spike me big time!Big dittos here - I had to go Subway today for a lunch meeting so I thought I would try a wrap. Sent me to the moon - over 190

ladytaz

07-03-2007, 03:55 PM

Just for reference sake: My dietician told me that a SIX inch subway sandwich has about 45g carbs in it. Of course, this does depend upon what "else" you put on it besides the meat.

Cyborg

07-03-2007, 04:03 PM

Just for reference sake: My dietician told me that a SIX inch subway sandwich has about 45g carbs in it. Of course, this does depend upon what "else" you put on it besides the meat.

Yep, 48g of carbs is what I read on their nutritional info and that's what I bolus for when I eat a Subway. As far as the extras, the protein in the meat and cheese affects me more than lettuce and tomatoes...

volleyball

07-10-2007, 06:16 AM

A lots of the meats do have carbs in them, they add corn syrup to many cheap cuts. I never buy the prepackaged meats anymore. You need to find a good deli or make your own. You can make a sandwich minus the bread the night before in a lunch bag and bread in another bag and combine just before eating. That will eliminate the soggy bread syndrome and the early morning rush.

ubergeek

07-10-2007, 07:11 AM

I do so much better with managing my blood sugars when I take my lunch vs. eating out. I think it also has to do with portion size as well as food/quality.

Funnygrl

07-10-2007, 07:49 PM

I like Subway. Their food is way lower cal than any other fast food place, they make nutrition facts readily available, it's clean, and you can get fresh veggies.

sweetcheeks

07-11-2007, 07:26 AM

I can eat subway with little rise, it really depends on you.

I'll put it this way..... its alot healthier than other restaurants. So if you want subway go for it IMO

But i've been blasted before for even suggesting thing like this.

Janet_M

08-05-2007, 11:10 AM

I haven't tried Subway yet... I was diagnosed in April. The good thing about Subway is the salad option, which is still yummy! There is a Subway on site at my work, but I still just pack my lunch, because I've been able to control my numbers really well, and I don't want to rock the boat. For sandwiches, I found a really good bread with 9 carbs (Sara Lee Delightful Wheat) 45 calories 1g sugar per slice. I have a sandwich with 1 slice of turkey, 1 slice of cheese and lettuce, and I have a couple of cherub tomatoes on the side instead of chips. So far so good with that lunch. When I get sick of it, I guess I'll try something new :cool:

Cyborg

08-05-2007, 05:43 PM

I eat subway quite a bit. I even eat the subs. I went to Quiznos last week and had no clue how many carbs were in their regular sized italian sub. I guess 1.5 times what the equivalent sized sub would be at Subway, then a little extra extended bolus to top it off. 2 hours later, I was above 200!!! :(

I will not eat a Quiznos sub ever again...

mongoose

01-08-2009, 03:34 PM

I know not everyone with have this luxury, but if you can, work out right before lunch.

I'm lucky enough to work at a university, so, I leave for lunch and go work out at one of the gym's on campus; ~30min of weight lifting and then 25-45 minutes of running on the treadmill. (just recently started running longer than 25 minutes). I've found when I run for > 30 minutes I can basically eat anything (within reason) for quite a while. monday my bg's were around 85 for the rest of that day and the day after (even after meals). That was after a footlong prime rib and pepperjack, lettuce, onions, olives, pickles and jalapeno peppers with the spicy southwest chipotle sauce (which i'm sure isn't good -- tastes waaay too good), and then meatloaf and green beans for dinner

I used to hit subway 3-5 times a week, now it's maybe once or twice at most (usually none), but i really like the steak and cheese. I've read some stuff that their wheat bread (which is what i get now) isn't 100% whole wheat, but it's still gotta be better than the italian. I just got an email from them saying they have a new 9 grain 100% whole wheat bread coming out, so maybe that'll be better (and hopefully considerably lower than 45g of carbs!)

good luck figuring out how this affects your body, and like I said, try to get as much exercise as possible as it really does help immediately (and you'll probably drop some pounds)

Handybear

01-08-2009, 03:43 PM

I got the following information from a website:

Surprise Ingredients in Fast Food (http://www.naturalnews.com/022194.html)

There is more information about other fast food there also.

Subway

If a sandwich is advertised as healthy, one would expect that the bread would be whole grain. Not so with Subway’s wheat bread. While it does have some whole wheat flour, it’s the third ingredient, listed just before high fructose corn syrup [4]. None of Subway’s breads are whole grain. Ammonium sulfate (a fertilizer) is also added. Unfinished sandwiches may be composted. The bread also contains azodicarbonamide.

From Wikipedia:

Use of azodicarbonamide as a food additive is banned in Australia. In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive has identified azodicarbonamide as a respiratory sensitiser (a possible cause of asthma) and determined that products should be labeled with May cause sensitisation by inhalation [5].

Most of the meats at Subway contain MSG and/or sodium nitrite.

Mich

01-08-2009, 04:14 PM

My Subway has a sign that any 6" sub can be made into a salad for the same price. I order a tuna salad with an extra scoop of tuna for .50. I ask for salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Sometimes I even treat myself to one of their no fat italian dressings...It fills me right up with no spike.

We diabetics know how to live, don't we? :T

ant hill

01-08-2009, 09:08 PM

I see that subway is just like any other fast food outlet that uses transfats to keep foods longer and the sauces are jam packed with sugar and what ever they put in. In their ad say "eat fresh" LOL yeah right as they try to pull the other leg.
It's a glorified sandwich shop in my opinion. Sorry folks. :)

Mich

01-09-2009, 09:10 AM

Hey, Anthill. You're right. And it isn't even glorified!

It is on my list of second-tier places for a quick bite when I don't have time to think through the entire nutritional picture. Tuna involves no sauces. They use low-fat mayo, which contains some sugar, but all else seems to be in order with a tuna salad. There is the fact that I overload mine with peppercinis and olives :eek:

Now, the dolphin issue, the big business issue, the stuff in the fat-free dressing issue...

Ya can't win 'em all sometimes, I guess.

boxerfamily

01-09-2009, 01:10 PM

I am vegan so if I am desperate and Subway is the only way. ;)
I get just the veggies with no mayo.

I believe that the more number of processes that food goes through the less nutrients it has. This may be a fact, but I am unsure so I will put it as an opinion. Even if I were to eat meat, I wouldn't have their meat as high on my list. It is extremely processed with very little nutritional value. Even their wheat bread has little nutrition.

Fast food is mostly worthless, but I think people feel that if they go to Subway they are taking the lesser of two evils. I am not sure they are.

btw I know that most breads are not vegan, but this would be in an extreme circumstance.

art

01-09-2009, 02:57 PM

Here's Subway's food analysis.

Official SUBWAY Restaurants' Nutrition Information (http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/index.aspx)

Art

Eric Linscheid

01-10-2009, 04:34 PM

Hi DK kid.

Blood sugar spikes are directly related to the carbs you eat. Duh. You know that. However, there is a measuring tool that can give you the "overall expected blood sugar rise". The tool is based on the type of carb + the amount. It is called the glycemic load (GL). Think of this as how much insulin (or oral medication) your body needs to keep that blood sugar in range.

So . . . . . . . The Harvard Medical School, Dept of Nutrition recommends GL's of low (below 10) to medium (11-19) for everyone.

Subway: salads are from 3- to about 9.
Sandwiches range from 22-29.

My recommendation: get a Mini (4 inches) at GL 15, or a salad with chicken soup.

You can get GL's at Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com (http://www.nutritiondata.com)

Good luck. SOunds like you're going in the right direction.

PattiM

01-10-2009, 05:36 PM

Welcome Dietcokekid!

When you are first diagnosed, everything can be very overwhelming. You will find lots of excellent tips and advice here. As for your question on Subway, I can eat a 6" oven roasted chicken breast on wheat and it doesn't spike me much, but I inject insulin (insulin/carb ratio) and Symlin which has a lot more flexibility than oral meds. You might want to try whatever appeals to you with meter readings before and 2 hours after you eat to see how it affects your BG.

Here is a great nutrition breakdown from Subway of their menu items to aid you in finding out what you can and cannot eat there.

Subway Nutrition Info (http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/pdf/NutritionValues.pdf)

It takes a little while to get it down, but you will feel more in control after you know what spikes you and what doesn't.

JediSkipdogg

01-10-2009, 05:56 PM

You can eat ANYWHERE you want...if you know what you are eating. Look at the content in food, look at what you are ordering and how much. I love how many people have gotten suckered and tied into the entire $5 sub craze, in Cincinnat we have Subway, Quizno's, and Jersey Mike (although theirs is $7 for the equivalent but it's much larger) and they eat the entire sub at one sitting. That's almost not healthy at all. So for me, I eat there for lunch, half is lunch, the other half is dinner, much healthier. And always on wheat bread.

uhoh

01-16-2009, 02:53 PM

I avoid Subway..the last time I ate there I got a tuna on whole wheat and my levels went the highest I've ever had. So, needless to say, bread is totally out of my diet.

mazea

01-16-2009, 03:15 PM

I love subway especially the chicken teriaki on the cheese bread. Many of the 6 inch subs are about 56g carbs which is what I eat for lunch anyway. I don't get much of a spike in my blood sugars an avoid the spike by having the higher fat Old English cheese- it slow down the GI.

Carbs are good for you if you can eat them without complications.

JerryD

07-28-2009, 10:33 PM

I am new at this and I am still trying to find out what's best for me when I have fast food for lunch. I check my blood sugar before meals and at night. Before lunch it was 173. I had a 6 inch roast beef on whole wheat at Subway with chips and a Diet Coke for lunch. Before dinner it was 70. This seems to happen when I eat lunch at Subway. The results at Taco Bell are not as good but not really too bad. Pizza and garlic bread puts me over 200. Ice cream is a disaster which I did not expect. I have whole grain cereal with low fat milk and no added sugar along with orange juice for breakfast. This was supposed to help lower cholesterol but it's playing havoc with my blood sugar. I thought OJ was good for you but now I am not sure.

ShottleBop

07-28-2009, 11:05 PM

OJ is amost pure sugar. Fruit juices, in general, are not the best choice for Type 2s. Many of us find that the lactose (milk sugar) in milk and the carbs in cereal spike our blood sugars unacceptably.

Check out Blood Sugar 101. Click on "How to Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control."

mongoose

07-29-2009, 08:58 AM

even the 9 grain whole wheat at subway will send you up a bit, everyone's different, but bread in general is going to do it. I try to always skip the chips though. Juice kills me. If you have to have some, mix 4oz with 4-10oz of water.
t-bell or any fast food place is pretty much going to be terrible for you, i think their meat products have sugar in them.... Pizza is about the worst thing i can eat, and really it's the only thing i miss. The lower the fat in milk, the more sugar it has in it, so you have to count it in. did they put you on a statin right away for your cholesterol? i reacted really well immediately to mine, so i'm not as concerned about the high-fat foods (which makes this new diet a lot easier for me), i've replaced candybars and chips with beef sticks, some cheese, and mixed nuts. it's certainly not a snickers bar, but i think i got used to it pretty quick.

good luck finding out what works for you, and keep at it!

Grand

08-04-2009, 02:33 AM

Dietcokekid......Anyway you can pack your own lunch rather than eating out every day?

Karen
Hi there, everybody is alittle diffrent, I'm very active not overweight.I'm a type 2 diabetic for 13 years and oral meds. worked till July 09.I am now on insulin to control my bg.Please read as much as poss. like what is called the honeymoon period the first year or so your body will respond well to oral meds. Diabetes run in my family.I tried not to go on insulin but got to the point were I wasn't eating enought and that will cause your bg to up.Sorry about my rambling on I'll go now.Your on the right track being well informed is your best way to contol diabetes.

dbaratta

08-04-2009, 04:54 AM

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if anyone had tried a subway club on the wrap bread, I just had one filled with meat/cheese/veggies -- it was kind of bland bread, but the nutrition info looked like what my Doc recomended.

My main question is right now I'm in a lowering phase. I was getting readings close to 400, now I'm usually 200 in the morning before eating and can spike up to 270, considering that I'm still lowering is this a BAD spike?:o

I can only eat subway if I bolus (fast acting insulin) and I have to take at least 15 units for a 6" sub. Bread is a killer for me but everyone is different. You will have to experiment with foods to know how you will react to them.

dbaratta

08-04-2009, 04:55 AM

I avoid Subway..the last time I ate there I got a tuna on whole wheat and my levels went the highest I've ever had. So, needless to say, bread is totally out of my diet.

Me too. Even healthy high fiber bread is bad for me.:mad:

fgummett

08-04-2009, 05:47 AM

Me too. Even healthy high fiber bread is bad for me.:mad:Most store bought or factory-processed "bread" is going to be chiefly refined/concentrated carbohydrates... even so-called "whole-wheat" is often little more than white flour with some stuff added back in.

For me the real test of a grain is how long it will store -- in the depths of my kitchen cupboard I have an opened bag of organic whole-wheat flour from a local grocery chain. I had not touched that bag for at least a year... maybe two (hey I live the bachelor life!)... but the other day I shook the bag and the flour is as loose and dry as ever. Real whole-grain would have gone to mould within days of being left open to the air. So consider this: if not even microbes recognise this as food, then why the heck are we eating it? :confused: