I normally go for my blood sugar checkups every six months. Unfortunately, between February and August I got too confident that my blood sugar was better and kind of veered off the low glycemic mediterranean diet a bit by eating too many grains, mainly pasta. In February, my HgA1C was 5.5, normal range. In August, my HgA1C was 6.1, diabetic range. That's the highest it's been since I started going for checkups. It was 5.9 when I started going 2 1/2 years ago.
I cut my grain consumption down to 3 servings per day and went back for a 3 month checkup last week. Fortunately, my HgA1C is down to 5.7, back to normal range. Grains are definitely bad. Scary that the recommeded number of servings per day is 6 - 11. The low glycemic mediterranean diet recommeds 1 serving of grains per day.
I came across a book which is all about the low glycemic mediterranean diet. It's called The GI Mediterranean Diet: The Glycemic Index-Based Life-Saving Diet of the Greeks by Fedon Alexander Lindberg
. A lot of what is talked about I already knew, but it did offer deeper insight into what exactly happens with your blood sugar during the night, when you skip meals, when you eat too much high glycemic foods. The big thing I learned is that beer is the worst thing you can drink. The glycemic index of maltose, the sugar that's in beer, is 105! Table sugar is only 50. The book recommends low carb beer if you do drink beer. However, red wine is the recommended alcholic beverage. I don't drink much anymore, since having kids. I just have a beer on Saturday nights. During the summer I was trying some different flavors from Saranac, a local brewing company. Unfortunately, I don't think they offer a low carb flavor, so I guess I'll have to stick with Michelob Ultra when I have a beer.
The past few weeks, I've been having red wine instead of beer. Wine.com had a great Black Friday sale and a penny shipping/handling. Paying for shipping/handling when you order wine online can get expensive, so a penny was a great deal. I ordered a bunch of bottles. They also have a program where you pay $49 per year and get unlimited shipping. That's a pretty good deal if you plan on ordering frequently.
There are a few pages of recipes at the end of The GI Mediterranean Diet book. I've only made a couple of them. They were pretty good. There aren't any pictures though, and some of the recipes measure in ounces instead of cups or tablespoons and teaspoons. I bought the book for the recipes, so I was kind of disappointed. The information it provided was pretty good though. It gave a lot more detail and clarified things in the rough guideline information my doctor had given me.
I also bought a cookbook my doctor had recommended. It's called The UltraMetabolism Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes that Will Turn on Your Fat-Burning DNA by Mark M.D. Hyman. It's part of a diet program called UltraMetabolism to boost your metabolism. It talks about sticking to low glycemic foods though and recommends pretty much the same foods the low glycemic mediterranean diet recommends. I've made a bunch of recipes out of it so far, and they all are really good. I HIGHLY recommend the The UltraMetabolism Cookbook. It is now one of my go to cookbooks. The only complaint I have is I wish there were pictures of every recipe, not just a few certain ones.
Overall, I am very pleased with the results I have gotten from the Low Glycemic Mediterranean Diet. I feel better. I've lost about 12 - 15 lbs even though I wasn't overweight to begin with. My blood sugar and cholesterol are back to normal range. I have A LOT more energy. The migraines I am prone to also occur much less than they used to.
It doesn't take much to increase my blood sugar, so I have accepted that my blood sugar will never be cured. It will just be controlled. I have zero support from anyone I know except for my doctor. Luckily, I've seen the results for myself and know that changing your diet impacts how you feel, so I don't have a problem sticking to it, even when ridiculed by everyone around me. Feeling better and having energy is worth eating healthy.
UPDATE 2/21/13 - I'm still sticking to the low glycemic mediterranean diet. At my last doctor's appointment in November, my HgA1C was 5.5. That's the lowest it's ever been in the 3 1/2 years I've been on the diet. I stopped "testing to see if I could eat" pasta, white potatoes, etc.etc. I've accepted that I can't, so I just don't eat them. On rare occasions I'll have a couple of bites, but that is it. I no longer make them part of my meal. I also no longer eat much meat other than chicken a few times a month. I mainly eat various kinds of bean soups and chilis with a salad and a side of cooked vegetables. I also drink a glass of water with 2 - 4 tsp of apple cider vinegar and a bit of honey everyday. Apple cider vinegar helps lower blood sugar too. It's full of B vitamins that help with energy.
UPDATE 5/22/13 - I just had my latest doctor's appointment to check my blood sugar. I'm still doing well and have kept it in normal range. I was a little disappointment since my HgA1C is now up to 5.7 from 5.5 6 months ago. I think I slacked off a little and Easter was tough since chocolate is my weakness. I overcame that after a few weeks though. It was also the winter too. I live in upstate New York, so I don't get outside much. I'm not a big fan of cold weather. I prefer warm, gardening weather. I'm trying to drink more green juice now. Watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead inspired me. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a watch. Very inspiring movie!
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I cut my grain consumption down to 3 servings per day and went back for a 3 month checkup last week. Fortunately, my HgA1C is down to 5.7, back to normal range. Grains are definitely bad. Scary that the recommeded number of servings per day is 6 - 11. The low glycemic mediterranean diet recommeds 1 serving of grains per day.
I came across a book which is all about the low glycemic mediterranean diet. It's called The GI Mediterranean Diet: The Glycemic Index-Based Life-Saving Diet of the Greeks by Fedon Alexander Lindberg
. A lot of what is talked about I already knew, but it did offer deeper insight into what exactly happens with your blood sugar during the night, when you skip meals, when you eat too much high glycemic foods. The big thing I learned is that beer is the worst thing you can drink. The glycemic index of maltose, the sugar that's in beer, is 105! Table sugar is only 50. The book recommends low carb beer if you do drink beer. However, red wine is the recommended alcholic beverage. I don't drink much anymore, since having kids. I just have a beer on Saturday nights. During the summer I was trying some different flavors from Saranac, a local brewing company. Unfortunately, I don't think they offer a low carb flavor, so I guess I'll have to stick with Michelob Ultra when I have a beer.The past few weeks, I've been having red wine instead of beer. Wine.com had a great Black Friday sale and a penny shipping/handling. Paying for shipping/handling when you order wine online can get expensive, so a penny was a great deal. I ordered a bunch of bottles. They also have a program where you pay $49 per year and get unlimited shipping. That's a pretty good deal if you plan on ordering frequently.
There are a few pages of recipes at the end of The GI Mediterranean Diet book. I've only made a couple of them. They were pretty good. There aren't any pictures though, and some of the recipes measure in ounces instead of cups or tablespoons and teaspoons. I bought the book for the recipes, so I was kind of disappointed. The information it provided was pretty good though. It gave a lot more detail and clarified things in the rough guideline information my doctor had given me.
I also bought a cookbook my doctor had recommended. It's called The UltraMetabolism Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes that Will Turn on Your Fat-Burning DNA by Mark M.D. Hyman
. It's part of a diet program called UltraMetabolism to boost your metabolism. It talks about sticking to low glycemic foods though and recommends pretty much the same foods the low glycemic mediterranean diet recommends. I've made a bunch of recipes out of it so far, and they all are really good. I HIGHLY recommend the The UltraMetabolism Cookbook. It is now one of my go to cookbooks. The only complaint I have is I wish there were pictures of every recipe, not just a few certain ones.Overall, I am very pleased with the results I have gotten from the Low Glycemic Mediterranean Diet. I feel better. I've lost about 12 - 15 lbs even though I wasn't overweight to begin with. My blood sugar and cholesterol are back to normal range. I have A LOT more energy. The migraines I am prone to also occur much less than they used to.
It doesn't take much to increase my blood sugar, so I have accepted that my blood sugar will never be cured. It will just be controlled. I have zero support from anyone I know except for my doctor. Luckily, I've seen the results for myself and know that changing your diet impacts how you feel, so I don't have a problem sticking to it, even when ridiculed by everyone around me. Feeling better and having energy is worth eating healthy.
UPDATE 2/21/13 - I'm still sticking to the low glycemic mediterranean diet. At my last doctor's appointment in November, my HgA1C was 5.5. That's the lowest it's ever been in the 3 1/2 years I've been on the diet. I stopped "testing to see if I could eat" pasta, white potatoes, etc.etc. I've accepted that I can't, so I just don't eat them. On rare occasions I'll have a couple of bites, but that is it. I no longer make them part of my meal. I also no longer eat much meat other than chicken a few times a month. I mainly eat various kinds of bean soups and chilis with a salad and a side of cooked vegetables. I also drink a glass of water with 2 - 4 tsp of apple cider vinegar and a bit of honey everyday. Apple cider vinegar helps lower blood sugar too. It's full of B vitamins that help with energy.
UPDATE 5/22/13 - I just had my latest doctor's appointment to check my blood sugar. I'm still doing well and have kept it in normal range. I was a little disappointment since my HgA1C is now up to 5.7 from 5.5 6 months ago. I think I slacked off a little and Easter was tough since chocolate is my weakness. I overcame that after a few weeks though. It was also the winter too. I live in upstate New York, so I don't get outside much. I'm not a big fan of cold weather. I prefer warm, gardening weather. I'm trying to drink more green juice now. Watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
inspired me. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a watch. Very inspiring movie!
More Low Glycemic
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