Hi Candybear ...

I feel your pain! LOL! I was diagnosed with an A1C of 10.9 in November 2006. I was SO sure I didn't have Diabetes (I'm the first on both sides of my family, but we all know it has to start somewhere) that I made the doctor do 2 more fastings ... one was 350 and the other was around 450. FASTING! The very first time I tested on myself was an hour after eating half a bag of powdered sugar mini-donuts ... the staple of my daily food regime at the time. I was so ignorant, I didn't even know 535 was close to a speedy trip to the ER!

Food is ALWAYS the hardest thing to conquer, Candy. I'm not going to tell you how much to eat, you know that. I'm not going to tell you what WILL happen if you eat those Boston Creme donuts and drink that Coke, that's such a given even other people without Diabetes can figure that one out. I'm not going to tell you the long-range effects, you know those, too. (BTW, the one that scared me the most was going blind! I type with 2 fingers and have to see the keyboard, and OMG, what would I do without my computer?)

I would, however, like to share a couple of things that helped ME. One is a mantra I find myself saying often ...

<font color="red"> THIS IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT! </font>

We "run" this marathon one small step at a time. Sometimes we fall down ... and that's OK! Really it is! Nobody with Diabetes can ever tell me they're freakin' PERFECT and never CHEAT. It's impossible and you're doomed to FAILURE if you feel DEPRIVED ... so just remember two things.

1. <font color="red"> Cheating every once in awhile is ALLOWED or we will go NUTS! </font>

2. <font color="blue"> After you fall ... get back up, brush yourself off, and take another step forward! </font>

As for FOOD ... I found an "easy" way to do it! Get 4 pieces of paper. At the top of one, write THINGS I WILL NEVER GIVE UP, EVEN IF I DIE. On the second, write THINGS I LOVE TO EAT. And on the next, write THINGS I'M NOT CRAZY ABOUT BUT CAN EAT WITHOUT GAGGING. And on the last, MY "GOOD FOOD PLAN" FOODS.

Keep looking at list #1 ... adding and subtracting things over a period of a few weeks. I'll BET this list will have about 5 things on it. I got it down to 3 ... Suisse Mocha Coffee, Key Lime Pie, and fresh hot bread.

Take list #2 to the Internet and check the values of each thing on the Glycemic Index. Write the best on List 4. Do the same with List #3. Here's what I think you'll discover ... there are GOOD FOR YOU foods you've forgotten you even LIKED (seeing them on the GI will jog your memory) and a whole lot of the foods you thought were bad, really AREN'T! For instance, I'd forgotten that I liked Lime Jell-O with pineapple and cottage cheese and pecans ... and Sugar FREE Lime Jell-O doesn't taste sugar free with all the other goodies in it!

List #4 is now the BASIS for the FOOD PLAN you can LIVE WITH! (Just be sure to test each of them, so you know YOUR body can tolerate them! I'm CYA here.) It's going to be a LONG LIST, too ... and you can combine them in different ways so they don't get BORING!

Ahhh ... List #1! Simple! There isn't ONE THING on that list you can't make in a healthier way or fit into your FOOD PLAN! Not one!

Suisse Mocha Coffee ... I now MIX one regular can with 4 sugar free and LOTS of extra cocoa. Unsweetened cocoa is a FREE FOOD! One BIG cup of my favorite coffee is now about 15 carb grams!

Key Lime Pie ... about 45 carbs. Steak, green veggie, salad and Key Lime pie for dessert = 60 carbs. And you should already know that 60 carb grams is an allowable number for dinner!

Fresh HOT bread ... Pillsbury French Bread loaf. 1/6th of the ROLL is about 45 carb grams! It fits perfectly into the dinner above, as a substitute for the pie, of course!

I'm a very lucky person and I can eat fruit ... all sorts of fruit ... without a spike. I practically live on fruit swimming in Cool Whip! (BTW, the entire TUB is only 50 carb grams!) I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich just about every lunch. I "snack" on 100 calorie packs, a small handful of dark chocolate M&Ms, the Lime Jell-O thing ... anything within the 15 to 20 carb grams allowed for a SNACK.

My last A1C was 5.5 and my cholesterol is down to 142. I am completely OFF all my BP meds. I take two 500mg. Metformin a day. I still "cheat" sometimes, but I try to keep it to a minimum. And did you know this little known FACT? If you drink a light beer with your meal, it helps prevent a spike? Makes that cheeseburger and fries taste better, too! LOL!

I know I've run on and on, but I hope this helps you, Candy? You can always get more help and more support and more food ideas at www.diabetes.org. I couldn't have gotten where I am (healthy and 80 pounds lighter) in such a short time (18 months) without the wonderful people there! Tell them The Exercise Goddess sent you!

BTW, I've logged in as my daughter, Colleen, because my memory is the size of a flea ... living with chronic pain and the meds involved, plus being 61 and ditzy as hell ... and I couldn't remember my OWN log in info! People here know me as ...

GoodMama

PS ... Colleen also has Diabetes and we're BOTH here to help you any way we can! Feel free to PM or email if there's anything else we can do for you. We'd like everyone with Diabetes to feel as good as we do ... and everyone NEEDS the extra support!