[Spunky]

The doctor said cut down on carbs. While I was waiting for my appointment with the dietitian, I searched for a diabetes forum. That's when I found this site. I must admit I thought you guys were full of it, telling people to eat sausage and eggs and lots of saturated fat. But then I saw the dietitian who told me to eat 45 carbs per meal. I listened politely and nodded a lot, and when I got home, I leafed through the 'diabetic' recipe book she had given me, with all it's pasta and potato recipes, then I weighed my options. 135 carbs per day or maybe around 15 per day and lots of saturated fat. I threw the recipe book and all the paperwork in the trash and never looked back.

Nov. 8th my A1c was 5.3. My cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL went down, my HDL went up, I was amazed. You made a believer out of me.

 

[moon]

Welcome to the forum, well, welcome to this side of the forum where we get to know you too. Love seeing de-lurkers.

I'm curious - when you compared options, did you choose low-carb because it looked more like something you wanted to eat, or because it make medical sense?

Congrats on your great results.

 

[Guest]

Welcome, Spunky

As a long-time lurker, you know even better than I do what a great place this is for informed posts and friendly people.

 

[jwags]

Welcome to the Dark Side. Most Dieticians think we are nuts and we have been told we are all going to die because we stopped eating whole grains. I found when I stopped eating them I lost weight, my bgs dropped and BP became normal.

 

[Spunky]

I'm curious - when you compared options, did you choose low-carb because it looked more like something you wanted to eat, or because it make medical sense?

My doctor was talking low-carb, but my dietician seemed to be talking high-carb. It was really the dietician's cookbook that convinced me. After looking at recipes on this site, I was expecting to see ingredients like almond flour and whey protein, not flour, corn, cornstarch, pasta and potatoes. In the beginning, I decided to eat LCHF to get my bg down. Now I eat it for that reason and also because now I know it is the healthiest way that anyone can eat whether they have diabetes or not.

I forgot to mention in my first post that I've lost 37 pounds, and I wasn't even trying to lose weight. I still have about 40 pounds to loose, and it is coming off v-e-r-r-r-r-r-r-y slowly, but at least the scale is still moving in the right direction. And the best part is I got rid of my size 20 clothes because I know I'll never go back there. And the bonus is my size 18's are now pretty baggy, but I'll wait until I can't keep my pants up before I go to 16's. I don't want to buy a bunch of new clothes until I hit my ideal weight. I'm so looking forward to that day.

 

[Strawberry]

Congratulations Spunky

Losing 37 pounds so far is wonderful. You've come a long way in a very short time. Good Luck to you

 

[Patdart]

Spunky, you are my kinda gal! Welcome to the group! Glad you decided to speak to us and congratulations on a job being well done! On the clothes thing, a good friend lost about 50 lbs a couple of years ago and had to have work clothes, so she found them at Goodwill and every time she lost enough that they were getting baggy, she took those in and re-donated them and found some more that fit. Like you, I just wore mine until I hit goal.

Anyway, HI!

 

[Spunky]

I am coming down with a cold and not feeling so good. This is a bad time because I'm having the gang here for Thanksgiving. That means lots of work and cooking ahead, and I don't want to feel like heck through all that. I think most decongestants say diabetics shouldn't take them. I didn't know what to take, but since there was some Benadryl in the medicine cabinet, I took one of those, then it zonked me out and I took a 3 hour nap. I would appreciate some input on what the rest of you take for colds.

 

[Shanny]

The doctor said cut down on carbs. While I was waiting for my appointment with the dietitian, I searched for a diabetes forum. That's when I found this site. I must admit I thought you guys were full of it, telling people to eat sausage and eggs and lots of saturated fat. But then I saw the dietitian who told me to eat 45 carbs per meal. I listened politely and nodded a lot, and when I got home, I leafed through the 'diabetic' recipe book she had given me, with all it's pasta and potato recipes, then I weighed my options. 135 carbs per day or maybe around 15 per day and lots of saturated fat. I threw the recipe book and all the paperwork in the trash and never looked back.

Nov. 8th my A1c was 5.3. My cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL went down, my HDL went up, I was amazed. You made a believer out of me.

Now about that cold . . . one of our members says the last bad cold she had, she just took to her bed with a bottle of brandy to see which lasted longer - the cold or the brandy . . .
​

 

[Richard157]

WOW! You really do have a lot of spunk, and it has helped you so much! Congratulations on your success.

Richard

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Welcome to the machine Spunky!

 

[lkaemand]

My A1c has been running 6.3 to 6.5 for years and no doctor ever told me to change my diet or talked about diabetes. I changed docs and last fall he said he could give me some metformin. No explanation. I am self educated on this and have read Gary Taubes, William Davis and Dr. Bermstein. I am trying to avoid having to take meds and control my blood glucose with diet. I have lost 20 lbs and just started to exercise. My morning readings are around 110, so I have some work to do. My blood sugars raise at night. I've read about that, but would appreciate some advice.

 

[Spunky]

Hi, Ikaemand. It sounds like you are doing great and are on the right track.

If you have read about dawn phenomenon, you probably already know anything I can tell you about it, but in your case it could be caused by the natural overnight release of hormones or incorrect medication dosages or eating carbohydrate snacks at bedtime. You can try exercising later in the day, don't eat carbs before bed, and be sure to eat breakfast. If that doesn't work, let us know and someone who takes Metformin can probably give you advice on adjusting your dosage.

It would be nice if you introduced yourself by starting a new thread and I'm sure you'll get a lot of welcomes and good advice. Hope you visit often.

 

[silvertiger]

My A1c has been running 6.3 to 6.5 for years and no doctor ever told me to change my diet or talked about diabetes. I changed docs and last fall he said he could give me some metformin. No explanation. I am self educated on this and have read Gary Taubes, William Davis and Dr. Bermstein. I am trying to avoid having to take meds and control my blood glucose with diet. I have lost 20 lbs and just started to exercise. My morning readings are around 110, so I have some work to do. My blood sugars raise at night. I've read about that, but would appreciate some advice.

Aren't doctors so wonderful? Sigh.

Welcome! I'm in a similar situation to you, on a starter dose of Metformin and trying to eat better. I've tried drinking a shot of whiskey before bed, a snack before bed, still high morning BG. I'm going to try apple cider vinegar pills before bed, or a high fat snack before bed and see if those work. Please post if you find a solution!

 

[jwags]

My HbA1c was in the high 10's upon dx. My doctor didn't give me any medication and my CDE gave me the typical 45-60 carbs per meal plus several 30 carb snacks per day. After 3-4 months of higher bgs in the 160-200 range I begged for metformin. Don't be afraid of medication, many of us have achieved almost normal bgs with metformin and LC diet. I really think doctors and CDE's are so use to seeing D's with very high bgs in the 500-600 range they think anything under 200 is no big deal. Well, for those of us trying to prevent diabetic damage to our blood vessels, eyes, kidneys it is a big deal. I am self educated too and I am glad I am.