Take This Guarantee and Shove It!

If you are diabetic and have taken to the internet, then you know there is a TON of information out there. It also seems as if most diabetes websites have a “community” aspect to them where you can create your own profile, establish a blog, network with new friends and chat via message boards….. kind of like a diabetic Facebook! The sites are nothing short of a lifeline for both diabetic “rookies” and “lifers.” I troll through the many message boards observing the themes associated with the different stages of type 2 diabetes. I do occasionally comment with the intent to ask a question, answer a question, share a recipe, offer encouragement, etc. I do have 2 rules in the thoughts I put out there 1) no negativity and 2) no confrontations. Yesterday, I semi-broke #2.

I read a message board entry that stated that all diabetic will experience complications, especially if diagnosed young How do you NOT confront that statement? It is like it reached out of the computer and slapped me in the face. If that is true, why am I counting Weight Watchers Points, counting carbohydrates, pricking my find 4-5x/ day, exercising like a mad woman, and why is a blog like this even necessary? Well, I’ll tell you why…. because, despite what my precious 15 year old stepdaughter says, I AM young. I was 31 when I had borderline gestational diabetes and I was 33 when I was diagnosed with type II. I am young and I know diabetic complications are not guaranteed to be part of my future. And, young or old (aka young at heart), I want you to know that the same goes for you!

That statement, even in all its inaccuracy, did raise a few thoughts about the nature of diabetic complications and how we are instructed to prevent them. Many of us have WONDERFUL physicians, I personally have the BEST ; ). However, due to the nature of their job, they give us a glucometer and refer us to a class or individual nutritionist where we learn how many carbs to eat, what kind to eat, when to check our blood glucose and the recommended ranges for blood sugar. Many of us walk away with the assumption that managing our blood glucose is all we need to do to prevent diabetic complications, I know I did. Good thing I am married to a medical student!

Mr. Man, a 3rd year med student, attended a luncheon this week featuring a leading endocrinologist. This gentleman discussed how doctors must begin coaching their diabetic patients to do more than just manage blood sugar. The management of blood sugar is for 3 things in particular – preventing neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy. These are 3 very serious common complications of diabetes; but, there are many others and 2 biggies are heart disease and stroke. As a diabetic, preventing heart disease and stroke goes beyond just managing my blood sugar. I, personally, needed to lose 85 lbs (I have 35 more to go). I had to use both diet and exercise so that I would lower my cholesterol (now 150, down from 282 – without medication), lower my blood pressure (now 102/78 without medication), lower my A1c (now 6.1, down from 7.2 without medication) AND lose weight. I am lucky that I quit smoking 3 years ago or smoking cessation would have been added to my to-do list. Obesity, lack of exercise, hyperglycemia and smoking are huge risk factors for heart disease and stroke and managing blood glucose only addresses the hyperglycemia. The guest speaker’s point was received loud and clear: If an diabetic does not lose weight, lower their cholesterol, stop smoking, and/or start exercising they will die from a heart attack or stroke; but, hey, their blood sugar will be on target.

I was diagnosed 10 months ago and just learning to control my blood sugar was all I could handle. About 3 months in I began the weight loss and exercising. You have to start somewhere with baby steps, one at a time. Tackling it all at once would have left me feeling overwhelmed and frustrated…… 2 emotions that are not helpful in the world of managing diabetes and preventing its complications. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires more than just monitoring your blood glucose. My suggestion is to create a timeline for your attack on diabetes. How many months will you focus on learning what foods you can eat and how they affect your blood sugar? When will you begin exercising (what kind, how often, etc)? Once you have that habit in place, when and how will you begin smoking cessation? Give yourself time to adjust to each new baby step and then take the next step. As you step in the ring to fight the good fight…. know there is hope; the proof is in the #’s….. 80% of diabetic complications are preventable! You will find many, many others at all stages of the marathon and most will want to help and encourage you; and, when you are ready to take the next step and add weight loss, exercise, and/or smoking cessation…… well, we will be here for that, too!

Yes, as diabetics we have to do so much more that just monitoring our BG to stay healthy and prevent complications…… but, the good news is that these complications, 80% of them, are preventable. I broke my #2 rule, no confontations regarding others’ posts….. but I felt the message was worth every word!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Dishing Diabetic

Weigh Day Wake Up (and a Wal-Mart Surprise)

Well, well, well….. I might just have one foot dangling off the edge of my 4 week plateau.  So, hold off on heading to Home Depot, I may not need that ladder after all (https://thediabeticdish.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/this-isnt-the-spinach-your-mom-made-you/). The Great Oracle of Weight (the scale) granted a 1.6 lb loss this morning bringing the grand total to -49.4. Yipee-Kie-Aye!! I will consider myself firmly off the vast flatness also know as maintenance when (notice, I did not say IF) I log another loss next week; therefore, losing 2 weeks in a row and hopefully crossing the 50 lb mark!!

So, is a plateau a randomly occurring phenomena OR is it self inflicted?  Does your body really just hit a wall, no matter what you do?  Or has some change taken place that slows, or altogether stops, your progress?  Mr. Man loves to relentlessly taunt me with Ockham’s razor – the principle that “when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better.” How is that for some useless trivia? Hey….. it might just help if you are ever on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? or happen to end up in the Cash Cab in NYC! I do tend to make things more complicated/dramatic/chaotic than they really are, so Mr. Man feels this is a good theory for me to understand.  Anyway, back to my point – what is the most simple answer to the cause of a plateau – (a) that the cause is any one of an infinite # of possibilities or (b) we are simply not burning more calories than we take in and we are eating more carbohydrates that our bodies can tolerate?

I have to go with (b).  Not only because Mr. Ockham would say so, mostly because it is the only option I can evaluate and change. My wake up call came a week ago as I was sweating my “arse” off on my elliptical machine thinking about my plateau.  Do you want to know the truth about me and exercise?  We have a very one-sided relationship.  I like exercise and I enjoy it as long as it is doing something for me.  Sticking my finger multiple times a day falls in the same category – I don’t mind it much as long as I get the results I want.  Counting points (Weight Watchers) and carbs, writing it all down and turning down the foods I want the most (think sweets) works the same way as well – I don’t mind any of it as long as I get what I want out of it. See what I mean about one-sided?

I do not care for sticking my fingers 3-5 times a day, exercising 5-6 days a week and journaling my points and carbs everyday only to have high blood glucose readings and maintain the same weight.  I just do not like doing those things that much.  So, I have 2 choices – stop my fruitless efforts altogether or make the changes that will cause my efforts to bare fruit. Seeing as I am painfully aware of the guaranteed complications that will arise from not managing my blood glucose (of which losing weight is a critical component) and that 80% of these complications are preventable…. making changes is my only option.  My plan was to stick to my points (no matter what Mr. Man was eating), stick with the exercise and stick with the routine finger pricks.  Results – 1.6 lb loss this week and my fasting blood glucose readings were the only ones that were high.  Mr. Ockham is right, the simpler theory was the one that made the most since for the plateau question.  I needed to tighten the gears to get my machine running smoothly again.

Here’s the Wal-Mart surprise – stuffed chicken breasts.  Do you have a Wal-Mart nearby?  If you do, get there as fast as you can. Find the Sam’s Choice stuffed chicken breasts (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10451529) and brace yourself to fall in love (even Mr. Man fell in love).  The jalapeno & cheese stuffed chicken breasts and the mushroom and swiss stuffed chicken breasts are downright sinful and they have 5 points/7 carbs a piece.  Trust me, you will want to sing from the mountaintops upon your first bite…. pair this delectable main dish with some mashed cauliflower (https://thediabeticdish.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/lets-do-the-mash-the-cauliflower-mash/) and you have an excellent start to finding the edge of your own plateau or just continuing on down the road of progress.  By the way, your blood sugar will love you for it!!

Are you a top your own plateau (weight loss and/or blood glucose)?  Have you just moved past your plateau?  Please share your stories with me……. I want to hear!

Go to Wal-Mart! Oh, and please let me know what you think!!

The Dishing Diabetic

Keep It Simple, Sugar!

I have been loitering on a few blogs and message boards lately.  It really is fascinating to learn how other BWWD2’s (Busy Women With Diabetes 2) recall receiving their diagnosis and the fallout afterwards.  One of the most common threads woven through most entries and postings is the frustration that accompanies your once routine grocery store visits.  I can tell you, it is as if you have never seen a grocery store before.  For me, the grocery store was like some sort of heaven pre-diagnosis.  It was an escape and I had been known to spend hours perusing my local market.  These days the grocery story is a hostile environment, something like a deadly diabetic video game with Killer Carbohydrates coming from every direction and the only weapons in my arsenal are my will power and my very detailed list.

My 1st visit to the grocery store after my 1st appointment with the nutritionist was a complete train wreck.  I am talking about the kind you have to come to complete stop for in order to stare and gawk.  The weather was getting cooler and I needed something fast and easy to prepare at work.  My answer to this was soup.  How bad can vegetable soup be, right?  Think about your soup aisle…. the entire aisle houses hundreds of cans of soup.  I literally spent an hour in this soup mecca and did not find one that fit within my carb limits (no more that 30g carbs/meal) and did not contain rice, potatoes or noodles.  This visit ended with me leaving the store with no groceries, calling my mother on the phone on the way home and hysterically sobbing between multiple expletives and the constant uttering of “this is not fair!”  A type II diabetes diagnosis and a trip to the grocery store had reduced me to a blubbering, cursing train wreck. I must add that my infinitely wise mom chose, for the 1st time in my life, NOT to say, “well, life is not fair, honey.”

I came across an excellent article on allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Diabetes-Shop-Smarter-in-10-Easy-Steps/detail.aspx.  Instead of re-capping and summarizing the article, I hope you will click on the link and read it.  You will find TONS of wonderful diabetic recipes and get tips on reducing your Supermarket Stress.  This article employs what I call the KISS approach (Keep It Simple, Sugar) to grocery shopping as a diabetic (it is also a great article when trying to lose weight).  Busy Women With Diabetes 2 know that the simpler they can make blood glucose management the more likely they are to achieve it.

80% of diabetic complications are preventable.  Preventing diabetic complications is achieved by one thing – blood glucose management.  Blood glucose control is the result of limiting the consumption of 1 product – carbohydrates.  It does not get more simple than that.  We can do this. We can all do this. We have the time, even as BWWD2, to do this.  What we do NOT have time for are the complications we are guaranteed if we don’t do this.  We do not have time for hospital stays, heart attacks, strokes, blindness, amputations…. yada yada yada.

The truth is, not matter how hard it may be to believe, it does get easier.  As you test and see the results that indicate you are having success you will be motivated to continue.  The grocery store will in fact become fun again (unless you are one of those that never liked it to begin with).  It will be more like a difficult sudoku puzzle than a deadly diabetic video game.  You will spend your time discovering the right numbers (ingredients) to plug into your puzzle (belly) and that will assure you the only thing you will have to make time for in your future is exactly what you want to be spending time on!

I would love to learn about how you remember those 1st few months after receiving your diagnosis!

Keep It Simple, Sugar!

The Dishing Diabetic

No Summer Rolls This Summer

In my world, being a BWWD2 (Busy Woman With Diabetes 2) means my trips to the grocery store usually take place during my lunch hour.  These trips are governed by a list that is organized by aisles. Strict adherence to my list assures I am in and out of the store, home and back to work in under 90 minutes (living in a small town helps, too).  Sticking to my list also helps me (98% of time) navigate the voices of all the products I wish were on my list.  Products that are very seductive, alluring and convincing.  You know what I am talking about.  The Oreos that sweet talk you with words of “you can have just one and it will fix your chocolate craving.”  Yeah, right, clearly Oreos are male or else they would understand that a woman’s craving for chocolate and “just one” is like a guy watching just 5 minutes of football on Sundays in the Fall!

It is usually a good idea that I eat my lunch before entering the grocery store.  I believe the reason for this doesn’t require any further elaboration.  So, today’s trip to the store was made all the more difficult as I had not eaten beforehand, I was very hungry and the grocery store located between my office and my home is one of those “fancy” stores that has the whole section of prepared food, ready to eat – most of which is entirely NOT diabetic friendly.

I executed my list with precision.  Up and down, up and down the aisles I raced.  I only had eyes (and hands) for the items on my list.  The last stop on my excursion was produce.  I gathered my spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, jalapenos, mushrooms, avocados and bananas (no, the ‘nanas are not for me) and turned to stare at the area full of ready-to-eat-not-diabetic-friendly food.  The check out registers were a straight shot through this death-to-all-will-power section of the store (grocery store designers are definitely tricky folks) and I needed to get the groceries home.  I also needed to eat and had not packed a lunch today.  So, of course – read 2nd half of this sentence with extreme sarcasm – I needed to pick up something while I was there.

I ran past the friend chicken and the casseroles, the stromboli and the pasta bar, and came to a stop in front of the sushi bar.  I scoured  the case for something that would pass muster with Weight Watchers and my insulin resistance.  Summer rolls….. hmmmmm…. crispy and cold (perfect for this 104 degree Texas day), no rice, filled with crab, shrimp, cucumber, lettuce and avocado; does it get any better than that?  I am stumped though by what these delicious rolls are wrapped in; so, I take a look at the ingredients.  Leading this list of ingredients above is tapioca paper.  I know, tapioca WHAT?  Tapioca pudding, ok, got it, I know what that is; but tapioca PAPER?  Nope, never heard of it!  What is tapioca anyway?  Well it can’t be that bad, right?  The roll is not fried and there are no other carb sources in the roll, so, surely, this must be ok.  So, in my basket went the summer roll.

I am big enough to admit this, I ate the roll in my car.  I went home and put up the groceries.  I went back to work.  I checked my blood glucose 2 hours after eating and I can tell you this summer will not include anymore summer rolls.  My blood glucose was 175 (should have been below 140).  Tapioca paper….who knew?  I can say though, this is why you will hear diabetics tell newly diagnosed diabetics to test, test, test!  That is what those test strips are for…. to help you eliminate foods that disagree with your blood glucose management goals and more importantly to help you begin building your own mental aisle of all the foods you can eat!

Please, please….. someone fill me in – do you know exactly what tapioca paper is?

I would love to hear your stories of foods that had a surprising effect on your blood glucose numbers……

The Dishing Diabetic

Let’s Do the Mash, the Cauliflower Mash!

Ok, hold on to your hats….. thing are getting a little experimental at The Diabetic Dish!!  Please proceed with your very best don’t-knock-it-til-you-try-it open mind!!!

Can you think of a better plate mate for meatloaf than mashed potatoes?  Ever get a hankerin’ for shrimp and grits (a deep south favorite)?  Do you miss being able to make a meal out of something topped with shredded cheese, bacon bits and chives?  It probably doesn’t make sense that a diabetic would obsess about grits or potatoes….. seeing as they are pretty much forbidden when you have diabetes.  This is what I thought until a colleague (also a fellow Weight Watcher) mentioned mashed cauliflower to me.  Let me just tell you about my initial reaction; well, I probably don’t have to tell you about it, I am pretty sure you are having the same reaction as you read this.

Again, remember, don’t knock it til you try it!  Curiosity got the best of me and I had to try it.  The ultimate test was when I approached my husband with the open-your-mouth-and-close-your-eyes routine.  The result: we have not had a potato in our home in the 11 months since we started mashing ……. cauliflower!

Creamy Ranch Mashed Cauliflower (8 servings; 1 serving=1 c.; 2 points/serving, approx. 8g carbs/serving)

3 heads cauliflower

4 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1/2 c Light Sour Cream

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

1 tsp ground pepper

Cut off cauliflower florets.  Steam florets for about 15 minutes until a knife slides smoothly through a floret.  Drain florets.  Place in large bowl.  Use a potato masher to roughly mash the florets (you can even use the back of a large spoon to mash the florets).  The cauliflower should be cooked long enough so that it can be mashed by hand.

Add the sour cream, cream cheese, ranch mix and ground pepper to the florets and continue mashing.

Once thoroughly mashed, ENJOY!!

Few notes – you can mash as little or as much as you like.  You can even use a hand mixer if you like.  We like ours a little chunky.  This is wonderful as a side or as a main meal topped with low fat shredded cheese, bacon bits and chives.  OR saute shrimp and onions and mix into the cauliflower for diabetic shrimp ‘n grits!  Added bonus: our 2 1/2 year old gobbles it up….. she has no idea that it is a vegetable!

Now, here is where things get a little crazy….. I really could have lived without white potatoes; however, I mourn the loss of sweet potatoes in my diet.  I LOVE this delectable starch pretty much any way you cook ’em.  So, here is my idea….. I am going to bake just one sweet potato and mix it into the recipe above leaving out the sour cream, pepper and ranch mix and adding a little ginger and cinnamon.  Think it will work??  Let’s cross our fingers….. check back in later this week to find out!!

Grab your mashers, ladies and watch in amazement as you create a new dish that you, your family and your blood glucose will love!

The Dishing Diabetic

Friday Pop Quiz

How much do YOU know about diabetes…..

http://www.diabetes.org/food-nutrition-lifestyle/lifestyle-prevention/live-your-life/lyl-pop-quiz-how-much-do-you-know-about-diabetes.jsp?WTLPromo=enews_080609

Let me know how you do….

The Dishing Diabetic

Soft Taco Success

Ok, the term success may be relative here; but, hey, every baby step counts when you are a BWWD2 (Busy Woman With Diabetes 2)!  So, my main battle (or should I say WAR?) is with my daily fasting glucose level.  I average in the 140’s.  According to my endocrinologist this just doesn’t cut the mustard.  His recommendation:  eat dinner early, exercise after dinner and no snacking before bed.  My recommendation: ask him to come over and feed the tot, do the dishes, do the laundry and pack for the following morning while I take care of that!  ; )  When possible I will always do as he says; however, when impossible, I will do as I can.

This morning’s fasting glucose reading – 126!  Can I get a Woo Hoo?  So here is what last night looked like: 55 minutes on the elliptical at 6:15pm (Mr. Man was at home and he fed the tot and got her ready for bed) 8:15 Dinner – Soft Tacos:

1 lb Ultra lean ground meat, 1 chopped white onion – cook onion and then add meat and brown.  Drain.  Add back to pan with taco seasoning (follow directions on seasoning package).  Make sure to check carbs on the seasoning pack!  Mine had 4 carbs per serving and one package had 6 servings.  The little boogers add up when you  aren’t looking!

Toppings:  1 small avocado sliced, Weight Watchers shredded cheese, Light Sour Cream, jalapenos, canned chopped green chiles and salsa

1 Mission Carb Balance White Tortilla (these are WONDERFUL.  12 carbs/7g fiber per tortilla): fill the tortilla with 1/4 c. meat, 1 serving (1/3 c.) cheese, 1 Tbsp light sour cream, 1/4 the avocado and salsa, jalapenos and green chiles to taste.

Yes, I had a second helping which was everything above in a bowl minus the tortilla.  Now, some BWWD2 can have that 2nd tortilla.  This is labor of experimentation.  I am an exceptionally sensitive BWWD2.  I can tolerate about 1/2 the carbs recommended per meal for people with diabetes 2.  This conclusion was reached after numerous blood testings 2 hours after eating.

Confession:  I had 1 tablespoon of Nerds for dessert (yes, the candy and yes, I actually measured them in and ate them right out of a measuring tablespoon!). This contained 14 g carbs and was pure heaven I might add!

I wonder what this morning’s reading would have been under my doctor’s directions?  Tonight’s challenge:  Mr. Man is on call today; so, I will be eating dinner early with the tot and then excercising before I go to bed.  Let’s see what difference that makes….  I’ll let you know in the morning!

Here’s to your soft taco success!!

The Dishing Diabetic