height: 5"10
age: 29
current weight: 320
activity level (not much but started doing workouts 1.5 hours a day)
i am going to see my doc next month with blood work results etc. He did have me see a nutritionist before and the nutritionist told me to keep my weight and basically showed me the food pyramid with the percentage of carbs/protein/fats etc. My doctor did tell me to lose weight since he thinks it is the biggest obstacle right now and i agree...
OK, Here's what I think, and yes, it's one of my many walls o' text:
Diet:
Throw out the idea of the food pyramid. It's just not good science (proven, I don't make this up) and it does NOT work for diabetics or anyone with metabolic syndrome. Yes, you can still eat a balance of carbs, protein and fat, but your carbs should come from veggies (except potatoes, corn and parsnips) and perhaps from a few berries (1cup of berries is roughly 15g of carbs) at a time. I have my berries with my post-workout smoothies. Protein: Eat healthy things like chicken, fish (especially cold-water fish high in omega-3's), pork, beef, eggs, cheese etc.
If you HAVE to have some carbs, try one of the varieties of sprouted-grain breads (made without flour) or a low-carb/high-fiber tortilla (LA Tortilla Factory or Mama Lupe's) and test to see how that goes. I find I can't eat other types of grains/cereals except those.
Don't worry about FAT too much, because it's GREAT fuel for diabetics that workout (great for anyone that works out, really), and you NEED a decent amount of calories. Also, if you're trying to maintain and/or build muscle mass - you NEED dietary fat in order to maintain testosterone. Just remember that fat is higher in calories than protein or carbs, so watch that accordingly.
For example, 6oz of Eye of Round Steak (lean, low-fat steak) has 276 Calories, 7.0g FAT and 49.8g Protein... and the same 6oz of a boneless Rib Steak has 555 Calories, 49.5g FAT and 27g Protein. While the Rib steak might taste better, and fill you up more, when it comes to calories and fat content there's a huge difference. That being said, being a big guy myself I eat the Rib steak and watch the rest of my calories accordingly
... more about diet will follow once I talk about calories...
Caloric Intake:
You NEED more calories. I can't stress this enough... in your situation, I guarantee your body thinks it's starving, and will hold on to fat as long as possible.
Many people don't realize this, but there is a minimum threshold of calories our bodies need in order for the body to burn fat as fuel. If you don't get that minimum, your body goes into 'starvation' mode, and no matter how much you diet and exercise, without enough fuel going in, you'll lose muscle instead of fat.
At your age, height and weight you have a BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) of about 2800 calories, give or take a hundred or so depending on which formula you use. That means that if you were on 24hr a day bed-rest, you'd need that much JUST to maintain your current size. You're currently getting FAR, FAR LESS than that.
Somewhere ABOVE the BMR figure is where you need to be for minimum daily caloric intake. With adding a bit of exercise into the mix, it's likely you need about 4,000-4,500 calories a day in order to maintain. Dropping to 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day should see a drop of 1 to 2 pounds per week in bodyfat, depending upon your exercise level.
As an example, as a nearly 300lb 45 year old (slower metabolism than a 29 year old) I was taking in a little over 3,000 calories a day, working out at least an hour daily (worked it up to 2+ hours as I got in better shape) and I lost 60 pounds in 4 months. Had I tried a 1,500 calorie a day diet, I'd still be a 300lb 45 year old wondering why I couldn't lose weight...
Diet: Meals/Day:
One of the best ways to maintain good blood glucose levels and eat enough healthy calories is to have 5-6 meals per day with similar macronutrient/caloric makeup in each one. (IE: for 3,500 calories a day, if you decide to eat 5 meals a day, have 700 calories in each meal.) I change this up a little, and I currently have 3 meals and 3 snacks. The meals are roughly 650 calories, and the snacks about 450 calories each. Some days I eat a little more, some days a little less, it depends on my exercise levels. (If I do a 3hr bike ride, I'll obviously eat a little more.)
Carb Intake:
Low-Carb is best for diabetes, period. Of course, with our caloric intake, and if doing 1.5hrs or more of exercise daily, this doesn't mean eat the same 50g of carb that a 130lb female diabetic might eat. You likely can get away with 100g of carb in a day when eating 3,000+ calories daily, but ONLY by testing will you know for sure. I currently eat anywhere from 80g-120g or carbs per day normally. On days where I bike longer, I will have more carbohydrate to help fuel that ride. But I strive to NEVER have blood glucose higher than about 6.6 (120 on the US scale) at any time, even when eating carbs, so I monitor that closely. I'm trying to have my fasting readings in the 4.5 (about 80) range and my post-prandial numbers in the 6.0 (around 105) range, but my metabolism is goofy so it doesn't always work out that way.
Fruit:
If you're going to eat fruit, do it post-workout. That way the fructose (fruit sugar), instead of raising your blood glucose, will go to replace glycogen stores depleted during exercise. Don't get too carried away with quantity without testing. I put about 1cup of mixed berries into my post-workout smoothie, and sometimes a half banana if it was a long/hard workout.
(My smoothie is 1cup water, w ice cubes, 1-2 scoops no-sugar protein powder, 1 scoop glutamine, 1cup berries, 1/2 banana sometimes, a small handful of baby spinach, 4 baby carrots and 2 packets of stevia or erythritol sweetener, if you're wondering. Occasionally I get crazy and throw in 1/4 cup of heavy cream, yum.)
Sample Meals:
(This was what I ate the other day...)
Breakfast
3 Pieces Regular Sliced low-salt bacon
2 eggs scrambled, topped with 1oz melted cheese
1/2 piece Sprouted Grain bread (toast) w/ 1TBSP Peanut Butter and 1TBSP sugar-free jam
- Calories: 658. 17g Carb, 31g Protein, 50g Fat
Snack
Protein Smoothie (with 1/2 banana, as mentioned above) and handful of peanuts or almonds.
- Calories: 475. 45g Carb, 34g Protein, 19g Fat
Lunch
2cups salad w/ Caesar dressing, turkey club low-carb tortilla wrap, Sugar-Free Jello with Real Whipped cream.
- Calories: 654. 17g Carb, 40g Protein, 49g Fat
Snack
Chicken Salad lettuce wrap, broccoli and onion dip (cream-cheese dip), 1oz extra-old cheddar cheese.
- Calories: 433. 18g Carb, 42g Protein, 21g Fat
Supper
Fish in Brandi's Breading, Tartar Sauce, Salad with Vinagrette and grated parmesan.
- Calories: 662. 5g Carb, 36g Protein, 54g Fat
Snack
Carrot Cake
- Calories: 479. 11g Carb, 9g Protein, 47g Fat
If you add that up, you'll see this day was 3,361 Calories and 113g Carbohydrate. (Actually, after you subtract dietary fiber, it works out to only 93g Carbohydrate).
And yes, I'm that precise in my food measurements. I used to weigh/size everything, now I've done it long enough that I know how large a portion is for me, so I don't bother unless I'm eating something new.
I space those 6 meals out in 3 to 3.5hr intervals. This works best for me as any longer and I experience a liver dump. Of course, everybody is different and you may respond differently and be able to eat fewer meals with longer spacing in-between.
Regarding the dietary fat / cholesterol... It's important to realize that dietary cholesterol does NOT equal serum cholesterol. Many people are now finding that increasing their fat intake, especially that of healthy fats (such as in fish, nuts, olive/coconut oils, etc., etc.) is improving their overall lipid profile, by raising 'good' cholesterol levels while maintaining or lowering their 'bad' cholesterol.
Most important is to keep at the diet and exercise regime. It's a diabetes lifestyle, not a fad diet/exercise program. And remember, with the amount of great low-carb recipes out there, you can still have your treats too!
Heck, I even have the occasional (very occasional) non-diabetic meal with my family ... of course, I workout intensely before and after the meal to counter the effects. In fact, you'll likely find that you too can easily lower a high blood glucose reading simply by getting on a bicycle, going for a power-walk, or doing any kind of moderate-to-intense exercise for 15-20 minutes.
And remember, what works for me will NOT work for everyone, but the advice I've given is pretty sound for most people. Hopefully you can take what works for you, and adapt anything else you need. The most important aspect of this is testing, finding out what works for you, and keeping at it!
Good luck with it all, if you have ANY questions, keep asking the good folks here!
