I need advice from those in the know

[GTM]

Chaps

I had a minor bombshell this morning. I had the results of my annual blood test and everything was fine but my sugar levels are well over the safe limit. In the words of the Doctor, if it stays at the current level I am heading for diabetes.

His advice was to lose 2 stone and get the waistline back.

My current lifestyle is sendentary and I eat very very well with visits to restaurants and clubs as part of the normal social agenda.

I can lose the weight by cutting down on the food and stepping up the exercise. That is down to me and there are no excuses for being a fat pig. I am 5ft 8 and my wasitline is nudging 40" which is plain bloody negliegent. So the weight loss is down to me. I weigh 15 stone.

However after surfing the net I am confused as to what I can and cannot eat. For instance to lose weight you eat plenty of fruit, but are grapes, figs and dates etc ok because some websites claim they are high in sugar.

So the simple question is this.

What foods are a no no in order to get the sugar levels down ?

Many thanks

Mick

I haven't read any of the replies so apologies if this has been said already.

What your blood test actually measured is your blood glucose levels. Glucose enters your bloodstream from the consumption of both dietary sugars and carbohydrates. Your body responds by producing insulin to push the sugars in to the muscle tissues and various other organs in your body and therefore lower blood sugar levels.

This is where it gets a little complicated. Basically what you need to be aware of to regulate blood sugar levels is the Glycemic Index (GI) of the foods that you are consuming. You need to avoid foods with a high GI and eat as much low GI food as possible. Essentially low GI foods lead to slow increases in blood sugar levels over longer periods. Therefore leading to overall lower blood sugar levels. Of course the amount that you actually consume will still have significant bearing on the ultimate blood sugar level, so just because you eat low GI foods doesn't mean you don't have to watch how much you eat.

Information here:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Food_and_recipes/The-Glycaemic-Index/

Edited to ad:

The relationship between exercise and blood sugar levels is complex:

http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/exercise-and-blood-glucose-levels.html
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/3/944.full
http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/51/suppl_1/S271.full
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901082406.htm

BMI is an out of date and not very accurate gauge of weight. Weight is actually irrelevant to some extent. What matters is cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Muscle carries most of it's own weight and therefore puts doesn't put a lot of extra strain on the system. Unlike fat which is just like carrying weights tied to parts of your body leading to your heart having to do more work, thus raising blood pressure etc. Intra-abdominal fat is also another risk factor irrespective of BMI.

 

[auric]

Mr P a quick look at the rather good One week of food: will give you an idea of what other do and what follows, you will see that I adopted a diet built around pulses, beans and root veg and have never felt better.

It takes a bit of a shock to change one's eating habits because so much of one's social life may revolve around food, booze and a sedentary life style. Things may well be hard at first but after a while you will slip into healthy eating and a bit more exercise, otherwise you may not enjoy your shortened retirement.

ATB.

 

[duncan]

The relationship between exercise and blood sugar levels is complex:

http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/exercise-and-blood-glucose-levels.html
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/3/944.full
http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/51/suppl_1/S271.full
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901082406.htm

The relationship may be complex for very intensive exercise but I don't think anyone is recommending that to Mick. Moderately intensive exercise is good in every way. Your American Diabetes Association link about exercise for diabetes concludes:

...combined with the fact that modest exercise reduces the morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes (15), it is difficult to imagine a more effective therapeutic strategy for reducing insulin resistance and, more importantly, improving overall health and wellbeing.

 

[paulfromcamden]

BMI is an out of date and not very accurate gauge of weight. Weight is actually irrelevant to some extent. What matters is cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Muscle carries most of it's own weight and therefore puts doesn't put a lot of extra strain on the system. Unlike fat which is just like carrying weights tied to parts of your body leading to your heart having to do more work, thus raising blood pressure etc. Intra-abdominal fat is also another risk factor irrespective of BMI.

I'll go along with that. I'm bang on target weight for my height (6'4") but achieve this by being basically scrawny with a beginnings of a beer gut. I was a couple of stone lighter right up until my early thirties when I stopped smoking...

Thanks for the insulin links by the way. As a fairly new t1 diabetic (18 months) and an even newer runner (12 months) I can attest that the link between exercise and insulin sensitivity is very real - but complex and somewhat unpredicable!

 

[stevec67]

Mick, I'm disappointed that you have succumbed to anything as plebeian as obesity. Everyone knows that this is a condition of the poor and the weak willed. You should be ashamed. In fact if I ran your chapter of Men of England (Right Wing Bigots, South West, section) your membership would be under review.

In practical terms you need to go on a diet, it's not exactly complicated. Eat less. I'm sure your GP/health visitor will give you a sheet, or there are dozens of books on the subject. Just choose one with interesting and pleasant foods and no fads. As others have said, keep a diary and this will allow you to note when you fall off the wagon and adopt measures to avoid falling off again.

Further practical advice:
- Calculate weekly, not daily. This means that if you fall off the wagon with a cupcake on Wednesday you simply forego treats on Thursday. It also gets you out of the notion that you have blown it. You haven't, you have just had a setback that you need to make up.
- Porridge and fruit is fine. This is because it's slow release, it's low GI (don't add sugar!) and it staves off hunger pangs until lunch because you are still ploughing through it at 12.
- Give up alcohol except for 2 nights a week.
- Likewise your afternoon cake habit, sorry, 1 day a week from now on.
- Fruit is OK. Fruit juice less so. The reason is that you can't chew up and digest 3 oranges in 5 minutes, but 1 glass of juice is straight down.
-MoE consumption needs to be moderated. Once a month is OK, build it into your plan. A lean day before, a lean day after, and the MoE day counts for both your boozing days and cakes that week. If possible go for the light option - melon starter, grilled meat or fish, fruit salad dessert. Or cheese, paradoxically, because yes it's fattening but it stops your appetite.
- When you get hungry, have an apple.
- Set realistic goals. It will take months so set aside months. Get some moderate exercise, walk outdoors and as the weatherr looks up get your bike out.
- When you get to your target weight, allow a bit of slackening of the regime. You have got the result you want so now it just needs maintenance. You can go back to having the odd bit of cake with Mrs P and come the MoE bunfight a steak won't kill you. It's not every week, after all.

Oh, and we'd all like to see the food diary here.

 

[Cav]

Eat less, drink less alcohol, exercise more - it is that easy if you want to do it at all.

If you don't, carry on enjoying the good life and take whatever pills the doctor prescribes when you actually have age-onset diabetes.

 

[Tigerjones]

I'm constantly amazed at how complicated and difficult we make losing weight. Eat this, don't eat, don't eat that, eat this but not at certain times, only eat when it's a full moon. No wonder so few people make any progress.

 

[Fox]

Dieting: Its a big industry set to bounce people between fad diets and an equally big industry set to selling them really lovely foods
With slebs in the middle peddling their books and courses and other stuff.

Cinnamon Buns Its part in my downfall
(I was such a slattern that day, dunno what made me do it)

 

[Brian]

This cost £10 at some place in Leicester Square, Lundun. (It wasn't mine, I should add)
2 x 8oz burgers
1 x jumbo sausage
bacon
cheese
hash brown
egg
..all in a bun
served with chips/french fries (not shown)
dessert = deep fried mars bar

 

[stevec67]

Jesus. And people have a go at me about what we in the food manufacturing industry sell. With the whole of Chinatown 5 minutes away you chose a jumbo burger and chips?

I'd pay a tenner not to have to eat that.

 

[Brian]

Jesus. And people have a go at me about what we in the food manufacturing industry sell. With the whole of Chinatown 5 minutes away you chose a jumbo burger and chips?

I'd pay a tenner not to have to eat that.

I edited the post, Steve.

 

[stevec67]

Wise move to duck it. I doubt I could eat that even if I wanted to. Not that any of the elements are of themselves off limits. I try not to be a food snob, and in any case I eat plenty of stuff from the naughty list, witness my hymn of praise to the pork pie on another thread. I just try to keep it in bounds.

 

[garyi]

http://thisiswhyyourefat.tumblr.com

 

[garyi]

Two layers of buttered white bread, deli ham and bananas topped with cheddar cheese, bacon and crushed potato chips, all covered in a mixture of heavy cream, milk and eggs mixture then baked.

Ha!

 

[garyi]

I could go for this:

Bacon horn stuffed with 20 hot italian sausages, 1 pound of scrapple, 4 pork chops, 1 black pudding sausage and 1 white pudding sausage, pepperoni and salami.

A bit concerned as to what 'bacon horn' is but willing to give it a go.

 

[Fox]

I'm outta here
[barf]

 

[Tony L]

Bacon horn stuffed with 20 hot italian sausages, 1 pound of scrapple, 4 pork chops, 1 black pudding sausage and 1 white pudding sausage, pepperoni and salami.

A bit concerned as to what 'bacon horn' is but willing to give it a go.

I suspect 'bacon horn' is a euphemism for the selection of partially cooked severed penises clearly visible in the top left of the dish.

 

[garyi]

Ha, you love it. Imagine if you will:

A big burger, embellished with pulled pork and more meat product, topped off with that god awful american cheese substitute they call cheese.

Haha!

Tonight I cooked some chicken thighs nice and hot, added onion, garlic and one chilli. Then some mushroom and peppers, bit of passata and chopped tomato, and seasoning.

With some pasta it was very nice, but the problem is no doubt loaded will all sorts of bad ass. Kids enjoyed it though.

As a family we worked out tonight the only processed shit on the go is sausages and fishfingers (cereals aside) However it comes down to portion size and content.

Curse cheese and its tasty cheese-e-ness.

 

[Dave J]

Are you a qualified dietician?

Asians eat rice as their staple, and white rice mostly. Yet, they are some of the least overweight people around.

It's not what you eat, but how much you eat, that matters. A calorie is a calorie, no matter whether it comes from chocolate, chicken or celery. The complication is simple sugars are more quickly absorbed and cause blood sugar levels to spike and slump quickly.

This is why low-fat foods (mostly snacks) are the biggest con-job in the food and beverage industry. 99% fat free gummy bears anyone?

No, but my wife is.

 

[Greg]

I'm constantly amazed at how complicated and difficult we make losing weight. Eat this, don't eat, don't eat that, eat this but not at certain times, only eat when it's a full moon. No wonder so few people make any progress.

i dunno, I cut out breakfast and chocolate and lost 12kg over three months. Seems simple enough but whether that is right to give as advice I'm not convinced.