The naked truth about diets and weight loss

There are so many diets out on the market. Each comes with it promise to be "thin and healthy" in just weeks. You just have to follow the simple steps or buy a special product. How can one possibly know which diet works for them. After all, there are so many different diets on the market.
 There is one common component, one common problem if you will. They are all a short term fix. They work for a few weeks.You will lose about 7-10 pounds those first few weeks. Unfortunately, the weight lost is water and the ever covenanted lean muscle. When the diet is stopped and regular eating habits are resumed weight is regained, and more commonly "extra" weight too.  The weight re-gained is fat. This means you have less lean muscle than you diet before the diet. Lean muscle is what burns those calories. You want as much as you can get. The answer to the dieting problem will take more than a few days to fix. 
Extra weight doesn't suddenly appear overnight. It comes on little by little until we seem to be caught off guard.  As we age our calorie needs decrease. Adults are no longer growing up just "out". Extra weight is a storage of extra calories. We have got to figure a way to burn those calories.
What if you went on a 10 minute walk daily and burned 100 calories. That is 700 calories per week and 36,500 per year! Which is over 10 pounds. Ten pounds in one year doesn't seem like much. Lets also cut 100 calories from your everyday diet. Now weight loss is over 20 pounds per year or roughly 6 pound per month. This steady slow weight loss is permanent.
So with minimal effort and little change to the everyday diet a person can reach there desired weight without drastic efforts.

Examples of 100 calories

• 1 cup of skim milk
• 1 cup of sweetened almond milk
• 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk
• 1 slice of whole grain bread
• 1 medium apple or large pear
• 1 medium orange or grapefruit
• 1 small size banana
• 1 cup of grapes
• 2 slices of light bread
• 1 tablespoon of olive, canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 3 teaspoons of honey
• 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of regular or 2 tablespoons of reduced fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of regular salad dressings
• ¼ cup of reduced fat or ½ cup of fat free salad dressings

Support and Diabetes

 

Having diabetes comes with great responsibility. Support goes a long way when you are dealing with any a chronic disease. It makes all the difference to know someone has your back. It is important to have someone to talk to about all the stress that comes with a chronic disease.  

  

A person with diabetes should be doing the following:

 - Count carbohydrates with each meal and snack

 -Blood sugar tests (sometimes, several times daily)

- Recording blood sugar in the logbook

- Quarterly doctor appointments

-Diabetes educator/Dietitian appointments

-Blood tests at the doctors office

-Annual eye exam

-Almost daily exercise

-Daily foot care

-Take medications(either pills or injections)

-Financially pay for testing supplies, medications, appointments

All of this stuff adds up financially, physically, and mentally. The average cost for diabetes care is over $5,000 annually. That price climbs when complications are present.  It is easy to get "tired" of doing and paying for all these activities. The constant worry about blood sugar day and night gets old. It gets really old. I had one patient tell me "No thank you, I don't want diabetes anymore. You can take it back".
 Everyone gets tired of having diabetes at one point or another. In fact, I would even go as far as saying it is normal to get tired of diabetes. There are so many daily tasks to perform. Who wouldn't get tired of it.
I would be concerned if a patient told me they haven't been "sick of having diabetes".
I expect people to get tired of it especially in the first few months of diagnosis. It generally sets in later on every now and then.
The important thing is....You continue to do all of those very tasks you are tired of doing. I had one gentlemen (who was about 70 years old)tell me "I got diabetes 20 years ago. And I am pissed off. I 'm still pissed off about it but I do all the things I am supposed to be doing".
Make sure you have someone to talk to.  It could be anyone. A good friend, someone in your church, or a sibling.
An unknown author said "The difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter". If you don't feel like you have someone to confide in, find someone right away.

Diabetes and your feet-prevention of amputations

When it comes to your feet you can't be too careful.  Back in the day, it seemed like almost a promise that if you had diabetes you would lose your feet to amputation. This isn't the case anymore. Let's discuss amputation prevention. But first we need to consider neuropathy.
 Neuropathy is damage to the nerves. This can be somewhat reversible but a person will always have permanent damage caused by elevated prolonged blood sugar. The damaged nerves"miss-fire" causing symptoms of numbness, tingling, or over-sensitivity to the hands and feet.

 Interestingly, the nerves in the outer part of the body (also called peripheral neuropathy) such as the hands and feet are the first to be affected by neuropathy because they are the furthermost from the heart, therefore getting less blood flow.

 Numbness anywhere in the body can present a problem with safety.  Losing feeling to the parts of the body means your protective function now lost.

When a person has numbness due to neuropathy they cannot feel a cut, sore, or other injury to the foot. If you cannot feel a problem, likely nothing is done. When nothing is done, an infection can creep in. Infection can get out of control more easily with diabetes because of of slower healing of cuts and sores, elevated blood sugar and slower blood flow to the feet.

 In the end, an infection, or gangrene gets out of control and amputation is required. So foot care really starts with simple things like:

* Check your feet daily for cuts and sores.

* Take care of cuts and sores consistently until completely healed

* Have your feet checked by your health care provider

* Wear proper shoes--both indoors/outdoors
* Wear properly fitting shoes and socks

* As always...good blood sugar control

You cannot be too careful when it comes your feet

Is a Flu Shot better for your diabetic health?

                             

Is it really that time again?  Why do I need one every year?

Flu shots are recommended  for people with diabetes to prevent problems with health.

 Sometimes a "Simple Flu" can lead to hospitalization or  even death for someone with diabetes. Allow me to explain.

If you have diabetes, and you get the flu, you are more likely to have a rapid worsening of health. 
I am sure you have noticed when you are sick your blood sugar increases. Sometimes as much as 200 points! This can lead to increased urination.  The flu commonly causes vomiting as well. Can you see a problem developing??  If you cannot keep your food, fluid, and medications down then you are headed to dehydration. This only compounds the problem. The main concern here is staying hydrated.

  Flu shots are recommended  as to prevent you from getting sick in the first place. Every year the CDC chooses what strains are likely circulate.  Those chosen flu strains make up the shot. The shots commonly contain 3-4 weakened viruses giving your body the opportunity to develop its own antibody defense. 

Does Insulin Come in a Pill?

                               

I have often been asked an interesting question. Does insulin come in a pill?  It doesn't. Wouldn't be so much easier if it did.

Insulin is a protein. If it came in pill form the stomach would digest it. It would never make it to the blood in the form it needs to be.

Also, how could it be timed to achieve good blood sugar control? A persons insulin needs change from meal to meal and day to day.

There are pills (sulfonylureas) on the market that increase the amount of insulin the body makes but none are actually insulin.

In the past, for a short time, inhaled insulin was available.  Problems arose with dosing and airway aggravation so it was taken off the market. Currently, insulin is only available in shot form.

Humor with Diabetes

Everything with diabetes is so serious. Enjoy a good laugh!

Courtesy "Diabetes Health"

 


















 

Berries Better Your Brain

It turns out adding berries to your meals and snacks throughout the day can improve brain health. 
 Those tasty little fruits can really "sweeten" your brain function.  According to the U.S Department of Agriculture berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries  can benefit brain signaling involved in inflammation and cell death.  Research also shows benefits with Alzheimer's and dementia too. 
 
 We know this is helpful because of the increased risk with diabetes.
 Berries contain "polyphenolics". These components are found in all types of fruits and vegetables with deep red, orange, and blue coloring. The good news is they behave like an antioxidant with anti-cancer protection.
Another wonderful aspect of berries is their low carbohydrate content.
Examples of 15 grams carbohydrate: 

- 3/4 cup fresh blackberries(fresh) 15 grams
 -3/4 cup blue berries(fresh) 15 grams
 -1 1/4 cups strawberries(fresh) 15 grams
-1 1/4 cups cranberries(fresh) 15 grams
-1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries 19 grams

Berries are a great bargain for carbohydrates. You get so much more for the carbohydrate amount when compared to other fruits. So go ahead, add berries liberally to your meals and get the benefits.

Try adding them to salads , cold or hot cereal, muffins, smoothies, or just as a snack!