DIABETICS ON THE BEACH (Week of 8/23/04)

[Cetaganda]

Thanks, louisefour for sharing the results of your bean testing so far.

So far, the test results look very good. Eat some beans, y'all. But be careful and find out, like louisefour, how the new food affects your blood glucose level.

I look forward to reading about your further adventures with beans.

BTW: I believe that your pre-dinner blood glucose level (if it is serum) of 66 is hypoglycemic and if not serum is approaching hypoglycemia. The other reading in the 70s is also low. Is this usual for you while on metformin? Did you have a snack between lunch and dinner on those days (I forget to snack sometimes)? What does your doctor have to say about your BG levels before dinner?

Thanks!

[Cetaganda]

I had a very bad day yesterday. Was upset with hubby. And I barely ate at all. I am so depress today again. I feel that i havent lost any wieght this month. And not eating right or exercising and being on vacation. I feel that i have fail at this. And i cant get back on track

So very sad that you had a very bad day yesterday, Pat. See me crying?

I hope that today and tomorrow and so forth will be much better days for you. You have something that I truly admire, lady .... the courage to be honest and real with this group.

My advice is to not worry about the amount of weight that you have lost/not lost this month. Just take care of yourself ... physically, emotionally, spiritually ... and you will be back on track on the South Beach Diet, including any exercise that you are able to do with your injured leg.

You know, I admire you, Pat, for being able to reach out when you are feeling so bad ... when I am depressed it is all that I can do to type a single word. I usually don't write anything at all. So, I applaud and congratulate and thank you for being real and letting us know that you are having a rough time. Remember that this is why we are here ... to support each other when one of us is feeling down and discouraged and to share information and our experience with diabetes and the South Beach Diet.

I feel like i cant finish this out. Patcat

That's because you are feeling bad and depressed and discouraged and fearful. I honestly believe that you can make it ... that we all can together.

HUGS and a couple of for my new friend, Patcat. Please take very good care of yourself ... know that people do care about you ... I care about you ... we are glad to have you here with us. Take care and keep us posted, please. Always remember: never, never, never give up! There is always hope for us as long as we are willing to try.

[patcat1964]

Hi Cat

Thanks for the kind words. Sometimes when i am angry and hurt and depress if i am not to far gone. I like to write. Hubby and I are not getting along to well. Complaining about the food bill, bills, kids, etc etc etc.

We are thinking about leaving NJ. Moving were we can make ends meet on one income instead of two jobs. I have cut back as far as I can and I cant do any more.

My sugars have been in normal ranges. Sometimes I forget to prick at 8:30 pm.

I am really stuggling to stay on the Beach. But its hard when hubby is fighting me all the way.

Patcat

[Cetaganda]

Hubby and I are not getting along to well. Complaining about the food bill, bills, kids, etc etc etc.

We are thinking about leaving NJ. Moving were we can make ends meet on one income instead of two jobs. I have cut back as far as I can and I cant do any more.

I can imagine how difficult things are for you, now. And I have no advice for you about it. I hope that things start working out for you, though and that you will be able to move if that is what you need to make things better for you. This is something that I have not had to face since I got married 36 years ago ... yikes ... that makes me old ... or at least middle aged ... who me? Of course, we were both 10 years old when we got married! And I was born at a very young age.

I remember growing up impoverished. My parents fought a whole lot, and it was usually about money ... there was never enough of it to go around. My mom was frugal and never wasted money and did a very good job of taking care of the family. She worried so much about buying things that she would hide any clothes that she had bought. She only had three dresses and she had to work very hard sewing undergarments for Warners just so that we could make ends meet.

I remember feeling ashamed for lots of reasons. For instance, I had patches on my dresses. And I could not go to the magician show that everyone else was going to in grammar school ... we were that poor. And there was the time when I was (to be totally honest) sent to school without shoes...but my mother finally showed up with some new shoes, just in time to save me from the humiliation and my extreme fear of being taunted and laughed at by the other children. In fact, I hid in the woods until my mother showed up and rescued me.

When we 4 children left home things got much better for my mother and dad financially. And they got along much better, and the fighting stopped. My dad died a couple of years ago after about 10 years of Lewy Bodies Dementia. And now my sweet mother lives alone but has grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is blessed in that way because I will never have grandchildren.

And finally, now, my mother has closets full of clothes ... she even needs to give a lot of them away. I have too many clothes, too. In all sizes from 16 to 3 plus (size 24). But I need all of my clothes ... cause I am going on down the scales to a normal weight.

My sugars have been in normal ranges. Sometimes I forget to prick at 8:30 pm. I am really stuggling to stay on the Beach. But its hard when hubby is fighting me all the way. Patcat

It's great to hear that your BG levels have been in the normal range.

I know that it must be very, very hard for you to stay with the SBD program right now, feeling like you do and going through what you are.

Please come here for support ... it is extremely important for you to take the best care of yourself. Keep in mind that we are diabetics and that if we don't control the disease it will control us. We must do all that we can to keep from having the complications that accompany uncontrolled blood glucose levels. Diabetes is a very, very serious chronic disease. Do take care of yourself. You are a good person and you deserve that.

We are all here to support you. Hang in there, Pat. Keep hoping and planning for a better tomorrow!

[patcat1964]

Hi Cat

Thank you for the inspiring story. I am glad that you share that with me. I was in a similiar position growing up and so was hubby. so it doesnt matter if i dont have material things. Just a roof over my head and food on the table for the kids and me. Other then that i can manage. Its hubby that cant and he spoils the kids so bad. We are over our head in debt. And cant refinance or sell out.

I ate pretty good today

B- eggs with peppers and onions with 2 cups of coffee with milk

L- BLT on WW bread

D- Meatloaf from ground turkey, sweet potote and salad

S- pretzels

So over all it wasnt so bad. I just have to look forward to tomorrow

[Cetaganda]

Good morning everyone,

How are you all doing today? And what are you planning to eat today?

I ran out of test strips the day before yesterday so did not measure my fasting BG level yesterday. Finally the test strips came in.

How many times do you use your lancets? The instructions in the manual for the glucose meter says to use a new one each time you test. I have used mine several times and it doesn't seem to matter. The expensive things, though, are those little test strips. No wonder companies often give away their glucose meters for free or for next to nothing ... because it's with the stest strips that they make a lot of money. Printer companies such as HP ... they make most of their money not on the printer but on the inkjets.

Here is my meal plan for today:

B: turkey sausage, V8 juice, 1 slice whole grain high fiber low carb toast

Snack: Burdle's Pizza/Greek beans

Lunch: Shrimp scampi, baby carrots, salad of mixed greens and other veggies.

Snack: Burdle's Pizza/Greek beans

Dinner: Lean pork chop, grilled vegetables, 1/2 Asian pear

Bedtime snack: Yogurt


Pat, you did do pretty well eating yesterday. The only thing you ate that could be improved would be to have some popcorn (either without oil or with canola oil) ... about a cup of it as a snack. Pretzels, unless they are whole wheat, are made of refined flour. Still, all in all, you ate well yesterday. And you kept your BG levels down to normal ... that is very good.

I'm going to be busy today, getting the house ready for my mother's visit in less than 2 weeks. The room I use as my office is a total wreck and I have to clean the carpets, etc. Today I am going to go buy something nice to put on Mamma's bed.

I am very fortunate that the cost of food is not an issue. I have spent a lot of money buying for the South Beach Diet, but that is money that we would have not spent on eating at restaurants. Eating out is so expensive if you eat at an Appleby's or Chili's or some such restaurant. And we often ate at a fast food restaurant.

Now I can hardly stand to eat at a fast restaurant, especially after reading the book, Fast Food Nation. Also, the movie, Supersize Me, was very interesting, especially the part about how children in school are being fed fast food such as french fries, etc. We have a national epidemic of obesity. It is causing a big increase in type 2 diabetes in young people and even children.

Have a good day, everyone. And take very good care of yourselves.

[patcat1964]

Hi Cat

I use the lancets more then once. Even though my insurance covers them. Also, my strips are cover my copay from insurance 20.00 as long as it say i have to prick 4 times a day.

today

B- Uncle Sam Cereal with Milk
Grapefruit
Coffee with milk

L- ?

S?
D- Chicken

Other then that i am still depress but doing things cleaning etc.

Patcat

[louisefour]

Cetaganda, I may take you up on your offer to visit someday. I am determined to make it back to the NorthWest because I truly loved it. Do you manage to get fresh seafood where you are- it was fantastic (I ate most of mine in Seattle). I thought it was better than Atlantic seafood- or at least what we get here in the South. I promised myself when I went back, I would be in good enough shape to do some hiking. The NorthWest made we want to be an 'outdoors girl.'

[Cetaganda]

Hi there everyone,

Patcat and louisefour: I will post a reply to your posts a little later today. For now I have some thoughts and experiences to share with you.

At one of the supermarkets I go to they have very soft and fragrant French bread loaves ready every day at 4 pm for everyone stopping in for something for dinner.

I used to buy that bread sometimes after work because it smelled so good. But, we only ate a little of it before we threw it out because it went stale so fast and actually was of very little substance. That bread is very, very BAD for everyone, especially diabetics like me and I just don't eat it any more or even miss it. Still, I stay away from Albertson's after 2 pm.

Reminds me of the fact that movie theaters always smell strongly of popcorn. We have not bought movie theater popcorn for a very long time because it costs "an arm and a leg", as much as the overly inflated price of movie tickets these days. That's just as well ... that popcorn is BAD REALLY BAD for anyone to eat ... lots of bad fat and salt and empty calories. And who buys movie theater popcorn without a large size expensive beverage?

Further reminds me of the final box of food that I need to purge from my kitchen. It will contain 12 cans of corn that I bought on sale months and months ago, a box of lite microwave popcorn (lots of bad fat and salt), a fudge brownie mix (sugar and refined flour), canned soups containing noodles or potatoes (lots of salt bad, very bad), and a few other items. I am almost done with making my kitchen 100% SBD heart and diabetes healthy.

Further reminds me of the fact that I am drawn to the smell of the Cinnabon store at the mall. I can smell it so far away from the store ... do they use a fan to blow that fragrance out into the mall? I have suspected movie theaters of doing that because you can smell it long before you get into the theater.

For everyone who is having a tough time of staying committed to this way of life, who is going through a rough time, I care about you and hope that I can be supportive of all of your efforts and understanding of your difficulties. Right now I am very motivated to stay with the program for health reasons and because this is all so new to me and thus exciting. I fully expect to have some rough spots, like many of you. So, I may need your support during that time, as well.

I made a change to my breakfast this morning. I added a boiled egg to give me more protein.

For lunch I am adding a slice or two of cantaloupe because it is sitting there needing to be eaten (I really hate to let any good food go to waste) and because fruit is good for us. This cantaloupe is one that I bought at Wild Oats ... the sample was delicious.

One final note: I am about to run out of two bins of fresh vegetables. This is very good news, because I used to buy fresh vegetables with the full intention of eating them and then I had to throw them out when they rotted.

I also buy packages of prepared salad greens to insure that we eat leafy green vegetables. Vegetables are available at Trader Joe's for a good price. That's where I also occasionally buy a couple of reduced fat Greek salads, for a treat.

Hope your day is going well. The weekend will be here soon. Since I stopped working in May, the weekend is not much different than the weekdays. I really miss working and I believe that I need to make money and I worry about the fact that I have little built up in my Social Security credits. However, since I have a working spouse who makes a good salary, I need very much to spend this time taking care of us and not business for a change. That makes it much easier for me to do the South Beach Diet.

If I start back working in the future, I know that I will have many challenges to staying with the SBD program. Still ... I have diabetes ... must always remember that ... because I want to avoid having the complications that come from uncontrolled diabetes. If I live a long life, I don't want to have the disabilities and diseases that my mother's generation have suffered and died from. They are just one generation ahead of me.

Makes me think, if you know what I mean.

[patcat1964]

Hi Cat


I understand everything you said. But you have a hubby that understands. I do not. Even though his sister died at 47 from diabetes and heart. I do the best that i can with what i got. I try to eat right every day. I have changed a lot of stuff in the house. But i also have kids too.

It like i ask him to pick up lettuce on the way home yesterday 4 times.

did he bring it home NO!!!!!!!!!! I dont drive so i cant go and get it. There are no stores near me. Everything that my hubby cares about is MONEY not anything else( kids, health, nothing)

That is very sad for me.

[Cetaganda]

Hello everyone,

Hope that you are enjoying one of the last weekends of the summer.

Here is an article of interest to diabetics. Look down the list on the In Diabetes Today section of the American Diabetes Association for the August 20, 2004 article, "Statins Cut Diabetics' Risk of Heart Attacks, Study Finds".

http://www.diabetes.org/indiabetestoday.jsp

What are your thoughts about this article?

[Cetaganda]

What are you all having to eat today?

Here is what I ate yesterday (Friday, Aug 27):

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs, 6 oz. V8 juice

Snack: Green chai tea with ff milk

Lunch: 1/2 Baja Ensalada from Baja Fresh restaurant, 1/2 Asian pear

Snack: A few nuts, string cheese

Dinner: Chicken salad, baby spinach salad with dried cranberries & sliced almonds, tabbouli, cucumber salad

Desert: Lime sugar free jello

Bedtime snack: Yogurt with fresh raspberries

Blood glucose level measurements for Friday:

Fasting: 109
Before dinner: 90
2 hours after dinner: 92

My challenge now is to start walking again. I have not walked for almost a week ... and that is my only exercise at this point. Yes, it has been raining most of those days, but still, I need to be exercising to better control my BG levels. Yes, I am doing well ... but I could do better if I would go for a walk or find another reliable form of exercise.

Do any of you have a challenge getting enough exercise, like me?

[vickir]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to the boards, relatively new to type2, and just started SBD today.

So, for breakfast this morning I had eggs, mushrooms and a little ham plus 5 cherry tomatoes. I plan to have grilled chicken and salad for lunch and a grilled burger, broccoli and salad for dinner.

Don't know about snacks - probably lf cheese mid-morning and maybe yogurt (sweetened w/ Splenda) mid-afternoon. Anybody have any suggestions for a 'bedtime' snack?

I'm not having a great deal of difficulty keeping BG in range during the day; still haven't conquered FBG - about 125 - 140. Anybody have any ideas that have helped bring your FBGs down?

I've never joined a message board before but I look forward to giving and receiving encouragement. My good news - pre-SBD I managed to lose 10# since first diagnosed in May. Still have a problem with low HDL and high trigly. I do take Lipitor though.

Thanks for reading on..... VickiR

[tennie]

I'm very new to SBD and type 2--just under 2 weeks for both. Doctor recommended this diet, but have lost only a couple of pounds so far. I'll stick with it though as I've been eating fairly heathily for years (and drinking a ton) so I don't have excess water weight or cravings to deal with.

OOps, I take that back---I'd sure love to have one of my Oat bran/Wheat bran/flax seed with blueberry muffins right now (made with splenda as always).

I think that the whole grains are what I miss most during this phase.

Marilyn

[GG]

I'm type 2 as well. I test 3 times a day. I don't need insulin. but, I was put on lipitor and bp medication. I shot up 10 lbs.

did anyone notice this? does BP medicine make you fat. I am going on the S B diet tomorrow. Atkins doesn't work anymore for me.

b