Re: commercial diets

[Guest guest]

Sorry, Kathy, that you got a bad impression of us. Please do stick

around...there are no " dumb questions " . It may just be that no one on

this list has done the Zone diet, which is why no one answered your

particular question..

The thing is, with diabetes, what works for one may not work for

another. The value of this list is to let newbies know that the only way

to find out what works for YOU is to test first, eat an item and check

at 1 and 2 hours -- that's just about the only way.

Oh, and keep good notes, smile.

A lot of folks here manage with diet and exercise alone. Others use

diet, exercise and pills. Some of us use insulin. Some of us are even

type 1's.

So...keep on asking those questions. And if the Zone diet works for

you - please let us know the details.

Vicki, LADA type 1 diagnosed 1997, UL and Humalog insulin and lotsa

testing, no complications.

Re: commercial diets

> From what I have read this is exactly what the Zone Diet does, It

teaches

> you how to eat the right foods your body needs and to avoid the foods

that

> can be harmful to diabetics such as carbs and sugars.

> Didn't mean to cause such a stir when I asked if anyone knew about the

Zone

> diet and could give me pointers. So far all I've heard is

> " forget the commercially published " diets " and one if far better off

doing

> a bit of basic nutrition research & designing a lifetime woe that is

> comfortable & fits your body & life, using one's meter as the final

word

> about everything.

> If that idea worked we wouldn't be in this position now with his

blood

> sugar at 7.2. For the last two years we have practiced low carb

control and

> no sugar but have not found that perfect balance so when the Dr a

learned

> man with years of diabetic experience suggested the Zone diet to

control

> his blood sugars we made the vow to follow it.

> Any way I was under the impression this was the place to come for

advice,

> the reason I joined the list, but if it isn't I'll not ask such dumb

> questions again.

> Kathy K

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

Sorry... I was kind of distressed by many of the responses you got. A little

bit of skepticism is good, but there was way too much negativity, both on

this issue and for the lady asking about compressed nerve surgery. People, be

nice to newbies (well, to everyone for that matter)!

Back to the diet: I have not tried it, in fact I have trouble keeping to any

diet myself... but if you have the willpower and organizational skills, give

it a shot! I do think it is very important that you keep good records of BGs

to see how well it works, because it may be that any diet is not going to be

good enough and you need to adapt your treatment. So go back to your doctor

and get a prescription for 4-5 testing strips/day, and use them. It's a lot

easier to prick your finger than to eat well...

good luck

pablo

> From what I have read this is exactly what the Zone Diet does, It teaches

> you how to eat the right foods your body needs and to avoid the foods that

> can be harmful to diabetics such as carbs and sugars.

> Didn't mean to cause such a stir when I asked if anyone knew about the Zone

> diet and could give me pointers. So far all I've heard is

> " forget the commercially published " diets " and one if far better off doing

> a bit of basic nutrition research & designing a lifetime woe that is

> comfortable & fits your body & life, using one's meter as the final word

> about everything.

> If that idea worked we wouldn't be in this position now with his blood

> sugar at 7.2. For the last two years we have practiced low carb control and

> no sugar but have not found that perfect balance so when the Dr a learned

> man with years of diabetic experience suggested the Zone diet to control

> his blood sugars we made the vow to follow it.

> Any way I was under the impression this was the place to come for advice,

> the reason I joined the list, but if it isn't I'll not ask such dumb

> questions again.

> Kathy K

[Guest guest]

Well, yes, but the Zone diet isn't designed for diabetics; it's designed

for weight loss in the general population. As diabetics, we wouldn't

expect to eat Snickers now, would we? (smiling and wishing)

Vicki

Re: commercial diets

> I followed the Zone diet exactly in the mid to latter 90's. I paid to

> have my meals calculated for me. But there were really lots of carbs

on

> it. I had a bagel for breakfast with fruit and ricotta cheese and

swiss

> cheese and had grapes and various fruits. I tell you the plan would

not

> keep my blood sugar where I want it now. It was very difficult for me

to

> calculate the proportions on my own--not a math major. I lost 20 lbs

on

> the plan and then stopped losing and lost interest in it. I think

there

> are better ways to select meals for the diabetic. I could be wrong. He

> allows Snickers bars. G

>

> Kathy Keef wrote:

>

> > From what I have read this is exactly what the Zone Diet does, It

teaches

> > you how to eat the right foods your body needs and to avoid the

foods

> > that

> > can be harmful to diabetics such as carbs and sugars.

> > Didn't mean to cause such a stir when I asked if anyone knew about

the

> > Zone

> > diet and could give me pointers. So far all I've heard is

> > " forget the commercially published " diets " and one if far better

off

> > doing

> > a bit of basic nutrition research & designing a lifetime woe that is

> > comfortable & fits your body & life, using one's meter as the final

word

> > about everything.

> > If that idea worked we wouldn't be in this position now with his

blood

> > sugar at 7.2. For the last two years we have practiced low carb

> > control and

> > no sugar but have not found that perfect balance so when the Dr a

> > learned

> > man with years of diabetic experience suggested the Zone diet to

control

> > his blood sugars we made the vow to follow it.

> > Any way I was under the impression this was the place to come for

> > advice,

> > the reason I joined the list, but if it isn't I'll not ask such dumb

> > questions again.

> > Kathy K

[Guest guest]

>That food may well me nutritiously for our seniors but could have

been prepared using the ADA diet so I have a time controlling everything he

eats.

May need to put my dieting on hold for a short time sense I'm due to go in

for surgery, total knee replacement, real soon.<

Hi again, Kathy,

I sure know how you feel. My husband is diabetic and takes the attitude

that if our doctor says 6.5 A1C is great, it must be great! If the doctor

says post prandial is under 200, it's fine with him, too. He'll go for days

without testing his BG levels. He gets really irritated with me if I

suggest that, yes, that's terrific for the short time you've been diabetic,

and maybe you can strive for a lower number. It amazes me how willing he is

to hear what he wants to hear. I have to keep reminding myself that he's a

grown man and *he* is responsible for his disease management, not me. Until

he owns it, he's going to keep denying that there are some things that need

to change. I'm his wife, not his mother or warden. It's really hard for me

to remember that, because I want to fix it for him. It's not mine to fix.

I have my own food issues to fix. I'd get extremely irritated and probably

even angry if he were to harp at me about my food choices. His motive would

be to help keep me on this earth as long as possible, but I'd perceive it as

his constantly pointing out my character flaws. Our perceptions depend on

our perspectives.

I know that I have a very strong influence on him. If I eat controlled

carbs and portions, he does, too. Having said that, if I'm *not*

controlling my carbs and portions, I'm *not* responsible for his failure to

do so, as well. However, knowing that about him, I can best support him by

doing what I need to be doing for myself, which is controlling my carbs and

portions.

Best wishes for your knee replacement. My dad had that done many years ago

and then wondered why he waited so long, given how much better he could move

afterwards. You'll be amazed.

Best to you,

Becky

My horses are barefoot...naturally!

_________________________________________________________________

Find a broadband plan that fits. Great local deals on high-speed Internet

access. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/

[Guest guest]

> His Dr said it wasn't necessary for him to check his

> blood sugar daily but to come in every three months for a blood test and

> even though I really feel he should as long as the Dr doesn't tell him to I

> can not get him to do it. Am hoping the new Dr will insist soon since he

> kept asking him what his reading were daily.

Hi Kathy,

I actually think that HbA1C of 7.2 is good if he is not checking his blood

sugars daily. If you want to get him below that my opinion is he has no

choice but to check several times a day. It is too hard to have good control

and understand what food does to you without that.

Best of luck,

Pablo

[Guest guest]

With an A1C of 7.2, complications will ultimately happen. The problem

is, doctors have such low expectations of diabetic patients that they're

generally happy to see even 7.2. Also, not a lot of doctors are

acquainted with the concept of " tight control " , which is entirely

possible with frequent testing.

Vicki

Re: commercial diets

>

> > His Dr said it wasn't necessary for him to check his

> > blood sugar daily but to come in every three months for a blood test

and

> > even though I really feel he should as long as the Dr doesn't tell

him to I

> > can not get him to do it. Am hoping the new Dr will insist soon

since he

> > kept asking him what his reading were daily.

>

> Hi Kathy,

>

> I actually think that HbA1C of 7.2 is good if he is not checking his

blood

> sugars daily. If you want to get him below that my opinion is he has

no

> choice but to check several times a day. It is too hard to have good

control

> and understand what food does to you without that.

>

> Best of luck,

>

> Pablo

[Guest guest]

>>All this information now is really confusing, how can eating snickers

>>bars be good for diabetics.

>>

Don't forget that most such diets are designed for weight loss, not

diabetes, so certain aspects of the diet may not match diabetic needs.

Bernstein is the only true low carb diet designed specifically for diabetes.

Edd

[Guest guest]

Recently I started reading a huge document about the standards for treating

older people who have diabetes in Australia. It appears to have been

developed after much discussion and forums of people in the field. One thing

that stunned me was the lowering of standards for older people on the basis

of life expectancy. In a nutshell if the doctor thinks you have 5 or less

years to go - they don't bother with fussing over getting BGs down. If your

life expectancy is longer -10 years then they suggest modest (by our

standards) levels, and if your life expectancy is 15 or more years then

they suggest more stringent goals and efforts to keep your BGs down.

It was far roo long to print - and I will go back and check it sometime -

but I'm writing about other topics at the moment.

That really shocked me - not because of the idea as much as they put it in

writing in the report!

It really underscores that we do need to try to take control, and also to

try to encourage our partners, friends etc but some do believe what their

doctors say completely.

This week my old friend - 74 - is looking forward to our next beach walk

later today, and he will show me his FBGs and what he has been eating. His

figures have come down a lot in the last two weeks. Also he is actually

thinking about selling his wife's rings and jewellery - which is a big

change in his outlook. (His wife a dear friend of mine - died 18 months

ago.) And he's talking of going back to UK to see some relatives later in

the year. It's taken a long time to get him to stop just eating whatever he

felt like and believing his doctor that an FBG averaging about 10 (180) is

OK. At times I get very annoyed about doctors not bothering to help people

like this - but now I understand that it is something many of them do

because they make the judgement that it's not worth the effort - either

because of age, or because the person may not understand, or not comply.

Please note the fact that I did not say ALL - but some doctors!)

Bea Pullar T2 2001

Lifelong education, Glycemic Load, Exercise,

Metformin, Amaryl, Oroxine, Lipitor, Arimidex

1 glass of Pinot Noir just before bed for FBG below 95

Kathy Keef wrote:

> His Dr said it wasn't necessary for him to check his blood sugar daily but

to come in every three months for a blood test and even though I really feel

he should as long as the Dr doesn't tell him to I can not get him to do it.

Am hoping the new Dr will insist soon since he kept asking him what his

reading were daily. >

[Guest guest]

One major problem with that type of thinking is that they're gambling

on the odds that something else will kill them before the diabetes

complications set in. But if they do develop complications, their

last years can be very painful ones with a greatly diminished quality

of life. To me that's unacceptable at any age if it can be

prevented. Bea, I'm as appalled as you are.

Christy

> Recently I started reading a huge document about the standards for

treating

> older people who have diabetes in Australia. It appears to have been

> developed after much discussion and forums of people in the field.

One thing

> that stunned me was the lowering of standards for older people on

the basis

> of life expectancy.

[Guest guest]

As horrid as it sounds, one of the reasons doctors might recommend

higher A1C's for older patients is that frequent low BG's can be more

dangerous for older people with diabetes. For example, tight control

tends to produce more frequent hypoglycemia than looser control. This

approach may not be appropriate for some older people because it

could lead to complications.

For more information, see

http://www.hopkinsafter50.com/html/silos/diabetes/wpARTICLE_tightgluco

se.php

blithe

> Recently I started reading a huge document about the standards for

treating older people who have diabetes in Australia. It appears to

have been developed after much discussion and forums of people in the

field.

One thing that stunned me was the lowering of standards for older

people on the basis of life expectancy. In a nutshell if the doctor

thinks you have 5 or less years to go - they don't bother with

fussing over getting BGs down.