[Jasmine31]

Okay so it is getting to the point where I am getting so much conflicting information from the "experts" that I am having a hard time deciding what is right and what is wrong info. I am listening to my body and I do know how I feel when I eat certain foods. I know I have learned alot about nutrition and my biggest concern is avoiding diabetes. Both of my parents were diabetic and my mom passed at 52 from complications with cirrhosis of the liver and my dad at 65 with a heart attack while getting more of his foot chopoped off. I am not diabetic. I am doing every thing I can to prevent this. I walk an aeverage of 60 minutes per day briskly and my average is up this month (so far) to like 89 minutes a day. I avoid sugar as much as I can. I allow myself once a month a desert treat.

I know there are sugars in every day foods too though. SO I try to watch that. Like for instance in lowfat milk there is 17 grams in one serving! I don't care for milk anyhow and would rather eat the cereal plain. I do slimfast low carb shake and that only has 1 gram of sugar but lately now I am wondering about all the junk they put in it. What is it really made out of anyways?

I do mostly chicken breast , and I eat red meat once to twice a week. Potatoes once a week although when I do eat out once a week I have a nacho bell grande usually or once a month fries and a burger.

I do know that carbs can turn to sugar and am doing my best to switch stuff. I switched to brown rice, 100% whole wheat bread. I am even trying whole wheat tortillas tomorow nite! I generally have .50 a cup of carrots and broccoli every nite, each. Salad with tomato and have been switching to extra virgin olive oil with vinegar on it.

I am trying to get my carbs to 40% a day and protein 30% and fats 30% with as many of them as possible being the healthier fats.

I eat generally 1 apple, 1 grapefruit and 1 orange a day.

Anyhow I have been losing 1.5 to 2 pounds a week steadily since I started cal counting and all that so I do not have the concerns about "doing everything right and it isn't coming off etc" but it just seems the more I learn and look, the less I really know. I am now delving more into diabetic stuff as I want to avoid it!

I would even have a serving of total which is a whole grain cereal with lots of vitamins and minerals in it (no milk, for a snack) but now I start reading stuff that says grains are bad for you! I read something the other day that says that even 100% whole wheat can affect your blood sugar the same way white bread can! This bread thging has really thrown me for a loop!

Whole Wheat Bread

All this stuff is driving me nuts! I have reached a point where I am highly motivated so that is not a problem. It is just that my point is what is right and what is wrong? I thought I was doing right with the whole wheats and grains and now I am not so sure!

Then every time I turn around I hear something bad! I do like tuna without mayo in a salad but then that has mercury. Is consuming only two cans a week really okay? I switch to low fat ham lunch meat and it has so much sodium in it too. *sigh* I get the smuckers all natural peanut butter and am happy having 1 tbs of that and it has only 1 gram of sugar per 2 tbs but then I read online that peanuts are the most heavily sprayed for pesticide crop in the world!!

I like yogurt and then I have to deal with the "dangerous" sweetners in it so now I am not evn having a yogurt. Maybe I should look for plain yogurt.

I reach for splenda to have a low sugar alternative for pumpkin pie this year and now I hear that may be bad as well!

Then with the fruit even I was having a banana every day and now I hear that is really high on the glycemic scal1 Oranges comes in a little lower but still high. Lets not forget carrots! I am just so sick of all this! It seems like every better choice I make is not better at all. If I could survive without eating I would! Then I hear about bovine growth hormone in milk. Not to mention what about the animals we eat? What kinds of hormone etc are those injected with?

I have read a little on an "evolutionary diet" has anyone else been following that? I just really feel like I want to get back to basics. The more I read about that stuff it makes me feel like I am getting extremely paranoid!

One thing I haven't added yet that may help is nuts. Now that I am trying to reduce my carbs I am finding that I can't possible eat that much meat! Then my cals come out low. I have been trying to stick to an average of about 1650 a day. Sometimes I am finding that I am just not hungry! That when I plan and I hit 1200 it looks good to me but I know that would screw my metabolism p esp. since I walk so much.

I am thinking of adding a boiled egg in every day and am now thinking nuts might be helpful.

Any advice on any of this is welcome. What kind of nuts does everyone recommend?

[srmb60]

Oh honey! I don't know whether to laugh or give you a hug!
It is getting terrible isn't it? Remember Erma Bombeck? One day they'll find out that lettuce has been fattening all along.
I don't know how to address all that. I guess I believe most of it is alarmist. Believe? Hope? Pray?

The only advice I can give is that I eat egg whites and protein powder.

[HAL123]

Ok,
I agree with what has been said above, a lot of that is alarmist. Also your body needs SOME sugars to function, no matter what your diabetic status is.

With regards to pesticides etc try to eat organic, it has less chemical residue and while it costs more and may not look as pretty, it's better for you and the environment.

I think, if you can afford it, you should go and raise your concerns with a deitician. If you have special healthy concerns, and family health histories, they should be able to guide you in how and what to eat to ensure you stay healthy. They are a professional, with a medical background and I believe the ones attached to hospitals may be cheaper (we have free health care in my country). Also someone not attached to a diet clinic is going to be more impartial.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about nutrition and what you should and shouldn't eat. The most important thing is to make sure you eat a wide range of food, grains, fruit and veg and different protein sources. Listen to your body, if something makes you feel sick/ill then don't eat it.

Good luck, I know it can be confusing and scary,

[QuilterInVA]

The sugar in milk is not added sugar but lactose that occurs naturally so don't eliminate dairy.

[Crescendo]

Don't go for whole wheat bread look instead for "WHOLE GRAIN" -- whole wheat can be the same crap as white -- its all about the grain.

Also, for yogurt --- I found this WONDERFUL one called Fage -- which is Greek. I got for the 0% fat one and it only has 80 calories per serving and 5 grams of sugar!! I usu. have it with either some berry (usu. in the summer or granola for the winter).

[Get n healthy]

I have the same concerns. I am scared to death of diabetes and have it on both sides of my immediate family. YIKES. I worked in a kidney clinic and saw what diabetes does first hand. So i too am doing all i can to lose weight and eat clean and exercise (cardio works best on blood sugar).

The best thing i ever did was go to a nutritionist that specialized in diabetes. You only need one good class/lesson with her...you can take notes and learn SO MUCH. Best money i ever spent.

Maybe get an Atkins book and that would give you an idea of what has sugar and what doesnt. I know my sister was shocked at how much sugar carrots have, katsup, stuff like that, that you wouldnt even think of. She lost all her weight on atkins. I could never live on that diet but i learned a lot about what has sugar by talking to her.

About chemicals on your food, i worry about that too. I really try to buy organic especially with foods that i eat the peel or skin to. But really for a family of 5 i cant afford organic meat all the time, especially with a teenage bottomless pit of a son, ha ha. But just look for organic and check out some organic markets in your area.

But really, if you just do one thing...find a nutritionist that specializes in diabetes....i swear you will be glad you did.

[alinnell]

Phooey on the glycemic index! You are eating a very well balanced diet and you are losing weight (which is the key to keeping diabetes at bay). Diabetes is NOT caused by sugar. It is caused by the body's inability to create insulin or to use the insulin correctly. Sugars do cause obesity which raises the RISK for diabetes so it is important to limit sugars, but personally I don't think that the sugars that are in healthy whole foods should be regarded as bad. Sugars in processed foods are bad. Sugars in fruits and vegetables and milk are not bad. As far as I am concerned, you should stick with what you are doing! Talk to a nutritionist if you're really worried, but I think you've got it right! Everything in moderation (which is what you're doing) and you'll be fine. Oh, and my favorite nut is a cashew, but they say walnuts are probably the best choice. Have you checked out the Whole Foods Lifestyle thread? There's a sticky that has the list of the 14 Superfoods and why they are so good for you.

[Jasmine31]

Thanx so much ladies for all your advice and support!!

SusanB:

Oh honey! I don't know whether to laugh or give you a hug!
It is getting terrible isn't it? Remember Erma Bombeck? One day they'll find out that lettuce has been fattening all along.

Awww thanx hun! Doesn't that sound about the gist of it?

I don't know how to address all that. I guess I believe most of it is alarmist. Believe? Hope? Pray? Well I definately believe in God and I am asking him to help me sort thru all this.

The only advice I can give is that I eat egg whites and protein powder.

What do you try to keep your percentages at?

NBK:

Ok,
I agree with what has been said above, a lot of that is alarmist. Also your body needs SOME sugars to function, no matter what your diabetic status is.

I thought our body's do NOT need sugar to function? I do know they needs carbs cause that helps the brain and your body needs to burn that instead of muscle. I know if you eat too many carbs they can turn to sugar. But sugar is in so much it is hard to getaway from. I did read something recently where it said to try to make sure whatever you eat to try to have it be less than 3 grams per serving.

With regards to pesticides etc try to eat organic, it has less chemical residue and while it costs more and may not look as pretty, it's better for you and the environment.

Yes that has been something I do want to do. It is really hard though cause I have 5 kids as well!! I am going to have to find a way to do it. When spring comes I am seriously thinking of trying to grow our own veggies!

I think, if you can afford it, you should go and raise your concerns with a deitician. If you have special healthy concerns, and family health histories, they should be able to guide you in how and what to eat to ensure you stay healthy. They are a professional, with a medical background and I believe the ones attached to hospitals may be cheaper (we have free health care in my country). Also someone not attached to a diet clinic is going to be more impartial

I do have medical. I don't really trust doctors that much. At the end of the year I am going to go in and get a physical and have them test me for everything. But as a general rule I don't like working closely with docs cause they get rich when we get sick. The more we need them, it only insures their jobs etc. I grew up with a mom who was always going to the docs and being sick and he gave her all kinds of medication, "I'm depressed", here's a pill, "I have trouble sleeping", here's a pill, "I can't wake up and am tired", here's a pill. "I'm hearing voices", here's a pill. You get what I am saying. I really feel that there wasn't much wrong with her to begin with but after being on 13 different prescriptions for like 15-20 years, yeah you have a problem now. I really feel alot of that is what contributed to the malfunction of her body.

As far as nutritionist go I do know alot about good nutrition, it's just that I get so much conflicting info that it is hard to know what is right. All a nutritionist is going to be is another opinion. I really doubt they would be able to tell me anything I don't already know. SO who is to say their opinion is right?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about nutrition and what you should and shouldn't eat. The most important thing is to make sure you eat a wide range of food, grains, fruit and veg and different protein sources. Listen to your body, if something makes you feel sick/ill then don't eat it.

Good luck, I know it can be confusing and scary,

Thanx so much for your advice. I agree with eating all the different foods too. Over the long haul I am going to be worried about some of these concerns I mentioned. But for now, I am going to try to switch to organic as much as possible. Which is hard cause I also have 5 kids! Anyhow I was telling my dh that I , for short term, just need to listen to my body. Since counting cals and mostly eating the good stuff I have alot more energy! Heck I am even walking almost two hours a day sometimes! I am not getting sleepy or anything and I am losing and looking better so I know I am doing something right! It is just so hard sometimes when you hear so much conflicting info.

QuilterInVA:

The sugar in milk is not added sugar but lactose that occurs naturally so don't eliminate dairy.

Well I don't like milk anyhow so I am not missing anything. I do love cheese though and yogurt so I will get it there. I also have my slimfast every day which is made with skim milk so I have that too. I also like to have a serving of total cereal w/out milk and that actually has 100% of your daily calcium! Thanx for the concern though!

Crescendo:

Don't go for whole wheat bread look instead for "WHOLE GRAIN" -- whole wheat can be the same crap as white -- its all about the grain.

I have heard that too. Okay so instead of 100% whole wheat I will get 100% whole grain. I remember seeing the brand I was getting had both. The grain one has more sugar for some reason thiough. I know the breads that say "enriched flour" are a bunch of crap and I don't get those at all!!

Also, for yogurt --- I found this WONDERFUL one called Fage -- which is Greek. I got for the 0% fat one and it only has 80 calories per serving and 5 grams of sugar!! I usu. have it with either some berry (usu. in the summer or granola for the winter).

I will have to look for that! I know Glory mentioned somewhere greek yogurt to. Can I get it at the normal grocery store? Thanx so much!!

Get n healthy:

I have the same concerns. I am scared to death of diabetes and have it on both sides of my immediate family. YIKES. I worked in a kidney clinic and saw what diabetes does first hand. So i too am doing all i can to lose weight and eat clean and exercise (cardio works best on blood sugar).

I hear ya girl! Diabetes is not something I want to mess with!!! What kind of cardio do you do? I want to join a gym but we may have to wait til we move to MT next spring. (1 year contract etc)

Maybe get an Atkins book and that would give you an idea of what has sugar and what doesnt. I know my sister was shocked at how much sugar carrots have, katsup, stuff like that, that you wouldnt even think of. She lost all her weight on atkins. I could never live on that diet but i learned a lot about what has sugar by talking to her.

That is a good idea. I would like to read that book and the south beach one. Although I do think it is good to have some carbs etc.

About chemicals on your food, i worry about that too. I really try to buy organic especially with foods that i eat the peel or skin to. But really for a family of 5 i cant afford organic meat all the time, especially with a teenage bottomless pit of a son, ha ha. But just look for organic and check out some organic markets in your area.

I feel the same way! I have 5! I don't know how they can be selling us this fruit if it is so unhealthy for us! I have 5 at home so....uggghh I will see what they have locally. I am also traveling by bus so it will be even more of a challenge!

If you can find the right nutritionist I am sure it is a good thing.

I am so skeptical about them. My one friend who is diabetic is 322 pounds. Her nutritionist told her to go on a 1200 cal diet! She can NOT follow it or eat that little and winds up binging! Yeah we are all surprised. *rolls eyes* haha

I am trying to help her, I am going over there tomorrow to talk to her about what is working for me, she was really excited when we bumped into each other the other day and seen I had lost 65 pounds, she didn't even recognize me at first! and to encourage her to eat small healthy meals 4-5 times a day. That is what I do and to get her butt out and walk!

alinnell:

Phooey on the glycemic index! You are eating a very well balanced diet and you are losing weight (which is the key to keeping diabetes at bay). Diabetes is NOT caused by sugar. It is caused by the body's inability to create insulin or to use the insulin correctly. Sugars do cause obesity which raises the RISK for diabetes so it is important to limit sugars, but personally I don't think that the sugars that are in healthy whole foods should be regarded as bad. Sugars in processed foods are bad. Sugars in fruits and vegetables and milk are not bad. As far as I am concerned, you should stick with what you are doing! Talk to a nutritionist if you're really worried, but I think you've got it right! Everything in moderation (which is what you're doing) and you'll be fine. Oh, and my favorite nut is a cashew, but they say walnuts are probably the best choice. Have you checked out the Whole Foods Lifestyle thread? There's a sticky that has the list of the 14 Superfoods and why they are so good for you.

Thanx hun! I think what you said made alot of sense and I have read that before. I just get so hung up connecting sugar to diabetes and I just freak! I know I can't get away from sugar completely so I do try to monitor how much I am getting. I am also thinking with the carbs turning to sugar, wouldn't you think that would have to do with whether or not we are able to burn what we eat? I know there are simple carbs and complex carbs too. I also feel that with me eating an average of 1725 cals a day and walking an average of 90 minutes a day briskly that I should be definately burning everything. (Well i know I am but you know what I mean)

I definately agree with everyone about the processed food. It is a bunch of crap! I am really hoping we can move next year and I just want to get back to doing things from scratch! We want to go fishing on the weekends, have him catch a deer once in a while. Maybe raise a few chickens and turkeys. Grow some veggies. I also would love to make home made bread, my mom and I used to make it a few times a year for a treat with yeast, honey, and flour, water so that is not something new to me. How would I go about doing that though? Cause I don't think the whole wheat flour is any better. Hmmnnn...

Oh, and my favorite nut is a cashew, but they say walnuts are probably the best choice.

I just read about the walnuts last nite and am going to get them too!

Healthy Nuts!

Have you checked out the Whole Foods Lifestyle thread? There's a sticky that has the list of the 14 Superfoods and why they are so good for you.

I haven't seen that yet! I know Glory mentioned them and I do want the book. I will go check that out now!!!

Anyhow thanx so much for all your advice ladies! It seems like I agree I just get so frazzled with all this stuff sometimes and since this is my health I can't afford to be wrong. All I can really do is what I have been doing and that is asking God for guidance, walking like crazy, eating as healthy as possible. I heard that is a great way to beat off diabetes, plus losing weight which I am doing. I also know how I feel with energy levels and what not so I know my blood sugar is not going high or spiking or anything. I am just the type of person who flips back and forth between thinking she knows it all and thinking every thing I know is wrong! to all

P.S. I did do something really good yesterday though. I went and got some nuts!!! Cashews!!! With low salt. Nuts are something I would have maybe once a year around a holiday cause I knew they were so high in cals and fats and now realize they are the good fats and so good for you! I recommend everyone to have some!!

[Jasmine31]

Ladies I just posted a link in the foods section on how wonderful spices are for you. Check it out!!!
Spice Thread

[srmb60]

My percentages? I like 40 protein, 40 carbs and 20 fats. I don't really remember where I got that from. BFL? The Ladies who Lift? I tend to take multo info and take what I want out of it. I hardly every end up right there but it's what I shoot for (when I'm being good)

[Ellen]

Jasmine, what different foods do to YOUR blood glucose levels is going to be a rather personal thing. For instance, I have a friend who is diabetic, like I am. He can eat whole wheat pasta and it hardly effects him. I can't tolerate it at all...my blood glucose levels skyrocket when I eat whole wheat!

THE single most important thing for you to be doing right now is exercise. Your walking an hour a day will do more for keeping diabetes at bay than anything else. Avoiding added sugars, and especially high fructose corn syrup will help. Eating sensibly and getting plenty of exercise will do more than worrying over each individual food.

I was very diligent at watching what I ate, but not as good at the exercise. I had a short lapse when I was under a good deal of stress (my daughter was getting married and I had to plan the wedding,etc.) and right after that, I found my blood sugar levels were astronomical. If you are predisposed to getting diabetes, you are going to have to keep up the exercise and watch what you eat, BUT, if you do end up diabetic, please don't beat yourself up over it. Sometimes you can do everything 'right' and it just isn't enough.

If you are concerned about it, could you check your blood sugar levels with a glucose meter to see how different foods effect YOU? This would be much more effective, and much less stressful for you than trying to avoid every food that is suspect.

Someone mentioned dairy...the lactose in dairy is not 'bad' sugar. The sugars you want to especially avoid are added sugars, like sucrose, dextrose, maltose, and especially high fructose corn syrup. It sounds like you are working hard to have a healthy diet, and are getting in regular exercise. These ought to pay off for you.

Best regards..