I am new to this forum and to type 2 diabetes. I am wondering if anyone has
been successful in controlling their diabetes with diet and exercise ? My doctor and dietitian set me up on a plan to try to get my blood glucose numbers down
with exercise and no more then 120-130 grams of carbs per day. If anyone has been successful, how long did it take for you to see results ? Did weight loss help and how often do you exercise ? I am not see my numbers come down yet but I have only been on the plan for 3 weeks. I am not extremely overweight and already have a fairly active lifestyle of moderate exercies 5 times per week and taking care of kids.

Welcome, annabell.

I don't know if you're going to see much serious improvement with 120 to 130 gms of carbohydrates per day no matter how long you do it. I found that my blood glucose levels normalized very quickly when I started Atkins induction. That is about 20 gms of carbs per day. I was still quite overweight at the time.

I've kept my A1c's perfectly normal since 1998 with a carb intake in the 25 to 35 per day level, even though I do not have a good exercise track record - sporadic, at best.

I would suggest that you do some research by reading Dr. Atkins Diabetes Revolution. I reviewed it here.

Another book you may want to read is Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, and you can find out more about it here. Although Dr. Bernstein is a type 1 diabetic, the book addresses both types of diabetes and the strategy for tight control of blood sugars is similar.

I suggest these books as a way to educate yourself so that you can open a meaningful dialog with your health care providers.

Hope you'll make yourself at home here.

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Hi Maggie,

Thanks for the response. I will definetly check out those books. I'm only
eating 120-130 grams of carbs per day because that is what the dietitian
told me to do. She said that the Diabetes Association does not recommend
any less then that. So, all of my carbs come from veggies, fruit, oatmeal,
whole grains, fiber one, or squash. I don't eat any sugar, white flour, white
potatoes, rice or pasta. My blood glucose numbers are not bad, but I
exptected on this diet to loose weight and I am not.
What is your A1c's been at by eating only 25 grams of carbs per day ?
My A1c was 6.4 and the doctor told me it should be under 6.
What foods do you get your carbs from? Are you including veggies as
a carb ?
I notice that when I eat only protein and veggies for dinner that my blood
glucose before bed is way low, like in the 80's. But, still when I get up in
the morning it is still too high. 130's maybe.

I was having reactions like that when I was pregnant, nice and low before bedtime, but spiking in the morning (I had gestational diabetes), and do LC in part to keep myself from getting Type II (I probably have it, but have never been diagnosed, so I'm in total denial).

My diabetes specialist told me to eat a small snack right before bed to help keep my numbers stable overnight. 1/2 a turkey sandwich or a mozzarella stick with some nuts, basically some protein and fat with a VERY SMALL amount of carbs, and that helped to stabilize my morning numbers. He explained the physiology to me of how you could have nice low numbers at night that have jumped up by morning, but I've forgotten why it is.

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Katie
275/238/150
Restarted 01/08/2007
37 pounds lost!
http://justanotherfatgirl.blogspot.com

I too had gestational diabetes. I actually monitored myself after I had the baby to make sure that my numbers weren't too high. When I saw they were, I contacted the doctor, and sure enough, I have type II diabetes now.

When I was pregnant I also ate a small snack before bedtime, high protein, small carb. I thought that was because I was on insulin... I didn't think that I should do that now. I have though and don't see that it makes a big difference.

I really want to prevent having to go on medication.

I had oatmeal w/29 grams of carbs. Three hours later my blood glucose was 124. Does anyone think that is high ? I do. I don't like seeing numbers over 110. Maybe this is an unrealistic goal.

Maggie,
I read Dr. Bernstein's list of NO NO foods and it looks to be about everything. So, what do you eat anyways ?

Hi, annabell.

My A1c's range from about 4.8-5.3. Your early morning rise in BGL is the dawn effect. Not completely well understood, but it has to do with various hormones being released in the night that first lower the blood sugar and then the body overcompensates with glycogen release. I still have "mini" dawn effects from time to time. Many people find a protein/fat snack at night brings enough stability through the night to avoid the gluconeogenisis.

My goodness, I eat lots of different stuff. Meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cheeses, butter, cream, lots and lots of vegetables, home-made lc goodies made with chocolate. I have a hot cereal "Maggie's cereal" in the recipe database, that's perfectly friendly to my BGL's and which most people who try it, like a lot. (If you like oatmeal, I think you'll like this. You'll be happy with the BGL's, too.) I have even found that I can have certain fruits - in very small amounts with a meal to slow down the absorption.

You'll find that a great many people on this board follow the Atkins Nutritional Approach and, consequently, avoid most of the Bernstein "no" foods ... and eat very well, indeed. Sure, there are a few things that those of us with blood sugar problems will avoid that someone without them might find ok in their diet, but those can be ferretted out over time, so that you learn what's ok with you. I and other members have self-tested many foods and ingredients in this thread:
http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3280

Check out the low carb cooking forum, and I think you'll get many ideas about how well we can eat, while losing weight and keeping a tight control of BGL's.

Here's a link to the cereal recipe: http://www.lowcarbeating.com/recipe_...keyword=maggie

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Maggie,

The recipe sound great. Where do I get this stuff:
16 oz. Flax meal
16 oz. Soy protein isolate*
16 oz. Coarse unprocessed wheat bran

I have been able to get all three products at my local health food store, Annabell. The flax meal I get is Bob's Red Mill (I like the "golden" as opposed to regular. It's lighter in color and "looks" nicer in baked goods, although the benefits are the same.) The soy protein isolate is Fern brand, and the coarse wheat bran is by Shiloh Farms. There are other brands available and many health food stores sell the wheat bran in bulk. There are many on-line sources, as well.

Of course you don't have to mix up three pounds at a time. I came up with that because that just happened to be the size of the products I was getting. Just mix them up by equal weight, not volume, and your counts will be accurate.

HTH!

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