I have finally become serious about improving my health with the goal of one day not needing diabetic meds. I am not eating breads, grains, potatoes but lots of green beans, brocoli, lettuce and lean meats. I have lost weight and begun to reduce my meds.

My doctor had me afraid that my pancreas was failing and that got my attention. I was also taking the limit of meds he could prescribe. If I did not do something quickly I would be using insulin. I stopped eating the way diabetic educators teach and I now eat like others who have reduced their dependance on meds.

Two hours after lunch my blood sugar was 100. Lunch was a 9oz. steak, lobster tail, grilled green beans and grilled zucchini. I am watching my numbers closely so I will know when I can reduce my meds again. When I started I was taking 15 mgs of Glipizide and 1000 mgs of Metformin in the morning. As of now I am taking 10mgs of Glipizide and 1000 mgs of Metformin. At night due to morning readings in the low 70's I went from 15 mgs of Glipizide down to 5 mgs. Metformin was 1,500 in the evening and I have dropped that to 1,000 mgs.

My recent high weight was in the low 280's partially due to swelling from all the meds. I am now down to 258 lbs. I do not have a particular weight goal. I certainly want to get below 200 lbs. but more importantly free of meds and the side effects. My September A1C was 9.4 and my January was 6.8 so good things are happening.

I, too, have always battled weight gain. Since becoming diabetic about 7 yrs ago, it has become worse. Doctor just said, "Yes, because of your meds, you will tend to gain more." Ouch. Well, I had gone from 186lbs (already more than my ideal weight of 155-165) to 259 just before this past Thanksgiving. Something had to change.

Well, I worked with a dietitian who for guidelines. As a diabetic, she showed that I should be counting carbohydrates. 45 carbs for breakfast, 60 each for lunch and dinner, 15 for a snack. The key to it all was portion size. I never realized how small a half-cup is: less than the size of a tennis ball for vegetables. Meat should be the size of deck of cards. Considering this, most every restaurant serves 2 to 3 times what should be consumed for a meal. By sticking with this program, I'm now down to 238 and am slowly chipping away at the pounds. Oh, and I do go to the gym 4 to 6 mornings a week. So, I'm feeling much better, more energy, etc. But temptation is still the villain trying to derail my course. Nothing but pure determination and willpower will let any of us reach our goal. Until I was able to admit that to myself, I didn't have a chance of success.

Glad to hear that someone is winning the battle,but i do know where you are coming from when you say as a diabetic,we have to watch our weight yet the meds that we take help to put weight on.

The size that resturants serve realy is a lot more than most people need to get by every day,but what about food manufacturers i would say that they need to look at what portion size they are putting out there.

You can go and buy your shopping with the best will in the world,but try and find any produce that is out there in the correct portion,it realy is a fight.

Glad to hear that you are also going to the gym and doing some work there,it realy is supprising just how every little helps,it might not seem a lot but it all soon helps in that fight against weight.

I read from some fitness magazine some real wisdom in controlling our intake of food -- get into a habit of leaving food on the plate.

Eat only what we need. Leave what we know we shouldn't.

Look, what we consumed beyond what we need only ended up clogging our arteries, expanding our waistline, making us sick. It's doing much more harm than even being in the trash can. So, we are not wasting the food by leaving it behind.

The best is of course if get a dogie bag keep the leftover for lunch.

I am also working on weight loss, and winning

A year ago I weighed in a 265. For a 5-10 male 67y/o

that was what tripped me over the edge to loose

what had snuck on me silently.

I lost some weight rapidly by managing my food intake.

I plateaued at 230. Then about 2 months ago I again started to watch what I ate. I cut out all sweets,like candy, deserts, donuts,etc increased my intake of fruits and vegtables etc,cut back on meats and carbs.

I hate to say this, but, my weight has steadily decreased by about

4 pounds per month. I now am at 208 and am aiming for 180.

My PCP is noting my weight loss and can not explain why I find it so easy to loose.

My blood values are screwed up: low WBC; low RBC,low hemoglobin,low hematocrit, low anion gap (what ever that is), of course low T and lastly high TSH

What ever I am doing, the weight comes of steadily

I wish I could be more definitive.

My outlook is I don't put it in my mouth.

AM I YOU?

Still loosing

I went to see a new Endro Doc this morning

He was concerned with my low T, then spiking T, and how much weight I have lost in the last 4 months. Today I was 204, down from 208 two weeks ago.

He is honing in on my pitutary.

I have a bunch of blood test to do and then see him in 5 weeks

Time will tell

AM I YOU?

Managed to cut back on the portions that i have been eating, and i am also starting t lose some weight at last thankfuly,and watching he amount of sugar that i am also eating in my food stuff.

Wow,

I started trying to lose weight just yesturday.

I was 185 pre surgery and went to 235.

Two years ago I had colon surgery and didn't eat for a week and was down to 210.

I'd like to get to 190. I'm just watching calories and sugar.

I seldom talk about weight loss and blood sugar control anymore, because when I do, people either laugh at me or go off on how I'll have a heart attack or something with my high-fat, low-carb diet.

But it worked.

I lost about 50 lbs. easily, and have kept most of it off - although some lbs. came back with added muscle tone when I started more intense hiking and running at the same time.

I do not eat processed crap or food in a box. As Tugon said, if you eat the ADA/AHA way, you'll get fatter and fatter and sicker and sicker. Your body NEEDS fat to function properly.

Very simply, eliminate the following:

Grains. All of them. Flour, pasta, anything made of grain. Yes, corn is a grain, not a vegetable.

And above all, no bread or buns. They're all sugar anyway.

Root vegetables, excepting a carrot or sweet potato now and then.

Sugar. Anything containing corn syrup. Ready made food is loaded in it. So is "low fat" food.

Milk. Cheese and a bit of sour cream now and again are fine.

Fruit. Most of it, forget it. It's all natural fructose sugars, which are just as bad.

Basically, you're cutting carb intake way back. This drops your insulin production, and insulin surges trigger weight gain.

Low-carb isn't a myth or a fad. It's a fact.

Paolo,

Congrats on getting so fit!! All of what you say is very true, but low carb diets are not for everyone. People with diabetes for example, should not have diets that induce ketosis i.e. ketones in the blood that indicate that fat is being used as an energy source, this state may have side effects for people who are insulin resistant. Another consideration is that ketosis inducing diets may result in excessive calcium excretion , aggravating bone loss, a major consideration for eunuchs.

I tired a low carb diet briefly and I simply did not feel that great. I have been able to loose about 17 lbs in the last 10 months by simply practicing portion control and increasing the amount of fiber.. i.e. the grains and leafy vegetables...I have been able to throw away most of my blood pressure medication and all of the cholesterol pills just from this amount of weight loss. I also no longer have frequent heart burn for some reason. My point is that diet and weight loss are very individual and folks should keep trying until they find what works for them.