Hi! I just bought Dr. Bernstein's book yesterday on the advice of someone I met on another Board. I am a type two diabetic and was told by my Doctor to lose some weight. I am 5'2" tall and my staring weight was 148.5. I did the South Beach Diet for a week and now weight 141.5. However, I am now on a plateau. I feel that the SBD may not be safe for me and I decided to read Dr. Bernstein's book. Is this book mainly for type one diabetics or can type two diabetics like me get useful information also. I would like to get my weight down to 132. My weight ballooned up after my recent divorce as I am an emotional eater. The problem is that I try to eat enough to stable my blood sugar levels but when my level gets too low to where I start to shake, I eat the wrong foods, like cookies and soda to stablize.

Thanks!

Ilana

Hi Ilana and welcome to the forum!

Dr. Bernstein's book is for both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Although Dr. Bernstein is a type 1 diabetic himself, he treats both types in his practice.



Low carbing will definitely stabilize your blood sugar, but if you are taking medications for your blood sugar you will need to work closely with your doctor as the dosage will almost certainly need to be decreased. Dr. Bernstein has a lot of helpful information on what to do and what NOT to do if you find your blood sugars too low (eating cookies and drinking pop are not recommended). Quantity isn't necessarily what stabilizes your blood sugar...the quality of the food is what's important. I'll explain a bit more below.




How long has it been since you've lost either pounds or inches? A plateau or stall is defined as going 4-6 weeks without losing pounds or inches. From what I know of the first phase of the South Beach diet, it's very much like Atkins induction. I'm not sure that later phases would be appropriate for a diabetic, but it would depend on how many grams of carb you can tolerate per meal without experiencing too much of a rise in your blood sugars. You want to be below 140 one hour after eating and below 120 two hours after eating. Dr. Bernstein stresses keeping your blood sugars as stable as possible (very little rise after eating). For diabetics, carbs certainly matter but where you are getting those carbs from (low GI vs. high GI) matters even more.

Read through the book and enlist the help of your doctor with adjusting your medications if you are taking them and feel free to ask all the questions here that you like. Just keep in mind that we are not medical professionals here, but I can share with you what has worked and not worked for me in my own experience.
Good luck!