Quote:
Originally Posted by andreab2007  Greetings to all,
My name is Andrea & I don't want to be sad anymore.aI feel as if everyday is a MONDAY! I am diabetic, very uncontrolled due to my intense cravings for sweet carbohydrates. My PCP doesn't want to talk about the possibility of me being addicted to carbs and tells me to cut down on the grams of carbohydrates I consume daily.
EASIER TO SAY THAN TO DO.
If I don't start the day with carbs I am okay. Just one bite can lead to a day of over+++consumption!
I am 5'5"/235lbs/BMI40 and my PCP will not agree to the LapBand procedure.
Agreed to an insulin pump on 08/07/07 and I have yet to use the device!
What can I do & where can I receive the necessary information to control my carb cravings? Which in turn would lower my bloodsugar, decrease the need for the insulin pump and a few hundred other things that won't fit on this page!
Thanks so much for your time and attention to my inquiry, positive someone here has an answer or suggestion or a phone number. |
I am curious, why haven't you used the insulin device? Very important for controlling your blood sugar, correct?
Regarding your cravings for sweets, it's OK to eat a tiny bit in moderation, but you really do need to cut back, and how to do it, well that's the hard part.
First off you need to start eating more protein and of the carbs you eat maybe, shoot for high glycemic carbohydrates.
The protein will fill you up and help cure some of your cravings, and higher glycemic carbs take longer for your body to process, so again you'll feel full longer.
Also, can you try to eat your food slower? Take longer to chew things? This tends to help prevent people from overeating as much as they normally do.
If you have diabetes, that doesn't mean you can't eat sweets. People with diabetes IN MODERATION can eat desserts, use sweeteners, and still keep their blood glucose (sugar) levels in check.
Ways to sweeten things up a bit without upping blood sugar too much:
- Sugar and other sweeteners with calories including honey, brown sugar, molasses, fructose, cane sugar, and confectioners sugar
- Reduced-calorie sweeteners including erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol
- Low-calorie sweeteners such as ascelfume potassium, aspartame, saccharin and sucralose
Studies show that the total carbs eaten affects blood glucose levels the most. but so does the type of carbohydrate (e.g. sugar vs. starch) albeit to a lesser extent.
You can eat foods w/ sugar IF you work them into your meal plan like any carb-containing food. This goes for sweeteners with calories, including brown sugar, honey, and molasses.
If you like sweets, but also want to lose weight, you can try these tips:
Fill your sweet cravings with fresh or dried fruit
Eat a small serving of your favorite dessert, instead of something ordinary
Split desserts with a friend or family member
Choose lower-calorie, lower-fat versions of your foods
Use low-calorie sweeteners instead of sugar for coffee or tea
The key to keeping your blood glucose on target is to substitute small portions of sweets for other carb-containing foods in your meals and snacks. Carb-containing foods include bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, potatoes, corn, and peas. For many people, having about 45 to 60 grams at meals is about right. Serving sizes make a difference. To include sweets in your meal, you can cut back on the other carb foods at the same meal. For example, you’d like to have cookies with your lunch. Your lunch is a turkey sandwich with two slices of bread. Your first step is to identify the carb foods in your meal. Bread is a carb. You decide to swap two slices of bread for two slices of low-calorie bread and have the cookies -- it’s an even trade. Your total amount of carbohydrate remains the same for the meal.
Sugar alcohols are one type of reduced-calorie sweetener and are used in sugar-free candies, chewing gum, and desserts. They provide about half the calories of sugars and other carbohydrates. Isomalt, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol are examples of sugar alcohols. Even though they are called sugar alcohols, they do not contain alcohol. Sometimes sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea, especially in children. Many people think that foods with sugar alcohols are “free foods.” This is not true!
Sugar alcohols don’t raise blood glucose as much as the same amount of other carbohydrates. To figure out the amount of other carbohydrate you should count for a food with sugar alcohols, follow these tips:
For Example:
Serving Size: 1 bar
Total carbohydrate 15 grams -- Sugar alcohol 6 grams
One bar counts as 12 grams carbohydrate (15 – 3 = 12)
Don't throw away your low-calorie sweeteners just because sugar is safer than you thought. Low-calorie sweeteners are "free foods." They make food taste sweet, and have no calories and do not raise blood glucose levels. They do not count as a carbohydrate, a fat, or any other exchange. They can be added to your meal plan instead of substituted.
-Saccharin (Sweet N Low, Sugar Twin)
-Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal)
-Acesulfame potassium (Sweet One, Swiss Sweet, Sunett)
-Sucralose (SPLENDA)