[angel_bayou]

I'm REALLY struggling to get my A1C levels down and nothing I try seems to help!! I'm looking for any healthy, filling meal ideas that you guys might cook for yourself!

[rapf777]

I have actually have gotten my A1C down to 7 when it was 13. I ate more veggies, cut out alot of starches (ate pasta once a week instead of 3-4) and added ALOT of cinnamon to my coffees, SUGAR FREE desserts, and apple sauce. Unfortunately my A1C is back up but due to being my fault. I kept "forgetting" to take my meds. I also was seeing a endocronolgist and that seemed to help. I am getting back on track on making sure I am taking my meds on a regular basis. I will find out in May on how my A1C is. Good luck...and TAKE YOUR MEDS...they do help. It also might be you are not on enough meds too.

Good Luck and let me know it there is anything I can help you with...I come from a family of diabetics.

Rose

[joepegcamp]

This is how I cut my levels way down: I cut out ALL white flour, sugar and simple starches out of my diet. NONE.

For breakfast: eggs and fruit and whole milk
Snack: Handful of almonds or macadamia nuts.
Lunch: Grilled chicken and salad greens. Cheese. Milk. Whole wheat crackers.
Snack: low-fat, low-carb yogurt. Nuts.
Dinner: Veggies, fruit and lean meats.

If you're ever stuck, just cut out the simple carbs. Eat fruits (in moderations), veggies and lean meats. Drink water or milk.

The best way for me is to count carbs. I'm under 50 per day. With a ton of exercise, I can let my carb count get up to 90, but no more than that.

I've been able to stay off meds by doing this.

Have you seen a nutritionist? You can also order cookbooks for diabetics on Amazon.

[qs mom]

I have learned that sometimes, it just doesn't matter what you do, your levels may not drop on their own.


I have to say, I actually have no problem with my A1C. I'm horrible - I drink Pepsi, eat fatty, fried foods. breaksticks, carbs, forget my medicine. But my levels have always been good. I sometimes wonder if my DX is right. I do go to the doc tomorrow, hopefully this is still true.

But something that has helped me a lot, it peanut butter. The high protein, slow burn has helped maintain an even level. One slice of bread with peanut butter before bed or as a snack does the trick for me.

[drjeanne]

I'm type II diabetic and have been for around 15 years now. My A1C number has kept creeping up and up over the years. I finally got it down (along with losing some weight!) by going on the Medifast diet - hope it's okay to mention that here! Their foods have added protein and they're very low carb and low salt. So, as another poster said already taking the "white" flour and carbs out of your diet will REALLY help! My blood sugars used to run in the 200s even with my insulin pump set at 8 (yes, EIGHT!) units per hour but, now my pump is set at 2 units per hour and my blood sugars run around 80 to 110 and sometimes go so low I have to turn the pump off and eat a few glucose tablets! I'm actually looking forward to going to the doctor in a few weeks to get my bloodwork checked again so I can see the difference! Another bonus of eating low carb/high protein and every two hours is my blood sugar is steady throughout the day and I don't get hungry at all! I don't have cravings and I don't find myself going crazy trying to find something to eat! This feels so much better to me! Too bad they don't teach you how to eat when you're diabetic! They just throw more meds at you! Oh, something else I wanted to add! I was in a chain pharmacy the other night and I saw you can actually buy an A1C kit now and check your own A1C at home now! Just so you know!
Good luck to you! Take GOOD care of yourselves!
Jeanne

[angel_bayou]

I have not been able to see a nutritionist yet but i really want to!! I need some major help getting this undercontrol. One of the biggest problems I have is tha I'm a very PICKY eater!! I hate to admit that but my mom raised us alone and worked a lot so fast meals were the way to go.
I cannot stomache any kinds of beans, I don't do much rice anyway, the only veggies I eat are raw carrots/potatoes/corn, and the fruits are grapes/apples/oranges/watermelon/strawberries/bananas and none of these seem to do well with my sugars!! I do LOVE chicken though and i eat a lot of grilled chicken and grilled pork loin on occassion. I've given up pasta almost all together. I eat it maybe twice a month at most!! I've almost completely given up coke, but I have to admit I have drank one from time to time with a meal when we're out! So I'm really struggling but I'm determined to get it under control!!
I want another baby so I have to do this because the inferility doctor will NOT treat me until my levels are down to 6!!! I have not had a six since I was 19!! Seriously!! My level is 7.8 right now and we'll retest in a month to see if it's beginning to go down any!!
Any receipes you guys have to share would be GREAT!! Oh and i've taken up riding my bike pulling the girls in the bike trailer two miles at least three times a week. I know this is not much but it's a start right?

[redru2004]

I've been a diabetic for 26 years now and I've had my ups and downs with the disease. However things have been pretty controlled for me over the last 5 or so years. My last a1c was 6.2 and my endo is fine as long as I'm under 7. Like the others mentioned I eat all whole grains and lean meats, I've learned to love fresh veggies and have always loved fresh fruits. We try to eat fish once a week in the winter, twice in the summer, for veggies often I will saute them in a little olive oil and then sprinkle a bit of parmesean cheese on top of them, we eat lots of salad with little dressing. I also tend to eat smaller meals during the day but more frequently. Low fat cottage cheese and fresh fruit is a staple for lunch these days as is those new Light soups endorsed by weight watchers...the flavor is really good, and an entire can only has 120 calories in it with 18 grams of countable carbs. Typically I will eat a half a can for lunch, then make 1/2 a sandwich on wheat with turkey and mustard so I get my protein in. I will eat pasta, but it's always whole grain and I watch what I take. I run an average of 4 to 5 times a week too, which helps keep my levels in check. If it's an off day I try to walk or take a bike ride with hubby.

Here are a few recipes that I use, found in a diabetic cookbook that are good, I've included carb exchanges with them. Here goes:
Parm-dijon chicken
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parm
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tblspns dijon mustard
6 skinless boneless chicken breasts

heat oven to 375, spray bottom of 9x13 with cooking spray, mix bread crumbs and cheese in a large resealable bag. Mix oil and mustard in a shallow dish. Dip chicken into mustard mixture and then drop in bag and shake to coat. Bake in oven for about 30-35 minutes.

1/2 carb choice

Carmelized Garlic Chicken
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tblsp canola oil
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup water
4 slices tomato
4 oz swiss or havarti cheese cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 tblsp chopped fresh basil

Cook garlic and oil in 10 in nonstick skillet over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes stirring constantly just until it begins to brown. Stir in brown sugar until melted.

Sprinkle salt over chicken and add chicken to skillet. Cook 3 to 5 min, turning once until brown. Add water cook over medium for about 10 minutes turning once. Top chicken piece with tomato, cheese and basil cover and heat 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

0 carb choices.

Honey Mustard pork medallions
1 pound pork tenderloin
2 tblsp honey
1 tblsp yellow mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup water
2 tsp packed brown sugar

Cut pork into 1/4 inch slices. Mix remaining ingrediants except water and brown sugar in a shallow glass bowl. As pork turn to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes. Mix water and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved, set aside.

Spray 10 inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium high heat. Remove pork from marinade. Cook pork in skillet 5 to 6 minutes turning once, until no longer pink. Remove pork from skillet and keep warm.

Reduce heat to low, stir water mixture into drippings in skillet. heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute and drizzle sauce over pork.

carb exchange: 1

Hope some of these help, I have a few more that might work for you too, if you are interested PM me.

[joepegcamp]

This is what we do to make meals quick and easy:

Tyson makes some pre-grilled, cut up chicken strips. Buy a couple bags of those every week. (I usually saute them in sesame or olive oil on Sunday and keep them in the fridge.) You can also buy prepackaged salad kits. Add the two together and you have a grilled chicken salad. You can cheat a bit on the salad dressings (but don't overdue it). Honey Mustard, Ranch, Thousand Island, etc. Take your pick, control the portion and you have a healthy meal. If you absolutely need the carbs, get ORGANIC whole wheat crackers. (The others have high fructose corn syrup and that really messes things up for me.)

We also use the chicken strips to make fajitas. Cut up bell peppers (green, orange, red, yellow) and an onion. Add a low-car tortilla, some salsa and a dab of sour cream and you have a healthy dinner. (Remember, watch the portions on the salsa and sour cream.)

Add the chicken strips to frozen veggies. The freezer section of your grocery store has lots of options for you. We have Teriyaki Stir Fry (we use low-sodium teriyaki sauce for flavor).

Drink Diet Soda! Or water. Wal-Mart has this great flavored water. I love them. I only have one diet soda a day. The rest of the time, it's water, crystal light, tea or coffee.

It took me a while to change my tastes to more veggies. But I soldiered through. Now when I have something sweet, I can feel my body reacting poorly. Same with McDonald's. I finished my son's cheeseburger last week and felt my blood sugars go out of whack. A couple hours later, I had to exercise for an hour to get my body adjusted. (I also had a high protein, almost no carb meal).

For the fruits: stick with berries. They don't have the high carb counts. I love pineapple, but I can only have it a couple days a week and only if I'm exercising shortly thereafter. I eat apples with peanut butter. (Balances out the high sugars in the apple.)

Exercise is key. And I mean vigorous exercise for at least 45 minutes. We're not talking leisurely walks around the block (though, they're better than nothing). Get the heart rate up and sweat profusely.

For us with Type II Diabetes, it's tough. (Type I ain't no picnic either). The good news is that Type II can be controlled with diet and exercise. Some may still need drugs to help, but diet and exercise are the keys to better health.

(Gotta admit, there are still times when I would knock my grandmother over for a chocolate chip cookie. Or a snicker's bar. Or peanut M&Ms.)

[churchvillemom]

Wow, sounds like the people who've posted are doing great with their diabetes! I'm a nurse CDE (certified diabetes educator) and I'd really recommend you meet with a CDE and/or a registered dietitian to get you started on the right track. There is a lot of misinformation out there, especially on the internet, so it's great to be able to get some research based, tried and true info from a CDE. If you go on the American Diabetes Association website, diabetes.org, you can get a link to find local CDE's in your area.
Just the fact that you are thinking about how to improve things and asking for help is great! Diabetes can be difficult but it really is manageable, as several of the posters have said, and recognizing that healthy eating and exercise and the most important components of keeping yourself healthy means you're already a step ahead.
Good luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to email me!

[NJNative]

I have had Type II since 2000, and my last test was 6.2. What's exciting about that? Because that's on HALF the medication I was taking last May.

The difference? I went on a limited calorie, low fat diet. I lost 42 pounds, started exercising, and I eat like a PIG.

The difference is WHAT I eat. Nothing fried. Whole grain pasta and brown rice. Lots of veggies and lots of fruit (strawberries are my favorite, topped with fat-free whipped cream). I drink lots of water, too. To make it tastier, sometimes I put about 1/4 diet lemonade in the glass, lots of ice and then top that off with water.

And I eat 6 times a day. Breakfast is usually multi-grain Cheerios with 1% milk, snack is a Fiber One bar, Lunch is usually a salad or a chicken sandwich, afternoon snack is low-fat graham crackers, whole grain pretzels or fruit.

Dinner might be chicken, ham, steak (small serving) or pasta. Lots of veggies or more salad. Then a low-fat ice cream bar or fruit for dessert.

And yes, I ate all that every day while I was losing 42 pounds.

Robin

[joepegcamp]

Robin,

Wow! 42 pounds. That's amazing. Congratulations.

But not everyone with Type II should follow a low fat diet. I'm one of them. My body weight is still well within normal ranges, so going low fat for me does a number on my metabolism. When I'm following a lower carb diet that's higher in the goods kind of fat, my cholesterol is perfect. (The bad fats are the trans and saturated fats.) The minute I go to a higher carb, lower fat diet, my entire body is out of whack.

I think it's important for everyone with Type II Diabetes to talk to their team of doctors and a nutritionist. They'll help you create a diet plan that works for your body and overall health and lifestyle.

[angel_bayou]

Ok so I now I have a crazy sort of question for you all!! My doctors tweaked my meds and now my sugars are normal one minute, then low to the point that I feel like I'm going to be sick and sweating like I ran a marathon, to back high!! Any suggestions of how to keep a level sugar??
I've been eating right and watching every little thing with no cheating but man this is worse than the highs!! SIGH!!

[joepegcamp]

Snack on protein all day long. Cheese sticks do it for me. A spoon full of peanut butter also works. A handful of nuts. You can buy high protein/low carb snack bars (Atkins, South Beach, EAS, etc.) to keep with you when you're on the go.

If your sugar gets too low and you feel like you're going to pass out, have a small glass of orange juice -- that's an immediate hit to your system. Follow that up a high protein meal or snack.

Protein and fat keep your sugars level throughout the day. (Not too much fat, mind you, but just enough.) That's why cheese and nuts works so well -- protein and fat.

[JGarrick]

Originally Posted by angel_bayou

I'm REALLY struggling to get my A1C levels down and nothing I try seems to help!!

Three things: 1) Exercise 2) Exercise 3) Exercise

I can get my blood sugar to drop 50 points by walking up and down the stairs ten times. A 15 minute walk twice a day would make a big dent in your A1C.

For meals, lay off the carbs, but if you do eat a lot of breads and pasta keep your portions under control. If you took classes when you were first diagnosed, go back and reread the materials on proper portion sizes.

A proper portion of meat, for example, is about the size of a deck of cards, but I've seen steaks served that were closer to the size of a tape deck than a poker deck.

Eat slower. You'd be amazed what a difference it makes. Dividing your meal into courses helps. Have a salad first. When you're done, relax for a few minutes then serve the main course. Relax again then have a tasty low calorie dessert.

A nice trick is to only reward yourself with dessert if you don't take seconds. Another is to put the food back in the kitchen after serving the entree, so that you have to get up to go get seconds. Even better is to just not make more than what you need for normal portions for everyone.

If you have snack weaknesses, the only advice I can offer is not to buy the things. My Achilles heel is chips. I find it nearly impossible to stop once I crack open a bag, so the best thing is to just not go down the chip aisle at the store.

[angel_bayou]

Thanks for the tips!! My sugars were pretty good today except the one LOW dip which I have to admit freaks me out a bit!! I can't wait until I can get this right!!
I've been riding the bike 2 miles a day with the kids now! One mile both way and i'm loving it and so are they! That usually is followed by a request to jump on the trampoline! Seems my two little princesses are getting into the routine and trying to get me healthy!! I'm hoping I can lower that number!!