Diabetes Diet War (Hint: High carbing doesn't work)

US News ^ | 7/14/03 | Dara Mayers

[Nov3]

Diabetes diet war
The nutrition advice given to most diabetics might be killing them

By Dara Mayers
The bible says "make starches the star." That's the Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible, published by the American Diabetes Association. "Grains, beans, and starchy vegetables form the foundation of the Diabetes Food Pyramid. The message is to eat more of these foods than of any of the other food groups." For 17 million Americans with diabetes, diet is a crucial part of treatment, And what the ADA bible preaches, many doctors, nutritionists, and patients believe.

But what if the ADA's high-starch diet--another way of saying high-carbohydrate--is not healthy for people with diabetes but harmful to them instead?

This possibility is now the source of heated debate in the diabetes community. It is "the most controversial aspect of diabetes treatment today," says Scott King, editor-in-chief of Diabetes Interview magazine. How controversial? "Malpractice!" is how physician and diabetes specialist Lois Jovanovic, chief scientific officer of the Sansum Medical Research Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., describes conventional high-carb nutrition advice.

Excerpted, click for full article

[afraidfortherepublic]

Yes. I feel fine. My muscles felt a litle weak 3 or 4 days in, but that seems to have passed. My digestion is better, and I don't feel bloated, so my clothes even seem to fit a tiny bit looser. BUT the scale shows NOTHING! I know that life does not revolve around a scale, but it's frustrating. I was sure that I'd see a little loss -- I even dared to hope for 5 or 6 pounds -- but nada.

I'm not cutting back a lot, but I am eliminating salad dressings and reducing the portions a little. So far I haven't been excessively hungry. Amazing what a piece of cheese will do! All those years on Weight Watchers (and even after) I've denied myself cheese. MMMMMmmmmmmm. It seems like a real treat now and might even have the double bonus of improving the Wisconsin economy! LOL.

[A_perfect_lady]

Isn't cheese grate? I mean, great? (Little joke). It's a pity I discovered Atkins right about the time I had to boycott the French. LOL!!

[afraidfortherepublic]

...I discovered Atkins right about the time I had to boycott the French. LOL!!

Buy Wisconsin cheese. We make all kinds, and our economy needs help -- big time! :~)

BTW I discovered a new kind of chees (new to me) at Sam's Club this weekend, and I just love it. I'm not sure where it is made because there was no fancy label on it -- just the generic store wrapping. It's white and it's called cheddar parmesan. Slices like cheddar cheese and has the tangy taste of Parmesan, but not quite as sharp as the hard kind you buy in the little triangles from Italy. I'll bet it would make a great sandwich, but for now I have to eat it in sticks.

[oldcomputerguy]

Any suggestions(chew)?

Nuts, pigskins, a partularly tough piece of beef???
Jerky works well for that aspect. You can chew that for
quite a while.

[oldcomputerguy]

Splenda is at my local grocery and at Walmart.

[sinkspur]

How long should I stick with this odd way of eating?

Give it at least another week. Sometimes the body takes a while to realize that it's not going to get what it usually got, nutrition-wise.

Are you hungry? Tired? The exercise will help some.

[SamAdams76]

I've eaten less than 20 carbs every day and drunk at least 9 glasses of water + decaf tea (not counted). I'm not exercising yet, but hope to start slowly at that tomorrow. How long should I stick with this odd way of eating?

Well first of all, look on the bright side. You haven't gained any weight either!

I must say that exercise was a part of my plan from the get-go. All the low-carb books I have read (including Atkins) stresses that exercise is a very important part of the diet.

Yes, you will see people post here that they lost tons of weight on Atkins "without exercise" but that never appealed to me. I didn't just want to lose weight. I wanted to be physically fit too.

Trust me, I was badly out of shape when I started my program back in April. I couldn't climb a set of stairs briskly without my heart pounding like a hammer. Now I bound up them with the energy of a 12-year-old boy. All because I walk, walk, walk.

I'm a busy guy but I found the time to walk. I get up an hour early and walk for an hour before going to work. I then use my lunch hour at work to walk again. I don't "stroll" either. I walk briskly and now I am starting to "power walk" but that is something you really need to work up to. For now, just walk at the briskest pace that you can comfortably maintain. If you are out of breath, you are walking too fast. If you can breathe too easily, you are walking too slow. Find that happy medium and stick with it. My walks are now the most pleasurable part of my day.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Happy to report a 5 pound loss this morning. What a difference a day makes. Thanks for all your support. Execise (finding the time and the will) will be the toughest for me but I'm going to hang in there.

[SamAdams76]

That would be water loss due to the fact that your body no longer has to hold on to so much water now that you are eating so much better. I believe that with high sugar/insulin levels, your body needs more water to dilute it all. At least I think that's how it works.

That is good. But don't worry, your fat will start coming off too now that the body doesn't have as many carbs to burn. Losing the extra water is one of the first signs that your body is converting to burning primarily fat.

I never bothered with daily weighings myself. I weigh myself once a week. That way, I never get discouraged with daily ups and downs. Your weight can fluctuate by several pounds from day to day but over the period of a week, it all smooths out.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I agree on not weighing daily, but I was so disappointed yesterday to register no weight loss after a whole week of folowing this regimin to the letter. I won't weigh again until next week, to be sure, because I am well aware of daily fluctations and how focusing on them can defeat your whole purpose.

[jennyp]

Happy to report a 5 pound loss this morning. What a difference a day makes. Thanks for all your support. Execise (finding the time and the will) will be the toughest for me but I'm going to hang in there.

Woohoo! Way to go!

For me, it was the realization, a month into the diet, that I no longer had to reach for the Tums every evening. That alone would've kept me on the diet forever.

As for exercise, it's been a week since I last exercised, and I guess it's time to hit the ol' rowing machine again. I exercise just enough to stop feeling like my brain's been stuffed with cotton.