I am newly diabetic and I don't know if ive been eating the right foods. My sugars are still around 200 before and after I eat. So, what types of things do you guys eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or what do you suggest?
Also do you guys know any foods that lower your blood sugar?
alcohol lowers your blood sugar, but i don't recommend consuming that at every meal :o) really, there aren't any foods that will lower it, but there are foods that might not shoot it up as high - for example, foods with lots of protein and fat as opposed to carbohydrates will have less effect on your BG than those that have higher amounts of carb.
i always say it's not necessarily WHAT you eat, but HOW MUCH you eat. it's also important to make sure your insulin ratios are correct so you know you're taking enough insulin to cover your foods. technically, if your insulin is correct, you should be able to eat anything and not have high BGs after a meal... however, we all notice it doesn't necessarily work that way.
meat, cheese, veggies, eggs, salad dressings (and other similar foods) will have little effect on your BGs. also foods with fiber will slow down the digestion and make your BGs spike less after a meal or snack (proteins and fats do the same thing).
I really like Kay's Naturals Protein Cereals for breakfast -- they're all high-protein, high-fiber, low-sugar (they make foods especially for diabetics). Here's a 30% coupon: 30off (enter in shopping cart at checkout). This company also makes a diabetic-friendly line of chips, pretzels, and cookies -- all high-protein and high-fiber. They come in single-serving packets, so are super easy to take in your purse, backback, etc. I try to keep these on hand in my house, car, etc.
I like to eat yogurt for breakfast. Sometimes I add in stuff like walnuts or something crunchy like Cheerios to give it a little more "staying" power. Make sure to look at the label before you buy any though, always try to get the "light" kinds. Regular yogurt, especially stuff like "Fruit on the Bottom" has TONS of sugar. I get plain yogurt then put some sugar-free jelly in it, which fakes my brain out pretty good.
I eat Fiber One Bars...pretty good:) Or I'll have some yogurt or cereal (Cheerios or Fiber One). EVery now and then, I'll get wild and have a pancake or some eggs and bacon....but not too often.....fat really messes my numbers up!
I don't think there are any real tricks with T1, but my general goals when I eat are...
1. Eat healthy, balanced meals as much as possible
2. Not go crazy and eat tons of carbs b/c it spikes me high after the meal
3. Trying to go lower on high cholesterol foods as I get older b/c diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease. But, I've only done that as an adult...
I've never gotten any of those snacks made for diabetics b/c I've always been fine eating "normal" healthy foods so I figure, why pay the extra money! (:
Hi Stefanie,
I dont believe there is such a thing as a food that lowers blood sugar. Its all about balance. Your main meals should consist of some carb, protein and include veges all the time. Veges are awesome - if you like them - cos all the green stuff and salad stuff doesnt cause your blood sugar to rise.
Heres an example of my diet:
Breakfast - 2 slices multigrain toast with either vegemite or peanut butter with a cup of tea.
Mid morning - Skim milk flat white coffee
Lunch - bread roll filled with light ham and salad
Dinner - Lean meat with heaps of steamed veg with either bread, small portion of rice or baked potato.
Hi Stefanie,
If your pre- and post meal numbers are both in the 200s then it might be your basal (long-acting) insulin that needs adjustment. Say your number is 215 before lunch, you bolus with your regular insulin to carb ratio for what you eat, and then wait 2-3 hours and then recheck and it is 220. Well, then the insulin you took for your meal is doing it's job - it got you close to your pre-meal number. So I would conclude that either your basal amount is not big enough or you should also be giving a correction when you bolused for lunch. I would take good records for 3 days and then call your endo's office to review the numbers and see if any changes are in order.
I find my son's numbers are best when he eats balanced meals with some carbs, some protein, some fat. I am trying also serve 1 fruit and 1 veggie at lunch and supper for sure. (hard to get veggies in at breakfast everyday).
Good luck!
my mom make me Special breakfasts lunchs & dinners.
[quote user="C"]alcohol lowers your blood sugar, but i don't recommend consuming that at every meal :o) [/quote]
Hahaha... Man I shared this one with my Chef at work, and she laughed so hard she dropped about 30 muffins, guess I chould have waited til lunch or something too share this with her!
It is really hard to eat low carb foods in a carbohydratre laden society. There is every kind of snack food available. The number of different types of granola bars, cereals, muffins, desserts is staggering. I was in Costco last night picking up some stuff and I couldn't get over how huge their pies are. The pumpkin pie (unfortunately my favorite) and apple pie were so huge you could feed hords of people for days.
The secret for me as far as avoiding really high carb foods is to ignore that type of food when I am in the supermarket. The key is to not bring that stuff in the house - the old out of sight, out of mind theory.
For breakfast, I eat either plain yogurt flavored with Splenda and some fresh strawberries. If I feel like a shake, I put plain yogurt, a small amount of strawberries, milk and ice and add one scoop of a low carb shake mix. It is really good and fills me up in the morning.
Other things I do:
* Make a cheddar cheese omelet with mushrooms and load up on the cheese(can use liquid egg whites)
*Make a pizza less crust, cook shredded mozarella in a small skillet. Once it gets a bit hardened (the cheese will get a little bit brown), put jarred tomato sauce over or Trader Joes Pizza sauce(nice and thick). Cook only about 30 seconds longer, till the sauce gets hot. Then slide in onto a plate. It is delicious !
*Eat fresh mozarella also from Trader Joes with a small amount of fruit like grapes (sometimes it is hard to eat very strong cheese). Fresh mozarella is nice and mild.
If I get a craving for fresh baked bread, I eat a piece of extra, extra grain bread and put either jelly sweetened with splenda or peanut butter.
Can't seem to give up a cup of coffee in the morning. Oh well, we have to have some vices. Let's hear from everyone out there. What do you do for breakfast ?
Hi Stefanie - If you are newly diabetic, I suggest you get involved with http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/. When my daughter was dxd four years ago, we attended their annual conference and I learned an incredible amount about the nutrition aspect of diabetes. For example, my daughter will spike with certain foods like bread and cereals, and certain fruits, like grapes and pineapple. So, we make sure to pre-bolus 30 minutes before she eats them. Other foods like pasta will take six hours to exit her system and do not spike. Because she is on the Medtronic pump, we can bolus accordingly, even over a 6-hour period. Each person is different, and a lot of this is trial and error. Google - "Glycemic Index" for more information on this. One general rule we never break in our house - if her BG is high (>200), she does not eat any carbs until she is back in range again. Otherwise, it will take hours to control her numbers. A good temporary substitute when she is hungry and has a high BG are almonds, peanuts and cashews (she likes them). And, get a good dose of daily exercise - it's amazing how much better control you will have on an ongoing basis. Hope that helps!
My son is also newly diabetic. We were very blessed to have an AMAZING team teach us so very much in such short time. I am an OCD meal planner...hahaha. So if you would like any help, just let me know. I fix all three of his meals everyday. And I am a carb counting maniac. :) If you let me know how many carbs you have at each meal...I'll send you a few meal plans.
I am with C. Don't know of any that actually lower the BG's but it is in how much you eat. I am on a 60 carb a meal diet so I try to count everything in 15's. Makes it easy for me since I have enough fingers and toes to count with. Lol. My breakfast is usually High Fiber Quaker Oatmeal with 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup of fresh fruit. Lunch typically is 2 slices double fiber whole wheat bread, lean turkey breast, slice fat free cheese, 1 cup vegetables, 1 cup skim milk, and 1 cup fresh fruit. Dinner is usually 1 cup veggies, 1 cup fresh fruit, 1 cup skim milk, then some form of chicken or turkey baked in many forms. I will through some red meat once in a while. I do like to make pizza with whole wheat pita bread tbsps sauce, some cheese, turkey pepperonni. Of course all of this adds up close to 60 carbs per meal. My suggestion is to read all the labels for a while and familiarize yourself with carb counts on them if you use that method. Also keeping a food diary for a few months was very helpfull for me to learn what foods affected me in what way. Good luck.
Hi Micheal,
Your advice re 'waiting' and excercise is what I've been doing for years - almost 58years of diabetes. The excercise, thanks to my Dad's influence was usually something like bicycling, backyard tag, hiking, skipping [we are talking 1950-60's] and then when I chose a career, it was one where I'd be active - nursing. My best blood sugars at that job were when I was in the Emergency dept. - Stress was not a factor if exercise went with it - and we did walk at least 5 miles[ a day / measured at one point!] As a long time adult I've always had cereal, eggs and or bacon and when possilbe tomatoes for breakfast. In the winter, I make a porridge which has brown rice /quinoa[ lots of vitamins] dried fruit and lots of cinnamon. As a child I had to use a sweetner [Sucaryl] which I hated - so now I use a teaspoon of brown sugar on the porridge / none in the summer - dry cereal then with fruit. The website I use when want to know something new re food is http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_formats/pdf/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/nvscf-vnqau-eng.pdf. This is the Canadian site my dietician gave me - has just about everything on it.
And re trial and error - you are absolutely correct - and so every now and then I'l change something diet wise - usually this has been due to job time demands - when I find the new 'it works' plan I use that as a guide until things change again. But over the years breakfast has always been a must - and hasn't changed much since I was a kid.
sounds like you're being a great dad to your daughter.
Sue
I like to have a good mix of carbs + protein. I still struggle with my meals because I get hungry SO fast. My dietician recommended I add more protein and fats. For breakfast I used to eat cereal and fruit and would get hungry an hour later. Now I make a sandwich with whole grain toast with peanut butter and bananas (SO good!) Or if I have time I make an omelette with veggies (green/red/yellow peppers, tomatoes, green onions...pretty much everything I have in the fridge haha) and add some cheese and turkey or chicken.
For lunch I usually have a sandwich (with cheese, meat, and veggies) and plain yogurt that I cut up fresh fruit and add to it (this really helps with the taste if you --like me-- don't really like plain yogurt. And I feel like the yogurt with fruit that you buy from the grocery store has too much junk added to it).
Like C and JDVsMom said, insulin ratios are key. You just have to get used to adding up the carbs and making sure you take the right dose right before you eat (if you're on fast acting like Humalog or Novolog.) If you're doing this accurately and your blood sugars are still high, you may need to talk to your endocrinologist to adjust the doses. When I was first diagnosed (14 years ago) and when I have problems with high blood sugars (which I still do), I write EVERYTHING in a log book. I write the times, blood sugar#, how many carbs I'm eating, and the dose of insulin I took. Then I re-check my bs 2 hours after I finish eating.
Certain foods like pizza that are high in carbs & fat make my blood sugar go kind of crazy (because of the way and timing your body metabolizes it--see a **Glycemic Index**), so I try to avoid these foods.
When I get hungry but it's too soon for a meal, I snack on raw veggies like celery, green pepper, tomatoes, and nuts like almonds or walnuts.
Another important point is that even if you eat JUST protein+fat (like an Atkin's diet), your body still needs insulin. If you are not eating carbohydrates your brain still needs glucose to survive so your body will convert other things to glucose (i.e. protein and fat.) Definitely talk to your endo if you are eating just protein and fats. I have had a low carb and high protein+fat diet for the past several months and my blood sugars have been really high. So he added a basic dose of Novolog for each meal that is low in carbs.
Hope any of this helps and I'm not just rambling! Good luck! I love reading all your posts; they're very helpful :)
it's all about portion No more then your fist