Reducing Carbohydrate Eating

Repost from June 17, 2023:

Personal Goal: I have found that if I eat under 140 grams of carbohydrates each day, and under 1,500 calories, I can keep my blood sugar at between 130 and 160. 

Here are some ideas I use for reducing the amount of carbohydrate grams in my daily eating:

Choose non-starchy green vegetables.  Reduce or avoid starchy vegetable foods like potatoes, rice, corn, beets, peas, etc.

Significantly reduce or eliminate eating breads, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, pastries.  Avoid processed grains. 

Keep a daily food log journal.  Increase your awareness and track exactly what you do eat and when; and, correlate it with blood sugar testing results. 

Use a calorie, fat, and carbohydrate counter information book.  I use The NutriBase Complete Book of Foot Counts (2001) which for 40,000 food products provides information on serving size, calories grams, protein grams, carbohydrate grams, sodium grams, fiber grams, fat grams, and cholesterol grams.  Also, I can easily find food information on the Internet.  Also, read food labels carefully.  Learn what foods have higher carbohydrates, and a higher glycemic index. 

  

Stop drinking sugary drinks or fruit juices.  Use non-sugar sweeteners sometimes.  Avoid sugars and sweets like candy. 

Choose low carbohydrate “snacks” (small portions) like nuts, cheese, or fruits. 

Avoid high fat and salty foods because they add calories and result in binging, e.g., potato chips, bagel chips, pizza.

Drink plenty of water each day.  Stay hydrated! 

Reduce or eliminate drinking whole milk, shakes, lattes.  Some dairy products can be high in carbs. 

Eat some high-quality protein at each meal. 

Eat foods with a lower glycemic index. 

Choose baked or broiled foods, and reduce fried foods. 

Limit portions, reduce total caloric intake, and use restraint in eating.  Stay under 1,500 calories each day until I weight 225 pounds. 

Develop strategies and tactics for following a healthy eating pattern for a Type 2 diabetic. 

Consult with my doctor, dietitian, and related health professionals. 

Develop a personal dietary program that I can stick to, maintain, and not diverge from for long term benefit. 

Don’t smoke marihuana [legal in Washington State] because it typically results in more hunger and overeating, not exercising, elevated blood sugar, and some loss of self-control in sticking with your eating program.  You just don’t care about dieting when you are in a euphoric mood. 

Be aware of the potential negative complications of reducing carbohydrate intake for a diabetic, e.g., ketosis.  There are medical cautions about severe carbohydrate reduction, and increased eating of fats and proteins.  Strive for balance, be sensible, and research this topic.  However, I must do what I need to do to get my blood sugar to range from 130 to 160, and my body weight down 20 pounds to 225 pounds. 

“The current national standard for recommended daily intake for carbohydrates is 130 grams/day. Anything below that can be considered a reduced-carbohydrate diet, although Americans typically eat two to three times that amount in a day. The benefits of carbohydrate reduction seem to be continuous; as carbohydrates are reduced, health benefits usually increase. However, for those addressing health concerns such as diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and abnormal lipids, there is usually a threshold effect. In other words, dietary carbohydrates don’t have to be eliminated, just lowered to the point that an individual is able to achieve his or her health goals.”
- Reducing Carbohydrates: A Key to Better Health

Diabetes and Caloric Restriction

Resuming Blog Publishing

 I have been dealing with numerous health issues the last few months: COVID, Atrial Fib and Flutter, high blood sugar, fatigue, and mild depression.  These conditions have slowed my progress on writing since January 1st.

My Health Regime after April 13th Includes:
- A Low Carbohydrate Diet (under 90 carbs each day)
- Walking Over 4,000 Steps a Day
- No Smoking or Drinking 
- Cardio Conversion 4/12
- Changed Medication
- Use Insulin if Blood Sugar over 200
- Taijiquan Daily for 40 Minutes
- Plenty of Drinking Water Each Day

Working Now on Various Projects:

At the Edges of the West: Highway 101

Yurt Camping (Pacific Northwest Coast) Preparations

Old Age - My Health Problems - Remedies

My walking, weight lifting, Taijiquan, Qigong, dietary, and Yoga practices have helped me to stay healthy and make it to 74 years of age. 

I have led a fortunate life, have many accomplishments, and worked till 70 years of age.
I am now facing the challenges of an aging body with constructive daily actions and a positive demeanor.  I am very fortunate to have excellent medical care in Vancouver, Washington, having both Medicare and Anthem Blue Cross insurance, and benefit from medical advances unknown in 1980. 

I work with three medical doctors: internal medicine, cardiology, and endocrinology. 

I have managed my Type II diabetes since 1996, starting when I was age 50.  I kept my AIC to under 6.5 until I was 69.  I now take the maximum recommended dosages of Glipizide, Metformin, Losartin, and Trulicity.  Now, I get high blood sugar readings if I don't very strictly monitor my intake of carbohydrates. 

Currently, I try my best to consume under 2,000 calories per day, and under 150 grams of carbohydrates per day.  My three month body weight goal is 235 pounds, and I am now at 246 pounds.  My one year goal is to weigh 215 pounds. 

I try to walk seven days each week.  I walk my dog, Bruno, for 40 minutes daily.  I also use a treadmill at home.  My goal is to walk, mostly on flat ground, for 75 minutes each day.

I practice Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong daily. 

I also have heart disease (pacemaker for Bradycardia, stent in my LAD) and symptomatic high blood pressure.  I am working with my medical doctors to find the right combination of blood pressure drugs to lower my blood pressure.  This is my most serious current health problem. 

I expect to die from stroke or heart attack, sooner rather that later, due to my age, and with these serious health problems.  So, my web publishing might end suddenly, and everything else for me, due to these problems of old age. 

My Cloud Hands Blog (2005-2020) and my many web pages (1999-2020) have, hopefully, helped in some way to benefit others. 


Walking: Quotes, Sayings, Information, Medical 

Tai Chi Chuan for Diabetics

Diabetes and Caloric Restriction

I have been dealing with the disease of diabetes since I was 52 years of age - for the last twenty years.  Vigorous daily exercise and reasonable eating from 1998 to 2016, kept my A1C around 7.2.  

Most diabetes patients die from cardio-vascular disease.  So, as the odds predicted, I had a pacemaker inserted in 6/17 and a LAD heart stent placed in 10/17.  Of course, being 72 years of age does not help with the progress of any disease.  Also, the problems and anxieties of serious heart disease resulted in a reduction of exercise.  

In the last year, while suffering from heart disease, my blood sugars were rising.  I tried three different medicines in 2017: Trulicity, Januvia, or Glipizide combined with Metaformin.    

I see my internal medicine doctor next Friday.  I am considering asking for a referral to an endocrinologist, and a change in medications.   

I have been attending, since November, the cardio rehabilitation classes three days each week, for 1.5 hours per class, at the Peace Health Hospital complex in Vancouver, WA.  The class consists of one hour of aerobics, and a half hour of weight lifting, core work, or stretching.  They offer a 1 hour lecture each Wednesday on heart health care.  Fortunately, my health insurance covers this cardio rehabilitation program - how lucky I am.  

Unquestionably, moderate exercise helps with reducing blood sugar.  Typically, after a breakfast (600 calories) and a one hour wait, my blood sugar will be at around 220.  After I finish the 1.5 hours of exercise, my blood sugar is 150.  Ideally, it would be around 110.  Exercise does help, it has few side effects like medicines, is inexpensive (e.g., my nearby LA Fitness Gym membership costs $31.00 per month).  I enjoy walking and weightlifting, and I practice Taijiquan. 

  
The most important factor in controlling diabetes is carefully choosing what you eat, and more important, what you do not eat.  Reducing caloric intake has the beneficial effect of reducing blood sugar.  Also, any overeating of high glycemic index (carbohydrate) foods increases your blood sugar.  In the past, sometimes I am inconsistent and negligent about my diet.  

My goal for January and February is too eat under 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, and around 1,500 calories per day.  My body-weight goal is 225 pounds.  For a, currently,  6'7" and 246 pound man, this is a significant caloric reduction.  

If I eat under 1,300 calories a day, my morning fasting blood sugar goes down to 135.  However, it is very hard for me to control my lust for food and eat under 1,300 calories per day.  Also, my energy level drops and fatigue sets in earlier the less I eat.  However, overall, I must strive to bring my blood sugar to proper maintenance levels.  Always Compromises!!


"The Longevity Diet: The Only Proven Way to Slow the Aging Process and Maintain Peak Vitality Through Caloric Restriction." By Brian M. Delaney, and Lisa Walford, 2010.  

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition Based Cure.  By Caldwell B. Esselstyn, M.D., 2008.  

Foot, Ankle and Shin Exercises

Because of one consequence of my diabetes, my feet and ankles have problems caused by peripheral neuropathy.  My feet are often very stiff, numb, tingling, and uncomfortable.  The situation is incurable.  

I always wear properly fitting shoes and clean socks.  Wear footwear suitable for the activity you want to engage in.  Keep your feet clean and dry.  

I have found that regular walking, taijiquan, qigong, and yoga all ameliorate my foot problems.  

Here are some exercises I do to help my feet, ankles, and shin.  

1.  Stand, hold on to a chair or cane, and left my heels off the ground - toe raises.  It tenses the calf and muscles of the feet.

2.  Lift the foot off the ground and make circles with the foot.

3.  While seated, lift and extend your leg.  With your foot, trace out each letter of the alphabet.  Do the same activity with each foot.  Trace the letters of the alphabet in both print and cursive styles.  This is one of my favorite exercises.  

4.  While seated, lift and extend your leg.  Extend your toes out as far as you can and lower the toes.  Then, flex the foot, drawing the toes back towards the ankle.  

5.  Gently massage the foot.   

6.  Stand on One Foot

7.  Flex and extend only the toes.  If the toes are stiff and inflexible, then use your hands to push the toes forward and pull the toes back; slowly and gently.  

Roads Go Ever On

As I walk 3.6 miles in the morning, four days each week, I enjoy the interplay of all the senses and the kinesthetic exuberance of the flowing movement.  The scenery along my safe rural walking path is beautiful and changing with the seasons.  While walking, I mostly am just walking, and sometimes thinking, reflecting, contemplating, or meditating.  These experiences are something I treasure.  Walking is beneficial for my heart, and helps me keep my diabetes under control.  Walking is an integral component of my regular Sadhana ... my "spiritual" practices.  

"If you want to know if your brain is flabby, feel your legs." 
-  Bruce Barton   

"Think with your whole body."
-  Taisen Deshimaru

”If you want to find the answers to the Big Questions about your soul, you’d best begin with the Little Answers about your body.”
-  George Sheehan

"Isn't it really quite extraordinary to see that, since man took his first step, no one has asked himself why he walks, how he walks, if he has ever walked, if he could walk better, what he achieves in walking .. questions that are tied to all the philosophical, psychological, and political systems which preoccupy the world."
-  Honoré de Balzac, Theorie de la Demarché   

Walking: Quotations, Sayings, Facts, Lore, Poetry.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.   

Somatic Practices for Health, Well-Being and Mindfulness

"Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains of the moon.

Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
An horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known."
-  J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

A Yoga Routine for Diabetics

Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing  By Timothy McCall, M.D. and Yoga Journal.  Bantam, 2007.  592 pages.  ISBN: 0553384066.  VSCL.  Diabetes discussed on pages 281-298.  This sequence of asanas for diabetics was suggested by the Yoga Master Sandra Summerfield Kozak.  

 

1.  Kapalabhati Breathing 
2.  Alternate Nostril Breathing  (Nadi Shodhana) 
3.  Mindfulness Meditation
4.  Modified Sun Salutations
5.  Cobra Pose  (Bhujangasana) 
6.  Locust Pose  (Salabasana) 
7.  Seated Forward Bend  (Paschimottanasana) 
8.  Tree Pose  (Vrksasana) 
9.  Triangle Pose  (Trikonsasana) 
10.  Warrior I  (Virabhadrasana I) 
11.  Warrior II  (Virabhadrasana II) 
12.  Extended Side Angle Pose  (Utthita Parsvakonasana) 
13.  Standing Twist  (Marichyasana) 
14.  Bridge Pose  (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) 
15.  Seated Twist 
16.  Alligator Twist  (Jathara Parivartasana) 
17.  Relaxation Pose  (Savasana) 
Practice Karma Yoga (Serving, Volunteering, Helping, Giving, Sharing)   

My Diabetes Management Program for 2014

Yoga Routine for Diabetics

Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing  By Timothy McCall, M.D. and Yoga Journal.  Bantam, 2007.  592 pages.  ISBN: 0553384066.  VSCL.  Diabetes discussed on pages 281-298.  This sequence of asanas for diabetics was suggested by the Yoga Master Sandra Summerfield Kozak.  

 

1.  Kapalabhati Breathing 
2.  Alternate Nostril Breathing  (Nadi Shodhana) 
3.  Mindfulness Meditation
4.  Modified Sun Salutations
5.  Cobra Pose  (Bhujangasana) 
6.  Locust Pose  (Salabasana) 
7.  Seated Forward Bend  (Paschimottanasana) 
8.  Tree Pose  (Vrksasana) 
9.  Triangle Pose  (Trikonsasana) 
10.  Warrior I  (Virabhadrasana I) 
11.  Warrior II  (Virabhadrasana II) 
12.  Extended Side Angle Pose  (Utthita Parsvakonasana) 
13.  Standing Twist  (Marichyasana) 
14.  Bridge Pose  (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) 
15.  Seated Twist 
16.  Alligator Twist  (Jathara Parivartasana) 
17.  Relaxation Pose  (Savasana) 
Practice Karma Yoga (Serving, Volunteering, Helping, Giving, Sharing)   

My Diabetes Management Program for 2012