I first heard this advice years and years ago from Jennifer.  It still
holds true today.  The other diabetic advice staple is Old Al's insulin
primer (anyone have that?).  YMMV (your mileage may vary) is the wisest
catchphrase anywhere.  I also think that Rick Mendosa's website is the
most far-reaching compendium on diabetes information and control.  I
found this jewel from Jennifer again in another post and decided to
highlight it.  I know I need reminding daily of what to do and not to
do.  I'm one of the examples of what not to do, but so many here are
shining beacons of sugar control.

Quoting Jennifer:

Sounds like you're planning a move to take control of your diabetes...
good
for you.

There is so much to absorb... you don't have to rush into anything.
Begin
by using your best weapon in this war, your meter.   You won't keel
over
today, you have time to experiment, test, learn, test and figure out
just
how your body and this disease are getting along.  The most important
thing you can do to learn about yourself and diabetes is test test
test.

More than most anything, what you eat will affect your diabetes and
your blood glucose numbers.

And more than anything you eat, carbs will affect your diabetes and
your blood glucose numbers.

So, the most important information you can begin to compile about
yourself, is how your body handles carbs.

This sounds like you would need a low carb food plan right?

You don't... what you need to uncover is YOUR   Personalized Carb
Number.

Which actually works better for most everyone.  Because low to one
person is wildly high to another, but waaaaay too low for someone
else.

Is low carb less than 30g a day?   Is it anything less than the
Pyramid reccomendations?

Finding your Personalized Carb Number is easy.

Here's how you can figure out your own Personalized Carb Number.

The single biggest question a diabetic has to answer is:

What do I eat?

Unfortunately, the answer is pretty confusing.

What confounds us all is the fact that different diabetics can get
great
results on wildly different food plans.  Some of us here achieve
great blood glucose control eating a high complex carbohydrate diet.
Others find that anything over 75 - 100g of carbs a day is too
much.  Still others are somewhere in between.

At the beginning all of us felt frustrated.  We wanted to be handed
THE way to eat, to ensure our continued health.  But we all
learned that there is no one way.  Each of us had to find our own path,

using the experience of those that went before, but still having
to discover for ourselves how OUR bodies and this disease were
coexisting.

Ask questions, but remember each of us discovered on our own what works
best
for us.  You can use our experiences as jumping off points, but
eventually
you'll work up a successful plan that is yours alone.

What you are looking to discover is how different foods affect you.  As
I'm
sure you've read, carbohydrates (sugars, wheat, rice... the things our
Grandmas called "starches") raise blood sugars the most rapidly.
Protein
and fat do raise them, but not as high and much more slowly... so if
you're
a T2, generally the insulin your body still makes may take care of the
rise.

You might want to try some  experiments.

First:  Eat whatever you've been
currently eating... but write it all down.
Test yourself at the following times:

Upon waking (fasting)
1 hour after each meal
2 hours after each meal
At bedtime

That means 8 x each day.  What you will discover by this is how long
after a meal your highest reading comes... and how fast you return to
"normal".  Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or
other carbs gives you a higher reading.

Then for the next few days, try to curb your carbs.  Eliminate breads,
cereals, rices, beans, any wheat products, potato, corn, fruit... get
all
your carbs from veggies.  Test at the same schedule above.

If you try this for a few days, you may find some pretty damn good
readings.  It's worth a few days to discover.

Eventually you can slowly add back carbs until you see them affecting
your
meter.

The thing about this disease... though we share much in common and we
need to
follow certain guidelines... in the end, each of our bodies dictate our

treatment and our success.

The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have
of
avoiding horrible complications.  The key here is AIM... I know that
everyone is at a different point in their disease... and it is
progressive.
But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, we give ourselves
the
best shot at heath we've got.
That's all we can do.

Here's my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic
numbers.

FBG                         under 100
One hour after meals       under 140
Two hours after meals     under 120

or for those in the mmol parts of the world:

Fasting                              Under 6
One hour after meals         Under 8
Two hours after meals       Under 6.5

Recent studies have indicated that the most important numbers are your
"after meal" numbers. They may be the most indicative of future
complications, especially heart problems.

Listen to your doctor, but you are the leader of your diabetic
care team.  While his /her advice is learned, it is not absolute.   You

will end up knowing much more about your body and how it's handling
diabetes than your doctor will.   Your meter is your best weapon.

Just remember, we're not in a race or a competition with anyone but
ourselves... Play around with your food plan... TEST TEST TEST.  Learn
what
foods cause spikes, what foods cause cravings... Use your body as a
science
experiment.

You'll read about a lot of different ways people use to control their
diabetes... Many are diametrically opposed. After awhile you'll learn
that
there is no one size fits all around here.  Take some time to
experiment
and you'll soon discover the plan that works for you.

Best of luck!

Jennifer