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Posted by MN~Sue on 4/14/2005, 5:14 pm, in reply to "think i may be joining you gals" So glad you are joining us!!! I hope those of us participating here can help one another along this journey too I am feeling better with my changed diet and the weight loss is good to feel! My diet has to restrict carbs, due to the new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. It sounds like with having insulin resistance, you are in the same boat. Yup, portion control, the right foods, and exercise are what's needed! Good for you making changes!! I read labels constantly for serving sizes and nutrition info (mainly total carbs, calories, and fat). I measure with measuing cups and measuring spoons to be accurate. I can now eye-ball serving sizes for different foods that I eat on a regular basis pretty well, once I had measured them a few times to see if I was getting it right. Due to the low carb eating, I am finding I rely on nuts for snacks quite often, which are so high in calories and fat (GOOD fat though!), so I keep a 1/8 cup measuing scoop (it was sold as a coffee measuring device) right with the nuts to be sure I don't over eat them (WAY too easy to do with nuts!). A full serving according to the label is usually anywhere from 19-25 nuts, which is close to 1/4 cup and around 170 calories (depending on type and size of nuts), so I try to eat half or less of that amount at a time, since I might rely on nuts or a T. of peanut butter once or twice throughout the day. I won't eat unopposed carbs anymore, since my blood sugar dives a few hours after I have done that, so I find peanut butter and nuts a handy thing to have to combine with a piece of fruit, for example. Another way I eat nuts is to sometimes measure out 1/8-1/4 cup of nuts and just keep them in a small condiment cup that holds only 1/4 cup and have that pre-measured amount on the counter for snacking on throughout the day. I have always thought serving sizes at most restaurants was too much food. It was a rare day that I would not leave a restaurant without a doggie bag. The other day we had dinner at Applebee's and I had 3 meals out of that one dinner. It is no wonder that American's are having such a problem with obesity with all the combined factors of people eating out quite a bit, the ease of Fast Food restaurants, convenience of so many foods and all the processing of foods, lack of exercise......we have done ourselves no favors, have we?! I hope you have a good doc appt. Maybe you can discuss it with him/her and see if he has some literature to give you as well. If you have insurance or can afford an appt with an RD (registered dietician) that might be helpful for you too. I know insurance usually covers it when it is for diabetes, don't know if that would hold true for insulin resistance? In my opinion, it should if it isn't! I asked my doc for a referral to an RD to discuss a diabetic diet and it was helpful. I had started dieting before seeing the RD and writing everything I ate in a notebook, so I took that along to the RD appt, which was helpful. She was able to go over it with me and we were able to easily tabulate the carbs I was eating. She advised me to eat 3 carb choices (1 choice=15 grams of carbs) at my two meals a day and 2 carb choices for one snack and 1 carb choice for another snack, totalling 135 grams of carbs a day. It's important to spread carbs out over the day and also not eat them alone, when having insulin problems, as we both do. She gave me a pamphlet that gives common foods with the number of carbs/carb choices it contains, which has been helpful for those foods without labels I just got a glucose meter in the mail the other day and will start monitoring my levels, due to the diabetes situation. I haven't had a chance to read through all the instructions yet, so haven't taken a reading yet. I know that weight loss and exercise SHOULD make a big difference in my case with diabetes, so that is a really good incentive for me, at this point! I have lost 20 pounds now (started writing down my food intake 43 days ago - so started dieting right around that time) and am walking on the treadmill every other day for one hour sessions. I have worked up to 2.5+ miles a session now. I know for most everyone, getting one's head in the right place, makes the difference when it comes to diet and exercise. Hopefully, we can encourage each other on this board to stick with it, especially if/when we get those tough days You might like to check out that online Nutrition Tracker to get an idea of the number of calories and nutrients you are getting and also to learn what foods contain. I found it really useful to give me a pretty good idea of what I am consuming. I learned that I am falling WAY short in my nutrients - it was quite an eye-opener! It convinced me that I best start supplementing, at least while I am eating low calorie and restricting my carbs to 135 grams. I found a one-a-day formula for low-carb diets yesterday, at WalMart. I have been doing some reading online today about vitamins and minerals also. BUT I haven't been able to figure out how to take the supplements I need, around all the restrictions I have with interaction problems with thyroid med and needing to take the supplements with a full meal (I get sick otherwise from them), etc, etc, etc (too many factors to name). I am totally baffled at this point trying to figure out a way to get the supplements in! Sheesh, you wouldn't think that would pose a problem, but it does, haha. Well, I have blabbed on here........wanted to share some things I have been doing in case it might be of help to you. Love,
Hi Kendra, 
It would be nice to share recipes we find also.
Glad to have you aboard!
Sue
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