need help with my diabetes?

Question

i love food and i find it sooo hard to be a diabetic . how can i balance my love for food and a diabetic diet.
Help!!!

Answer 1

I have the same problem. My viewpoint is this: If everyone else can eat the way they do, why can't I? So, I eat what I want, when I want. The difference is that I count it into my "meal plan" (I don't have a specific diabetic diet, I just try to eat around 5-7 carbs a meal, although I rarely hit the target) and adjust my insulin for it. Even if you were not diabetic, it is not a matter of can you eat it. It is a matter of should you eat it. All things in moderation is healthier than a cardboard diet. As long as my HbA1c stays under 7, I'm happy.

Answer 2

Think of food, like money, the more you use, the less you have.

Your wallet allows you to budget just so many calories per day.

If you go off budget here, you must learn to pay there.

The American Diabetes Associan's Exchange Diet makes weight and blood sugar management a whole lot easier.

It is Very important that all Diabetics understand the relationship of insulin use and how food will effect this, Exercise is the other component.

There is a dirrect relationship, that can be learned and can keep you healthy for years and years, once you learn how. The ADA exchange diet helped me A LOT.

Answer 3

I love food too. Are you type 1 or 2? I have been a type 1 insulin dependant diabetic for 16 years and still find it diificult at times to control myself. I am on an insulin pump and that alone has helped me control my blood sugars and I know when I'm eating alot of carbs. The pump keeps up with all the information I put in it. So I stay active, check my blood sugars ALOT, and try to exercise EVERYDAY!! Just because your diabetic doesn't mean you can't eat cake, just not all the time!!

Answer 4

First, you have to get your head straight and eat to live... don't live to eat. Read more here:
http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/weightloss.html

More than likely, you are diabetic because of your eating habits. If you want help, you've got to wake up. You are GOING to have life threatening problems and misery if you don't change the way you think about food and replace those old, bad habits with new, good ones. The best advice I can give you is learn to love foods that are good for you like raw vegetables, for example, and learn to hate foods that are not good for you, like jelly-filled doughnuts.

Okay, I'm done preaching, now it's time to learn about taking care of yourself:

For type I and type II diabetics (and those who could potentially become diabetic)...

I've found a wonderful book that will help you control your diabetes and minimize or even eliminate the complications. Some folks who became diabetic due to poor diet and obesity are effectively cured by following the advice in this book. I'm a type II (inherited), but it helps all types, especially those who became diabetic due to poor eating habits. It's by an author who has really done his homework, Patrick Quillin, Phd. It's called, "The Diabetes Improvement Program". I have tried his suggestions and found them to be very helpful. I have no complications whatsoever and my blood sugar levels are quite stable. Yes, I still have to take Metformin (Glucophage) daily, but it's the minimum dosage (500mg) and I only have to take it twice a day. I have been off Metformin for as much as a week, but this was with vigorous exercise. Many, what I call, non-hereditary type IIs (those that don't have a close relative who had it) have gotten off medication completely, just with diet, exercise, and supplements. So, in some instances, it most certainly can be 'effectively' cured. Read more about it here:
http://www.diabetesimprovement.com/

The book explains what's going on in our system and what to do about it. It's really easy and inexpensive. It's basically diet, supplements and exercise. For example, did you know that cinnamon helps blood sugar absorption? It also controls cholesterol and triglycerides. This is according to the USDA:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0104.htm#pinch

For men: Are you suffering from erectile dysfunction? I was. Yes, WAS. Now that everything's under control, I'm able to have nearly normal sex again. I've also put together a little webpage highlighting some of the things I've learned here:
http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/Type_II_Diabetes.html

Here's another great health site with all kinds of general health information:
http://www.chetday.com

Answer 5

Trans Fats causes Diabetes Type 2
Don't eat trans fats.

Be sure to eat plenty or tradional fats in your diet like butter,
olive oil, coconut oil and lard.


The real problem is that recommendation to avoid saturated fats
almost invariably result in people consuming more trans fats. There is no question but that the trans fats have been shown to have a detrimental effect on the incidence and treatment of type 2
diabetes. The saturated fats on the other hand, have no effect when appropriate comparisons are made.

Very good studies indicate that trans fats interfere with insulin
receptors and therefore with insulin resistance. The saturated fats do not.

The recommendation regarding dietary saturated fats intake versus trans fats intake for the past number of years have been very confusing to the public, and judging from the articles, also
confusing to the researches. Trans fats are mistaken by many of the health professionals from saturated fats although they are not similar in their effects on the human body, just similar in the manner of stability in the baking or cooking realm.

Type 2 diabetes is a new disease, one that has now reached epidemic proportions. Type 2 diabetes did not exist 100 years ago when our diets were very rich in saturated fats. Type 2 diabetes appeared when trans fats came into the diet, and has become epidemic as people are eating more and more foods containing trans fats. And since we know that trans fat interfere with insulin receptors in the cells, it is clear that the blame lies with new industrial fats, not traditional saturated fats.

Mary G. Enig, PhD

Answer 6

YES, it's hard. I too am faced with the same problem. My solution is to eat smaller portions of what I really love. I have a problem with bread, so I will have a slice maybe twice a month or there about. It's not that I avoid it, I just try to moderate my desire against my diabetic needs. I have been able to go from an A1c of 14 down to 6.4. It's not easy and it never will be. I have a taste of a regular pie and a slice of "sugar-free" pie. Same with cake and pastries. It's not to avoid stuff; but to have a "taste" knowing what it will do to your blood sugar control. I happen to choose better control over bigger portions. So far it is working.

Don't get me wrong, I had one binge period a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't stop eating lots of stuff. I got my high readings and have to pay for it. But, after that, I came back to sanity and good readings. It happens and I live with it. Still, I'm fighting and it's working for me.

Answer 7

you can still have your cake and eat it. True but find a diabetic recipe book. They taste great as well. My kids love going to Nana's as she is a diabetic and cooks cakes and biscuits with out the sugar.
She makes a tea cake, yes tea as in a cup of tea no milk or sugar, 2 cups flour and 2 cups of dried fruit. soak the fruit over night in the tea, then place flour into mix and mix.
put in a cake tin then in oven till cooked.
My kids even take it to school.
She has hundreds of recipes. That one she made up.
Find a web site that caters for diabetic recipes.

Answer 8

Eat smaller portions of food you love, drink diet soda if you have to have soda.

Try to use equal or cinnamon for flavoring.

Also, keep a log of what you eat each day. Remember that there is always tomorrow so if it's late and you don't need that extra slice of pie (at the holidays even), you can always have it in the morning.

Answer 9

The only way out of that dilemma is to control the diabetes carefully with enough medication and exercise to keep your blood sugar normal no matter what you eat.

Answer 10

I am a diabetic type two borderline diabetic. I watch my diet and exercise 30 minutes a day.