Newly diagnosed diabetes

[TwoMisfits]

I did see a dietician a week ago and she said I could just in moderation
she was ok with what I told her I ate

she asked me how many cans of soda in a day
I told about her maybe 2 or 3 a week not day

so if I cant have normal bread what can I make a sandwich with then Im not a fan of wheat bread however

If you don't like to roll things up, and just do a roll up with meat/cheese/veg...

Lettuce leaves can be the "sandwich bread" or the "sandwich cup" if you can't bring yourself to eat wheat bread or a lower carb bread.

Another option is to make a sandwich filling into a small raw tomato (like a roma), a halved bell pepper, and/or an baby halved avocado and/or serve on top of cucumber slices (depending what it is you're having).

You can also do a sandwich as a salad. Since I have allergies, I can't have bread at Five Guys, so they make me a burger salad, which helps b/c it makes the whole meal heavier on the veg without the bun (aka, a bowl fits a whole lot more veg than bun). See Subway's ideas for their salads of how you take sandwich ingredients and make a salad.

I routinely make chicken salad (celery, grapes, mayo, seasoning, poached chicken - I have also sometimes added seeds and/or peanuts, but I'd prefer tree nuts if I could eat them) and never eat bread. I do the same for egg salad. I prefer both bread free.

You need to break the mental box of white bread with every meal and white bread sandwich as lunch. Your diet is still very light on produce and other carbs that bring your diet vitamins, minerals, and fiber vs just empty sugars - white bread, soda, and cheetos being the latter.

As for the nutritionist being happy, well, they want to encourage at the beginning, and know most folks have to start with baby steps b/c anything else would be overwhelming. So, they will cheer on every small change figuring in a few months, they'll get you where they eventually want you to be. They don't want you to stop after a change or two but keep making better and better choices for your long term health.

 

[dizneegirl]

You'll need to start reading labels. Some of them taste like white bread. Some taste nutty. Some are made of protein. Some contain flax or whole grains. You'll need to read labels, and taste things.

Honestly... what did eating the way you always eat do for you? Got you a diabetes diagnosis. So what will continuing to eat the same things do?

Eat whole foods. Eat low glycemic foods. Eat lower carb fruits and veggies. Avoid white foods (other than cauliflower). Learn to eat proteins with veggies, rather than empty starches.

Best things to eat? Meat, chicken, fish, eggs. Lettuces, spinach, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, fiberous beans (lentils), green beans, summer squash, winter squashes. Berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries), melons.

In more moderation... apples, pears. Sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, steel cut oatmeal, quinoa, kasha other lower glycemic/carb grains.

You can find many lists of lower glycemic foods. That's what you want to focus on. Lower glycemic means it won't raise blood sugars as quickly or as much. Most of what you'll find are whole foods. That's what's best to eat.

It's really not difficult. It's just different. You can do it.

 

[QueenIsabella]

OP, if you only drink 2-3 cans of soda a week, what do you drink the rest of the time? Water, coffee, lemonade? Whatever you typically drink, drink more of that instead of soda--just drink it without sugar. If it's coffee, you might want to drink decaf in the afternoons, to avoid caffeine, but so long as you don't add sugar, it would be fine.

Really, nobody but you can figure out what type of bread product you'll like. Personally, I enjoy the chewy nuttiness of a good whole-grain bread (I typically get 8-grain--there are many choices). I would also give myself time to really try a product (unless it's gross, like those Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings). Have more than one bite of a new bread before deciding you hate it--try it plain, toasted, in a sandwich, etc. (At least use up the loaf you bought). Then ask yourself if you could grow accustomed to it, or is it time to try something else.

 

[tinkerjo]

Don’t fall into the ”no added sugar” trap!! They make ice cream, cookies and such that advertise as sugar free or no added sugar but they will have just as many carbohydrates (or close to it) as full sugar items. I tell people moderation is the key. Use sweets as a “small reward” or at times you feel like you really need something sweet and a small portion. Stay away from sugared soda, and just try to eat more protein and veggies. I usually deal with people that don’t have a high education level so I have to make it simple. Anything helps. I have a type 1 diabetic child, but that’s an entirely different animal.

 

[Dznypal]

to answer the last poster I usually have water if I’m at work. If I’m off I’ll usually just take a few sips of hubbys diet soda.
Light lemonade is rather nasty.
Bread is going to be a challenge. Meat rolled up in lettuce leaves isn’t too appealing
I sure hope the dietician isn’t plsying the cheerleader game I would shut down
Do they really do that though.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Deep breath! - People are giving lots of good advice, but you don't have to take it all at once. That would be overwhelming and probably feel like too drastic a change to stick to anyway.

With bread, for example, you could start by just looking for a "thin sliced" version of the one you like now. It makes the sandwich more about the inside than the outside, so the ratio changes away from quite as many carbs. You can explore more breads as you go and become curious.

It's not about instantly replacing everything, but about gradually adding healthier things until they naturally replace the unhealthy ones some of the time...then most of the time.

I'm a firm believer that big leaps tire people out, but baby steps last.

 

[Dznypal]

That’s good sound advice. Thanks Pollyanna mom

 

[lanejudy]

I sure hope the dietician isn’t plsying the cheerleader game I would shut down
Do they really do that though.

The dietician is working on small steps. Too much change all at once is overwhelming and the patient shuts down even trying. Slower gradual changes are easier to make and maintain as steady habits.

 

[dizneegirl]

Bread is going to be a challenge. Meat rolled up in lettuce leaves isn’t too appealing

Do you ever have something like an Italian sub? Or put lettuce on your sandwich? Jimmy John's has fantastic lettuce wraps instead of bread. Do you like BLTs? Try one with mayo on a large leaf of lettuce, add fresh tomatoes and bacon, fold or roll the lettuce leaf around the filling - SO good. It doesn't have to be just "meat on lettuce." Add cheese, mayo, vinegar and oil, cheese, banana peppers... anything you like on a regular sandwich. Tuna salad on lettuce (either on leaves as a handheld, or on a bed of chopped/shredded lettuce is delicious. I would image the same would be true of chicken salad. Or egg salad. Honestly, if you just broaden your vision, and try something new, you just might find you don't need the bread you think you need.

 

[Dznypal]

Actually eating a sub on a piece of lettuce is no different then eating a salad.
I had half of a cousins BLT for lunch and 2 hrs later my # was 126. I was rather happy with that.
Does metformin work though this fast. I started it a week from tomorrow just 500mg at with supper. In a week I start the full does of 1000mg. One with breakfast and one supper.

 

[sarah4770]

Test at one hour and then 3 hours. You might not be seeing your spike. Ppl here have been giving you some good tips.
Personally, I am rather fond of my feet.

 

[sarah4770]

The

 

[tinkerjo]

Manage diabetes with a healthy diet, exercise, and medication, in consultation with your doctor

True, but we all know that the doctors are busy. They hand patients some myplate handouts, tell you to limit carbs and out the door they go. Talking to others on Diabetes forums or friends/ acquaintances with diabetes CAN be a good thing. (Just wouldn’t take advice from someone you know poorly manages their diabetes) Dietitians are awesome and I always recommend seeing one at least once. Of course there are a lot of different opinions out there, you just need to find what works best for you, and YES, you will have to make changes if you want to stay healthy

 

[EACarlson]

True, but we all know that the doctors are busy. They hand patients some myplate handouts, tell you to limit carbs and out the door they go. Talking to others on Diabetes forums or friends/ acquaintances with diabetes CAN be a good thing. (Just wouldn’t take advice from someone you know poorly manages their diabetes) Dietitians are awesome and I always recommend seeing one at least once. Of course there are a lot of different opinions out there, you just need to find what works best for you, and YES, you will have to make changes if you want to stay healthy

And more than that, I would wager that most of the people here living with diabetes know more about it than many of the doctors out there. By the time I got officially diagnosed I'd been living with it for a few years and had done quite a bit of research and understood that what the doctor was telling me was the correct treatment, if I'd been diagnosed in 1989 and not in 2009. It took me a long time to find a very good family practice doctor that really understood diabetes.

 

[DavidDd]

Half a cup of pasta is really not enough, but if you add vegetables and a little meat or cheese, it will become more satisfying. If you don't like whole grain bread, it's better to take one piece of ordinary than to torture yourself

 

[LuvBulldogs]

A lot of portion size is on labels of what you eat. Like I have cereal for breakfast I measured it out in a bowl and you would be surprised what the portion is…but now I can eye ball that amount.

Yeah, always pay attention to the portion size. It's so easy to look at a cereal box and say, "Oh, 30 carbs in a serving -- that's a little high, but I'll balance it out with a salad at lunch." Then you look at the serving size, and it's like 1/3 a cup -- that's roughly what I'd give my 2-year old grandson. In reality, I'd eat like 4-5 servings of cereal -- PLUS milk has carbs. Cereal is not a great choice for Diabetics. Even simple, non-sugary cereals like Cheerios.
In contrast, eggs and bacon have no carbs. You can throw in a small serving of grits and have roughly a 10-12 carb breakfast that'll actually keep you full until lunch.
I don't love cooking eggs every morning, so here's something I like to do: Cook up a whole pound of bacon + boil half a dozen eggs. Bingo -- I have breakfast ready for days.

Diet soda or fully leaded? Otherwise that looks fine to mee. I would probably have eaten more, like the whole sandwich, but I'm also a male over 200lbs.

My dietician told me two things Diabetics really have to let go of completely: Regular soda + juice. Those two things are loaded with carbs, and liquid sugars hit the body faster /really get into the small veins -- like the ones in your eyes and your genitals. (I enjoy having both of those things.)
When I was diagnosed, I was sure that drinks would be the hardest thing for me -- didn't turn out to be true. When I have something other than water, I now drink unsweet tea with Spenda or diet sodas. They've become my normal. It wasn't a choice: Not if I want to keep my body working.

Thanks for the breakdown.
The sandwich was from the casino we were playing bingo. Hubby and me share a lot of meals out.
The soda was regular. Diet or zero sugar tears my stomach up.
It was a blueberry muffin with one piece of toast. It was just a small glass of soda. Not as much as a whole can

Sharing a sandwich can be a good idea. Get a double burger, for example, and each person gets a "whole" patty + only half a bun. I OFTEN eat half a sandwich -- most of what I like to fill the bread with is pretty good in terms of carbs. It's the bread that kills me.
If you can't manage no-carb soda, then -- realistically -- you can't have soda.
Muffins are pretty high in carbs. Muffins + toast is too many carbs.

I can't speak for all diabetics, but among any providers my family has seen for diabetes none use net carbs -- it's always Total Carbs. Net carbs is a keto or low carb diet thing.

Yes, my doctor (who is a Diabetic Specialist) says forget the concept of "net carbs". The net carbs thing means the food contains fiber, and that's deducted from the total carbs. Don't play games. Count your true carbs.

Some other little changes you could consider:

• switch the ketchup you use at home to the no-sugar-added kind. Heinz makes one that's 1 gm of total carbs for a 1 TB serving.
• Look at the labels of the salad dressing you use at home. A lot of brands have a surprising amount of added sugar in them...EVEN THE ONES LABELLED AS 'DIET'! BUT the Olive Garden Signature Italian salad dressing (you can buy in grocery store) has 2 gm total carbs for a 2 TB serving...I consider those #s pretty good for salad dressing.
• BBQ sauce - check labels. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce has 18 gm total carbs for a 2 TB serving. But the Sweet Baby Ray's No Sugar Added BBQ sauce has 4 gm of carbs for that same 2 TB serving.
• Read the label of the peanut butter you're using. For example, a 2 TB serving of Jif has 6 gm net carbs, but a store brand of 'no sugar added/natural' peanut butter has 2 gm net carbs for that same 2 TB serving.
• if you're a coffee drinker, switch from low-fat milk in your coffee to heavy cream. 2 TB of heavy cream has 0.9 gm of carbs, but 2 TB of 1% fat milk has ~ 2 gm of carbs. Not necessarily if you're a 'one cup of coffee per day" person, but if you like having refills, then those 2 gm for each cup of coffee will add up quickly after 3-4 cups of coffee.
• if you drink full sugar soda all day, switch to water. Or if you hate plain water, add a slice of lemon into your water bottle. Or if you don't like the taste of lemon water, put a mushed up blackberry into the water and try it that way (blackberries are a very low carb fruit).

I like the G. Hughes brand of ketchup (also BBQ sauces and salad dressings), which are sold at Walmart. They're a little expensive, so I try to use them sparingly.
Some of the best advice I ever heard: Ignore what the front of the box says -- Diet, Keto, 4 net carbs -- instead, read the back of the box. Lite, for example, has no legal definition; it could mean lighter in color. They're not allowed to lie in the nutrition box.

Not being a medical professional or a diabetic I hesitated to say anything about many of the suggestions here completely leaving the rest of the healthy diet guidelines outside of sugar and carb concerns out of consideration, but I'm glad to see you raised the point.

When I was first diagnosed, I was hung up on "eating a healthy diet" as I'd been taught -- whole wheat bread, grains, fruit -- vs. a healthy Diabetic diet. A Diabetic diet is a subset of "healthy diet", and it's not the same.

Another point--if you tend to eat out fairly often, check the menu online before you go. It's a lot easier to find healthy options when you're not starving and feeling pressured to decide quickly ...

Good point. I keep a list in my phone of the low-carb options at various places I visit often. It makes eating out easier.

Don’t fall into the ”no added sugar” trap!!

So true, so true. Again, read the back of the package -- not the front.

Deep breath! - People are giving lots of good advice, but you don't have to take it all at once. That would be overwhelming and probably feel like too drastic a change to stick to anyway.

Excellent point. You've developed these habits over the course of a lifetime. They're comfortable, you like them -- but if you keep eating the same way, nothing is going to change.
Change two things, and be strict about them for two weeks. Once you have those habits "down", change two more things. You can do this.

Does metformin work though this fast.

Do note that metformin takes about 5 weeks to get to "maximum efficiency". So each week you're getting more and more from your meds.

Personally, I am rather fond of my feet.

Ouch. Harsh, but true.

Half a cup of pasta is really not enough, but if you add vegetables and a little meat or cheese, it will become more satisfying. If you don't like whole grain bread, it's better to take one piece of ordinary than to torture yourself

Oh, yes -- I do that. A small serving of pasta + a large serving of mixed veg mixed together (I like California mix frozen veg) + pasta sauce. Note that Alfredo is lower in carbs than Marinara.