Diabetic

truckerjim

I just got diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. I put myself on the Zone diet. It's for diabetics put together by a doctor. I kinda wish cronometer would be more easy for diabetics to use on a pacific diet.

bracconiere

Fuhrman, McDougal, Gregor...Gundry, Mercola, Atkins...There's a lot of diet doctors, all saying different things...

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Truckerjim,

What types of difficulties are you running into using Cronometer for a diabetic diet?

Have you tried the Zone diet preset from the macronutrient target options? Or are you following a different type of zone diet? You can also set your own ratio of macronutrients using the custom option from the drop-down list.

If you share your macronutrient goals with us, we can give you some pointers and help you get your profile set up.

Best,

tcolvinOH

Once your profile is set up, which took a little bit of tweaking for me, you'll be off and running. I noticed when I first signed up that the presets werent exactly to what I had in mind, so I was able to tweak them here and there. To second @Karen_Cronometer, share your macro goals (Protein, Carbs, Fats) and we will be more than happy to assist.

Good for you for wanting to take control of your blood sugar through nutritional changes. For type 2's, this is probably the best change you can make. As a misdiagnosed type 2 (actually I am a type 1), I spent years working on trying to control my blood sugar with diet and actually used Cronometer back in 2016 in an effort to do so. Cronometer was great for logging and helping me control my dietary needs.

As an aside, I would recommend checking your blood sugar more often than not. I understand that test strips are incredibly expensive, especially when you want to test more than a dr might recommend. I use a ReliOn meter, which is probably the least expensive meter on the market right now and is pretty reliable. Plus the test strips are only around $10/50 strips. You're not going to find a better deal anywhere, unless you can get insurance to cover enough strips to test 8 or more times a day. The reason I recommend more testing, especially at this stage, is because you can learn a lot about how your body reacts to foods if you test before a meal, an hour after a meal, two hours after a meal, etc. In conjunction with food logging, you should be able to get and keep your diet and blood sugar under control.

Everyone who has diabetes reacts to food and exercise in a different way. While there are some general rules to follow, such as cutting back carbs, regular exercise, etc, we each respond just a little differently, which is why its so important to learn what tolerances your body has. I struggled for years to come to this realization.

Hope some of this helps.

bracconiere

I should clear up my statement. did come off as harsh, but even my personal 'Doctor' told me that i probably know more about nutrition than she does...

Just saying using CRON-O-Meter you'll learn more about nutrition and such things then they teach 'doctors' in school...They learn about pharmaceuticals, not vitamins and minerals...

Susan_RD_101

@truckerjim

I'm a Registered Dietitian and happy to answer any questions you have on your journey to better health.

The best thing that can help in the management of your diabetes is losing any extra weight. If you haven't already, you can set your weight loss target to lose a certain amount of weight per week (I recommend aiming for 1 lb).

Other things you may want to try:
1. Try not to go longer than 3-5 hours without eating. This prevents overeating later in the day and keeps your blood sugar more stable.
2. At meals, try to include: 2 fists of veg, 1 fist of a whole grain, 1 palm of lean protein. Breakfast should include lean protein, whole grain, and fruit.
3. Limit processed food and restaurant meals as much as possible.
4. Reduce your intake of added sugar and white starches
5. Aim to meet or exceed fibre targets each day.
6. Avoid foods very high in saturated and trans fat.

If there is anything else you are wondering about, I'm more than happy to help!

pkinnetz

Susan, I like your overall recommendations, but would like a specific fiber target to aim for. Your recommendation on this? And how much protein in a day? I've been eating a lot of beans for the fiber and protein. Since becoming prediabetic, I have relaxed my vegetarian standards to allow some poultry and fish, but prefer plant protein. Any thoughts on plant substitutions?

bracconiere

just to throw my two cents in on the last post...Seems like the smaller beans, lentils, split peas, small red's, small white's, navy beans...have a lot more fiber then the big one's according to the statistics any way....

not sure if that's relevant or useful to this discussion...just an observation....

pkinnetz

Funny, now that you mention it it also seems that way to me too. I've depended on lentils especially to get protein and fiber. Thx for your observation.

bracconiere

and i looked up vital wheat gluten too! got the methionine to even out the beans, makes a decent sandwich bread...mmm, spinach! thanks for the idea! think i'll have one of my famous spinach pita pockets! made out of navy beans/gluten!

https://imgur.com/a/CL5ZkRN

and that is indeed a homebrew in the photo.....

Susan_RD_101

@pkinnetz

I'd recommend hitting a minimum of 30 g of fibre per day, but if you can go higher (say to 50 g) that's even better!

For protein, I typically calculate needs as 1 g per kilogram of ideal body weight per day. For most women, this is not lower than 60 g per day and for most men, not lower than 80 g per day.

I LOVE plant proteins! I'd recommend filling up on whole-foods sources, such as:

• Beans
• Lentils
• Tofu, tempeh, edamame
• Seitan

One thing to keep in mind is that beans and lentils are both a starch and a protein. If you are including them at a meal, then you don't need to add rice, potato, or other starch. If you do want to add a starch, keep portions in mind.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

bracconiere

From what i've seen of vital wheat gluten, if you did eat a lot of Seitan, it's VERY high in glutamic acid, a non-essential amino acid, so you might need to bump up your intake 10-20g's...? from what i've seen 90g's of 'protein' from wheat gluten, has 30g's of glutamic acid, according to cron-o-meter's db...

and also as a side note, you'd need to mix it with something high in Lysine like beans...Preferably Lentils, or split peas....But not necessarily at the same meal, i don't think...

truckerjim

@Susan_RD_101: how many calories should I be eating a day to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week. I'm not very active.
truckerjim

bracconiere

I'm not @Susan_RD_101 , but the rule of thumb is 3,500 cals equals a pound of body weight....Have you been logging everything since Aug 29th, when you first posted? I'd take the avg from that and cut it by either 3500/7 or 7000/7....so 500-1000 cal deficit...only time will actually tell you what your metabolic rate is..everyone is different..

most men burn around 2500kcals a day sitting on their arses....i burn 2,820..But if you have more weight from fat, then your metabolic rate will be much higher, fat burns cals too...when i first started losing weight i was 262lbs and burning around 3200 cals a day sedentary...and every pound you lose is ~10 cals off that rate....

and if i avg less then 2200, i'll end up getting famished and eat a whole bucket of ice cream....

truckerjim

Aww ok

truckerjim

Susan_RD_101: my colesterole is also 6.5 according to the lab

Susan_RD_101

@truckerjim

@bracconiere did a great job answering your question!

What I would suggest doing is setting your weight loss goal to lose 1 lb per week. (You can do this in your 'Profile' under 'Weight Goal). By choosing this, 500 calories per day will be subtracted from the amount you need to maintain your current weight.

Another approach is to plug your information into the following formula:

https://www.freedieting.com/calorie-calculator

Foods that can help to lower cholesterol are those that come from plants:

• Beans (i.e. black, kidney, chickpeas, etc.)
• Lentils
• Soy protein (very effective!)
• Almonds and other nuts
• Whole grains (oatmeal, oat-bran, flaxseed, psyllium fibre, etc.)
• Fruits and vegetables

One other quick note on metabolism; our metabolism is tied to our size and muscle mass. When someone loses weight, it's typical for their metabolism to stay the same or more often, decrease.

(I used to work in a clinic where we measured RMR; clients were surprised to see their metabolism decreasing as a result of weight loss!).

Kind regards,

truckerjim

Thank you

tcolvinOH

@truckerjim - The only simple recommendation, outside of what has already been made, is to eat to your meter. As a diabetic, the most important metric you have to go by is your blood sugar. It will absolutely tell you what works and what doesnt. you can definitely use the blood sugar checks as a method to help you fine tune your diet.

bracconiere

i tried using home glucose meters before, and found they were very inconsistent, and inaccurate...could be off as much as 20-30 points compared to the lab...

but i'm not diabetic and was just curious, not precise enough for me...

and the a1c now things are just as bad....

tcolvinOH

There can be variance between meters, which is a common complaint. For a diabetic though, any meter is really invaluable. I've had some bad reads before and usually take 3 in that case, then average. A general rule I use for about any meter, if its over 150 mg/dl, I have a big problem. Usually I prefer to stay in tighter control than that, but Ive found my ReliOn meter to be relatively reliable.

Susan_RD_101

Meters should also be compared to lab tests to ensure everything is as accurate as possible.

Autumn

I am a type two diabetic with about 30 food allergies. I can't eat beans of any type but my allergist told me its OK to have peas once in a great while. I have been trying to do KETO for over a year and lost a little but its a real struggle for me. An Environmental Illness doctor helped me most of all. When I first became diabetic I tested constantly in order to learn but now I test rarely. I have a wonderful Bayer Contour which I like best. I have 2 other meters but they are not very good.

Autumn

I have noticed that I am short on potassium everyday. What do you eat to get your potassium level up to normal? Today I decided to have a Pom which I haven't had in years as its so high in sugar.

tcolvinOH

I take a potassium supplement. Id rather get nutrients through food, if at all possible, but if it means higher blood sugars, then Id rather take the supplements. Especially with keto, keeping magnesium, potassium and salt levels up is important(electrolytes), so you dont dehydrate.

Autumn

Thanks tcolvinOH. I guess I will have to buy another bottle of it. I take so many supplements its unreal but I know potassium is critical as I once had to have it by IV due to my heart racing like mad.

tcolvinOH

@Autumn - Ive had potassium in IV, liquid (gross), tablet and capsule. I prefer the capsule the best. Having had some issues with potassium in the past, I started supplementing awhile ago. Electrolytes in general are incredibly important and moreso in my own situation. Have you had your potassium levels checked recently? If not, I would get them checked to see where you sit. Being on keto will definitely dehyrate you, as will high blood sugars. Worth keeping your blood sugar in check (check your bs often and get the A1C checked regularly).

Autumn

Thanks for this reminder as I need to get my iron level checked again (too much) so I could get this done at the same time. I am sure dehydrated all the time and have often wondered why. I should go check my bs right now. You are very helpful.

Susan_RD_101

Currently, we only have an estimate of how much potassium we should aim for each day. Most health professionals agree that the level set is higher than healthy adults need. In Cronometer, I advocate for reaching 60-70% of the amount listed. Also, keep in mind that potassium levels are regulated in your blood by your kidneys; if your levels rise it's a sign that your kidneys are struggling. If the levels are below normal, it's typically due to fluid loss (i.e. chronic diarrhea, vomiting, etc. ); low levels wouldn't be seen from a lack of intake of potassium.

Kind regards,

truckerjim

@Suan_RD_101: Do type 2 diabetics need to worried about potassium as well. If so what precautions should we take

Autumn

Cronometer let me know that I am very low on potassium. I know that the heart rhythm can get out of control if it gets to low as that has happened to me. My husband had to take prescription potassium for a couple of years. I recommend that you look at your cronometer page to see how it looks for potassium. I don't know much about this but sipping Nutracology C which is full of potassium. Nutracology is a very "pure" vitamin supplement with no soy or corn in it.