Diabetes Community

"It isn't fair that we can't "have our cake and eat it too" but I'd rather have live in a world of freedom and choices requiring constant responsibility, than a world where one has to eat for survival."


There's one more option: having plenty of food and not worrying about going hungry, but having your food choices/quantities controlled by someone else.


After all, this is how it works with pets. They're not in the wild struggling to survive, but if the owner doesn't free-feed, they also don't get all the food they want.


That's also how it can work with children. After all, if they have money to buy crappy food, they're getting it from their parents. Maybe that's why my parents gave me such a pitiful allowance. ;) Admittedly, I indulged in crappy food at my friends' houses, because their parents offered it to me, and I wasn't health-conscious until age 14.


Despite the fact that I'm an adult, I don't feel like I have to be "constantly responsible," because I simply don't buy the things that I know are bad for me. I like the food that I eat (except for the 1-2 servings of baked meat/poultry I force myself to eat daily--I just don't find meat palatable unless it's heavily salted and cured, or fried and covered in sauce, or drenched in gravy and cranberry sauce, or otherwise thoroughly disguised). I don't eat out because I think it costs too much. I do allow myself to spend money eating out if it's with friends. But eating out a couple of times per month doesn't cause problems for me, even though I'm pretty sure I end up eating too much fat and/or carbs.


So the only time I have to be responsible is when I'm grocery shopping. That's much easier than buying something and then trying to resist it once I'm home. Also, I don't like eating treats too often, because then they don't taste as good.

I really miss good, fresh sour-dough bread--the kind made with cultures from the air, rather than baker's yeast.

The low carb French Meadow Bakery sour dough bread is just not as good as the carby sour dough. Maybe it's because it's frozen rather than fresh, or maybe it's because they add lots of soy flour and gluten.

I miss being able to eat enough carbs to keep my glycogen stores full. I eat extra carbs 1-2 days per week to refill them. I always feel warm, strong, and full of energy after a fatty, salty, high-calorie, carb-rich meal, like the kind you can get in a restaurant. However, I don't feel good if I eat like that every day. I have tried eating more carbs every day, but I feel tired and achy.

I had a diabetic coma in September, and that has motivated me to reduce my carb intake. The one carb I will not give up is milk. It has lots of nutritional value, and if I drink it while also eating protein, it doesn't spike my blood sugar too much.

I'm aiming for about 60g of carb a day, although I'm usually at about 70-75g. I've lost 18 lb. so far, and only 10 lb. to go before I'm at BMI 24.9. Now I need to be sure to exercise enough so what I'm losing is fat, not muscle!

Fantastic, keep up the god work. The carbs in milk if added into your carb count will not hurt you. I have cut all except the ones I get from veggies, and the occasional few tablespoons of brown rice, or whole grain pasta. I am very sparing of these, but do eat a little. I am even baking some low glycemic index cookies for the Holidays. I only allow myself one a day, as in my one piece of dark chocolate a day.

My DD works in Africa. She is a public health worker in the Foreign Service. Her current assignment is working on food insecurity issues.

Among other countries where she has been assigned are the Sudan, the Congo and Mali. She is constantly amazed by the struggles Americans have with controlling diet. She has had to learn to deal with folks literally dying of starvation and is very aware of what are the most energy efficient food for humans.

She says when food is scarce, the average person wants protein and as much protein as possible. Plus fresh fruit and veggies. But starving folks will eat literally anything they can digest. She has worked in countries where children are kept alive by the use of PlumpyNut type foods.

When she is home on leave, she says she is amazed by the waste of decent raw ingredients used in empty calorie foods.

We seem to have lost our way in the US in terms of healthy diet.

I like the food that I eat (except for the 1-2 servings of baked meat/poultry I force myself to eat daily--I just don't find meat palatable unless it's heavily salted and cured, or fried and covered in sauce, or drenched in gravy and cranberry sauce, or otherwise thoroughly disguised).


Hi, I'm curious why you force yourself to eat somgthing that you don't like? Laurie

Hi, I am curious why you would force yourself to eat food that you don't like? A plant-based diet can be a ideal way to manage diabetes as long as you enjoy it. Laurie

"Hi, I am curious why you would force yourself to eat food that you don't like? A plant-based diet can be a ideal way to manage diabetes as long as you enjoy it. Laurie"


I did the plant-based diet. I was raised on one, though my parents served us some meat because of pressure from my dad's mom. When I eat meat, I have to sort of block out the fact that I'm eating an animal that really wanted to live (most animals do), and yet, it was killed anyhow, so I could get nutrients.


Anyhow...why do I do it? Because "the evidence" overwhelmingly suggests that our ancestors have been eating meat for millions of years. Suppose our pre-pre-prehistoric vegetarian ancestors were able to synthesize plenty of "Protein A" from plant amino acids. Then, suppose one of our meat-eating ancestors had a gene mutation that caused him to no longer be able to assemble a large amount of "Protein A." If he could get enough pre-assembled "Protein A" from meat, then his mutation would never confer an evolutionary disadvantage upon him; he would be healthy and strong, and pass his genes on to future generations.


His ancestors would also be strong and healthy...until they lost access to meat. Then, they would suffer from "Protein A" deficiency, and their health would decline.


"Protein A" could be anything. Scientists have not uncovered everything there is to know about the human body. They've discovered a few very important organic nutrients, which they call "vitamins," which are essential for everyone. We can get these from plants. Another class of organic nutrients, "essential amino acids," are also essential for everyone, and these are also available from plant foods.


What about the nutrients that are only essential for some people, and therefore have not been studied extensively? L-carnitine (a transport protein) is an example of a nutrient that is essential for some people. Most people can make enough of it. But those who can't make enough of it will only be healthy if they (A) take L-carnitine supplements, or (B) eat LOTS of red meat.


Anyhow, my point is, there may be some unidentified nutrients that are essential for some people, and that are only available from meat. I suspect that a "natural" or "wild" diet--something closely mimicking the diet of our hunter/gatherer ancestors--gives many chronically ill people the best shot at good health. I'm a chronically ill person--with a history L-carnitine deficiency, actually. Therefore, I eat meat.


It's not exactly a bullet-proof argument. You will not hear me say that all chronically ill people definitely need to eat meat. I can't even say that I need to eat meat. But I don't want to take my chances, and end up missing out on as-of-yet undiscovered nutrients that are only available from meat.

^
|___ ESSAY :D

This is an interesting conversation. After almost ten years of being diabetic, I have gradually added more types of carbs into my diet. I think having breast cancer altered my perspective a bit about life in general.

I still limit my portion size, but I now let myself have a handful of potato chips (yeah, I do count them out) with my sandwich on whole grain bread. I love them and I've decided that life is too short to give up things you really love. I eat popcorn, good bread with olive oil, and share desserts with friends when we go out to eat, all in moderation. I will order a baked potato now and eat more of the skin than the inside (always liked that part better anyways), but I never eat even half of the potato. And there's always a salad and/or veggies to accompany the meal.

I was raised a carnivore and I don't have any problem with eating meat, poultry, fish or seafood. I love a good rare prime rib and I don't fret over eating it. I just don't have a huge portion and I don't eat any visible fat on anything.

I am fortunate that I don't fantasize about food, I rarely "crave" something but if I do, I will allow myself the pleasure of giving in within reason. That gets me "over it" and then I get back to reality.

With all this, I have lost weight so I now weigh less than I did 30 years ago (I was never obese) and my last A1c was 5.7. Just bought my first pair of size 4 jeans, so I guess I'm doing OK ;>)

Michelle

Michelle, you probably should also add that you don't sit still for a minute, except sometimes. You're constantly on the go, using up so much energy with your projects, fun things to do, cleaning, moving furniture, lifting boxes, and probably do more exercise than most people. I would assume you are burning many of the calories from the small amount of potatoes and other tastings you have occasionally. Other people who don't move around as much as you do might have a system that doesn't burn those calories as much. That's just a thought!

I think to hardest thing for me to give up would be my mac and cheese no longer a kid but I still love it

I noticed there was a whole wheat mac and cheese by Annie's.
whole wheat shells & White Cheddar. I bought a box, as an emergency backup, months ago and haven't tried it. If you paired some of it with a salad, and maybe some other protein, it might work. I think I got it at Safeway. It does have 43 carbs for one cup. Is that worth it?