weightloss and diabetes??? possible??

I need to lose alot of weight according to my dr. She never said how to go about it. That's nice huh?

I have diabetes and have had alot of heart problems(attacks, blockages,angina,ect...) now I found out that I have 2 new blockages in my legs,(very painful walking), however I have been told to get the weight off. Any ideas on where to start?

I have a treadmill and try to walk 30 minutes a day but it gets pretty rough sometimes. My husband doesn't seem to understand that it is a "live or not live" situation now. He eats and watches t.v. and then fusses about the noise of the treadmill. I have to start somewhere but where?

My story is similar to yours.  I started by counting calories.  I set my goal with the help of this site and I have steadily been losing weight and I got to drop my Actos prescription for diabetes after a month.  I do not know how much you need to lose but I needed to lose 145 pounds.  I only need to lose 109 pounds now.  My doctor said to set my goals to attainable levels.  She said my exercise should pick up as I continue to lose weight.  I document every bite I eat on this site and I document my weight.  I can see where to much salt or to much fat will slow my weight loss.  I love the graphics.  I have read where other people have set up their own graphics.  The only thing I use that is not on the site is a blood sugar chart.  I chart my blood sugars at 6 different times in the day.  My doctor loves this chart when I bring it in.  I keep notes on it also about how I feel and if I have had too many carbs.

Thanks for the reply robann.

I need to lose about 80 pounds. My dr has me on lantus shots(once a day) and glipizide before two meals aday. Yuck!!!! I still don't have energy and if I eat my sugars go up and make me feel like fainting. When is a good time for exercise if I feel like this. All the diabetes drugs are new to me. And confusing... 

How did you get started with the workouts?

Workouts are a lot of hassle, I have no energy . . . lotsa happy pills for that stuff.

I go to the store and just stroll around - even if you feel like you are just piddling around it is actually about 2mph and you can find and log it on this site.

For your arms (I LOVE this one), we all have that horrible flabby underarm . . . grab a pop can if your really weak, or a medium sized juice bottle if you can handle it. Sit with your knees spread, arms straight at all times, and lift the bottle from your knees until it is straight out in front of you. Do this realllll slow, about 10 times, holding the bottle out from your body for about 10 seconds. Build up to it if you need to.

 The whole idea about building muscle is to move slowly.

Dance around while your cooking, or just rock back and forth . . . . you may get sea sick, but my brother does this and he has a bit of a belly - but his butt and thighs are awesome.

Talk to your doctor about your lack of energy too, it could be because of a few different things; depression, ADD, Chronic Fatigue, etc. They didn't discover that I was ADD until I was 25 . . . . and that pill is awesome, I am awake for the first time in my life!

Have you talked to a dietitian yet? Depending on what and when you are eating may affect your sugar. Keep at a minimum of 130g carbs and protein a day, not much over that though either - carbs make your sugar skyrocket and protein slows your metabolism. You know to stay away from candy, juice, and heavy drinks (alcohol, hot coco, flavored milks, cappuccino).

You know, now that I am dieting I have this super weird time during the evening when I get super hyper. My sugar only needs to be below 200 and I need to have stayed away from food for around 6hrs. You should eat around 6 times a day, small meals of course . . . . but it is supposed to help you lose too.

You watching your sodium right? Don't forget to add those diet pops in, around 35mg of sodium in them per can.

Hey, check out http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/article/stre ngth_training_for_obese_people.html 

You can also find it under Exercise, Beginner's Corner - Strength training for obese people here in the site. U don even have to get off the couch! I'ma start it tomorrow.

Following aresome sites that have useful information and might be helpful on different strategies. (Also why lose one problem just to gain another?)  http://www.gicare.com/index.htm  (changing ones diet can have some drastic side affects for some- this site might give you ideas to counteract possible long term problems in a non damaging way.)

http://www.mendosa.com/index.html  This is an excellent resource if you plan to use the web to research current and previous diabetic recommendations.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/Da vid_Spero

sometimes someonelses coping give insight to ones own problems

try hard to MEASURE your food. Buy a scale with grams -smaller measure and also an international scientific standard so it makes looking things up easier- less conversion to oz or whatever.  It's surprising how many people are actually guessing rather than KNOWING. ( one assumes packed foods and their weights are fairly accurate -like with the microwavable frozen meals)  It is very upsetting to realize how  inaccurate volume measures can be with stuff that "settles" during shipment.  There is enough inaccuracies with deciding what foods listed is actually what you ate without errors YOU make by not weighing EVERYTHING. 

 Good electronic scales run between $20 to $40.  Well worth the price if you are serious about counting calories.  Electronic ones with a Tare(zeroing) function would be the best. You will be using it every day,so get good quality. It is the ONLY way to know you are not guessing. Knowing that cheese will add 300 calories may mean you eat less of it or savour every crumb since another you would rather use the 300 calories of another helping for something else, say 200 for ice cream and 100 for chocolate sauce..   I have found by measuring everything one gets to have an idea how much every portion of food will add up and as a result when away from food scales ther is better control. The other nice thing - it DOES allow you treats and favourites - just add its calories into your diet, and compensate with healthier foods (add an extra carrot, chose a bigger pear, have whole grain rather than white bread, etc).  Knowing you can eat that treat as long as you make up for it by eating healthier the next few days will allow better self control- after all it is not what you eat THAT day that counts as much as what you eat over time that determines  weight or what damage your sugars make permanently. check out http://www.salterhousewares.com/to get an idea of what top quality kitchen scales can be like. the easier you make it for yourself to count calories, the more you are likely to count accurately rather than guess. the tare function makes for ease- less adding and subtracting to make for errors.

  My husband was recently diagnosed diabetic (the doctor had been checking so it was caught very early)- he was happy that been accurate was working well for him to change food habits. At 1 to 2 lbs a week and 120 yet to go , encouragement  it's working by using CC from the start is very useful. Its important he feels he can have treats- A diet without favourites is an unpleasant medical reminder with every mouthful.  Counting helps him postpone the treat to when he really wants it, and the knowledge he CAN indulge more often once he reaches his weight goal is a great incentive to reach the goal. He still feels he's living to eat rather than eating to live. He is not claiming its easy, for he does find too often he is feeling hungry. the downfall of all dieters since its not an easy feeling to ignore if there is food all around you. But after four months and a 20 lb weight loss that just plateaued rather than gained at Christamas he feels he will eventually get to his goal.  One encouraging thing I can mention is he found he could lose the weight without additional exercise. (CC's recomendations did not have to be twerked )  he plans to return to excersing at an aerobic level once he is a bit less busy since it also really helps his arthritis. the weight loss was closer to 2 pounds a week with exercise. (He knows the excercising would allow him more food-less hungry feelings- he knows that makes him irritable like his sugars do)   Just diet control mainly was 1 lb. a week. Lots of unmeasured eating with Christmas meant a plateau.

Wiccan,

I'm in the same boat.  I'm diabetic and need to lose over 100 lbs.  Losing is sooo slow!  I don't know your situation, but I joined a gym with a pool (ladies only).  It was an expense to join, but I can do exercises in the water that I would never be able to do otherwise.  Even just walking or paddling around burns mega calories because of the water resistance.  I don't get tired of it like I do regular exercises.  It is certainly worth a try!

Wiccan,

I second the pool option.  I've lost 106 pounds following my diabetic meal plan and doing exercises in the water.  I had a back problem and when I started all I could really do was walk in the water.  Now I do exercises, swim, and jog. 

Ask your doctor about a referral to a dietitian.  It may be fully covered by your insurance (mine was) and I meet with her every three months.

Lisa

OMG!!! you all are so helpful. Thank you!!!

As for insurance....I was on medicaid but then my husband got a small pay raise and they cut everyone off except for my children. Now we have to pay for insilin, needles, 3 heart pills, pain pills, water pills, and now a diabetic pill too, right out of our pocket. It's alot.

I did see a dietatian but they don't see you more than once when on medicaid. What was sad about the whole thing was that she was worse off than me and I felt confussed about how she can preach but not practice her own class.

I have a treadmill that I can no longer use. I developed blockages in both my main ateries of my upper leggs and it causes alot of pain and weakness. The drs won't remove them because of the money thing. So I take the pain pills and try to walk around the apt as much as I can. Sometimes I lose the feeling in my left foot after only walking for about 30 minutes. But I still try. I'll sit down, get the feeling back and get up and walk some more.

I would love to go back to some kind of job but not to many options out where I live. Most jobs here are physical labor and that is something I can no longer do. So I am learning how to sew better and hope to get good enough to work in an alteration shop or maybe sell a few pieces here and there.

It is wonderful to have someone to talk to about all this. My husband cares somewhat but doesn't get involved and other than him it is just my 4 kids. They care but are just as frustrated and confused as I am.

Thank you all again.