# Dr just says cut back on carbs & sugar



## dodgesmammaw (Jun 19, 2013)

Two weeks ago at dr. Visit he puts me on Metformin and just says cut back on carbs and sugar. Got my A1C results a week later. It had gone up again. I have been doing well for this two weeks have lost 6 lbs. I know many of you have had success with the plant based diet. I have upped protein and cut out all unhealthy carbs. No sweets only fruit. When I go back to the dr. In 2 1/2 months I am going to talk to him about sending me to a dietitian. I just need education to help me understand. I wish I liked fish but tuna is about all I can stomach. Any advice or menu suggestions appreciated. I feel kind of overwhelmed.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

You could do a Whole 30 search for recipes .
The eating plan is no sugar and low carb.
I hope that helps.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Go to www.nutritionfacts.org and type "diabetes" in the search box.

We have been eating whole foods, plant-based (WFPB) for just over a year now. We were both Type 2 before we started. We are no longer taking any diabetes medicine. I was once taking 1000 mg metformin twice a day as well as Actos at the highest dose. Now, I take nothing. My last three A1C test results were in all in the 5.1 to 5.7 range. 

We eat lots of plant-based (complex carbs) and fruit.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

First of all, find out what a carb is, then go from there. Here's a hint...fruit has LOTS of them!

Mon


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Google Jason Fung. Google Keto. Google Keto and diabetes.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I was to the Dr. on Wed for my semi annual check up.
he told me no carbs or sugar. no white bread, pasta.
No soda pop. said to drink just water. I figure coffee is water . LOL gotta have some vices..
my problem is not diabetis, I am 65 pounds over weight..
I have to learn what I cannot eat.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Be careful who you listen to. There has been a lot of new research and new understandings in the past few years regarding diabetes. I suggest that you take a look at the publication linked to below. It's from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. A organization composed of thousands of clinicians from around the country.

Diet and Diabetes: Recipes for Success


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> I was to the Dr. on Wed for my semi annual check up.
> he told me no carbs or sugar. no white bread, pasta.
> No soda pop. said to drink just water. I figure coffee is water . LOL gotta have some vices..
> my problem is not diabetis, I am 65 pounds over weight..
> I have to learn what I cannot eat.


Dont be fooled into thinking whole grains have significantly fewer carbs. They have same carbs as refined, just with more fiber and vitamin content. So if you are serious about cutting carbs, whole grains arent a good substitute.

And seriously going low carb isnt easy when you are used to a high carb diet.
If caffeine isnt a concern, then black coffee is fine. But if you add sugar or other sweetened flavorings, thats bad.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> Be careful who you listen to. There has been a lot of new research and new understandings in the past few years regarding diabetes. I suggest that you take a look at the publication linked to below. It's from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. A organization composed of thousands of clinicians from around the country.
> 
> Diet and Diabetes: Recipes for Success


Watch out for anybody telling you unlimited grain is ok for diabetes like like link given in this post. Grain (refined or whole) is HIGH CARBOHYDRATE. Unlimited high carbohydrate is equivalent to eating unlimited amounts of SUGAR. Your body sees carbohydrates same as sugar. The only difference is sugar combined with lot fiber will slow its digestion. You still are eating unlimted SUGAR. Your body is still dealing with huge amount of SUGAR! I am sure this sort of study is promoted by various people with an economic agenda to continue consumption of a high carbohydrate diet.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

HermitJohn said:


> I am sure this sort of study is promoted by various people with an economic agenda to continue consumption of a high carbohydrate diet.


I'm sure the study was financed by Big Veggie.

I'd suggest getting you trifocals adjusted. No where in the report did anyone recommend eating unlimited volumes of grains. PCRM recommends a balanced diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. But heck, what do 10,000 clinicians know. And, since I have followed their advice, my Type 2 is managed without any drugs.


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## mrghostwalker (Feb 6, 2011)

There is a similar conversation on this topic here...
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/stuggled-with-weight.593138/#post-8290994


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

dodgesmammaw said:


> Two weeks ago at dr. Visit he puts me on Metformin and just says cut back on carbs and sugar. Got my A1C results a week later. It had gone up again. I have been doing well for this two weeks have lost 6 lbs. I know many of you have had success with the plant based diet. I have upped protein and cut out all unhealthy carbs. No sweets only fruit. When I go back to the dr. In 2 1/2 months I am going to talk to him about sending me to a dietitian. I just need education to help me understand. I wish I liked fish but tuna is about all I can stomach. Any advice or menu suggestions appreciated. I feel kind of overwhelmed.


You need to see a dietician.

You need to see a dietician

Lastly, you need to see a dietician.

Because his advice is so bad that it makes me want to cuss, and I am not a cussing person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A really great dinner for a newly diagnosed diabetic is lean meat, non starchy vegetables, and one serving of a starch. Drop a steak on the grill if you wish, that is fine, but only eat ONE baked potato with it!!!!!!!!!! Baked potatos, like fruit, are full of carbohydrates and it is better by far to only eat carbohydrates in small portions. One serving of either is enough.

I am aware that it is possible to eat a plant based diabetic diet but I cannot tell you how that is done. I can tell you that right now you can eat a healthy dinner of lean meat and a small amount of carbohydrates.

....................................................................

When I saw the dietician she gave me a list of foods that I could eat as much of as I wanted, as well as a list of foods that contained carbohydrates and the amount I could eat of each carbohydrate food without causing myself a problem. And, because my blood sugar was dropping too low between meals she told me about safe between meal snacks so that I no longer felt like I was starving before I sat down to my next meal.

I cannot tell you how much better I felt when I went on the new diet. I did get hungry until my body adjusted to the new routine, but I had more energy and I was sleeping better because I no longer had to get up a few times at night to pee.

Edited to add: I eat beef a couple of times a week. Then there is fish, chicken, and pork. I like a good chicken stir fry with just a snitch of rice and a lot of veggies, and possibly with nuts sprinkled on top. Then there is fajitas. I count the carbs in the tortillas carefully but I eat as much of the filling as I wish. Grilled chicken breast with gyros seasoning is excellent. And, salmon grilled over a smoky fire is GOOOOD!

I believe a plant based diet would work if you aet a lot of non starchy vegetables with it, as non starchy vegetables slow down your digestion so that the food trickles into your system. And, with type 2 diabetes that is what you want. A slow, steady supply of nutrition is IDEAL!


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> I'm sure the study was financed by Big Veggie.
> 
> I'd suggest getting you trifocals adjusted. No where in the report did anyone recommend eating unlimited volumes of grains. PCRM recommends a balanced diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. But heck, what do 10,000 clinicians know. And, since I have followed their advice, my Type 2 is managed without any drugs.


First paragraph, second page 


> Portions of vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes
> were unlimited.


Guessing you need trifocals or magnifying glass or something!

Same clinicians that promote the low fat diet and substituting more grain and sugar. Same ole, same ole.... heard it since the 70s. And it doesnt work. Fat doesnt make you fat, carbohydrates do. Only thing worse is combination of carbs and fat. Thats really deadly.

Feed out some hogs on high fat, low carb and compare to hogs fed out on low fat, high carb. Hogs are fed out on corn cause high carb diet makes them gain weight QUICKLY. Fat hogs bring more money cause they are sold by weight. Carbs MAKE YOU FAT. Carbs are SUGAR in disguise. Carbs are cheap.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

dodgesmammaw said:


> Two weeks ago at dr. Visit he puts me on Metformin and just says cut back on carbs and sugar. Got my A1C results a week later. It had gone up again. I have been doing well for this two weeks have lost 6 lbs. I know many of you have had success with the plant based diet. I have upped protein and cut out all unhealthy carbs. No sweets only fruit. When I go back to the dr. In 2 1/2 months I am going to talk to him about sending me to a dietitian. I just need education to help me understand. I wish I liked fish but tuna is about all I can stomach. Any advice or menu suggestions appreciated. I feel kind of overwhelmed.


Try cutting total carbs back to 100 grams per day or lower. There are no healthy carbs or unhealthy carbs, there are total consumed CARBS. Healthier foods are low carb foods. Raw produce has carbs, all plant foods do, but very few compared to grains or legumes or potatoes. Some fruits like blueberries tend to be whole lot better tolerated by a diabetic than grapes or bananas. but you still need to pay attention to total carbs.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

> Portions of vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes were unlimited.


Yes, four FOUR food groups were unlimited. This does not mean that the participants ate 100% carbohydrates as you would lead one to believe. 

Since carbs make one fat and cause diabetes (according to Dr. Hermit), I would like to know how I lost 70 pounds and came off all of my meds (Type 2, BP, and cholestrol) by eating "unlimited portions of vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes?"


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## dodgesmammaw (Jun 19, 2013)

Thank You to all of you for your advice. CAbin Fever I am thrilled the diet worked for you and your wife. HermitJohn I appreciate your advice I know every persons body will react differently. I am watching carbs and sugar very closely. frogmammy I mentioned I am eating fruit and I am very aware that they have carbs. I have limited it to grapefruit, strawberries, and an apple. Terri thank you for your advice.Thank you for sharing your experience.


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

You will loose weight if you cut your carbs low enough and it is good for diabetes. You will also lose weight if you cut fats low enough and that is also good for diabetes. Weight loss is the answer. I know people who have gotten off their diabetic meds completely with both diets.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Cabin Fever and Wind in Her Hair have both done well on the WFPB diet: when I said that I had nothing to say about it was not because there is anything wrong with it it was because I do not understand how it works with diabetes. I am not the person to answer questions on that one. 

I can say that basing my diet around lean protein stabilized my blood sugar. Loosing weight also helped but I did not have much weight to lose, so there was a limit to what that could do for me


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

If it was me, I would start tracking my FBG when I get up i the morning, glucose at 1 2, and 3 hours after eating, and tracking glucose after eating certain foods. That would tell me what to eat and what not to eat.

The chances of finding a doctor or dietician that will guide you to the right path is minimal. You have to own the problem and fix it. For some people a low carb diet is the right path, for others it is low fat. Very few, if any, are successful be just cutting back.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

A lot of my diet is made up of good carbs - veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, pulses and whole grains. These are powerhouse foods with incredible nutritional value including a lot that is not found easily elsewhere.

Everyone now knows that leafy greens are very important but I just watched a report about purple fruits and veggies. Purple Sweet Potatoes have been eaten in Okinawa forever and the people there have less dementia than anywhere else. 

A study has shown that other purple fruit and veggies also have the specific nutrient that seems to be the important one. It keeps arteries especially in the brain very flexible. Good thing that I like red cabbage, purple and red grapes, blueberries, prune plums, egg plant, blackberries and black currents as I have never even seen a purple sweet potato. Must try to grow some.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Be careful about substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar laden foods. While the Mayo Clinic and other health care businesses have studies that show artificial sweeteners don't raise blood sugar levels, I know people who have had just that issue. My grandfather was one that had problems with artificial sweetener raising his levels.

Apples are very high carb fruit, about 12 g each.

You eat plain grapefruit? Wow! I never could. It has to have a couple tablespoons of sugar on it before I can eat it.

Don't forget the importance of exercise. Daily exercise, even stretches and muscle crunches, is very helpful in controlling blood sugar levels.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Try to sprinkle a little...LITTLE...salt on that grapefruit. Sweetens it right up!

If you like fruit..."stone fruit" peaches, apricots, and the like are lower in carbs, so are blueberries, grapes, and *barely* ripe bananas.

Mon


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

MoonRiver said:


> If it was me, I would start tracking my FBG when I get up i the morning, glucose at 1 2, and 3 hours after eating, and tracking glucose after eating certain foods. That would tell me what to eat and what not to eat.


I did this to learn how the different foods affected my system. And yes it was very helpful. I would eat what I thought was a healthy meal and then I tested at intervals afterwards and that told me which of my favorite meals needed changing. For example I changed spagetti and meatballs to meatballs with a small side of spagetti

I learned pretty quickly that cereal and milk for breakfast packed quite a whallop, but that eggs and one piece of toast was great!

Once in a while I get a yen for cold cereal, but I do not eat it in the morning. Instead I eat it later in the day which means that my morning diabetes meds are in my system and can help me absorb the carbs.


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## Robotron (Mar 25, 2012)

Two things you should do soon. First talk with your doctor and get him to prescribe a diabetic class, with this you will learn what you are fighting and how. Second get him to do the same with the dietician, this will help you learn the hidden ways the wrong stuff comes in. It’s rather surprising how things get introduced without the knowledge. 
For me it was watching my sugar in the morning and tying that back to what I ate the day before. I soon discovered rice, brown or white no matter how served triggered my sugar to skyrocket. I stay away from rice. The only other thing that skyrocketed my sugar was the steroids given during chemo. It would cause the sugar to hit 500 for a couple of days while descending over time. Spooky the first time I saw that.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Every diabetic gets or should get a blood glucose monitor. Ignore what everybody says including me about what you should eat. Trust that glucose monitor and test your blood sugar after you eat a particular food. You will quickly figure out what affects you. Big hint, it will be high carb, low fiber foods that affect you the most. Fiber slows digestion of carbs. Doesnt mean high fiber, high carb foods are good for you though.... but they wont spike your blood sugar. 

Oh and if you want a cute useless trick, you will find cooked potato will spike your blood sugar. But a raw one wont, not even budge your blood sugar reading a little bit. Human body simply cant digest raw potato. So yea, wont spike your blood sugar, but also wont get much if any nutrition from a raw potato.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Danaus29 said:


> Apples are very high carb fruit, about 12 g each..


Devil is in the detail. Even when my body was very weak controlling blood sugar after I went off insulin, I had no problem with Granny Smith apple. However I couldnt tolerate any of the modern super sweet dessert apples. The more you can avoid sweets including really sweet fruit, the more sweet other things taste. Those bits of Granny Smith apple in my salad tasted sweet to me.

Now the amazing fruit was ripe peach. Tasted VERY sweet to me but I could easily tolerate it without any blood sugar spike. Plumbs and apricots not so well. Now fresh raw garden tomato would spike my blood sugar like no tomorrow. Same with grapes, bananas, just about any dried fruit, though could somewhat tolerate prunes but not much at a time.


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## dodgesmammaw (Jun 19, 2013)

Thank You to everyone for sharing your experiences and advice. I am monitoring my blood sugar every morning fasting. I know I have a long way to go but things are going Ok.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

HermitJohn, good to know about the apples. None of the information I found gave the variety of the apple tested. Makes sense that some would be higher in sugars than others but it's something that apparently the people who study such things and make the recommendations never consider.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

A lot of good suggestions for helping to control blood sugar levels, a symptom of type 2 diabetes. Not much about the cause. Intramyocellular lipids. Fat droplets stored amongst muscle cells. An overabundance of this keeps insulin from doing its job which is to direct glucose into the muscle cells to burned as fuel. As a consequence...sugar levels rise. This is what is known as insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes).


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

I just found myself in the same boat. My fasting blood glucose (fbg) is usually about 92 and last time I checked my A1C was OK. But I just had a 2 hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and I have some serious problems. My 1 hour glucose was extremely high and 2 hour was extremely low. 

What I learned is insulin is released shortly after a meal to help your cells absorb glucose from the meal. So if your glucose is real high 45 minutes to an hour after eating, you are not releasing enough insulin. Sometime after the 1st hour, there is a 2nd release of insulin to hopefully drive your glucose back to normal level. In my case, in stage 1 not enough insulin is released and after stage 2, too much insulin is released.

So it's important to know your fasting glucose, your glucose at 1 hour after a meal, and then again at 2 hours after a meal. Sometimes you might even need to know what it is 3 and 4 hours after a meal.

I suggest you check out the blood sugar 101 web site and check out her book as well. On the web site you can learn exactly what your problem is, what your blood sugar level(s) should be, how to structure your diet, etc. That's where I'm spending my time now trying to understand exactly what is going on.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Moon River, the doctor who diagnosed me called it the "blood sugar roller coaster". 

Basically, because your body is slow to release insulin when you eat your blood sugar goes too high. So, your body goes into a mode where it decides there is a major problem and it over reacts, releases too much insulin, and then your blood sugar goes too low and you then eel like you are starving because your blood sugar is too low. Cravings set in. 

I do know about nsulin resistance, buy by the time I was diagnosed I was no longer insulin resistant. 

I was put on the diabetic diet, which did help, I was also put on metformin to make the cells of my body more sensitive to the insulin


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

My GF and mother lance me as if I were the inmate with the cell block's snitch target on my back in the jail exercise yard although my A1C according to my doc who still keeps me on metformin and calls me pre diabetic stays at 4.8 to 5.3 depending on the season and how much I hibernate or how many beers I drink in warm more active weather.

Even though my family, my doc and nurses know how much I hate those finger stabs and especially the yearly Dracula class main line blood letting , on the in between "go see Dracula" check ups even if my family has stabbed my finger before I go for my check up and my blood sugar was between 85 and 115, the doc or his nurse still stab me and see it in the same range.

One day I had a cheeseburger, fries and a Dr. Pepper for lunch and just to see how much eating changed it , GF stabbed me 15 minutes after we ate and my glucose number was only 160 and when she stabbed me again an hour later, it was back down to 117.

All I ever get from my doc is that my A1C, blood sugar, good and bad cholesterol and triglycerides are all good for a 5' 11" 200 pounder and GF said the diabetics she knows all say they don't start getting real concerned only if their sugar numbers run up to 160/ 170 and stays there.

Sometimes I wonder if they aren't making the sugar numbers / diabetic / pre diabetic stuff more complicated for us so they can keep charging our insurance.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

A truly healthy non-diabetic person will never go over 100, even after visiting the Willy Wonka factory. Anytime you go over 140, you do damage. And yea, spiking to 160 for short time after eating isnt doing much damage. Its the sustained elevated readings that do the significant damage.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Normal A1C is 5.2 or below, so your average blood sugar is very good. 

As for blood sugar swings, if it gets too high or too low you will have side effects that can be highly inconvenient, such as getting sleepy while you are in town or having to get up 3 times a night to pee. ou do not sound like you are much affected by big blood sugar swings but I seriously try to avoid them!


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

A little more information to add to your diabetes prevention/reversal toolbox.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Shrek said:


> My GF and mother lance me as if I were the inmate with the cell block's snitch target on my back in the jail exercise yard although my A1C according to my doc who still keeps me on metformin and calls me pre diabetic stays at 4.8 to 5.3 depending on the season and how much I hibernate or how many beers I drink in warm more active weather.
> 
> Even though my family, my doc and nurses know how much I hate those finger stabs and especially the yearly Dracula class main line blood letting , on the in between "go see Dracula" check ups even if my family has stabbed my finger before I go for my check up and my blood sugar was between 85 and 115, the doc or his nurse still stab me and see it in the same range.
> 
> ...


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