Diabetic diet...what you can have and not have?

[EweSheep]

Coming to one point from diabetes, so I'm in the pre-diabetes stage so I have to make a list of all the things I can have and not have. I know I do have a weak moment or two, particuarly when Christmas is coming up.

I love my starch and I love my sweets. But I do LOVE my lean beef meats AND broccoli and fish.

Can I have a yam or sweet potato with my steak meals? Sweet potato fries? Or just stick with veggies?

I love my rice but enjoyed brown rice.

Oh the sweets........break the cookie in half and I'm a happy camper. Or should I go forth of a cookie to make it last all day?

I love my gyros, the one that is packaged. I am sure I probably can find whole wheat gyro bread somewhere or am I better off eating whole wheat tortillas?

Lost six pounds since my two week/two day last doc visit and today I was happy to lose that much but still need to lose about 80 more lbs.

 

[smileyfacecat]

img/smilies/smile.png" alt="smile" />">http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/?loc=GlobalNavFF

 

[Imp]

You might want to get the American Diabetes Association's Complete Guide to Diabetes. It's a boring read, but has lots of good info.
You can probably get into a class paid for by insurance.
When I was first diagnosed Dr. suggested that I read the South Beach diet too. Good healthy guidelines.

There is no "Good" and "Bad" lists of foods. The current thinking is more along the lines of an overall healthy life, balancing diet, meds, and exercise.

Congrats on losing weight, might be able to stave off the worse of the diabetes for a long time.

I love my starch and I love my sweets. But I do LOVE my lean beef meats AND broccoli and fish.

Yeah, Starches, OK in small amounts, the more complex the better. I try to stay away from simple carbs, but sometimes that's hard.

Can I have a yam or sweet potato with my steak meals? Sweet potato fries? Or just stick with veggies?

Some people will say sweet potatoes are OK, white potatoes are bad. Not really so. A carb is a carb.

I love my rice but enjoyed brown rice.

Same here. Brown rice is a better choice, but still not a pass. It's just a little better.

Oh the sweets........break the cookie in half and I'm a happy camper. Or should I go forth of a cookie to make it last all day?

depends on the cookie.

I love my gyros, the one that is packaged. I am sure I probably can find whole wheat gyro bread somewhere or am I better off eating whole wheat tortillas?

I buy the low carb tortillas occasionally, they are pretty good.​

 

[cassie]

As to what you can and cannot eat, nothing is carved in stone. Just remember, moderation in all things, exercise after a meal will help, and you should be fine. I don't know if this will help you or not. My brother had type 2 diabetes. He kept his blood sugar completely under control by following a modified Atkins diet. Meaning heavy on the protein, low on the carbohydrates. Whenever he was in the hospital, they fed him the approved diabetic diet which was fairly high in carbohydrates and his blood sugar levels would skyrocket. By the way he had a gastric bypass several years ago (not lapband) and he is no longer troubled with diabetes at all. He does continue to monitor his blood glucose levels.

 

[featherfinder]

There are so many things out there for diabetics!!!! You just have to search. My grandma and aunt both have it pretty bad. There is sugar substatutes and salt substatues that taste like the really thing. If you are really attached to your white bread there there is a bread called white wheat. Also that same bread company makes flat breads that are amazing!!! Whittmans is a good chocolate that comes in sugar free. If you need any more ideas please PM and i could send you lists of things to help out. Also search the web you should be able to pull up a good meal chart on the internet and print it out for you to referance on calorie intake and other things for diabetics.
ETA: The sweetner i was talking about it all nautral and doesnt have the harmful chemicals in it.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

I'm type 1 diabetic and I've had it since I was nine years old. I've always been told that I could have what I wanted as long as I took the insulin for it. Now a days I'm in college classes 24/7 and don't get the exercise to keep my diabetes in control. I am struggling now and I am working on a more moderated diet. The trick is sorting out the fact from fiction. One doctor will encourage you to eat fruit, and the next will tell you that fruit has too much sugar in it. No mater what fruit will be a better choice than chips

 

[sheila3935]

Please dont use artificial sweeteners. They contain chemicals that are bad for us. If you must use something use agave or stevia. Maybe just by getting the weight off will normalize your blood sugar. Stay away from processed foods. If you dont like wheat bread Beachy's in Arthur carries an ultragrined wheat that acts like white flour. Better yet get a grain mill and do your own flour. Sadly the flour we buy at the store is dead. Hope everything works out and you get better. Keep up the good work on the weight loss. We are proud of you.

 

[FourPawz]

A few books I'd recommend:

Sugar Nation by Jeff O'Connell

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes - or, for a less laborious read, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by the same author

Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD

Why read books about obesity, you may ask? The very same physiological mechanisms that cause those of us who are susceptible to become obese, also predispose us to type 2 diabetes.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Please feel free to pick my brain via PM if you'd like. I've been a type 1 diabetic since I was four, so I've seen it all!

Sweet potatoes are excellent. I try to substitute them for potatoes whenever I can. It's best to stay away from heavy carbs like bread, rice, potatoes, etc. Bagels, pizza, and chinese food always do terrible things to my blood sugar, so I try to stay away from them. Anything with fat in it (Like hot dogs, cheese, etc.) has a tendency to raise your blood sugar hours after you've eaten them. That's why pizza is such a tough food! It's all around bad!

Fruit and veggies are good. I'd rather eat a quick acting sugar like a fruit than a long acting sugar like bread or something.

Ideally, meats, beans, and veggies are the best. Also, i find honey to be a great natural sweetener. It is easily digestable and doesn't raise my blood sugar like other sugars do.

 

[EweSheep]

I've been overweight most of my life except for college years and seven year weight maintaining when I weighed 135 lbs before having my daughter, didn't gain anything until I was six months pregnant and wham! As my old posts says, it is hard to get it off and doc took me off of statin drug because of chronic muscle pain for five years. My old doc said "its the side effects and put up with it". My new doc said NO, you should never have to live off on pain, not a good idea at all. Welfare didn't help much either because most of the food pantries are full of starch and fatty foods. It just sucks!

Thanks to everyone sending me links! I love salads, the variety kinds but I would stay away from one that got my taste buds all in a knick was the peppery flavored green thingy....not sure what type it was but it is next to the loose leaf lettuc variety. I find that dipping my fork in salad dressing in a bowl helps alot, so you are not dumping the bowl ON the salad. I love my eggs, so I won't eliminate that one from the salads.

My mother is diabetic, so is my dad...type 2. So if I can beat the odds which it would be a high order, genetics played a role here, it would make it less painful route rather than trying to fight it off for years.

I love my Lofthouse sugar cookies, choco chip and peanut butter along with oatmeal cookies..yummy treats for Christmas.

I swear the manufactors are doing a good job thinking it is good for us is really BAD for us.