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  #31   ^
Old Tue, Jul-29-08, 20:18
fifi_2008's Avatar
fifi_2008 fifi_2008 is offline
New Member
Posts: 22
 
Plan: dietician where i work at
Stats: 360/354/200 Female 67
BF:
Progress:
Default

my dietician is against the Atkins diet. and says that the carbs that i am on is reasonable. she also said that goin low carb is not a good idea if i am going on metformin. so would u guys please help me figure out what to eat and how to shop for food bc i keep falling back into the same trap over and over again. and i dont know what to eat or what to do or how to cook. ive changed my butters and oils. and she said that the reason why she doesnt like the atkins diet is because it is low in carbs and high in fats, the bad fats u dont need. now im confused and i dont know what to do. i feel like just goin back to what i normally eat and just say the heck with it. any ideas? im open to all ideas.
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  #32   ^
Old Tue, Jul-29-08, 21:49
lowcarbUgh's Avatar
lowcarbUgh lowcarbUgh is offline
Dazed and Confused
Posts: 2,927
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/132/135 Female 5'10
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Flip-flop, FL
Default

Fifi, if I had listened to dietitians, I would be dead by now. Maybe you would like the South Beach Diet? It is lower in fat than Atkins and generally accepted by medical professionals as not dangerous.

I would suggest going to the bookstore or library and finding the book called "The South Beach Diet." It would give you many of the benefits of Atkins. You can't let a dietitian tell you how to live your life. HTH.

----
PS: these Google ads are freaky. I just saw one for Macy's on Elizabeth Arden concealer and this thread is about dark skin on neck!
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  #33   ^
Old Tue, Jul-29-08, 23:07
CantEven's Avatar
CantEven CantEven is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 274
 
Plan: Bernstein
Stats: 285/275/135 Female 5'3"
BF:baby's got back
Progress: 7%
Location: Seattle Metro
Default

My personal belief is that fats (w/exception of trans-fats) are not the cause of heart disease. Carbohydrates are far more dangerous to a diabetic. However, how many carbs daily will differ from person to person. In general, the more aggressive you want to be with battling this illness, the lower your carb intake should be. I wouldn't go over the zone in macronutrients (40/30/30) and if you want low carb and still stick with a lower fat intake as mentioned - The South Beach Diet is a good choice.

My two cents,
~Daniele
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  #34   ^
Old Wed, Jul-30-08, 07:44
fifi_2008's Avatar
fifi_2008 fifi_2008 is offline
New Member
Posts: 22
 
Plan: dietician where i work at
Stats: 360/354/200 Female 67
BF:
Progress:
Default

thank you all for your advice...this whole week i have been so depressed about what to do. what made me worry was because i had to go to the doctor last week for the second time because my hands were losing feeling, and hurting. they would keep me up all night long. the doctor from the ER told me that i would have to go to my regular doctor asap to get somebloodwork because it could be carpel tunnel or......diabetic neurapathy. im not on any surgar pill. i dont know what to do because the sugar pill makes my stomach hurt. gives me headaches, all the symptoms that you get on metformin. and they said it was temporary, but it was like that for a whole year. what should i do? is there another sugar pill that they could put me on? and is it possible for sugar to effect your teeth and gums because where all of my wisdom teeth have been removed 5 years ago it started hurting latel...could it be related? the problem is that i no longer have ANY wisdom teeth
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  #35   ^
Old Wed, Jul-30-08, 08:03
Josiemk's Avatar
Josiemk Josiemk is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,195
 
Plan: Mod Atkins
Stats: 170/162/110 Female 5 ft
BF:
Progress: 13%
Location: Marion, Texas
Default

Fifi ,
I also wanted to ad that you should see a dermatologist about removing the discoloration , now that you know how to prevent it. Plus make sure you wear a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 if your going to be out in the sun & on days when you are only out for a short time wear SPF of 15.
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  #36   ^
Old Wed, Jul-30-08, 08:11
lowcarbUgh's Avatar
lowcarbUgh lowcarbUgh is offline
Dazed and Confused
Posts: 2,927
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/132/135 Female 5'10
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Flip-flop, FL
Default

Fifi, you need to know what your blood sugars are! All diabetics test with glucose meters and if you don't have one, you need to buy one ASAP. There are all sorts of medications for diabetes, but going on a low carb diet will bring your sugars down and make you feel better. The pain in your hands is probably from having high blood sugar and a lot worse things can happen if you don't do something about it. Having uncontrolled blood sugar can cause you go blind and lose your kidneys.

Make a doctor's appointment, test your blood sugar, cut back the carbs and test. You'll be amazed how much your blood sugar will go down just that from cutting carbs.
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  #37   ^
Old Mon, Aug-04-08, 16:36
fifi_2008's Avatar
fifi_2008 fifi_2008 is offline
New Member
Posts: 22
 
Plan: dietician where i work at
Stats: 360/354/200 Female 67
BF:
Progress:
Default

omg you guys...it has got darker since i last talked to you. what am i going to do. i work in public at the hospital and i dont want people to think im dirty. im so embarrased and ashamed.
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  #38   ^
Old Mon, Aug-04-08, 16:58
lowcarbUgh's Avatar
lowcarbUgh lowcarbUgh is offline
Dazed and Confused
Posts: 2,927
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/132/135 Female 5'10
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Flip-flop, FL
Default

Fifi, you desperately need to help yourself about your diabetes, your potential neuropathy, the weight that is keeping your sugars elevated. Having a dark spot may embarrass you, but diabetes will KILL you.

You don't sound very serious about taking care of your biggest problem which is diabetes. Wear a tank top under your clothes to cover your dark spot, or a t-shirt. But for heavens sake, get serious about your weight and blood sugar. You dark spot will get worse if you don't do something about your diabetes.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you really need to understand how serious this is.
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  #39   ^
Old Mon, Aug-04-08, 18:16
Lisa N's Avatar
Lisa N Lisa N is offline
Posts: 12,028
 
Plan: Bernstein Diabetes Soluti
Stats: 260/-/145 Female 5' 3"
BF:
Progress: 63%
Location: Michigan
Default

fifi, your profile shows that you have not read any books about low carb. Knowledge is your biggest weapon against diabetes and blood sugar related issues, and not the kind of knowledge that people hand you in a pamphlet.
Read, research, look at alternative points of view on the issue...become informed and become your own best advocate. You might be surprised to find out that not everyone believes that those 'bad' fats are really bad for you.

Some good sources to get you started:

Dr. Bernsteins Diabetes Solution (you can read parts of it online here
Protein Power
Good Calories, Bad Calories
The Great Cholesterol Con
www.thincs.com
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  #40   ^
Old Mon, Aug-04-08, 18:34
Daryl's Avatar
Daryl Daryl is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,427
 
Plan: ZC
Stats: 260/222/170 Male 5-10
BF:Huh?
Progress: 42%
Location: Texas
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by fifi_2008
my dietician is against the Atkins diet. and says that the carbs that i am on is reasonable. she also said that goin low carb is not a good idea if i am going on metformin. so would u guys please help me figure out what to eat and how to shop for food bc i keep falling back into the same trap over and over again. and i dont know what to eat or what to do or how to cook. ive changed my butters and oils. and she said that the reason why she doesnt like the atkins diet is because it is low in carbs and high in fats, the bad fats u dont need. now im confused and i dont know what to do. i feel like just goin back to what i normally eat and just say the heck with it. any ideas? im open to all ideas.


Sometimes we give too much credence to what doctors and dieticians have to say about things; remember, just because they graduated college doesn't mean they got A's.

Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, Atkins Diabetes Revolution, NeanderThin, The Paleo Diet, Protein Power Life Plan, and South Beach are all excellent books on eating well, and controlling most of the forces that wreck our health.

If banishing carbs frightens you, and embracing fat makes swoon, please read Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes. Better yet, read it and make your health care team read it. It goes into detail about why the diet your dietician is advising you to eat may be totally wrong, and that Dr Atkins quite likely was right.

Here's a great link to one of Taubes earlier articles, that may help you:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...8B63&sec=health
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  #41   ^
Old Tue, Aug-05-08, 09:29
LessLiz's Avatar
LessLiz LessLiz is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 6,938
 
Plan: who knows
Stats: 337/204/180 Female 67 inches
BF:100% pure
Progress: 85%
Location: Pacific NW
Default

It sounds like what you want is for your fairy godmother to wave a magic wand over you and solve all your problems. Hey, I'd like the same thing. But at some point an adult has to act like an adult, recognize there is no fairy godmother with a magic wand, and do what is necessary to solve her own problems.

That is what you are *not* doing -- taking the steps to solve your problem.

The skin on your neck is not going to get lighter until you lower your blood sugar levels. In fact, that discoloration is going to spread: if it isn't on them now it is going to be in your armpits, on your upper inner thighs, under your breasts, under your lips and above your chin, in the skin on your knuckles and on your inner elbows. If you continue to ignore the problem, it will continue to spread while your organs are destroyed by the sugar in your bloodstream. Your arteries and veins will also be destroyed by that sugar, and you will end up losing your toes or your feet or your legs. You will lose your eyes. And before you lose those body parts, you will be in continuous pain.

You have Type 2 diabetes. Your choices are to take responsibility for dealing with that or not. You have been told repeatedly here that you should be eating a low carb diet. You've been told why. You've had book recommendations that explain what to eat and why.

If you want your life to continue as it is now, do nothing. If you want to lead a healthy, active, comfortable life then quit whining and take some of the advice that's been offered.

Sorry to sound like a bitch, but you haven't seemed to have heard the message when people are nice about how they say it. I've been where you are now, but I chose not to stay in that place. You can make the same choice, but you have to be willing to do it and willing to pay the price to do it.
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  #42   ^
Old Tue, Aug-05-08, 10:52
chandbaby1's Avatar
chandbaby1 chandbaby1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 750
 
Plan: PPLPish<30ecc.
Stats: 180/165/150 Female 5 foot 5 inches
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Boston
Default

Quote:
You can make the same choice, but you have to be willing to do it and willing to pay the price to do it


Well said Lessliz!!

Fifi darling you have PCOS and are suffering I can understand that since I went through this myself. I never knew what caused it and how to control or even that it is controllable until reading a lot of books and coming to these forums.

I am not your mother, sister or acquaintence at this time but I care for you deeply and all the people who are in the dark about their health. Doing any low carb diet will change your life for the good I promise. All these ladies who have posted above have taken time out to just support you and give you encouragement and knowledge without even knowing you. You must be soo lucky to get this advice since a lot of people end their whole life helplessly.
Please take the advice.

Last edited by chandbaby1 : Tue, Aug-05-08 at 11:00.
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  #43   ^
Old Wed, Aug-06-08, 04:55
syndrome x's Avatar
syndrome x syndrome x is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 59
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 425/335/200 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 40%
Location: gresham oregon
Default i am in the same boat

fifi - i have pcos which has progressed into syndrome x - if u ever look into pcos at all the first thing you will find is a list of symptoms - including skintags, dark skin, weight gain etc. - i am not a doctor but i have a good one and this is what has worked for me:

first my A1c was 7.0 that number tells u how much sugar has accumulated on ur blood cells instead of being processed - higher than 5 is not good (7.0 is definately not good)

my doctor gave me metphormin and an alpha blocker to protect my kidneys from the sugar. i took a diabetes class at my local hospital and that came with a free session with a dietician. in this class they tell you about the 'diabetic diet' which pretty much consists of 3 meals a day containing no more than 45g of carbs each and 2 snacks a day containing no more than 15g of carbs each. with this combo i began to lose weight, the darkened skin started to go away and i was feeling better.

but metphormin makes u feel kinda yucky sometimes and it gave me diarrhea for almost a year - not fun cuz i was already a very thirsty diabetic.

i quit taking the metphormin and still did the 'diabetic diet' and i started to gain weight again. which makes sense because metphormin lowers insulin immunity and without it i was back at square one. so i started doing atkins and my blood glucose lvls have been right around 100 everytime i test - which is super rare for me to EVER be near 100. not to mention that i have been losing 5 pounds a week every week since i started AND my dark skin on my neck and under my arms is lighter every day.

i definately agree with everyone else - you need to look into a REAL low carb diet and you need to educate youself on your health condition. it is very dangerous to have this kind of disease and not know what is going on and what you need to do to stop it. there were days before when i felt like i was going to die - and i probably would have if i hadn't educated myself. i hope that you will choose to also.

jem
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  #44   ^
Old Wed, Aug-06-08, 05:46
Scarlet's Avatar
Scarlet Scarlet is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,452
 
Plan: Gluten free wholefoods
Stats: 173/145/147 Female 5"4.5 inches
BF:37/?/25
Progress: 108%
Default

Fifi

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry you are going through all of this. I know it is so hard sometimes. I have PCOS too.

However I can tell you that you NEED to go on a low carb diet. Maybe you can even eat up to 80 carbs daily. You might be able to handle that. Who knows? However 200 carbs is WAY too much for anyone, especially a diabetic.

Honey you are already starting to have serious problems as a result of your diabetes such as the problems with your feet. Do you really want to lose a limb?

Again, I know it is so hard. However you would be better off leaving this clueless dietician who IS NOT HELPING YOU. Read any low carb plan, then do it. I can give you loads of websites with more information if you want.

Pick a plan, start a journal, start monitoring your blood sugars. You will get so much support here. Your weight will fall, your blood sugars will drop and your skin will get better. You will also feel so much better.

Thinking of you. Please start caring for yourself.
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  #45   ^
Old Thu, Aug-07-08, 14:05
ysabella's Avatar
ysabella ysabella is offline
Don't Call Me Sugar
Posts: 4,209
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 293/287/230 Female 65 inches
BF: :^( :^| :^)
Progress: 10%
Location: Auburn, WA
Default

Fifi, I have PCOS also, and I get the dark skin too. I'm not clear on this, are you going to try metformin again, or not? Metformin won't hurt you. Even if you're eating super low carb, metformin won't be a problem. It may end up being unnecessary, but it won't hurt anything.

Exercise is a very important tool. If you could take a walk every day it would be a great way to fight back against your PCOS. Some people feel that exercising in the morning (before eating) is the best, but whatever time you CAN take a walk is the best time.

It probably doesn't sound like a lot of fun. But at least nowadays we all understand what PCOS is and how to combat it. When I was a teenager I just got a lot of grief and doctors assuming I was lying about my diet and exercise, because the low-fat diets of the time made everything worse and harder for me. I wish I had the help of the people in this thread twenty years ago!
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