need diet tips/advice/

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2007
need diet tips/advice/
26
Tue, 11-27-2007 - 8:41pm

Well. Here we are as pretty much expected from recent symptoms, my husband was diagnosed with diabetes today. He will take the medication twice daily and see how it goes. Other than being told to walk more exercise more, lose weight,etc.... the Dr. just told him don't eat white flour, potatoes, or anything with sugar. Well every website I have been on today to try to find some diabetic guidelines for cooking and meal planning have the 5-6 servings of starches and breads!! Am I crazy or am I looking at something wrong??  I need advice on the meal planning and if he can have whole grain breads and use whole grain flours, are there potatoes of any  kind we can try?? I have so many questions and a big part of it is just the plain fact that my husband is a big bread and potatoes eater and he's already feeling like he's starving  and it's only been a few hours without white bread, potatoes or sweet tea. I told him that it will be like any other kind of withdrawals probably he will get irritable with headaches etc.. until his body gets used to not having the sugar and starch everyday at every meal. Am I right?


Thank you.

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Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 11-27-2007 - 9:15pm

Hi and welcome to the board!!


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2002
Tue, 11-27-2007 - 9:44pm

here is a link to the foodnet work they got a 30day mean for diabetes


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_hl_diabetic_planner/0,3151,FOOD_29017,00.html






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walk to cure diabetes

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Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 1:02am

Hi and welcome to the board.


We have all been where you and your husband are right now. Diabetic eating is much easier then it used to be. And we can even have sugar!! But not very often. Here is an article that will give you some really good information.


http://health.ivillage.com/diabetesthy/di/0,,pz7h,00.html


Also you and your husband would benefit greatly from a visit with a dietitian who specializes in diabetes if at all possible. Your doctor needs to refer you for this meal planning help.


More than anything else about diabetic eating now is the portion size. Yes increased fiber is encouraged. Exercise is very important also and it can be as easy as walking. The goal for diabetics is 150 minutes per week.


Now I have some questions for you:


What was your husband initial lab results?


How often was he told to test his blood sugar?


What medication was he started on?


When will he see his physician again?


Please pull a chair and join our conversation. I look forward to reading the answers to my questions.



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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2007
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 8:43am

Thank you all so much for the tips and advice. I look forward to learning more from all of you. I have already learned that yes it is more about carb counting than anything.

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 9:18am

You really should call and ask about a prescription.


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2007
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 9:35am

Okay. I called the Dr.'s office and as I suspected she assumed we already had a meter since that testing is what led him to get the appointment. She quickly apologized and has called in a prescription for the strips and a coupon for a free meter that I am to pick up in a bit and take to the pharmacy.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2007
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 9:46am

Cheryl, I also wanted to add that as soon as I catch my breath with my DH and getting the meters and monitors etc.. I am going to visit the menopause/perimenopause board that I noticed at the bottom of your posts. I'm only 36 and started the 'peri' thing about 6 months ago and it's crazy. Now my DH has diabetes at 36, I'm on the road to menopause at 36. We're not even 40 and we're falling apart! Ha, ha. ( you might not think that's so funny but the way I look at it, laughter has to help, right?)


thanks and talk to you soon.

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 10:10am

Absolutey look for the humor!!!


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 12:39pm

Weight is a funny thing - muscle weighs more than fat so someone who is totally lean might outweigh me and my flab and be way healthier.

One thing, though, is that even though he's "on the go" and all, he really needs to be getting 30 minutes or more *per day* of aerobic exercise (walking etc) - steady continuous walking that is, not walk stop walk stop walk stop (which is what hunting would be most of the time - you've got to stop and wait a while quietly before moving on again or the critters will just go hide). Being "busy" is not the same as getting enough exercise. And, too, the exercise will help reduce insulin resistance which means there'll be less glucose hanging out in the blood stream and more getting into the cells where it belongs to do work.

The bottom line is that if his calories going in are more than those going out (even if it looks like he's very active), he's going to gain weight. It's also possible that he's just not metabolizing things quickly enough. For instance, hypothyroidism can slow metabolism down so that even eating lettuce leaves leads to weight gain (or at least not losing weight). And, to make things more difficult still, if he's eating less than his body is really *needing* (for example, if he needs 2000 calories per day to maintain his weight and he's only eating 900 calories, skipping breakfast, etc) then his body will see it as a 'famine' and latch on to every calorie it can get rather than burn it up. So, make sure that he's getting a reasonable amount of calories - for someone who is somewhat active and weighs 255 lbs, he needs 255x13 calories per day to stay at his current weight (which is something in the area of 3300 calories per day). To lose weight, he needs to create a deficit in that amount. To lose weight without making his body go to a famine mode, try aiming for around 2000 calories per day - that's enough for about 2 lbs per week steadily.

Oh, and he might benefit from adding between meal snacks (I know that sounds odd between diabetes and weight loss). If he's feeling hungry and deprived, dividing up his carbs a little further so he can have snacks every few hours might help. Instead of 60-75-90 as was mentioned, maybe go with 40-55-70 and have three 20 carb or so snacks spaced throughout the day - that way he's eating every 3 hours roughly rather than having long gaps in between - it might help him to not feel so 'deprived' KWIM? Be sure to include a protein with the snack (my current favorite is a plain graham cracker with nut butter on it - comes in at about 20-25 carbs depending on which brand and all since they vary slightly).

As far as foods go, maybe try mashed cauliflower instead of mashed white potato - yes it's a white food technically but 2/3 cup only has about 3 grams of carb vs MANY grams for a white potato. Of course, you'd want to test after the meal to see how he reacts to that (as you would with any food).

--Deb

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-28-2007 - 1:02pm

Your method of finding the amount of calories needed to maintain weight is different that I have always been lead to believe...


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