Good diet links>>

[kingleonidas]

Does anyone have some good info on diets, diet links and information pages? Thanks!!

[Subby]

Is this for weight loss - do you mean "diets" as in, go on a diet and lose some weight, then go back to regularly scheduled eating habits?

Or do you mean "diets" as in, different ways to eat all the time? What goals have you got? For example, are you talking about dietary advice with avoiding blood sugar spikes?

Let us know more what you are actually after!

[kingleonidas]

Diets...ways to eat for diabetics, looking for some good stuff so I don't have to eat the same old stuff everyday.

I am at 172-174, don't want to lose anymore weight.

Went from 210 to this weight, doc says it ws from the onset of diabetes. Still figuring out which one.

Thanks for theinfo.

[kingleonidas]

Yes, I want to eat good foods, but still have assortments to choose from.

I found this link......Diabetic Diet Sample Plan, Meal, Menus and Recipes (http://www.diabeticdietfordiabetes.com/)

and this link.....Carbohydrate Counter (http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/)

What do you guys think?

[Subby]

I don't really have any particular links to post. Not because there is not a lot of info out there, some of it probably great and valid, but just that I've developed my own diet according to a few things:

- keeping my BG controllable (with insulin, as a T1)
- keeping what I feel are shown to be negative to health in the way of refined carbs and processed foods, to a minimum.
- Eating a variety of natural foods such as quality meat, fish, vegetables and fruit with the primary condition they don't spike me beyond what my insulin can reasonably handle.

As how we spike to foods seems a very individual thing, I consider the diabetic diet individual for all diabetics. You guide is your tester. Helpful resources are nutritional information sources that inform you of the likes of carbs and fats (like the carb counter link, there are a few. Another is CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more (http://www.calorieking.com)) and considering what other diabetics find, in order to focus on what to test yourself.

The glycemic index might be another help to focussing on good or bad food choices - it indicates what testing on a range of people suggests the speed at which a particuar food spikes. But these are to be taken with a big grain of salt, your tester will have the real say. The best intro and writup and lists of the GI values of food, is found on David Mendosa's blog site. You can search and find it easily.

Do you carb count and dose accordingly? If your control is not the best, that would be a fantastic positive step to try to align your doses with food better. Being more aware of carb content, and what spikes, may lead to your own conclusions about how many carbs you should be eating in a given meal. For example, I find I can deal with 30g of not-too fast carbs, but 50g+ and I run a regular risk of a bad post meal BG outcome.

I know that may not be exactly what you are after, but it's my answer to your question. Good luck making good food and dosage choices.

[kingleonidas]

Thanks for the info. As my doc is still testing to find out which one I have, I am only on 7 units lantus, now switched to 9 for better numbers. Not meaning to offend, but I am praying to Dear God that I have type 2 as that seems to be easier to contend with as far as management. Diabetes is diabetes, whichever one you have, but I'm scared to death that as far as counting carbs, and numbers..I hate that stuff, but will eat what is much healthier for diabetics, stick to my meds, test, and see what my body allows and what it does not like, and then change accordingly.

Not knowing yet is the worst of all, but either way, still scared as a bugger !!

[Subby]

From hanging out on diabetes boards for quite some time and talking and reading lots of posts from both types, I can genuinely say that in my opinion it's not at all a clear case of one type over the other as far as ease of dealing. Some T2s find it a breeze. Some T1s find it a breeze. Some T2s find it a slog. Some T1s find it a slog. Both can have such a huge variety for different people... and not just the practical aspects, which can vary wildly, but the psychological coping, which varies just as much...

But that said, I hope whatever the underlying causes of your diabetes, you find the answers to integrate management and can get on with your life with a minimum of fuss. With the experimental attitude that comes through your words, I'd say you are well equipped.

[soso]

Hi,
Don't be scared, life goes on... counting carbs is second nature after a while, you count your change in your pocket and don't think twice right? We all think we eat hundreds of different foods but we really don't, you will soon learn to scope out your fave foods and their carb counts.
I like this site for nutrition data , but there are plenty of similar sites.
Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com (http://www.nutritiondata.com)

As to the sample diabetic diet mentioned on your link.. not that they were suggesting anything wrong for you, but if I ate the starch and the fruit with very little fat (esp if I did not want to lose weight) at the same meal I might expect a bit of a high bg... my advice is prepare nice looking meals, easy on the white starchy foods, go crazy with as much green veg as you like (waahayy!) add some fruit if you like, but choose fibre filled ones such as apples pears berries..then test test test....2hrs and see which foods work best for you.

If food boredom is your problem, pm me an email address and I will send you a pdf of low carb recipes..

Good luck

[kingleonidas]

Thanks,,my biggest fear is being diagnosed as type 1 and worrying about lows while I am asleep and ca't do anything about it. THIS scares me the most. The treatments and carb counting I will eventually get used too, as a newbie, hypo scares the heck out of me more that hyper.

[Subby]

I'm not saying "don't worry about it" as if it is nothing - that's silly, of course diabetes and BG problems are issues to confront and deal with - but talking about insulin dependency and hypos etc, once in the process of dealing with blood sugars, you get the real picture, not just your impressions of how it works. And I think it's safe to say that while some do have specific issues with night time hypos and hypo unawareness, there are two things many learn to if not trust, at least recognise are likely there to help.

One, is that if it's a severe hypo, many people find they do wake up, and learn that they can act, get to food etc. No, not everyone. But a lot of people.

Two, if you go low, chances are your liver will release glucose to counteract it, the body has a very strong survival instinct and mechanism in place. The liver stores a lot of glucose normally... it can pump a lot out.

Without those things I'm pretty sure we'd see a lot more about insulin dependent diabetics dying in their sleep. We don't, because I'd say it's really rare.

The real exceptions that might bypass these things, are if the dosages are a great deal too strong. That shouldn't happen if due care to work out doses. Or, if older, "peaky" insulin is being used. Which there would be no reason for you to use.

So with a certain amount of basic care and good sense, night hypos really are not usually a big worry about for a lot of T1s. (Yes, as always, there are definitely exceptions). But I am keenly aware, that they sound extremely scary and that until you were to get first hand experience of how insulin and BG control works, it's likely to remain a fear.

[viranth]

Mark's Daily Apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com) is a great resource for anyone with diabetes.

I've tried this for periods and it really works well.