Re: I can't think of a subject

November 27, 2001

....and don't forget, you can subtract fiber from that. All counts are online

at the USDA website. URL is

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

It's very easy to use. But it does help to have a gram scale. Vicki

<<

According to ' Guidebook; strawberries are 8.6%, raspberries

13.9% and blackberries 12.7% by weight carbohydrate. So a unit carb (15

gram) would be 200 gram strawberries or 100 gram of the other two.

doesn't list blueberries but I would imagine they would run well

under 20% carbohydrate. >>

November 27, 2001

....and don't forget, you can subtract fiber from that. All counts are online

at the USDA website. URL is

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

It's very easy to use. But it does help to have a gram scale. Vicki

<<

According to ' Guidebook; strawberries are 8.6%, raspberries

13.9% and blackberries 12.7% by weight carbohydrate. So a unit carb (15

gram) would be 200 gram strawberries or 100 gram of the other two.

doesn't list blueberries but I would imagine they would run well

under 20% carbohydrate. >>

November 27, 2001

It's a good idea if you follow a lowcarb or medium carb WOE take vitamin

supplements in addition. This has been discussed before and is in the

archives, I believe. Dr. Bernstein and Gretchen Becker also discuss it in

their books. Vicki

<< . I take it you mean 45 gram carbohydrate

- if so, that is only 180 cal; meaning 1020 cal is coming from proteins &

fats. If this is true, your body is not getting enough vitamins,

minerals and trace nutrients - those three occur only in carbohydrate

foods. >>

November 27, 2001

Hi, and thank you for your reply.

whimsy2@... wrote:

> Have you been testing before and two hours after meals?

Just before. Once I get my test strips covered by my insurance I will

do that. The strips are $50.00 for 50 here in Canada and that is a lot

for us.

> Have you been weighing out your food portions? (Remember, portion size

> is a factor too!)

Yes, I bought a scale last week, as well as little measuring cups.

> Have you been writing everything down?

Yes, I made a daily log book. I note eat meals, how many carbs, how

many exchanges, time of meal, time of reading, vit and minerals taken,

exercise type, time of day and how long.

> Have you been exercising, and if so, when and for how long?

Everyday, walking 2(+-.5) miles (50 mins) or 45 min of

Dance my Pants Off. The time of day varies as I work funny shifts.

Monday Walk 5:30 pm, Tuesday at 9:00 pm, Wednesday Walk

11:30 am and Ice Skate from 1:30-3, Thursday walk 8:00pm, Friday Walk

2:00 pm, Saturday Walk 2:00 pm, Sunday Walk 11:00 am. If it rains or

when it is too chilly I do the tape instead of walk. We hope to ride

bikes in the summer, as well as roller blade. Once we can afford to I

would like to join the YMCA and swim. I am thinking about starting a

walking lunch club at work (I teach developmentally delayed adults

literacy skills). I could only do a short walk of 25 minutes but I am

going to ask the students today and see who are interested.

> Are you taking any meds? There are lots of variables.

Nope, I am trying to avoid med's at this point. However, Metformin

would be my choice. It is used in the treatment of infertility and I

have been trying to get pregnant for over a year, a double whammy would

be nice. However, I am holding off this dream for a while, until I get

the bs under control.

wow, long winded today

Jacky

November 27, 2001

Hi, and thank you for your reply.

whimsy2@... wrote:

> Have you been testing before and two hours after meals?

Just before. Once I get my test strips covered by my insurance I will

do that. The strips are $50.00 for 50 here in Canada and that is a lot

for us.

> Have you been weighing out your food portions? (Remember, portion size

> is a factor too!)

Yes, I bought a scale last week, as well as little measuring cups.

> Have you been writing everything down?

Yes, I made a daily log book. I note eat meals, how many carbs, how

many exchanges, time of meal, time of reading, vit and minerals taken,

exercise type, time of day and how long.

> Have you been exercising, and if so, when and for how long?

Everyday, walking 2(+-.5) miles (50 mins) or 45 min of

Dance my Pants Off. The time of day varies as I work funny shifts.

Monday Walk 5:30 pm, Tuesday at 9:00 pm, Wednesday Walk

11:30 am and Ice Skate from 1:30-3, Thursday walk 8:00pm, Friday Walk

2:00 pm, Saturday Walk 2:00 pm, Sunday Walk 11:00 am. If it rains or

when it is too chilly I do the tape instead of walk. We hope to ride

bikes in the summer, as well as roller blade. Once we can afford to I

would like to join the YMCA and swim. I am thinking about starting a

walking lunch club at work (I teach developmentally delayed adults

literacy skills). I could only do a short walk of 25 minutes but I am

going to ask the students today and see who are interested.

> Are you taking any meds? There are lots of variables.

Nope, I am trying to avoid med's at this point. However, Metformin

would be my choice. It is used in the treatment of infertility and I

have been trying to get pregnant for over a year, a double whammy would

be nice. However, I am holding off this dream for a while, until I get

the bs under control.

wow, long winded today

Jacky

November 27, 2001

Hi, Jacky...yes, I know the high cost of strips can be off-putting...and once

you find out how different foods affect your BGs you can cut down. But unless

you test after a meal, there's no way to tell how a certain food affects

your body. That's why it's important to test both before and after eating.

The usual recommendation is to test at both one and two hours after eating so

you can find out exactly where your peak is but if you're trying to save $$,

drop the one-hour test and test before meal and two hours after. That will

give good information.

More info interspersed...

<<

<< Have you been testing before and two hours after meals?

Just before. Once I get my test strips covered by my insurance I will

do that. The strips are $50.00 for 50 here in Canada and that is a lot

for us.

> Have you been weighing out your food portions? (Remember, portion size

> is a factor too!)

Yes, I bought a scale last week, as well as little measuring cups.

>>

It's better to weigh by weight instead of using measuring cups, by weight is

much more accurate. The food scale I use is battery operated and gives both

grams and ounce weights. It was sort of expensive - I think about $40 - but

well worth it.

Vicki

November 27, 2001

HI Jacky,

I'm the same way...I feel that I have to bring my food down even lower.

I have stopped loosing weight and that seems to be when my numbers come

down. I woke up to a 160 this morning...I'm also exercising.

What does 10 12 mean? Sorry my monitor does 100's etc.

Are u eating any diabetic candies or hot chocolate? I was told that

these things can cause high numbers.

sussie

I can't think of a subject

Good Day all,

Well it has been 10 days and I am getting discouraged. I am down to

about 45 carbs a day (those carbs from veg, fruit and dairy) and my

readings are still high (10-12 with a few lows). What am I doing

wrong? Why are they so inconsistent? I am way below 1200 cal. per

day, I feel terrible. I am going to try even fewer carbs tomorrow.

How long will it take? Is this normal? What am I doing wrong?

I have ordered the book everyone is telling me to get. I hope to have

it next week.

Jacky, the discouraged.

November 27, 2001

>What does 10 12 mean? Sorry my monitor does 100's etc.

>

As I understand it, the numbers in the two digit range have the unit

mmol/l (millimol per liter) and the numbers in the three digit range have

the unit mg/dl (milligram per deciliter).

Milli is 1/1000, deci is 1/10, g is gram mass, and the mol is a special

mass unit used by, mainly, physical chemists. The mol is that mass that

contains an Avogadro's number of molecules. In the reaction, H2 + 1/2

O2 = H2O says one mole of hydrogen plus 1/2 mol of oxygen yields one mole

of water or 1 g hydrogen plus 16 g oxygen gives 18 g water.

So in the bg business (blood glucose) the ratio between the 2-digit

regime and the 3-digit regime is the molecular weight of glucose, a

number of, roughly, 18.

November 27, 2001

LOL.now my brain hurts.badly.

:-)

thanks sussie

RE: I can't think of a subject

>What does 10 12 mean? Sorry my monitor does 100's etc.

>

As I understand it, the numbers in the two digit range have the unit

mmol/l (millimol per liter) and the numbers in the three digit range

have

the unit mg/dl (milligram per deciliter).

Milli is 1/1000, deci is 1/10, g is gram mass, and the mol is a special

mass unit used by, mainly, physical chemists. The mol is that mass that

contains an Avogadro's number of molecules. In the reaction, H2 + 1/2

O2 = H2O says one mole of hydrogen plus 1/2 mol of oxygen yields one

mole

of water or 1 g hydrogen plus 16 g oxygen gives 18 g water.

So in the bg business (blood glucose) the ratio between the 2-digit

regime and the 3-digit regime is the molecular weight of glucose, a

number of, roughly, 18.

November 27, 2001

> -----Original Message-----

> From: willabee@...

>

> Well it has been 10 days and I am getting discouraged. I am down to

> about 45 carbs a day (those carbs from veg, fruit and dairy) and my

> readings are still high (10-12 with a few lows). What am I doing

> wrong? Why are they so inconsistent? I am way below 1200 cal. per

....

There have been a number of posts on this, and I'm going to try to summarize

and add some of my own thoughts.

First, without worrying about technicalities, the British and Canadian

readings can be converted to " American " by multiplying by 18 (and dividing

by 18 for the reverse conversion. Thus, a British blood sugar of 5.5 would

convert to 99 for us.

Next, us control freaks may not like it, but 10 days really is a short time

for bringing down blood sugar readings without meds. Your readings are high

enough to cause damage over time but are not an immediate threat. If it

were me (and I'm not a doctor), I would give it, say, a month or so and see

where things are before trying any meds. But, keep in mind that meds,

including insulin, can be used to get immediate control without being

committed for life. (You may be told that using insulin is for life. Don't

believe it. Many people have used insulin for short periods to get in

control or cover a special problem.)

It certainly is possible to eat a low carb balanced diet since there are

many low net carb, high nutrient veggies. I almost never exceed 30 g./day

carbs (net of fiber) and have been doing so for about three years. Others,

like Dr. Bernstein have been doing it for many years. In any case, all

diabetics should be using supplements (even the ADA agrees). A good source

of information on useful supplements can be found at

http://www.geocities.com/bsy53/dn/neuropat.html.

You might want to cut your carbs down to the 30 g./day level for a while to

see if it helps; some of us find we do quite well at this level. I wouldn't

worry so much about the calories unless you really need to lose a lot of

weight around your middle (since this is the kind of body fat that really

affects insulin resistance). In spite of all the anti-fat propaganda,

dietary fats do not need insulin to digest and do not, when carbs are low,

cause cholesterol problems, so they can replace carbs as our main source of

energy. If you don't have a sever weight problem, foods like almonds,

hazelnuts, even cheese, can be very filling without significantly increasing

one's blood sugar.

Foods labeled as " low fat " are generally best avoided since carbs generally

have been added to make them taste good. Many of us find that very few

dairy items work well, since lactose is a sugar. However, if calories and

salt are not problems, cheese and butter may be OK since almost all of the

" sugar " has been removed.

Hang in there. Keep in mind that we have a controllable condition, and for

this we can be grateful.

Tom the Actuary

November 27, 2001