Showing posts with label if. Show all posts
Showing posts with label if. Show all posts
6 Ways to Wreck Your Blood Sugar Level What not to do if you have type 2 diabetes
Friday, April 25, 2014
Type 2 diabetes is a tough disease. It requires constant vigilance to keep your blood sugar level under control.
It also requires avoiding some common mistakes, many of which are the product of long-held bad habits.
Here are six mistakes that you can learn to avoid.
1. Not Knowing Your Disease
By that he means that you are the one watching your diet, making sure you exercise, and taking your medication on schedule. Understanding how diabetes works will help you make better decisions about how to monitor and manage it. Classes on coping with diabetes are an excellent but underused resource.
“Not enough patients seek them out, and not enough doctors send their patients to them,” Ahmann says.
That’s unfortunate, because not only do they offer essential information; they are often de facto support groups as well, bringing together people who are experiencing the same issues and difficulties and giving them a forum in which to meet and talk with each other.
2. Expecting Too Much Too Soon
One of the biggest hurdles in controlling your blood sugar is sticking to the necessary adjustments you must make to your eating and exercise habits. Many patients become frustrated and give up because they don’t see results right away, says endocrinologist Preethi Srikanthan, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
“Most people expect something dramatic is going to happen right away,” she says. “But it has taken them a decade or two to get to this point, and it will take a while for them to even to get to that initial 5%-10% reduction in weight…These are challenges that must be taken in small steps.”
Expecting too much change right away is a mistake. So is doing too much before you are ready, especially when it comes to exercise, Ahmann says. He advises starting off slowly and easing into the habit.
“If they do more than they can tolerate, they will often quit,” he says. “Or they will do too much and hurt themselves.”
Be sure to talk with your health-care provider before starting a new exercise program, especially if you aren’t already active. He or she can help plan a routine that’s safe and effective, as well as set realistic goals.
3. Going it Alone
There are a lot of resources out there to help you manage your disease. Don’t ignore the fact that one of the most helpful might be right there at home. Spouses, partners, friends, and family members can all make excellent exercise buddies.
“One error that people make when it comes to exercise is that they try to do it on their own without help from other people,” Ahmann says.
There are other advantages to the buddy system. Enlist your spouse or significant other in your efforts to stick your medication schedule and to maintain a healthy diet.
“Eating alone can be a problem,” Ahmann says.
4. Neglecting Other Problems
In her practice, Srikanthan sees a lot of patients who are dealing with more than just their diabetes. Depression and stress are common among people with the disease, and both can have a negative impact on blood sugar levels.
Constant stress, for example, may produce hormones that hamper the ability of insulin to do its job. “Stress should be considered as a significant contributor to glycemic variation by both patients and physicians,” Srikanthan says.
Ahmann agrees.
“Anything to reduce stress will improve your blood sugar,” he says.
Exercise helps relieve stress and there’s evidence that meditation and massage will have benefits on blood sugar levels, says Ahmann.
People with diabetes are twice as likely to be depressed, and an estimated one of every three people with diabetes have symptoms of depression. The lethargy common to depression can be so discouraging that you might give up your efforts to take care of your diabetes. Not only will that make your diabetes worse, it may also intensify your depression, creating a vicious cycle.
There’s good news, though. According to a new study, treating depression in patients with type 2 diabetes improved their mental and physical health.
“You need to recognize depression and work with it,” Srikanthan says.
5. Misunderstanding and Misusing Medications
Ahmann says that many of his patients share a common misconception when it comes to the drugs used to control their disease.
“They think that medications are more powerful than diet and exercise,” he says.
That’s not necessarily true. In many cases, type 2 diabetes can be controlled by a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise without the need for medication.
Among patients who do require medications, Ahmann says, one mistake stands out.
“It’s surprising how many people miss doses,” he says.
That’s a quick way to wreck your blood sugar level, so it’s a problem that needs to be recognized and addressed.
“You need to be honest with your [health care] provider that this is an issue,” says Ahmann, who points out that often the solution is for your doctor to change your dosing schedule to one that better suits you. “There are options.”
6. Making Poor Food Choices
When it comes to food and blood sugar, the big mistake is not the single candy bar that you couldn’t resist, Srikanthan says. The bigger picture matters more; unhealthy eating habits, in the long term, will have a worse effect on your blood sugar.
“People think it’s a one-time diversion, but no, it’s a consistent problem that affects your test results,” she says.
The two biggest hurdles, Srikanthan says, are calories and carbohydrates. You have to control both in order to keep your blood sugar level steady.
“Try to be aware of what’s going into your mouth,” she says.
That means keeping a diet diary to keep track of what you are eating and reading nutrition labels so that you can calculate the proper amounts of the foods you choose to eat.
How Many Meals a Day Should I Eat if I Want to Lose Weight
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
"There is no scientific evidence to prove that breakfast is any more important than lunch or dinner for adults. As a matter of fact, there is no scientific evidence proving three meals per day are any better than one."
Above is a quote from Brad Pilons book, "Eat Stop Eat" which can be found at:
http://www.eatstopeat.com/?vtid=eatblogeat&utm_expid=7760520-13&utm_errer=http%3A%2F%2Fbradpilon.com%2Fbooks%2F
When I found the above quote among the FAQs in Brads book it addressed a particular thought that I had been having about whether I could simply eat a good meal once a day and fast the rest of the time in order to speed up my weight loss. Also wondering if I could try that every day, or just a few times a week.
I had the idea to do that once before (which I blogged about) but I got waylaid by worry. I was worried that I would not be able to go that long every day without having a snack. That got turned into "two snacks" and soon it was three meals again, so I never actually tried it out.
Now that I have the experience of fasting "under my belt" I think I could actually do it. Without planning to, I did it yesterday (Saturday) and noticed I lost a few pounds this morning even though I ate two meals last night within a few hours of one another. As I thought about it, I dont think I went overboard on the daily calories, although I only made guess-timations on the calorie count.
Since I belong to the 5:2 Diet group on Facebook Ive been reading how the other participants are doing with their calorie counting and actually eating small meals on their fast days. They go for about 36 hours twice a week, on average, and eat 500 cals during their fast. Then on the other days they are supposed to eat "normally" but most of them count calories on those days, too, keeping it under whatever level they have calculated to fit their body and metabolism. They seem to lose an average of about a pound a week doing all this.
For myself, when Dr Robbins measured my bodys daily caloric burn on her machine it came to 2400 per day. This means that I could eat 2400 calories each day and I would not put on any more weight. She wanted me to eat 1800 calories a day and I went off the deep end when I tried calorie counting. I could not keep my intake that low and counting calories is such an offensive way to eat. I ended up gaining weight as I resisted the whole idea and quit doing it. (I blogged about that, too. LOL)
Brad suggests fasting for 24 hours straight with only water or calorie free drinks and then simply eating normally on the other days. "Eating normally" to Brad means not increasing your intake to compensate for the time that you spent fasting. This makes sense if your goal is to reduce your weekly calories and lose weight, along with all the other health benefits that come from fasting.
I tried those diets, too, that said you should eat 4 or 5 times a day and found that easier to take emotionally than calorie counting, but "many meals" turns out to be tedious to do in real life, also. Either counting calories, or eating many small meals in the day, turned out to be, for me, a lot of hard work, in addition to the rest of my life. I find that either method forces me to worry about food and eating all day long. Id really per to not have to think about that all the time.
On the other hand, the "Eat Stop Eat" program does seem to work for me and my daily life. It is so much easier to simply not pay attention to food during a fasting period and then look forward to having a good meal at the proper time, when I break the fast. Amazingly, I find, that I dont mind how I feel when Im not eating. Having an empty stomach is kind of a treat. Who knew? LOL
I find that when I resume eating that my body gets back all its old "feelings" again. It is a little bit odd to find out that processing food puts a "drag" on my body. I feel more sluggish and full and not so light and efficient as I feel when Im fasting.
Since Brad says there is no real scientific evidence that I have to eat breakfast or even eat three meals a day, let alone, four or five, I see no problem with simply holding out on my eating until dinner time each day and then have the meal I would really like to have.
I always fear that someone is going to get all scared that Im going to have 22,000-calorie Sumo meals but that is not what I am talking about. Im talking about a regular, ordinary, dinner with or without dessert as the occasion fits. And then stop eating for the day.
Under those conditions, even having another snack at the end of the day should not be a problem but Im not going to build that in. That is the mistake I did last time. I built in the snack then they got out of hand. I am kind of an odd duck. If I build it in, then it somehow gets translated into my mind that not only "I can" but eventually "I have to" and I dont want to trigger that response either. Ill just plan on eating normally, for me, and thats the end of it.
Sometimes I dont know if all this is just a "nice thought" or an actual "plan." It feels like a plan, at this moment so Im going to try it out and see how it goes. Im always flexible if Im nothing else, so Im not going to worry about it.
Another thing... on the 5:2 Diet facebook group page they have been talking about chia seeds so I got mine out and made up a batch. I used to take two tablespoons full like everybody always directs when you read about them, but I never really noticed any particular effect with that and it soon fell by the wayside. If I cannot see the benefit, I usually just leave it behind. Today, I filled a cup with the gelatinous solution of chia seeds in water and drank it down.
My belly feels as full as if Id eaten but I dont feel the drag on my body. Ill have to wait and see if there are any other side effects. Im hoping it will keep the plumbing moving along, too.
Anyway, thats where I am today.
Be back soon,
Marcia
excerpt from "Eat Stop Eat" by Brad Pilon:
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