I have type 2 diabetes and when I was first diagnosed about 7 years ago it gave me a real jolt. My weight has been up and down all my adult life and now I was paying for it. I had read that many people were able to control their diabetes and even reverse it by cutting carbohydrates from their diet. So much as I loved bread, potatoes and anything sweet that didn’t see me coming and make a hasty getaway, it was time to changed the way I ate.
Lots of veggies (luckily I love’em), lots of protein, cheese… no calorie counting or points to worry about. And combined with exercise (I was working at a company that had a gym) it worked like a dream. For the first time ever I felt in control of my body, lost a shed load of weight and felt fit and healthy. And yes, I had reversed the diabetes and was now back to “pre-diabetes” blood sugar levels.
Then I gave up smoking… sigh. And gave up that job. And cheated on what I ate, and simply ate too much of everything. And hit the chocolate. Did I mention I can’t eat one chocolate? Oh no, it has to be the whole box. And of course, the weight is all back despite swearing I would never let it happen (hands up, who’s made that pledge?).
So. My current mindset is right for having another go. I know the low carb route is right for me (I’m sure it isn’t for everyone) and while you can’t avoid all carbs, it does help to avoid the ones that do the most damage. Which is where the GI index comes in. I’m sure you’ve heard about it.. the glycaemic index, which scores how fast your body turns different carbs into energy in your body, the slower the better to avoid sugar spikes in your blood.
It’s not always intuitive (who knew I’d be better off sucking a sugar cube than eating mashed potato, one of the great pleasures of life?) So it really helps to have a handy source of info, and all sorts of tips and recipes.
Enter the University of Sydney: GI News is a monthly blog you can subscribe to.
Have a look and click on into the website for all sorts of brilliant stuff, including excellent fact sheets.
If you’re like me, you may find it a real source of help, advice and inspiration about healthy eating! Even if it does tell me mashed potato is a no-no for me 😣(sweet potato is much better – that’s really counter intuitive, isn’t it!)
Oh, have some sweet Richard! 😉 He’s really low GI!
Richard Armitage's BBBWW 
All that sweetness is supposed to be low on sugar??? I get a glycaemic shock just looking at that smile 😵
But seriously – I am suspecting that I may have type 2 diabetes, too. (Not surprisingly – I have the characteristic mid-body fat, and in the last couple of years I have totally indulged…) Should probably have that properly diagnosed, but in any case, since the start of my diet 2 weeks ago I have rigorously cut down on carbs. No potatoes, no bread (the occasional wrap excluded), very careful with sugar. Fructose is still on my diet – I know that that is a concern, too, though. The diabetes suspicion is what finally got me off my arse. And strangely (or not) I am already feeling better…
As for ‘never letting it happen again’ – I feel you! I had sworn to myself after my big weight loss that I would never ever get back into the obesity range. And sure, my head was always totally on track. I remember well how I thought that it was absolutely fantastic to be able to run and jog, to walk up the stairs without getting out of breath. And yet… It all slipped when I stopped weighing myself regularly. And when I started ignoring regular meal times. Over the course of the last two weeks I have found that it is really important to keep to a rigorous meal time schedule. Breakfast, elevenses, lunch. Mid-afternoon snack, dinner, evening snack. It stops me from peckish nibbling in between, which is most likely to be satisfied with sweets and crisps and other processed snacks. The whole discipline has to be reinstated. I am counting on the 3 week-effect.
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I’m rooting for you! Beware fructose – it’s just as bad as any other sugar. And high fructose syrup, as found in many commercial products like jam and marmalade, is just about as bad as you can get… 🙄
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With regards to snacking… look for something low GI that will keep you feeling full for longer. Fibre is your friend 😉
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Helen, this is an AWESOME! Post!!!! Thank you so much.
I saw my doctor yesterday. He wanted to do a A1C blood work but I hadn’t fasted. I also told him about my pissy no taking meds mood and he threatened to call my mom. So back on meds (a week ago) and walking and yeah, you did lose some weight anyway! And we try again during spring break.
These are some great links. Any white food – pasta, rice, bread, potatoes – are big no-nos for me. Just the smell of baking bread make my blood sugar rise.
Of course, Richard’s smile also does that. 🙂
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Thanks! Finally managed to figure out how to do it with links and stuff 😂
I’m really strict on my meds, I must say – I’m only on metformin for the diabetes and it doesn’t give me any trouble. I have to take a few other drugs too, and I’ve developed a routine to make sure I take them all. I don’t quite get why you don’t always take yours. Are they expensive?
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Metformin doesn’t help with my blood sugar at all and it gives me the runs. The one time I was on it, I lost 12 pounds in a month and my blood sugar didn’t come down at all.
Between meds and the suppliments I take treying to keep my blood sugar under control, it’s more than a handful twice a day. My former boyfriend bought me 2 pill containers – both huge and I have to work to get the tops to snap down. Between everything I take,
Jenumet
Glimiperide
Doxycyclene
Flaxseed Oil
Garlic
Cinnamon
Apple Cider Vinegar
Lipoic Acid
Estrovan
Fiber Tabs
Women’s Vitamins
Vitamen C
Vitamen D
Calcium
Estrovan
I think that’s all of it and I take almost all of that twice a day. It gets old and it gets tiring. If my containers are filled and with me, I don’t forget, but I can get really lazy about filling them up on Saturday or Sunday. I keep my morning container in my work bag and my night container at my desk so I will remember them. Usually. There are times I feel like I can make a snack out of just taking my pills.
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No, I’m just lazy! LOL! Between the diabetes and rocasia and then all the vitamins and herbal supplements – my thing is filling the containers on the weekend so I don’t have to carry all these pill bottles. And when I had bronchitis, that added to it. I hate that my life revolves around pills and taking pills. I’d much rather it revolve around family and Richard.
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Actually, my jenumet is very expensive and the federal ordered Obamacare Insurance won’t pay for it, unless I go with a more expensive plan. I already pay too much for health insurance, so my doctor and I have found other ways to get it.
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Zee, have you tried the multivits? most commercially available have apart from Calcium, vit C and D most of the daily required allowance in them. Also, always better to have them after a meal rather than in the morning when they will just go in and out with the next fluid. With food in stomach they have a slightly better chance to get included in digestion.
Calcium is a must , with vit D, for women in general, and especially as we age as we loose a lot more. I get through a fair bit of dairy because i like it but i still have to take Calcium supplements.
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I take a multi vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Calcium with breakfast. I never take anything on an empty stomach unless it says to.
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That’s a LOT of supplements! Do you really need them all? I take calcium & vitamin D but that’s because I’m on an anti cancer drug that strips out all estrogen from my body so I have to protect against osteoporosis. I rely on my food to give me enough of most other things…
You don’t take doxycycline all the time, do you?
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I’m with Helen, it’s mostly about health and eating patterns. Although my dad has diabetes and i am clearly overweight i don’t have it and the only reason i don’t .. yet anyway! is because i’ve instated discipline around meals and food in general, or more like routines and it helps.
But i am at an age when if i don’t bring the weight down as well i won’t be saved from it long term no matter how healthy i eat.
Going to work ie to an office has helped so much in comparison to travelling 100% which is what i did. I now always have breakfast at work – oats or some form of porridge with no sugar added and as little as fruit in it as possible. dry fruit that is. And i’ve taken to eating the one with nuts in it as i am not a nut eater and this is a good way to get some in. I don’t snack between breakfast and lunch but i would ‘t have the time and i don’t ever crave it tbh either. I only get some boredom cravings mid afternoon like 3-4ish, so time for a cup of tea and something. My dad’s advice a few years back (he’s a doctor) worked – 2 pieces of fruit and the craving for sugar is gone. Once i’ve had the fruit i am much less likely to eat anything else even if offered. And then dinner.
I also cook my lunches, all kinds of veg stews of some sort in big batches and have that for lunch to avoid the inevitable sandwiches.
I think for most women because of our metabolisms high protein, lots of veg and low carb is better. I do try and stick by the 5 a day rule, it helps bring veg into foods and is only good for you. I know by the looks of me i look like i eat burgers and fries every day 😉 but truth is i haven’t had blood tests in 7 years since i have fallen into this routine.
I feel sad about potatoes, i like them too Helen 😦 but i don’t actively buy them like almost never… maybe 1 every 3 months of shopping. I don’t buy them so i don’t have them.
Sugar was my main enemy and not from desserts, i know what is in them and i have decided a while ago, when i realised i needed to do more to bring weight down that although i love desserts it’s only actually high end ones i want to eat. Proper patisserie, creamy Wienese cakes, freshly baked scones, the best pralines and dark chocolate money can buy. But i don’t really fancy muffins, dry cakes, sugary yogurts, Mars bars and the like. I can live without them and hold off for the good stuff when i can have it. And then i do have it guilt free. But i needed to make sure i had no hidden sugars! And the stuff is in bloody everything, added to bread, to soups, to cereal to all kinds of things i don’t want to have it in.
This is how i cut out bagels and rarely have wraps – all have sugar added, and quite a bit. Same with most cereals. And a lot of bread also has sugar added. I’ve become a bit obsessive about reading labels but it pays. I choose to buy the stuff that is less processed, more expensive but the box of cereal i have per month and the breads are worth it.
I’ve got many more tips on breads and carbs but maybe i’ll write a separate post about it. 😉
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