danbrown:

There are several websites that help determine how many calories it takes to maintain or lose weight. The one I used for an estimate is: goal weight x 10 plus add twice my goal weight.

That website doesn't give a reference to what percentages of the calories come from fat, carbs or proteins, so that makes it a best guess attempt at best. Knowing about what I eat now and using that basic formula and knowing my activity level, I feel comfortable that it will be close enough to produce weight loss slowly but surely over time.....

As for my percentages 10-15-75, that is what I will shoot for in my attempt to lose more. If I deviate, it will be added protein and reduced carbs and let the fat fall where it falls, as I will try to keep the total calories fairly consistent. I don't see a problem with a "0" carb day here and there and keeping my proteins upward to 25%. Just from general understanding over the last few months, higher than 25% on the protein would not produce better results and it might even be harmful.

You referred to my eating plan as frontloading... Actually, I have been doing that and more so, I actually eat a higher percentage of protein and lesser percentage of carbs at breakfast than I do later in the day, about like your plan is. I find that starting the day with a strong protein/fat breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. I actually think it is what helped me break my night cravings/snacking habits.......

I strongly don't believe in an eating plan that is less than what you will need to maintain a future goal weight. Looking at your previous post, you state 1,250 calories. Is that right? I would consider myself as starving if I ate that little. Eating too few of calories can lead to malnutrition, not to mention hunger!

How are you doing with the low calories? I congratulate you on your weight loss and I do admire your preciseness. Keep posting, I need your encouragement... I will be watching to see your new goal that you are setting soon.....

Posted by dancinbr:



Great job of checking.... I think you're proving somethings to yourself. Learning how our bodies react to different food intake is wonderful to gain control. Keep posting your progress.

In your testing, you had a spike at 188.... I had spikes in the beginning, just like that. As I lost weight, the spikes got much less. My current spikes stay below 120, 99% of the time.
assuming my meter is accurate.......

You are an inspiration.........

posted by Jo tB:



Keep working on it. You'll get there. Congrats on breaking the snack habbit. I don't snack often, but if I do, it is usually just a handful of nuts, or a little bit of protein. I used to think I never would get an A1C below 6, but now that I've gone below it, I am hoping for below a 5 one day.

If you're currently not on meds and don't want to use meds to lower your BG levels, if you haven't already considered it, try cinnamon, gymnema sylvestre and a Chinese herb "Mai Wei Di Huang Wan". I don't know the English name of that herb, but it can be found at herbal websites with its Chinese name. I attribute the cinnamon to be stabilizing, gymnema sylvestre lowers and the Chinese herb controls the spikes.

Posted by Aunt Joyce:



We've been battling diabetes about the same amount of time. My eating the wrong foods was more emotional than anything else. The more I tried, the harder it got, then one day it dawned on me that I was craving something that I knew was bad for me and realized the craving was abnormal and my new way of eating was normal. By looking at my eating from a new perspective, it gave me the strength to stop my "binge snacking"..... I was abnormal before. Being free of so many meds cleared my mind also. It seems the longer it goes with BG under control, the easier this way of eating becomes. I have read and enjoyed many of your posts, by the way....

Cajunboy
1,250 calories is correct. It's a new target based on 30 grams of carbs (20 net), 80 grams of protein, and 90 grams of fat. That adds up to 1,250. It's hard to get that low on calories, but I never feel hungry or "starving." It's just that I often eat too much protein and fat at dinner. Today was an exception. Total calories was 1,177.
Breakfast: 1 turkey sausage w/Grey Poupon mustard, large coffee with Stevia & 1/4 cup H&H
Lunch: 2 - 3.75oz. cans Mediterranean style sardines & 16oz. diet ice tea
Snack: 1 jigger walnut halves (15 pieces) & 16oz. diet tonic
Dinner: large bowl (2 1/2 cups) of Shrimp Primavera (w/ 9oz. shrimp) w/broccoli, bell pepper, etc. & 16oz. diet ice tea.
I worked in the garden all day and had more liquids to replace lost fluids.

So, I have been monitoring my blood sugars without meds now for two days.

I am quickly coming to the conclusion that I may not need meds.

When I behave and add a little exercise (yardwork) my BS are dropping below 100. When I consume too many carbs (aka evening sometimes like out for the night, party, too many peanuts, etc) I see the BS go way up even as high as 247 last night, but then within 3 hours back down to low 100s and even high 90s.

What I get out of this is my phase II is working quite well. I need to behave so that I don't destroy what I have left.

So, today I get up after a night out and have a BFG of 103; and that is pretty good. The vodka may have helped that. But, more importantly I went to bed with a 92 reading.

I see that low reading in the evening help to minimize the dawn effect the next day.

So, today we are going to have a perfect day. Most days, I am 6-12 on the first two meals and the feedback says this is the right thing to do. Sometimes, I blow dinner with a treat or something, but I need to stay away from that behavior and I know that.

But meds may not be needed.

Just good low carb dieting. OH another item. My weight continues to decline.

Ralph

Keep it up, Ralph! You're doing great. I didn't take meds yesterday, and had readings of 93, 93, and 84, and 80 this morning.

What I am wondering about is how long for Metformin and Januvia to work its way out of your system completely?

I hear 7 days for Januvia.

I think Metformin is less.

Ralph

Now, that is the million-dollar question.... I'll find out in about 2 weeks lol. That's when I get my blood work done, and I'm telling the doc that I'm trying no meds to see what happens.

To Dancinbr:

Hey Ralph, you mentioned a spike at 247 after eating and not being on meds. That is not good! You might want to try some gymnema slyvestre. It is an herb and acts as a sugar blocker and can help control the spikes.

Those lower numbers are great, but watch that pendulum effect, it isn't good to be going more than about 140 an hour or two after meals if you're going to go without meds. Be careful!

Dan - What I learned about myself is that my metabolism is slow. Yes, I have exercised, built muscle etc.

So, what I did to help determine calories per day was to multiply 9 by my ideal weight of 190 (6 ft tall from weight chart upper limit) and came up with 1710 calories per day. Actually I lose weight quite well when I stay at net 1500 calories per day. Net being actual calories minus exercise calories = net calories. At 1250 you should be doing quite well with weight loss.

I agree. That is why we must stay low carb.

But after two hours everything is always below 140; generally around 120 as long as I have not overdone it with carbs.

If I stay at 6-12-12, which is what I AM SUPPOSED TO DO, then there is no issue with it at all.

Now, yesterday was a relatively good day. 8-9-21. Not quite 6-12-12 but not too far off either.

My readings from dawn to dusk were: 103,121,99,112,114. These are all pretty safe readings, although Bernstein would argue for all readings to be 100 or below.

So, I have messed around for a few days no meds and have definitely proven that the diet is the major helper to lowering blood sugars. Well, we all knew that, but to be on meds or not is the consideration and to see what meds help or don't help.

I will continue another couple of days and then reintroduce metformin or as Cajunboy suggests perhaps try an herb.

I need to go back and find his list of herbs that he takes and learn more about them.

Ralph,
1250 calories is a target, and is a construct based on the sum of the target macro nutrients: 30 CHO (20net), 80 PRO & 90 FAT. It is not an actual average consumption.

My average actual calories for the last 6 days, for example, was 1539, but I still lost 4 lbs in that period. Considering that I went out for dinner both Friday and Saturday (and cheated a little both days), I'm still very pleased. My FBG this AM was 89, the best for the week. (The highest FBG was 114).

Getting back to Cajunboy's thread subject, I'm just taking 500 MET in the AM, and my doctor actually volunteered that he was considering taking me off that (when I suggested adding some). He wants to see continued progress on the weight loss, and I have already taken off 19 lbs. of the 20 he hoped to see and I have 4 more weeks to go before my next appointment. I love to knock his socks off.

He is not really as enlightened on low carbing as most on these boards are. He did suggest I try Atkins almost 5 years ago, but that was as the craze was mounting. He'd never heard of Dr. Bernstein, until I mentioned him to him.

I noticed recently that Vitamin Shoppe has decided to reduce their low-carb merchandizing because the "fad is declining." They just don't get it that the base of low-carbing as a life style is now established and building momentum (or so it seems to me).

I like your experimenting with the meds and agree with all your observations and conclusions so far. I think Dr. B. would too. Keep us posted on your continued findings.
Dan

Ralph..... For blood sugar control... I use....

Cinnamon 500 mg........................ twice daily
D-Care Sugar Blocker................... twice daily (gymnema slyvestre)
Mai Wei Di Huang Wan................. as directed 3 times daily

Reference web links:

www.d-care.com

www.chinamedicinemall.com/index.htm

My herbs are recommended by a Chinese Herbal Medicine Doctor.

OK thanks.

Now, have you looked at this Glucotor pill? It is very interesting. I am thinking of trying it.

http://www.baselinenutritionals.com...isplay=products

It has the ingredients you mention except for Mai Wei Di Huang Wan.

Lots of talk about it.

I think I will try it. I might also add the Wei Di Huang Wan you mentioned.