Glycemic Challenged

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Permalink Reply by sproutsinthekitchen on September 1, 2009 at 8:00am

Check out the book "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with more than 75 Recipes" by Mark Bittman. He's a foodie writer for the NY Times (and cookbook author) who was also pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol and a host of other health problems, and had to change the way he ate, but didn't want to sacrifice. He's also written a couple of great series of cookbooks: How to Cook Everything (and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian), and The Minimalist. He's got a blog, too.

Simple gist of Bittman's Food Matters is: eat less meat, animal products (including milk), processed foods and more fruits, veggies and whole grains. The nice thing about his book(s) are the recipes. Simply, easy, and, in my opinion, really yummy.

Permalink Reply by StitchyWench on September 1, 2009 at 8:04am

I would look at Atkins type diets but add lots of vegetables (not fruits). You need to go high protein, low carb and lots of vitamins/minerals from non-sugary vegetables. But most importantly, and I say this with all honesty your healthy habit changes cannot end with just changes in diet. You have to make time for yourself to exercise regularly. Diabetes can be a very ugly beast to your heart. Cardio, is key!

There are some great diabetic cook books out there, including quick prep ideas a plenty. My MIL went from controlled diabetes (diagnosed in her thirties I believe) to kidney failure in her fifties - which lead to a quintuple bypass surgery while she was on dialysis. You can control diabetes, but it takes a life-long commitment to eating right and exercising - two things my MIL did not do because she was too busy to pass by Taco Bell and McDonalds every day (just about) once I wasn't there cooking for her or encouraging her to pack a lunch for work.

Things you may not know and may not be told - cut out all soda, even the diet stuff. They are horrible for your kidneys. If you drink coffee - switch to tea. Don't smoke, don't drink alcohol at all if you need insulin and rarely if you can control this with diet and exercise.

Permalink Reply by StitchyWench on September 1, 2009 at 8:09am

I didn't mean for that to sound so mommy's mad at you! I just really want to encourage you to take the time you need for you. Diabetes or borderline diabetes can be treated with great success through diet, exercise and closely monitoring your blood sugar. I also have a grandpa who lived in to his mid eighties with diabetes. He rarely needed insulin because he regularly exercised and ate a healthy diet.

Permalink Reply by mightyninjamom on September 1, 2009 at 2:31pm

GG - my mom has Type II diabetes and has been able to keep it under control very well using The Zone diet. In fact she has followed it for about 15 years now. She also takes supplements, but the two most important are Chromium and Vit. C.

Here is the website: http://www.zonediet.com/

Permalink Reply by Herasmus B. Dragon on September 3, 2009 at 2:58am

The Atkins diet (minus the two-week initial cleansing period) was a boon to diabetics with its carb counting. If you can find a secondhand copy of the book, it's a good jumping off point. Hubby's Type II life became so much easier when every food product began adding the carb amount to the front of the packaging.

Carrots are a basically "free food", along with celery sticks. Just count the carbs in the dressings you dip them in. One medium apple, one banana, one yogurt, etc.

Crackers and the like are OK, sticking to the serving size.

If you can keep snacktime to 15 grams of carbs or less, you should be OK, and meals are generally 30-45 at breakfast and lunch, and 45 at dinnertime, depending on your body type. You can even have a very small nighttime snack and still be OK.

I had GD with Big O, and followed this diet as soon as I got pregnant with Ebay, and by 7 months I still had no sign of GD.

Permalink Reply by G to the G on September 3, 2009 at 5:58am

Thanks everyone!! These are helpful. I was able to dust off my GD materials that helped too. And I am slowly but surely moving into the acceptance phase of this... I already look less puffy after a week of watching it very closely. I needed to accept the fact that my husband can eat a gallon of ice cream and it have no impact ... and me ... I can't even have a scoop. My body just is different...and can't process the sugars the same.

Life's a bitch. Then you can't eat bread.

dear diabetes,
eat a bowl of dicks.
love,
gg

Permalink Reply by G to the G on September 3, 2009 at 5:59am

sprouts -
thanks!! i hadn't heard of this! i'm excited now (as much as you can be w/o bread in your life)!


sproutsinthekitchen said:

Check out the book "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with more than 75 Recipes" by Mark Bittman. He's a foodie writer for the NY Times (and cookbook author) who was also pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol and a host of other health problems, and had to change the way he ate, but didn't want to sacrifice. He's also written a couple of great series of cookbooks: How to Cook Everything (and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian), and The Minimalist. He's got a blog, too.

Simple gist of Bittman's Food Matters is: eat less meat, animal products (including milk), processed foods and more fruits, veggies and whole grains. The nice thing about his book(s) are the recipes. Simply, easy, and, in my opinion, really yummy.

Permalink Reply by Mamawho on September 3, 2009 at 6:46am

Ugh. Both of my parents are Type I, insulin dependent. My mom wasn't diagnosed until her 50s, which is really unusual, and she has serious complications, including hemochromatosis. She may have had that first, leading to diabetes. She's German, and her mother had no prenatal care in immediate postwar Germany, and she's had a lifetime of weird health issues. But I have to watch my weight carefully, because it's probably the only thing standing between me and an insulin pump. I was thisclose to GD.

Bittman's books are good. Real food with lots of options for those with little time and those with more leisure. All tasty. We're happy omnivores, yet we cook from his vegetarian book often.

Something I have noticed is that we are inoculated to sweet. Things that should be savory have sweeteners in them to make them more satisfying - not to our bellies, but to our brains. This is a good article that talks about that: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23well.html?_r=2&em

Balsamic vinaigrette should take about two minutes to make. Srsly. I make one with balsamic, whatever oil, usually grapeseed, a little spoonful of dijon, a little smear of plain yogurt, salt, pepper, fines herbes, fresh garlic and anything else that looks lonely. I plop it all in my mini food processor and whiz it around. Et voila. This thing saves loads of time: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/hand_blenders/csb-77.html

My mom never really learned to cook except for the packaged food type cooking from the 50s and 60s.She also doesn't know what all the different sugars are on labels. Consequently, she battles her sugar. Simple food, the kind that you actually handle the various ingredients, will make it easier by far to manage blood sugar. It doesn't have to take long at all.

Do you have a small block of time on weekends during which you could do some food prep to shave off some time during the week? When I actually had to be somewhere everyday, I would chop onions, peel garlic, and get salad ingredients ready on Sunday afternoons. Now, after we've grilled steaks, I scoot the coals over to one side and put a pork loin roast on to cook while we eat. Dinner's nearly done for the next night.

Permalink Reply by Piebrothersmomma on September 3, 2009 at 11:12am

Protein needs to become your friend. Try to always have some with every meal/snack you have. It doesn't have to be meat - it can be diary, nuts, legumes, etc. Just watch it with the legumes/beans as they do have a higher carb count but are still very healthy for the carb/glycemic concious folks in regulated amounts.

Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on September 3, 2009 at 7:47pm

This is the key to much of the healthy eating in our house. Most Sunday evenings, I am sous chef galore....salad ingredients for lunches on weekdays become garnish for dinner become stir fry ingredients if not eaten by Tuesday.

Mamawho said:

Do you have a small block of time on weekends during which you could do some food prep to shave off some time during the week? When I actually had to be somewhere everyday, I would chop onions, peel garlic, and get salad ingredients ready on Sunday afternoons. Now, after we've grilled steaks, I scoot the coals over to one side and put a pork loin roast on to cook while we eat. Dinner's nearly done for the next night.

Permalink Reply by G to the G on September 4, 2009 at 6:33pm

I hear you. I'm a meat eater and even I'm sick of the chicken even.
My doc asked specifically though if I was veggie b/c that would change his recommendations for me.

mcglory13 said:

Gah. As a vegetarian who frankly, doesn't want to think about a diet but just slavishly follow it until the pounds melt off, I find the fixation of these diets on things like grilled chicken breasts to be frustrating. :P

Permalink Reply by Mamawho on September 4, 2009 at 8:25pm

I'm sick of the chicken, too. Srsly. Lots of fish. We eats lots of fish. I could probably double as a thermometer.

GG said:

I hear you. I'm a meat eater and even I'm sick of the chicken even.
My doc asked specifically though if I was veggie b/c that would change his recommendations for me.

mcglory13 said:

Gah. As a vegetarian who frankly, doesn't want to think about a diet but just slavishly follow it until the pounds melt off, I find the fixation of these diets on things like grilled chicken breasts to be frustrating. :P