Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on May 24, 2012 at 12:33pm

Hi,

I also eat fruit, chocolate and yogurt every day although I also include some bread and legumes as well. Rice, bread and potatoes don't add anything to your diet that you can't get from other sources and I certainly wouldn't consider a diet that eliminates them to be unhealthy on its face.

Maurie

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 24, 2012 at 12:38pm

Is there a problem with your "o" key? It's a bit hard to ready when you use zero for o. Anyway,your dieticians are, as it seems you realized, totally wrong. they "insist that I eat rice, potato and bread..." WHY?? It sounds like your diet is working well for you in terms of blood sugar and weight. And you are happy with your food choices. If you can manage to balance the happy part and the important results than, imho, it's all good!!

I think we all make choices to both manage our blood sugar but keep us happy food-wise. If yours work for you, then why would you change? It's not like they are urging you to eat more healthy choices - rice, potato and bread have little nutritional value. Your management may change when your honeymoon ends, but you can worry about that when you get there.

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Permalink Reply by Randy on May 24, 2012 at 12:50pm

I would say you are on the right track. Rice, bread and potatoes are not foods that work well for me or for most PWD. Yes, there are foods that I no longer eat (or even want to eat) and some that I only eat rarely and in small amounts. You need to find the foods that both work for you and satisfy your taste. I eat about 100 carbs per day. Like you I narrowed my food choices to gain control. I have gradually experimented and added back in more foods as I found how they affect my BG. One thing that has worked well for me is a small amount of sweet potato at some meals. I try to eat in a way that lets me use the least amount of insulin each day. The starchy foods you are being advised to eat would make it much harder to control your BG.

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on May 24, 2012 at 1:04pm

Thanks so much for your replies! ive learned so much frm this site, and it has also made me pose so many more questions regarding diabetes and all the craziness of it. my diet is so samey but im enjoying it and its second nature now to eat like this.

the only thing i miss desperately is chocolate cereal. i often wander down the cereal aisle with a nostalgia for food maybe only experienced by diabetics and gluten free peeps. i really hope theres a cure while im alive because i will spend that first week eating pizza and sugary chocolatey goodness in all its forms! so tedious all this self control on the chocky front.... :/

and yeah, zoe, must get this "o" fixed. c0pying and pasting it is a pain!!

thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Shawnmarie on May 24, 2012 at 1:28pm

I eat sugar free Greek yogurt, an apple, and a very small bit of dark chocolate almost every day. I eat about 100 g of carb a day, so I also have room for whole wheat bread on most days as it doesn't pose a problem for me and I can do oatmeal as well. I've learned that rice isn't worth the problems it causes and white bread is usually not on the meal plan. I don't think there's anything wrong with the food choices you're making.

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Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on May 24, 2012 at 3:01pm

I am a T2 not on insulin so my situation is somewhat different than yours. I follow the "eat to your meter" system which means I initially tested frequently and eliminated the foods that caused me to go over my target of <140(7.8). I have completely eliminated all grains, potatoes, legumes(except peanuts in small quantities) and fruit (except Berries. Lots of people around here follow a similar diet with no ill effects and I've been on it 2.75 years and feel fine. For chocolate I stick to one or two squares of 70% or greater which has a minimal effect on my blood sugar. I once did a quick internet survey to see if there were any nutrients I could only get from grain and found none as long as I included veggies especially green leafy ones, meat, fish, and nuts, so I think it's safe to ignore the advice about bread, rice etc. Good luck I think you are on the right track.

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Permalink Reply by Super_sally on May 25, 2012 at 2:45am

Reckon your approach is good! Hope that you do also get carbs from coloured and non-starchy veges though.

I think the advice eat to your meter is great, and you'll find out from this what works and what doesn't.

I have to limit fruit portions, as they can make things rise - though in moderation they're good.

The biggest challenge for me is avoiding grains... and it is the most important to keep things stable.

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on May 25, 2012 at 6:28am

thanks sally! i get loads of green and colourful veg as my lunch and dinner is almost always a massive salad. samey, samey... im really a newbie and maybe this is a dumb question, but do you actually bolus f0r salads?

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Permalink Reply by Super_sally on May 25, 2012 at 7:20am

Hi,

we're all individual on what we can get away with and what we have to bolus for.

So you'll have to experiment and see if you need to or not for a salad. Sometimes it is also portion size related. Sometimes time of day can make a difference. Eating fats also helps slow things down.

I am lucky enough to see be honeymooning and generally have no need to bolus for salads or non-starchy veges. I don't like salads... but love cooked veges of all types...

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 25, 2012 at 9:48am

Yes, I bolus for salads. I generally bolus for 10 carbs for a nice size but not huge salad (2 cups of raw vegies).

The only time I run into lows is when I bolus for lots of cooked vegies, like say a stir fry (I'm a vegetarian so other than tofu and maybe nuts that's all that is in the stir fry). I always accurately do carb counts for either a single dinner or stew type things made ahead in larger amounts. I count 5 per cup for raw and 10 per cup for cooked. But as I say at times with lots of vegies the bolus seems to be too much. (Probably because I measure before I cook and some vegies shrink more)

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on May 25, 2012 at 10:11am

it sounds like when i get out of the honeym00n im g0nna have t0 b0lus f0r everything...really afraid 0f the clinical phase, would just like to stay in the comfy honeymoon bit. i wish i knew how crazy it was gonna get...
if you cook the veg d0 you measure it before or after? i weigh things.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 25, 2012 at 10:46am

It will definitely be an adjustment, but hopefully you will get used to the new I:C ratios that work for you.

Personally I measure my vegies before I cook, just for convenience. But I think doing it after is probably more accurate. If I'm making a large batch of something that is only vegies, I tend to just reduce the count of each a bit, especially the kind of vegies that shrink a lot like eggplants and mushrooms. Not very scientific, I know. A lot of people say weighing is more accurate, but to me that's more of a pita and when you are using carb counts from lists or labels you have to translate, so I stick with measuring. I think whatever system you use, as long as you are consistent, your I:C ratio will have been adjusted for it.

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