I've been a controlled diabetic by diet and exercise alone since 2007. A few months ago, due to circumstances, I stopped exercising on a daily basis, then became stressed, then ate wrong, things started getting out of control for the first time in a long time. It was not easy to regroup myself to start doing things the right way. As soon as I lost control, it is as though my will completely changed, and it was a real mental challenge to start over and discipline myself.

I put myself on a raw vegetables only diet on January 2nd. By the 3rd day, I thankfully, had everything under control again. I also had gained about 20 pounds over the last few years, and now have half of that off again. On this, the 10th day, I'm feeling very positive, I've gotten over the hump and I'll be ok again, and I'm realizing now, getting control of diabetes takes a tremendous mental attitude.

I don't plan to stay on the raw diet beyond one month, and will keep myself on whole fresh foods only, as I had been doing until my downfall. I still haven't returned to daily exercise yet, will be within a few days, as life is returning to normal.

My raw vegetables are all chopped each evening, and then put into 4 Tupperware dishes for the next day. I weighed each dish out of curiosity, and it turns out I'm eating 3.5 pounds per day.

I'm sharing this to keep myself strong, but I'm also sharing this, as I know many are struggling and that it isn't easy to get started or restarted, but I'm here to share that with discipline and determination, diabetes can be controllable, and don't give up on the starts or restarts.

My BG levels are now in the 80s' during the day, about 130 an hour and a half after eating and my FBGs' are in the 90s'. No meds or supplements of any kind. Besides the raw diet, I do drink about 1/2 gallon of Pu'er tea each day.

Glad to hear you are back on something that works for you.

There's diabetes on both sides of my family. That keeps me on track!

"A number of clinical trials have now shown that a vegan, or mostly vegan, diet can lower body weight, reduce blood sugar, and improve other parameters for type 2 diabetes." ~ Jack Norris, RD

I started the Vegan diet, thinking, this will help me with quick weight loss based on all I've heard about the diet. When my weight drops, then I'll be able to control my BG again. To my surprise, my BG was controlled much quicker than I first thought, and before I had any appreciable weight loss.

Now, three days later, my numbers are still dropping. Today, I had blood work done, and received full results. Other than my A1C being high due to most of the last 90 days being out of control, everything else was in perfect range. This mornings FBG was 89. I mentioned in my opening post that I am controlled by diet and exercise alone. To explain more clearly and truthfully, I do not even supplement with vitamins or minerals, and haven't done so in well over 6 months. As for the last few months that my BG was out of control, I did begin using herbs almost daily and metformin on occasions, but now, I've discontinued doing that.

In spite of eating wrongly, I also ate rightly, let me explain: My wife makes sure I have balanced nutrition and prepares over 95% of my meals at home. My only imbalance was my sneaking away and eating mostly snacks which were unhealthy and drinking beer & margaritas.

I'm starting back on daily exercise tomorrow morning, as this in combination with a proper diet is what kept me controlled without medications for all these past 7 years.

I want to state that as of this morning, I've lost 11 pounds in 12 days. I'm continuing the vegan diet through this month, then I'll go back to the diet that worked for me for so long.

I appreciate the compliments when anyone gives me recognition, but this is not my reason for posting. I've learned a lot from these threads, and have received and found lots of support and encouragement. I feel this forum is truly a place where people can come together and learn from each other's experiences. This forum is very much under utilized, and not nearly recognized enough for the great help that it is. All praise goes to this forum, not anything that I have to say. I'm merely doing what I learned here, which is sharing my experiences so that others may get encouraged to go out, experiment and find what works for them and then share their experiences here with all of us.

I'm glad to hear your vegan diet is working for you.

Hi, I'm a new member, this is my first post.
I was diagnosed in June 2013.
I weighed 227lbs with an Hba1c of 175.
I now weigh 149lbs as at this morning, and my last Hba1c taken on monday the 10th was 104.
I use diet and exercise to control my diabetes
I want it lower of course.
Please I am interested in the vegan diet Cajunboy47 mentioned
If its not too much bother, could you give a bit more details?
What vegetables do you eat?
What do you eat for protein?
Thanks.

PG. 101 of Bernstein talks about the Chinese Food Effect. My question about the food you are eating is the amount. Could that be why your readings are 130ish 90 minutes after eating?

If I an right damage is done at 140ish.

I had good success eating vegan for about 6 weeks, but ultimately I could not sustain it.

This may be a good way to get things back together. Like anything YMMV.

If I'm way off base please disregard, I mean no harm.

"I had good success eating vegan for about 6 weeks, but ultimately I could not sustain it. ... Could that be why your readings are 130ish 90 minutes after eating?
" ~ Newlowc

Why could you not sustain it? What does YMMV mean?

I don't really concern myself about numbers, such as asking why this result or that result. Beyond checking to know where the BG numbers are, I don't concern myself. I don't stress over achieving a certain number. I just begin eating in a way that I know achieves control and stick with it.

As for the Chinese food effect; my wife is Chinese and a TCM Doctor. She will not eat the typical foods served in a Chinese restaurant or even eat in a Chinese buffet restaurant here in the USA. Her advice is don't go eat in a Chinese Restaurant here in the USA, especially if you are diabetic. That idea of picking and choosing and not stuffing yourself won't work. Don't torture yourself and ruin your health by doing that.

Think about this:

I have very close Chinese friends that own a Chinese buffet restaurant. They won't even eat the food they serve to their customers. They cook real Chinese food for themselves. They would allow me to eat for free 3 times a day if I wished to do so, and I politely do not go there to eat.

Details: Volume is not static. I eat till I feel full, but it does seem to average about 4 pounds per day. Variety is the answer more than anything else. Typically, in a month, I eat over a 100 vegetables.

Here's what my wife recommends for balanced nutrition for everyone. She says; don't chase your health by eating a certain way, eat variety and moderation always, no matter what your health is like. Without balanced nutrition, you can only tilt the scales from one end to another (the see-saw effect). Start eating right and let the body's health catch up to the diet, but you have to really understand TCM nutrition to accomplish this. Here is a simple view:

All foods come in 5 colors and 5 flavors

Colors: red, white, green, black and yellow
Flavors: sweet & sour, salty & spicy, & bitter

Eat moderately from all the colors and flavors and eat as wide a variety as possible. Balanced health is more easily attained this way than any other way.

I've learned, when eating right from all food groups that eating; 75% of my diet from plant based foods is good, with 75% of my plant based foods from greens, with 50% of my plant based foods being eaten raw. Animal/seafood proteins are kept to an average of about 4 ounces per day (not per meal). Some days 10 or 12 ounces, some days none. But, a lot of protein can be derived from plant based foods, especially tofu & all kinds of beans. In my normal eating I have one egg minimum each day, sometimes one in the morning and one in the evening...

Since 2007, I don't eat anything in a box or can. We don't buy frozen. We don't worry if it is organic or not, but we do wash our fruits and vegetables thoroughly after having let them soak a good while.

I'm just sharing (details) about what I've learned to do... At my worst, my BG was about 500, and my A1C was once over 12. My total weight has stayed at least 50 pounds under my starting weight of about 235 which was a couple of years before I ever came to this forum. I did lose a total of over 75 pounds, but have put a few pounds back on in the last 3 or 4 years. I've been diabetic since 1997, was on 8 prescription medicines, walked with a cane for a couple of years before I knew diabetes could be controlled.

I had and made the following health issues become NON-Issues by following my wife's health way:

Diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, sexual dysfunction, GERDS, snoring, hemorrhoids, restless leg syndrome, lethargic thinking, memory loss, arthritis throughout my body, insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

All of that and I was on 8 prescription medications (western medicine). My wife got me off of all meds in 7 to 10 days and put me on 17 herbs which she formulated into precise amounts, capsulized them and started me on a regimen of 10 capsules three times daily, then after 4 months weaned me down till about the 6th month I was off of all herbs on a daily basis. From that time back in 2007, I've been medicine free and only supplement vitamins & herbs occasionally, but I haven't supplemented vitamins in almost a year and my blood results are still very good, so I don't need vitamins for now.

But, starting today, I'm back to full force Vegan dieting, and my goal is to do it until my birthday in July, and I know there will be some deviations on occasions.

By the way; in January, I ate only vegan, and I lost 14 pounds for the month and I've kept 10 pounds of it off, did gain back 4 when I went off of vegan for the Chinese New Year (2 weeks long) and Mardi Gras season.

Didn't mean to write a book, but if we monitor ourselves, there is no reason we should not really test ourselves with different diets and push ahead till we find good results for ourselves....

I plan to add photos somewhere in this forum of what I eat, but first I need to relearn how to post photos...

Cajunboy, I think it's fantastic that you've got back to a healthier way of eating! Can I ask what vegetables you are eating everyday?

I started following Dr. B about 7 years ago and lost weight and brought my BG under control, exercised daily but then I was hit with bursitis in the hips twice and that derailed my exercise and then I got sloppy following a strict LC eating plan and gained weight back. Well, I'm getting back on track eating the way I did and slowly getting back to exercise although I have to do lots of stretching and can't do the strenuous activity I did before. I'm taking metformin in the mornings now, too - which is ok with me.

It's great that you haven't given up. I never thought about going vegetarian in helping to lose weight, that's why I was wondering about exactly what you're eating.

Keep it up!

YMMV = your mileage may vary.

The chinese effect= Berstein talks about the dangers of eating a high volume of food, driving up blood sugar.

~CalicoPaws

If it grows in the ground and is classified as a vegetable, I eat it. I am trying to eat 50%-75% raw vegetables. If you have vegetables of concern, you list it, and I'll tell you my approach to it. Example: Potatoes - I eat it when it is included in a cooked mixed vegetable dish. The quantity is 1/4 or less of a medium potato, and it is usually mixed with 5 to 8 other vegetables of which half or more are on the low end of the glycemic index. I always keep in mind low quantity when eating starchy or root vegetables, but I don't avoid any vegetable.

------------------------------------------------------------------
This morning I had a raw salad and a cooked dish:

Salad: red cabbage, chayote, avocado, yellow onion, green and red sweet peppers, and radish. My dressing was homemade onion/garlic/peppers that were sautéed down to practically water, then a dash of olive oil added, a few tablespoons of squeezed lemon juice, apinch of sea salt and the salad was tossed in that to create light flavor to blend it all together.

Cooked dish: Babby Bok-Choy, white onions, garlic, medium tofu stir fried in a wok, with red pepper seed oil and just a little dash of soy sauce, & Chinese vinegar.

I also had a side dish of homemade soft tofu with a dash of sesame oil & red pepper & garlic homemade sauce.

My drink was made in a bean drink machine which consisted of soy & mung beans, peal barley, & peanuts. A 3 ounce mix which makes 4 - 8 ounce drink servings.

Cajun boy!

Good to see you back. I was so inspired by your old threads that I read them all to my friend who is diabetic. SHE was so inspired she started researching on her own and was able to follow a lot of your general principals as well.

She keeps her blood sugar stable and always below 110 and usually in the high 80s. She is off all medications. Did I mention she is 75?

You were a great inspiration back in the day and I wanted you to know!

Thanks for the descriptions of what you're eating! I have to say that I just don't keep potatoes in the house - since my husband doesn't care to eat them, it doesn't matter. I do eat most other vegetables including leafy greens both raw and cooked. I'm not counting carbs but I am still very low-carb and do not eat any food with grain flour or sugar. As I've been on a weight plateau for awhile, I'm hoping that with the exercise I can now do will help me nudge more weight off.

I appreciate your compliment... This forum is best served by us sharing our experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly...

Summary of 2014 thus far:

In January, I regained my foothold on health, reclaiming good blood glucose control. I lost 14 pounds in January, and in the month of February and March, regained 4 pounds. However, Yesterday, I started back following a vegan diet. This time, instead of doing one month, my goal is to follow a vegan diet plan until my birthday on July 11th... This means I'll be doing 105 days of Vegan...

I'm sure there will be a few days here and there where my plan may fail, but my best effort will be to be on target 95% of the time. After all, its only 105 days.

I've been planning the restart of Vegan dieting for the past week, and spending time soliciting the support of my family (4 of us in the household). I've let them know the importance of this to me, how easily I can be side tracked, my goals for my health from now until my birthday, and how I prefer encouragement to come in the form of just not talking to me about food, not flattering me on my appearance, just treating me and what I'm doing as normal and let me go about my business.

My wife has agreed that I will have my steady supply of about 4 pounds of raw vegetables prepared daily, and that every 2 or 3 days, I'll be requesting some cooked vegetables with tofu. My wife, being a TCM Doctor, knows how to keep my nutrition balanced throughout this Vegan phase. After my birthday, I'll be resuming my wife's way for health, which is variety and moderation without the exclusion of any food group.

I don't look at this form of eating as a deprivation, and I think keeping an outlook of; "This is normal, everything else is not normal" is important. For the 105 days, this is what is important, this is what I need, this is what I will do to prove to myself, I'm in control of my health and that I've got the ability to do it.

I am not supplementing anything during this time. I plan to drink lots of Chinese tea and water. I will drink bean drinks every few days starting in a week or so. We make bean drinks with many various types of beans, nuts, seeds, and grains and we make it in a soy bean milk making machine.

For the first month, I will not include any fruits in my diet, but will add them in at the end of April. I know that after 30 days or so, the motivation will get lax, so I'll reward myself with fruits and berries to keep the motivation energies working for me.

About the foods I eat, and my posting photos. I had not published a photo in a while, forgot how to do it and I tried, but can't figure it out. If anyone can give me simple explanations on how to post food photos, let me know.

Good luck with your new way of eating. You in the past have been an inspiration to me too.