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The NEW SUGAR -FREE ME.

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Jerseyguy2, Nov 10, 2015.

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  1. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    I turned 70 so I'm around 3rd. base but I honestly have never watched my diet and pretty much ate and drank whatever . Doc told me that my blood sugar was 137 so I decided to go sugar free except for a reduced amount in coffee.. No more ice cream cookees ,cakes and flavored stuff in coffee. Have two months to get the number down.
    Piece of pie at Thanksgiving maybe. thats it. more fruits.
     
  2. SH0CK

    SH0CK Stylin' and Profilin' Quasi Tech Admin

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    It's not so much the sugar intake, but the carbs that boost it up so much. I wouldn't be so worried about the 137 number, but you may want to ask them what your A1C levels are as that's a much better indicator of where your levels really are.
     
  3. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Good for you! I had a big wake-up call about the state of my health a couple years ago. I was so sick, I could barely function. After my doctor tried to give me a pile of pills, each with their own set of side-effects, I decided to take a different path. I got a nutritionist and got to work.

    Getting off sugar was a huge help. It wasn't easy though. Everyone I know hit this wall around the 2nd or 3rd week where you will kill a small baby for a cookie. ;) The only processed sugars I allowed myself was in my coffee creamer (not coffee mate but a natural one that uses white sugar) and I suddenly decided 6 cups a day was perfectly acceptable. Oh how the mind can justify the crazy.

    After that settled down, I took it further and got rid of processed foods in general. That meant I had to do a LOT more cooking at home, which was an adjustment. It's easier now, but I still struggle sometimes. But I've tried to work on adjusting the ratios of foods I eat. Where stir fry used to be a giant pile of rice with some meat and veggies on it, now it's a big plate of meat and veg with some rice. Spaghetti is mostly meat and veg sauce over a small portion of brown rice pasta (I like the brand Jovial). I even bought one of those things to make noodles out of zucchini, although I don't use it as much as I could.

    Satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit! Fructose is easier on your body and your blood sugars than sucrose. Packaged food has things in it that are not helping, so prepare from scratch as much as you can. Watch the carbs, especially if you're pre-diabetic. Get veggies into your meals as much as you can. I had a really hard time getting them into breakfast. I found baby spinach is your friend. Toss a handful into smoothies or eggs and voila! Fiber!

    The other one that was hard to wrap my brain around was fat. I grew up with Scarsdale Diet and Weight Watchers where all fat is bad. Adding it back in was a little scary, but it does help me a lot with inflammation. Lunch can be some tuna or salmon in an avocado with a squeeze of lemon. Add nut butters or olives.

    And look for good treats. Sometimes you just have to have a little something. What you choose for that something makes a big difference.
     
  4. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Do what most Americans do ----
    Go to Dunkin' Donuts.....have a bunch of donuts......
    but make sure you wash it down with a LARGE diet soda !
    *
    Hope it works out for you Jersey Guy.
    *
    BTW,
    They do say that the "diet" soda stuff just keeps you craving for sugar.
    Never mind all the chemicals in it.................benzene !? !......aspartame ?
     
  5. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    I'm watching my sugar and carbs too. Haven't had pop in three months and don't miss it. Less stomach aches, too.
     
  6. seneca7

    seneca7 Low-Roller

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    I got off the pop by using Mio Liquid Water Enhancer. Lots of great flavors. I get a big bottle of water and squirt it in...one or two squirts, depending on how flavorful I want it. Drinking more water than ever, and no craving for pop.
     
  7. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I am diabetic and have to watch what I eat. as shock mentioned, it's more the carbs that is the problem. carbs stay in your system much longer and you have a harder time burning it off. I used to love eating bananas (and baked potatoes) but since they contain a lot of carbs I had to cut down drastically on it (I used to eat one a day before, now once a month at most).

    you need to cut down on the carbs since they turn into sugar in your system. even if you cut out the sweets if you don't cut down on the carbs it won't lower your blood sugar much.

    You may also want to consider more exercise if you aren't doing much/enough of it. What I find is that losing weight also helps keep your blood sugar down. My older sister was borderline diabetic years ago but she exercises a bunch (just about every day) and lost a lot of weight so is no longer borderline. Me, I'm a man, just give me the pills (yeah, bad attitude). I do exercise a lot, 3x a week with 1 hr cardio each time in addition to weight lifting. golf 1x a week (walking the course) and bowl 1x a week. I walk another day for an hour but I still can't get off the pills so I just live with it. It isn't the end of the world and you just have to adjust taking pills to help out. I check my blood sugar and it's usually in the low 100's in the morning so my diabetes is under control.

    You're luck to go through 70 years without having to worry about your diet but guess now is a good time to start. Nowadays many kids have to watch out because their generation they are seeing more of them getting diabetes at a younger age.
     
  8. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    Thanks folks,I only drink diet soda but maybe I'll cut that out in favor of water. Doc says the rest of my readings are fine,Carbs will be tough,esp. beer but I'll try. I'm going to try to get back into walking more,I have a fully equipped excercise room at my disposal here but I havent used it in 5 years.
     
  9. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I cut down on the beer since it contains a lot of carbs. sounds like you just need to exercise more. Hopefully by exercising you won't need to cut down on the sweets (I have a sweet tooth so it's hard for me to cut down on that).

    good luck!
     
  10. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Thanks OP for the original post. I have to get it together as well. Trying to do it now and it helps to know others are doing the same.
     
  11. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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  12. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Interesting article, Candy Apple. I love bananas, but can't eat them anymore. I was trying to eat them to help with sleep there for awhile and my blood sugars went crazy on them. We did some testing and it turns out that pineapple and banana are not an option for me as they spike my blood up high (like well into the mid-200's).

    I miss them most in smoothies. I've found that a small spoon of a nut butter (I prefer cashew) gives the creaminess that I used to get from the banana.
     
  13. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    My blood glucose is high at around 115 but my A1C is normal. My friend has diabetes and laughs saying if he ever got down to 115 blood glucose he'd be very happy. Hey, at 70, you're doing great!
     
  14. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    Jerseyguy, I encourage you to get serious about doing more walking. Here's why:
    My 85 year old mother-in-law was diagnosed as pre-diabetic 5 years ago (when she was 80). Her doctor instructed her to reduce obvious sugar in her diet and strongly encouraged her to start exercising at least 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week. After 6 months of regular exercise she had lost 20 pounds and her blood sugar had returned to the normal range. She has continued to keep the weight off by regular exercise and her blood sugar remains in the normal range.

    Wishing you all the best as you adjust your diet and activity levels to be healthy!
     
  15. bardolator

    bardolator Lifelong Low Roller

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    Sonia wrote: "The only processed sugars I allowed myself was in my coffee creamer (not coffee mate but a natural one that uses white sugar) and I suddenly decided 6 cups a day was perfectly acceptable. Oh how the mind can justify the crazy."

    Well said!

    I second Kelly on walking, especially if you can walk to somewhere you would normally ride. It can be as easy as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; stuff like that.
     
  16. Royal Flusher

    Royal Flusher Savvy Gambler

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    Anybody else use stevia-based sweetener? I found it weird at first, but now I love it. I wonder how much sugar I've not eaten in my coffee thanks to stevia?
     
  17. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    I've used it too. It's a healthy alternative to white sugar. I also use turbinado sugar or "sugar in the raw".
     
  18. UCLAGirl

    UCLAGirl High-Roller

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    This girl on instagram https://instagram.com/fullyrawkristina/ only eats uncooked fruits, vegetables, and nuts. She says that she eats 30 bananas on some days and that she started eating this way due to being underweight and something with her glucose numbers. She's been eating this way for eight years now. She's been asked how she can eat so many fruits and vegetables high in sugar and starches and she says it's that's all she eats. She doesn't introduce other things like processed foods and dairy into her diet. Her diet wouldn't work for my lifestyle but at the very least she makes fruits and vegetables look pretty via her pictures.
     
  19. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    Thanks again for the advice and well-wishes,this morning I took a long walk down the beach in heavy boots so that was a good work-out.
    If I can get the sugar down and maybe lose a few pounds I'll be happy ,no way am I giving up my normal "man-foods" unless I dont have a choice and even then it depends how old I am.
    Sweets I can live without,.
     
  20. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    Actually the diabetes education classes that I attended all say that carbs like bananas and potatoes aren't good for you because carbs remain in your system longer. They say to eat it in moderation and actually told me to only eat half a banana (who the heck eats only half a banana?) and not every day. Bummers because I used to eat a lot of bananas but not anymore.
     
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