Diet & Exercise

[easyas123]

Let me try one more time..

Have you tried writing down what you might normally have eaten in a day - honestly eaten - and then get an approximate carb count from that and going from there?
For instance, lets say a normal day saw you consuming (and I'm just using round numbers here) 100g per day, why not set a modest goal of next week cutting that by 20%? and so on and so forth. Simply cutting down your before normal intake will at least get you started until you can see the RD.
At the very least, it is a start. It's 'cutting the carbs" in a tangible way, and even if you find out it's not enough after a consult with the RD, you will have started the process. Sometimes the first few steps are the hardest.
I'm no dietary expert, far from it. Many knowledgeable/helpful/encouraging folks here can offer great suggestions and personal experiences, but no one in this conversation can provide the wherewithal or willpower. That comes from you. No one can give that to you.
Good luck, and good health to you!

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, even after you see a nutritionist (aka, someone "official"), if you see a 2nd one, they might not agree with the 1st...so the "officialness of the advice" is not as helpful as you may want.

If you were told to cut carbs, the easiest way would have been to measure your previous week's intake (writing EVERYTHING down that you ate and drank and running computations) and then cutting 50-75% of it to start, depending how high your number started.

Right now, you should be doing the same - keeping a weekly journal of everything you eat/drink and the carb counts and how it's affecting your blood and overall health and feeling. Your nutritionist will surely appreciate that info in 6 weeks to see what you're eating and how that's affected everything about your health...

You know your daily carb limit needs to be low and evenly spread throughout the day. If you take posters' highest suggested limit, you're at 120 carbs/day (30/meal, 15/snack x 2) and if you take the lowest limit, you're at 30 total.

So, it sounds like you should spend a week and see how you do at the highest limit and if you need further reduction. Note, that should be the MAX (no, I'm having 127 carbs or 135 carbs - it should be 120 or less and split by their maxes at meals and snack - no 75 carbs at one meal and 5 at another).

Overall, it's not helpful to say "welp, no expert has given me exact advice so I throw up my hands and eat cheetos within the week until I see the nutritionist." Start somewhere and do your own evidence-based work. Your body will tell you in your figures and feeling if you have it "right." Docs are not the experts about your body - you are, if you're willing to become one.

I know you're trying to be helpful, but this entire post just rubs me the wrong way.

1) Yes, the easiest way would have been to measure the previous week's intake. I couldn't tell you but maybe 50% of the things I used to eat in a week. I didn't track food.
2) I AM keeping a journal of what I eat (my drinks have all been 0 carb drinks so I'm not tracking those- sue me). This started last Friday.
3) This entire thing literally started a week ago. So I'm not sure where you think I've had a lot of time to experiment with various carb levels.
4) I've said repeatedly in this thread that I've been averaging 45-75 carbs per day. Somehow you translated that into me eating cheetos all the time while I wait to see the nutritionist. So you either haven't read what I've posted or ignored it.
5) "Your body will tell you if you have it right". BS. My body has been feeling just fine for the last 51 years. If I listen to my body, I'll go back to burgers, fries, and shakes.

 

[FQLover]

I have read the whole thread and gotten a lot of good ideas to help myself with my type 2 diagnosis; although my numbers are currently in the "pre" category, I definitely need to eat wisely more consistently.

OP--it seems as though you just don't want to start until you have had your appointment with your RD. It seems as though you are resisting a lot of folks suggestions, people in the health field or who have the disease themselves. That's okay but get that appointment made and committed to. Most endocrinology offices have an RD who specializes in Diabetes on staff. Maybe you can try getting in with one of them. Whoever, you go to, sign up for an appointment now with whichever person can get you in soonest--even if it is not soon. Tell them to call you if they get a cancellation in the meantime.

When you go to that appointment, be prepared to tell the person what you typically eat for your three meals. Bring in a food diary if you have kept one. Bring in a diary of your glucose readings done at home. Bring in a little notebook and take a lot of notes. You will be given a lot of helpful info and ideas; it is too hard to remember all of that if you don't write it down.

Until that appointment comes, do your own thing and write down what you are doing and what readings you get. Eat carbs out the wazoo if that is where you are at. But you have a D Day in your calendar--the date you are going to get the clear directive you are looking for and you will start your new plan immediately then. I agree that if you were to go to a second RD, you could easily get particular pieces of advice that differ, but that doesn't matter. You are going to go to ONE expert, only, get her/his instructions and run with that. Ask all your questions while there so you don't come home conflicted and confused. This is your start day! Good luck. This diagnosis takes some getting used to, I know. But changes do have to happen if you want to avoid a lot of future health woes.

AND... this has only been on your radar for a week! Cut yourself some slack. Just try to eat better and be more aware of helpful small changes you are making until you can get in to see the expert.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I know you're trying to be helpful, but this entire post just rubs me the wrong way.

1) Yes, the easiest way would have been to measure the previous week's intake. I couldn't tell you but maybe 50% of the things I used to eat in a week. I didn't track food.
2) I AM keeping a journal of what I eat (my drinks have all been 0 carb drinks so I'm not tracking those- sue me). This started last Friday.
3) This entire thing literally started a week ago. So I'm not sure where you think I've had a lot of time to experiment with various carb levels.
4) I've said repeatedly in this thread that I've been averaging 45-75 carbs per day. Somehow you translated that into me eating cheetos all the time while I wait to see the nutritionist. So you either haven't read what I've posted or ignored it.
5) "Your body will tell you if you have it right". BS. My body has been feeling just fine for the last 51 years. If I listen to my body, I'll go back to burgers, fries, and shakes.

It was a tough love post. You have seemed to want to post excuses, not paths forward. A lot of "if only I could see a dietician sooner, if only I could get exact advice, if only I could know everything today, if only this wasn't so hard and/or uncertain, etc." I gave you a path forward with no excuses.

Maybe you don't need that, but just need a venting board post. But many folks bog themselves down into "I don't know if it's working or I don't know exactly what to do, so why should I try?" I see it all the time on my cancer boards, and don't want you to fall into defeatist thinking before you start.

 

[sam_gordon]

No, I can tell it's working because my blood sugar levels have dropped, as I mentioned I've been <130 for four and a half days now. I don't think it's wrong to want SOME guidance other than "cut carbs". And yes, I wish I knew what my "normal" carb count was so I can compare to what I'm doing now. Unfortunately, I don't. I might make something up (a guess based on items I've had in the past).

I have not given up (yet). Hopefully I won't. After a couple of days feeling sorry for myself, my attitude has improved at least slightly.

 

[NAB]

Sam , I see you trying . I say try your recipes. Test 2 hours after you eat it . That will tell you if those carb numbers are okay.

When I started I did not go to the extreme. Heck even now after 10 years I’m not prefect everyday, or even week. I started small added more vegetables no bread or one piece instead of two for breakfast. Whole wheat instead of white.

Baby steps is ok. Nothing is going to happen to you until you see your nutritionist. Like you said you never knew up to now .

One day at a time , don’t beat yourself up if you slip up either we all do.

Your problem is your focused on the exact carb number. Any thing under that 30 g per meal is a good guide line. If your cutting back from what you have been eating is a good start.

 

[neverlandsky]

Wanted to add that if a nutritionist isn't in your budget that the library has a ton of information, recipes, etc. you can checkout as well. Simple recipes plus slow cooker that are low carb friendly like no bean stew meat chili. You sub celery for the beans in the chili. Think simple swaps vs. doing away altogether. You got this!

 

[sam_gordon]

Wanted to add that if a nutritionist isn't in your budget that the library has a ton of information, recipes, etc. you can checkout as well. Simple recipes plus slow cooker that are low carb friendly like no bean stew meat chili. You sub celery for the beans in the chili. Think simple swaps vs. doing away altogether. You got this!

That sounds great! DW & I have been searching the internet for various recipes and have actually found a some we want to try.

 

[monsterkitty]

I hear you and I get it.

It's incredibly difficult to change a diet immediately. Your body and your mind don't respond positively to that immediate change and that can lead to frustration and then failure.

I personally cannot fathom only 30 grams carbs total a day. Focus on small right now. Go with the 30 per meal and see how that works. Or, don't make any changes this week so you can see where you need to change.

Track what you're eating and drinking for a week so you can see how many grams of carbs you're eating a day. If it goes in your mouth, you put it on paper or in an app. This is where I use LoseIt! everyday so I can track my macros. I did pay for the upgraded version so that I could track my macros.

After you track your meals for a week, look to see where you can make changes easily. Like a previous poster said, maybe start with breakfast. For my DH he started with lunch. Instead of a ham sandwich with cheese today, I rolled the ham around the cheese and he had no bread. That cut about 220 calories 38 grams of carbs. He ate cut red peppers, cucumbers, and baby carrots so he would feel fuller longer.
Tracking what you eat before making any changes as well as making slight changes will be a huge benefit to the dietician you're going to see. This will show them what changes you made were good or not so good and help you see where additional changes can be made.

Later when you're more comfortable with what you need to do, you can start building your meals based on the macros. If you're like me and you have to have something every day (for me it's Lindors 70% dark chocolate truffles), build your macros around that food. For example, when I put into Lose It what I'm planning for meals, the first thing I put in is the chocolate. I can then decide how I want to spend the remaining macros on which food items. It's difficult at first, but then it becomes more natural.

It's going to be hard and you may have a bad carb day, but you brush yourself off the next day.

 

[sam_gordon]

Tracking what you eat before making any changes as well as making slight changes will be a huge benefit to the dietician you're going to see. This will show them what changes you made were good or not so good and help you see where additional changes can be made.

Too bad I didn't have that advice a week ago. I went "whole hog" and went very limited right off the bat. The good news is my blood sugar has been "normal" since Monday morning (<130, even an 80 at one point). I think I've had four pieces of bread (wheat) all week, no buns, no breaded anything, no pasta (unless you count some Ramen noodles that were in a casserole dish, that I only had ~1 cup of). No cereal, no milk, no soda, no sweets, no chips, no crackers, no fries, no cookies, no pizza. I did have one small piece of Cherry pie as a reward one evening.

 

[maxaroni]

@sam_gordon While I have posted several times upthread, my DH has gotten his A1C to be consistently 5.5, it was super confusing in the beginning. Actually, the first year was confusing, not as bad and we had some real success.
DH was instructed to take his blood sugar first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after eating. He also took it several times during the day, as well as 2 hours after dinner. DH saw a dietician who gave him advice. Some of the advice didn’t work for him. He found some tricks of his own that seemed to work and the dietician thought he was crazy…lol. But she said it seems to be working, so go for it.

My point is, I totally understand the confusion and frustration. DH was told that the diabetes diet can be a lot of trial and error and is a bit tricky. You have only been at this for a week, doing well by getting your numbers down.

Hang in there.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

@sam_gordon While I have posted several times upthread, my DH has gotten his A1C to be consistently 5.5, it was super confusing in the beginning. Actually, the first year was confusing, not as bad and we had some real success.
DH was instructed to take his blood sugar first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after eating. He also took it several times during the day, as well as 2 hours after dinner. DH saw a dietician who gave him advice. Some of the advice didn’t work for him. He found some tricks of his own that seemed to work and the dietician thought he was crazy…lol. But she said it seems to be working, so go for it.
.

good advice on the blood glucose testing. If one is concerned about particular foods and how they affect BG levels it is often recommended to test at 30 minutes, one hour and two hours. Most persons numbers will spike at around the first hour and then settle down to close to the normal level at about the two hour mark. This is not part of your normal testing, but something you might want to do to see how a particular food affects your metabolism. Each person is different so over time you want to tailor you foods to how your own metabolism functions.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Too bad I didn't have that advice a week ago. I went "whole hog" and went very limited right off the bat. The good news is my blood sugar has been "normal" since Monday morning (<130, even an 80 at one point). I think I've had four pieces of bread (wheat) all week, no buns, no breaded anything, no pasta (unless you count some Ramen noodles that were in a casserole dish, that I only had ~1 cup of). No cereal, no milk, no soda, no sweets, no chips, no crackers, no fries, no cookies, no pizza. I did have one small piece of Cherry pie as a reward one evening.

Good for you ! The important thing is that you are trying. Keep in mind that it was years or decades of past habits that brought us to the point that change is necessary. It's going to take time to change this, too. It's more of a marathon than a race. In my case I don't think of what I'm doing as a diet but more as a choice to go in a new direction. So far the results have been positive for me.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't like to give health advice because we are all different, but if you really want to lose weight then here is what would work for me, and has worked for many of my Disney loving friends:

Step 1 - Sign up for a race of some sort. Running, biking, swimming - doesn't matter. You can walk most races, so you don't have to be fast, now or in the future. runDisney has some amazing races. Here is a great forum on this board which talks about them: https://www.disboards.com/forums/rundisney.201/

Step 2 - Tell everyone about your race. You are now committed, and your friends will ask about the training and the results, so you will have external motivation to keep moving.

Step 3 - Pick a training plan that gets you across the finish line.

Step 4 - Track your food and liquid. I use MyFitnessPal, but any free app will solve this problem. And, if you are training, that will help as another external motivating force to assist you in watching what you eat.

Step 5 - Be proud of your effort. Don't focus on the results - the effort itself is worthy of pride. The results will come, but only if you stay positive. Believe in yourself. You are stronger than you think you are.

Not a step, but a serious recommendation - Stop drinking sweet tea. I am from the South and love my sweet tea, but that is empty calories and it is horrifically bad for diabetics or those at risk of becoming diabetic.

 

[magik]

Obviously, it’s best to take health and diet advice from your healthcare team (doctor, dietician, etc.), but these are things that helped me. For me, it had to start with small changes, and only once those small changes stuck, adding another healthy lifestyle change.

The easiest changes were not drinking calories and walking every day. No soda, no sweet tea, no sports drinks, no alcohol, no juice except as a very rare treat - I pretty much only drink water, unsweetened tea, or seltzer unless I’m on vacation, and even then I don’t go crazy. And I have to take my walk as soon as I wake up. I get up, get dressed, drink a large glass of water, then walk for 30-60 minutes. If I don’t take my walk as soon as I wake up, the excuses not to do it build up. A Fitbit or other fitness tracker has been key to my success in sticking with it as well. The first few days I had it, I just went about my normal day to see how many steps I got in an average day so I had baseline data. Then I added 1000 steps a day to my starting average of steps per day the next week. I kept adding 1000 steps a day for a week until I worked up to 10000 steps a day. It was eye opening to see how little I was moving around in an average day to start with. Maybe find an interesting podcast to listen to while you walk or a good audiobook. I definitely had a few false starts, but these are changes that I was able to successfully make stick that helped me.

Another thing that helps me is I love most vegetables, so if you don’t love veggies, think about trying lots of different kinds prepared in lots of different ways so you can hopefully “learn” to love them. For instance, if you don’t like asparagus steamed, maybe you will like it grilled or roasted. Adding a variety of green vegetables into your diet will help fill you up with fiber and a variety of nutritious vitamins and minerals. Many people don’t get anywhere near the 5-9 servings of vegetables per day we should get.

 

[Dead2009]

I usually go for an hour walk as soon as I get up in the mornings. Considering I work at random times of the day, I normally never have the time to actually get workouts in unless I have a day off and with that I'd just rather relax, lol.