Diabetic101 Food Regimine – for Me (Part 1 of 2)

Okay, big post. This is one that I have been building to because I knew it would take a lot of time and effort. However, I now see that saying what I do here is what blogs are all about.

I am diabetic. If you follow this blog, you probably know that. You may also know that I am type 2. I do take meds.

What you don’t know is what I eat and the work it took to put the list together.

For those of you who are not diabetic, it’s not such a bad list. Think about lowering your carbs now, while you have a choice. Maybe – probably – not to my level, but down some can’t hurt.

Here’s the deal – I used to eat around 800-1100 carbs a day (that’s big). And, I drank only diet sodas (which, by the way, are simply not good for you period). After my stroke my tastes changed, but it was as much “I need to” as anything. Let’s do a bit of background on carbs and diabetes.

A carbohydrate (or carb) is a type of simple form sugar. Don’t call carbs and sugars the same if, for no other reason, that “sugar-free” is not the same as “carb-free”. In fact, a lot of “sugar-free” things have more carbs than the regular food.

Now, package labeling is not perfect, either, however, we have to draw that line somewhere, so I try to accept the diet labeling until I find reason to doubt it (checking blood sugar level is one).

Blood sugar is a measure of how much (or little) sugar stays in your blood after digestion. A normal person’s Blood sugar (I am going to call this Bs – please don’t laugh too much) will measure about 100-120 (110 being really good).

My Bs when I went to the hospital during my stroke was 350. My blood pressure was 240/140 (bad combo, folks).

From my research I have gathered that in normal human cells, the cell walls are semi-permeable (allows in some) to sugar. This is controlled by Insulin surrounding the cell. No insulin and the sugar molecules just kinda bounce off and go back into the blood (elevate the Bs).

A lot of insulin is produced by the liver, but not all. My problem is that my body does not produce enough insulin to cover the walls adequately to let the sugar molecules into the cells. My medicines help this; however, to keep it even and okay, I have to control the amount of carbs that I eat so the Bs doesn’t get too high in my blood.

I am not a doctor or specialist, so please don’t take this as “Gospel”. Do some of your own research and ask your doctor. Yes, that was a CYA statement.

I watch my Bs, testing twice a day. I do it before breakfast and before bed. I have found that, just before bed, I may need a small snack. If I do and don’t take it, funny enough, my Bs drops too low and I get dizzy, sweating, and can’t think quite right. Not a good feeling to wake up to so, the check.

My daily carb intake now is 55-60 carbs for each of 3 meals. If I need to or choose to, I may have 8-16 carbs (16=1 serving) 1/2 way between 1st and 2nd meal and/or 2nd/3rd meal, then the same before bed according to my Bs level. My Bs ranges now from 69-101 in the morning (averaging around 85-95) and 79-127 (averaging around 85-101) before bed. It has been 49 before (note the above-mention of dizzy and sweating). My life.

I have told you all this info so that you may use it yourself or tell others and, perhaps, avoid the stroke thing that I had. But, for those of you who must, now, adjust your sugar intake, I say that I really understand the hardship of this.

It isn’t a “diet” that you go on then can stop; it is/ becomes a way of life.

It is just something that you either do or you go back to the hospital or you die.

Can you get better? Yes, I am told that, sometimes, it stops, and I believe in divine healing; however, your diet is critical now anyway you look at it. So, in tomorrow’s post, I plan to list the foods and quantities that I purchase and some of the meal ideas I have.

They are not the only way; heck, they may not even be the best way for you; however, they work for me, and I will share them with you.

CYA, again – I am not a doctor and not a sponsor of any of the food brands or such of any of this I tell you – I am just me telling you what has worked for me.
See you tomorrow.
Namaste,
Scott