About a month ago I was diagnosed as insulin resistant (the precursor stage to Type II Diabetes), with elevated blood sugar and high cholesterol and triglycerides. My grandmother was diabetic so genetics probably plays a role, but I'm sure the fact I had put on 30 pounds since I quit smoking a year and a half ago also has a lot to do with this unwelcome development. And I'm now in my 50s, the age where the onset of diabetes most often occurs.

I now have to exercise more often and be very careful about what I eat, or I'll likely die from a heart attack or stroke or suffer kidney failure in the not-too-distant future (I've also been put on 40mg of Lipitor daily to reduce my cholesterol level). Luckily, I've never really been a big red meat eater, and I have no sweet tooth at all, but I do have a real weakness for fried and salty foods.

My wife and I met with a nutritionist a few weeks ago, who laid out some meal planning options. Basically this entails three balanced meals every day with small portions of meat and starch/sugar and lots of salad and vegetables and whole grains, plus occasional healthy snacks. Fat and salt must be kept to a minimum, and therefore so must fast food. And I've had to drastically cut back on beer (that's probably been hardest), switching to a glass of wine with dinner each night.

I thought I would hate this diet (which I first derided as rabbit food) and that I'd go to bed starving every night, but now I'm finding I really like it and also that it's pretty filling. I don't have a lot of time to cook weeknight evenings since I don't even get home until at least 7:30 at night after my family has eaten, but I'm getting into the habit of preparing what I can ahead of time during the weekend (like cooking a batch of turkey meatballs or black beans & rice, steaming a couple of bunches of asparagus and marinating them in low-fat vinaigrette, chopping up raw broccoli and carrots to eat with my lunch at work each day, making a few portions of lean beef stew etc.). What I'm finding now is that the greens and other raw veggies in salads actually taste better without being drenched in dressing, steamed vegetables are amazing without butter or hollandaise all over them, soups and stews have more subtlety without a lot of salt in them, even sliced chicken sandwiches are tasting better on whole-grain bread with just a spray of infused olive oil instead of gobs of mayo. I even found a brand of soy burgers that taste really good on my whole wheat English muffins with lettuce, tomato and onion. In the mornings I usually just have plain yogurt mixed with some fresh fruit and whole grain cereal (yum), where I used to eat nothing. Snacks are typically a small whole wheat pita smeared with a little herb-flavored hommus and a green apple or banana. I just got a cookbook of diabetic recipes and I'm looking forward to trying a few of those.

After three weeks on my regimen I've lost four pounds and have a higher energy level (I'm also walking 30 minutes every day or riding my bike when weather permits). And I really don't miss most of the high-fat junk I used to eat either, although I do crave fried oysters and barbecue ribs now and again.

I know a lot of the folks in the orchard are already vegetarians or at least careful about their diet, but the reason I'm posting this is just to encourage anyone who eats a lot of junk because they think healthy food is horribly bland to consider switching to a low-fat diet and just stick with it for a couple of weeks to give your tongue a chance to adjust. The preparation and cooking doesn't require a lot of time, and you'll not only feel better and possibly avoid some preventable health problems, you'll also be pleasantly surprised at how good everything tastes without lots of fat and salt added to it!

Huzzah! You're officially a foodie! Welcome to the club, Keith!
~m

Man, you're my hero Keith! I've been eating better for about 6 weeks now (only fell off the wagon a couple of times) and I am loving it too. The longer I do this, the easier it is for me to make better choices about what to eat and how much and when, etc. Plus I'm riding the stationary bike I keep on the back porch, which I do while gazing lovingly at my beautiful gardens.

Glad to see you taking care of yourself. I'd have to kill you if you died.

Hurrah for you Keith,
Doesn't it make you feel SO GOOD when you know you've made the choice to get healthy? Like Belly said, the longer you keep at it the easier it becomes.
And falling off the wagon isn't the end of the world either, now that you know the secret.
OK...one more cliche:
Nothing succeeds like success.
I'm proudaya, luv.
xo

I want to do that too! I don't know where to start. It must take a bunch of planning ahead. How are you able to eat out? Was your nutritionist expensive?

Two visits with the nutritionist is mostly covered by my insurance, since I've been medically diagnosed as insulin resistant. I go back in a couple of weeks with my meal log for follow-up. I think I'd be paying a couple of hundred bucks otherwise.

You can get some good basic information on meal planning at the Harvard Public Health site here, their advice pretty much corresponds with what my nutritionist is telling me in terms of my diet, except she's also recommending cutting back on vegetable oil and salt as much as possible too because my blood lipids are high and I need to avoid developing high blood pressure.

The basic idea is to eat a balanced meal at each sitting that's low in fat (especially saturated fat), starch and sugars and high in complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits and whole grains), which help keep your blood sugar on an even keel and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and other circulation ailments. The high fiber content of those foods also helps ward off cancer and reduce intestinal disease. If you go to Burger King and order a Whopper with no mayo or cheese and a side salad with lowfat dressing instead of fries, you're not doing too badly, although it's still more fat and starch and less fruit/vegetables than you ideally want in any single meal. Same thing when you go out to a real restaurant, heavy up on the salad and vegetables, and eat only small portions of red meat (if any), potatoes, white rice, bread and high fat/sugar desserts.

It does take a little planning, but once you get a feel for the right balance of food types you need in each meal, it's just a matter of going to the market a couple of times a week especially to keep stocked up on fresh fruits and vegetables -- most are not nearly as enjoyable after they've been sitting in your refrigerator for a week or more.

now eating: tuna salad on a wrap and mixed raw vegetables

The best website for nutrtional information that I've found...

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/calories-burned.php

and some others...
http://www.afcsushi.com/pages/nutrition.html
http://www.elviradarknight.com/diabetes/chinesefood.html
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000020.html
http://www.nutritional-information.info/
http://www.cassclay.com/ice_nut.html
http://www.drinksmixer.com/

~fff

yay!!! keith!
wooooooooowho~
so, so glad you are taking care of you
d
xo
i know you like to play with your food
you may wanna try these veggie cookcooks: these are my faves:

any of the moosewood books
Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites : Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...5549587-3923849

the greens restaurant cookbooks
The Greens Cookbook : Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine From The Celebrated Restaurant
by DEBORAH MADISON, EDWARD ESPE BROWN
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846


and my fave:
The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 Authentic French Regional Recipes
by Marlena Spieler
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846

Moosewood does indeed rule. Word!

Word up, homey. Also, don't forget The Farm Cookbook for awesome vegan recipes.

Screw veganism ... you gotta eat!

I'm so glad this thread is here! Also, Keith, I cannot commend you enough on deciding to make a change for your health, and doing it. I'm sure your body and your family will be glad you did.

I think I still have the original Moosewood vegetarian cookbook that I bought many years ago in the attic somewhere. I remember I found a few recipes I really liked in there.

Thanks for all the advice and well wishes, guys! Back to the nutritionist with my meal log tonight, I hope she doesn't whip me (actually she's quite attractive, maybe it wouldn't be so bad... ).

My dentist does that, and my HMO NEVER picks that up. But ... something I don't mind paying out of pocket for!

the original moosewood cookbook, iirc, has many really fatty recipes. but the zuccanoes! YUM!

my favorite vegetarian cookbook is vegetarian cooking for everyone by deborah madison. i think the recipes are healthy and she doesn't assume everyone is veg, which definitely has a different vibe to it.

Update: I lost 5 pounds so far, and the nutritionist was very satisfied with my diet (darn!).

yay!!!! ::claps loudly and enthusiastically::
mwah
d

I have a real drive to eat healthier myself right now. And I started running everywhere I usually walk (or at least walk at a faster pace). Considering I seem to walk at least two miles over the course of an average day, that should really start dropping the pounds, and make me feel better.