I was reading through the dLife Viewpoints section today and saw a post that really hit home.
It's called "Bested by a Can of Tomato Soup" by Scott Johnson and I think it should be required reading for type 3's and other people without diabetes.
Counting carbs can sometimes be a difficult and maddening situation.
And we do it for virtually every meal every day. I mean, we are supposed to.
It's feelings that Scott brought up about not wanting to have to do algebra just to eat makes it easy to guess at the amount of carbohydrates in a meal instead of calculating them.
Furthermore, the difficulty in counting carbs only makes me want to grab a bite from a fast food joint since they already have the carbs counted for me.
But that is not what I am supposed to do right? I am supposed to cook at home, figure stuff out, weigh all that I eat, and hope that I calculate it correctly or else!
How do you do it? Do you make sure you bring out the scale, ten key, and abacus at every meal?
Maybe I am making it too hard but it seems to me like it is a lot of work.
There is good payoff indeed, better blood glucose levels but all that work all the time makes it much more tempting to not put the effort in all the time.
I cook everything from scratch, using a digital scale that is accurate to 1 gram, and I log both in an Excel workbook and at The Daily Plate. Then again, I have no trouble doing the math without a calculator.
Great, great post G-Money! Thanks for the mention. I too often choose the less healthy packaged choice just to get around all of the mental wrestling.
And while I use a scale for some things, and only when I'm at home. I can't do it for every scrap of food I eat. Tried it for some years. Burned out. It is a lifestyle that I don't think can be maintained for long. Maybe that's just me though.
George Simmons,
I can't think of a good answer to your question about counting carbs that would fit anyone's diabetic situation except my own. But I can say this:
I have spent years upon years paying attention to how all types of food affect my blood sugar level, how much insulin to take, other factors such as exercise and illness that affect sugar levels, and George, yes I did start out measuring everything and counting carbs and doing all that. I hated doing it until I realized that I was just feeling sorry for myself because no one else had to do it. And then, after I realized that, I still hated doing it.
But one day I noticed I wasn't counting carbs as much, or calculating insulin as much, because I had somehow memorized the collective experience -- again, I always paid attention to "cause" and "effect". It's what I do. :-)
You ask, "How does one do it?"
If I had to answer, you're not going to like the answer, but if I had to answer, I would say the answer is not "how" you do it, but "whether" you do it. In time you should start seeing "cause" and "effect" patterns, and eventually they will become natural so long as you always pay attention.
I saw my endo just yesterday. I see him every four to six months. My HbA1c was 5.7 -- usually it's from 6.1 to 6.7. If I can do it, then so can you. I can't tell you "how" I do it, I can only say that I "do" it. And if I get tired and don't want to do it, I politely ask myself if I wouldn't mind making myself do it anyway. If I would do it for a friend in need, then I had better darn well do it for myself.
What was Nike's catch-slogan again? ;-)
Dantony C.
It's true years of practice makes it almost mindless. The fact that most people cook the same things over and over should also help...it does for me. I know if I eat this and that, I'll have to take so much insulin. Consequently, this was all before I started using the bolus wizard, now I'm back to figuring out actual numbers so that I can input the data. Hopefully, in time, I'll have it all second hand again... and know the numbers. :)
I was diagnosed Type II this year on April 23 after three days on insulin drip to get my glucose down from 650. WOW. Anyway, counting carbs is easy if you just keep a quick list of your "staple" carbs that you like. Rice, wheat bread, orange juice, etc. I use www.nutritiondata.com to look up serving and carb/etc... BUT, I've found frozen dinners to be the most helpful. A brand called Michellinas makes mostly pasta, but you can easily see on the back of the package how many carbs are in it; add a salad and maybe a chicken breast, tuna, salmon, and that's dinner... very simple.
George, I think we can all relate. Wouldn't it be nice to have a "week off" where we didn't have to calculate anything? I'm lucky that I can program my total carbs into my pump and it calculates my insulin, but I still have to do the carbs right. Here's the thing. Most of us are creatures of habit - I mean, you probably eat the same 20 or so of your favorite meals 75% of the time, right? Once you get those figured out, just write them down on a card to keep in your wallet so you always have it with you. Most cell phones now have a calculator feature so you can figure out your insulin dose. If you have a Blackberry or iPhone, you can download carb counting apps that will help you if you're dining out. It takes time, but once you commit the carbs in your favorite meals to memory, that will help a lot.
Being a type 2 person, I kept a food log for the first 2 years, until I learned what I could eat, and how it would affect my blood glucose level, and then discontinued the food log. I find that my general activity level has a great effect on the readings I see. I still keep a log of the daily readings, but no longer keep a detailed food log. I learned what, and how much, to eat, and continue with that plan.
Not only do I have to count carbs but I have to count protein and watch potassium because I have level 3 kidney disease. I have been trying to get it right for 4 years and end up giving up because it is so time consuming. However, this July I decided to get serious again and just do it. The result was that I lost 18 pounds and my cholesterol came way down. Three months later I am still keeping a daily food diary. Yes, it is time consuming but the results are worth it. I don't know if I could do it if I had to work everyday, however. I am retired from 36 years of teaching, but still live a busy life. I want to be able to live to enjoy my grandchildren so I will keep at it one day at a time.
I was diagnosed a little over 3 months ago, at first I lost my love of food and cooking and was overwhelmed by the need to weigh and measure everything. I have written everything down, had little or no input from Dr's as I have no insurance so I made an appointment with a dietician, took her advice and went on metformin...thought it would kill me for the first week. The results are worth it though,at my 3 month check up a1c went from 7.9 to 6.3, I have lost 30 lbs and feel like I am more in control of my body. Do I occasionally splurge, yes...but I check carefully and am finding out what to avoid, and am finally re-discovering my love of food and cooking. Hang in there, it does get easier.
I had very similar results after my diagnosis almost a year ago (Nov.), except for the weight loss. I have a desire to excercise to lose wt., but also have chronic lower back pain (tailbone) result of '81 MVA which has been injured many other times in falls. Newer diagnoses of heriated disc on left side with excerbated sciatica in '05. During last follow up appt. with my now former orthopedic doc after another try at cortisone injections to tailbone and resulting raised b/s levels, asked him if ok to play volleyball and join a gym. He replied, "oh yes, you can do both". I enrolled in free CURVES membership (compliments of my Medicare HMO insurance) in Mar 09. At my first 3 month evaluation I learned I lost 6.6 lbs., 6.75 inches, and 3.79 lbs. of body fat in 7 visits (even though the recommended amt. of exercise has been 3 x's/wk for as many years as I can remember and have always known it is good to fight issues of depression). My ht. is 5'4" - 5'5" and wt. was 191.2 lbs. in March. I also started playing volleyball once/wk. again after a 18 yr. hiatius. Unfortunately, I injured my shoulder/arm rotator cuff area which required 3 x/wk. PT for one month with a $35 co-pay each visit and something I could not afford and after one cortisone injection which raised my b/s higher than the last one a year ago in my back, asked doc to give me PT exercises to do at home. He then had nurse get a printout out of 9 exercises which have not relieved the pain. I had also made an appt. with both a optomologist and podiatrist as I thought I had a bunion on my right foot. Unfortunately, the x-ray of my foot revealed the start of arthritis in that foot, and I now know it is the same pain in my left foot. He also diagnosed me with athlete's foot, which I found embarassing and believe it has cleared up completely after his prescription and one refill, but have been unable to afford another co-pay of $35 to confirm. He had wanted me to return every couple of wks, but I only did so once after a month and then called for the refill of the script. Due to the increase in pain in my shoulder and feet, I have not returned to CURVES on that weekly basis, but have managed to maintain my wt. in the same 184 range +/- 2 lbs. When first diagnosed and getting a working glucometer I did a food diary for approx. 3 months and learned my trigger foods for instant b/s rise in b/s were pasta, rice and potatoes and bread. I also learned I tend to only feel hungry twice a day, but then tend to get very hungry late in the evening, approx. 11 - 12 AM and try to limit my food intake as I have realized I have a portion size control issue. I'm still very frustrated as to food choices, but am slowly learning and like other's am not good with math and although I enjoy cooking, it is difficult for me to do so in summer months as I still experience hot flashes and nightsweats even though my surgical hysterectomy was in '96. I just found a OB-GYN in my insurance network who finally started to try me on my request of bio-identical hormones, but he did not do any bloodwork (relied on bloodwork done at same time diagnosis of diabetes Nov. '08). Unfortunately, the mix of the hormones he prescribed did not work and now I can no longer afford another $60 script. So, I would like to know how you were able to lose 30 bls. so quickly. My AlC in Nov. was 8.8 and was immediately prescribed 500 mgs. metformin in AM. In Feb. it was 6.9 and in May was 6.3. Go figure, huh? Must be the exercise and yet I have not done any real exercise all summer. I have recently tried to re-establish my once/wk. routine with hope of reducing my abdominal wt. (BMI was 32.06 in Mar and 30.95 in May) as well as reduce my upper arms and thighs. I believe I progressively lost all my former upper body strength after the '96 hysterectomy. I also have a constant dry mouth and do drink alot of TAP water.
Any suggestions welcome!!
I was diagnosed with type 1 53 years ago--before glucose meters and a lot of the equipment and insulins we have now. I had to weigh everything, and use a printed diet sheet. Tough for an 11 year old and her mother. However--it all became so automatic that I can still tell you how many raisins are in a 15 carb serving--even though we did not count carbs as such then. Later on, I had to learn the carb counting method because I wanted to use an insulin pump--and that was NOT a happy experience--had to essentially relearn everything I knew and apply new rules. Have had the pump for two years now, and still struggle with the carb counting. Have memorized much of the food numbers and it has simplified it.
Life with diabetes is always work--but it is worth it when my 4 year old grandson watches me programming in my "medicine" so I can be healthy and still be alive when he graduates from high school.
At 50 years of age, I was diagnosed as a Type 2 at the end of March, after having to have a stent put into a vein in my heart. I was 349lbs when I left the hospital with an A1C of 7.9 and led a very sedentary lifestyle. Ate just about anything you put in front of me with no thought of how I was affecting my health.
Now here it is 6 months later and my last A1C was 6.0, I have lost 45lbs, walk 3-5 miles a day and feel like a million bucks. My cardiologist,who started my diabetes treatment removed one of my two medicines, but left me on my Metformin(750mg once daily) but has made the comment that he will either cut the dose substantially or remove it all together by the end of 09 if I continue to drop the A1C and weight and my blood sugar reading stay within limits.
I was on Weight Watchers many years ago and started using it again with great success now. I, like so many of you, despise the act of counting my carbs but the weight watchers plan helps that as well.Per my doctors I do splurge from time to time, but not so much with sweets as with things like a couple of pieces of fried chicken, lasagna and a great baked potato. I then go back to my routine. This website and all it's great recipies has really helped me to maintain my blood glucose and statisfy my want of delicious food.
Since I have been using the Track3 diabetes calculator
http://www.coheso.com/track-d.html
I haven't had much trouble.