Help Type 2 Diabetes

S

Schlep

New member
In the last month I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. I knew I needed to lose weight and eat better so I started too walk 3 miles a day at a 4mph pace and I started the low carb diet.

I am down about 14 lbs and with medication have my blood sugar right where it should be with the odd spike.

Here is my problem, I went to the diabetes clinic today and they are telling me that a low carb diet is not good for me. They want to put me on a diet where I will be taking in 180 too 200 carbs per day.

I know I will gain weight and probably get worse but on the other hand I am not a proffesional who deals with this on a daily basis.

Are there others out there with type 2 diabetes who have tried different diets that can tell me about their success and failures?
 
I didnt have diabetes exactly, but I was pre-diabetic and had hypoglycemia. I started my diet and became a vegetarian on the same day and I have never felt better. My mom was worried about me because she thought since I wouldnt be getting as much protein, so I would have a lot of low blood sugar attacks. However, I have not had one attack since I started my diet/vegetarianism. I am not saying that you should be a vegetarian, but rather to let you know that by adding more carbs (good ones) I have done better. My diet consists mostly of fruit, vegetables, beans (a lot of soups), and a limited amount of whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, and brown rice. I also usually allow myself to eat either a 100 calorie pack of cookies every day or a Kashi brand cookie which has a lot of whole grains. I started doing this type of diet because of the book "Eat to Live". It is really amazing and has science backing up everything it says, and it addresses diabetes directly and explains how it works with this type of diet. I hope I was of some help.
 
Oh I also wanted to say that I went to the doctor (for a different reason than my hypoglycemia) about 3 weeks after starting my new way of eating and they ran a full blood count on me and my blood sugar levels were fine, so this just reiterated that whatever I was doing, it was working well.
 
Well yes and no. I personally known some people who followed Atkins and could stop taking their medications because their blood sugar had stablized for good. The bad part is that they have to follow atkins pretty much for the rest of their lives. Your cells are hardwired to do certain things. People with diabetes have problems with insulin production and receptors on their cells don't respond to the insulin and they pass on these trait to the next set of cells. While Atkins may work, are you ready to commit to it for the rest of your life?

I would need to know what you are eating to determine what you could be doing wrong. I'd stay clear away from sugars and bleached flours = huge insulin spikes. Of course the diabetes clinic is going to tell you not to do the low carb diet because it is condemed by the Heart Association and many other reputable sources. I recommend going to the Atkins Forum (type this in a google engine) and asking this question over there as well. There is ALOT of people with your same concern.
 
You have only been doing this for one month, I would keep experimenting with your low carb diet. Give yourself some time, lose some more weight, get to know your body, what it can handle and what it can't. Your doing great :)

Exercise will also help as well as supplements even something simple like cinnamon.
 
Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity. Heart disease, blindness, nerve, and kidney damage are complications associated with type 2 diabetes. Bariatric surgery may be used for patients who have type 2 diabetes, but are not necessarily obese.
 
I have type two and I've been following a low glycemic diet and I've dropped 34lbs in 3 months. This is the first diet I have no problem sticking with. I've done atkins before and really couldn't see myself doing that forever. You just need to keep your sugar level at a consistent level and revup the exercise. But don't just listen to your doctor some or idiots when it comes to diet go to an actual nutritionist its worth the money.
 
I am a type 2 diabetic, and have never been on a low carb diet.It is not necessary to go on a low carb diet to lose weight. Just make sure you are eating the right number of calories.

My doctor never actually told me anything about what to eat, other than to cut out the sweets. I mostly stay away from sweets, white bread, mashed potatoes, and other high glycemic index food. I haven't cut them out entirely, though.

I actually eat quite a bit of carb, probably more than I should - closer to 300 than 200 grams per day. Not saying that's what you should do, but I have my glucose well under control. I also take Metformin. My last two A1C results were at 5.4.

The biggest factor, I think, is to lose the excess weight. Exercise and getting into good physical condition also has a major effect.
 
Hi there,

I do not have diabetes but I will tell you now that low carb isn't good for anybody. Your body NEEDS carbs to be healthy, and honestly, 200 g isn't high on the carb list. You just need a healthy balance of healthy fats, healthy carbs, and protein. If you want you can try the SBD (south beach diet), it was created by a cardiologist and talks about how different foods affect your body and how to choose the right foods to lose weight and be healthy. It is not low carb nor low fat and it isn't a fad diet. You can also just eat less, avoid crappy food, and exercise for some good results.
 
I agree with Harold and shawnnam. Eating more carbs does not mean you will automatically gain weight. It's not the number of carbs that matters, it's the number of calories. I don't do a single thing to watch my carbs, I don't even track them, yet I've lost at an average of just over 2 pounds a week since I've started. I eat pleanty of pasta, bread, potatos and rice.

If your doctor suggests more carbs, you should listen. Really low carb diets can cause a lot of health issues and I'm not sure how being diabetic would react to that. You can still lose weight, and at a good rate too.


Sherrie - You really shouldn't recommend that someone go against their doctors orders. I'm sorry, but that's just irresponsible.
 
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A low glycemic load diet often works better for diabetics than just 'low carb'. I can understand questioning your doctor - when my mom was diagnosed with diabetes about 25 years ago her doctor told her to stay away from fat and alcohol but said nothing about choosing whole grains or vegetables.

It's hard to know what your diabetes clinic was concerned about without actually talking to them. Was there some number in your chart that had them concerned, or was the person you talked to just anti-low carb?

They may be worried about you being in ketosis - that's when you eat < 100g of carbs a day on a regular basis. While not proven to be harmful it's also not proven to be safe so there are some concerns about it.

Ultimately it is possible to eat higher carb without it screwing up your blood sugar - but 'higher carb' doesn't mean loading up on sugars and starches either.

Do you have any more information about the diet they want to put you on? One of my friends has gestational diabetes and she's limited to some degree in how much fruit or other carbs she can have in any day or meal but some of it is specifically based on her testing where she eats a specific food and then sees how much impact it has on her blood sugar. Her MIL does something similar - the goal of the diet is neither low nor high carb but to keep blood sugar levels stable.

While I can't say one way or the other if you should continue the diet that's working for you, it seems like you should get a realistic report of the risks and downsides of staying on your current path from the diabetes clinic so you can make an informed decision.
 
I am sure there are many different things out there you can try. I had gestational diabetes during one of my pregnancies, so am at risk to develop it. I didn't have to be medicated, but they took me off of sugar completed and the last month of my pregnancy, I did not gain any weight.

In most cases (I know that in some it does not), I believe weight attributes and adds to the symptoms of Diabetes. Diets are great if you can stick to them. I have seen the rules on SPAM and I don't want to get in trouble, so all I will say is that I have been reducing my weight (I have lost 120 lbs. so far), using diabetic friendly products, in hopes that I will never develop the actual disease.

Good luck with getting your health under control. :)
 
Part of the article:

Jenny provided permission to reprint her very excellent introduction to low-carbohydrate eating for people with diabetes. You can also view the original version on her Diabetes 101 website.

Jenny is a stickler for monitoring the effects of blood sugar. We might take some lessons from her experiences for improving management of people with metabolic syndrome or borderline blood sugars. In other words, monitoring the blood sugar-raising effects of various foods and food portions can provide great feedback on what foods are preferable, what undesirable, given your physiology.

Even if you are not a diabetic, Jenny’s discussion is must reading to gain a better understanding of food choices, particularly carbohydrates. Along with seizing control of health, she has also gained deep wisdom in how to best manage this disease and its physiology.

Introduction to low-carb nutrition for diabetics
Click to expand...
 
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Wow! It's amazing how many experts there are who base what they say simply on their 'opinion'. The whole 'low-fat-is-best-and-low-carb-is-not' thinking is based on opinion not on science. I recommend "Why we are fat and what to do about it" by gary taubes. it's a very good book that lays out the scientific proof that we are healthier eating low carb... our bodies are not designed for all the carbs we eat. sure, some people do ok but they are the exception. I suggest you stay on your low carb diet and get the book.
 
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