Diabetic Sweet Potato Fries

Here is a yummy recipe I found for Diabetic Sweet Potato Fries:

--4 sweet potatoes
--1/4 cup olive oil
--cooking spray
--1tsp garlic powder
--a pinch of salt substitute

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice potatoes lengthwise into 1/2" strips. Place in a bowl with olive oil and toss. Spray a baking sheet and arrange potatoes on sheet. Sprinkle 1/2 of the garlic powder and salt substitute over the potatoes and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown on bottom. Turn potatoes over and sprinkle with remaining garlic powder and salt substitute. Bake for 15 to 20 more minutes. Serves 4.

Dietary exchange: 218 calories; 23g total carbs, 4g fiber, 7g sugar, 14 total fat, 3 fat, 1 1/4 starch, 2g pro

Diabetic Diet

Trying to come up with meal plans that meet the diabetic standards is one of the hardest things for me to accomplish.  Deciding how many carbohydrates, milk, meat, veggies and fruits to consume during the course of one day is a huge chore until you learn the tricks.

I have decided to follow an 1800 calorie diet in order to help me lose weight and control my sugars.  Here are the following foods I need to work into my new diet:

·         Total carbohydrates = 209 grams

·         Starches (15 g each) = 8 per day

·         Fruits (15 g each) = 3 per day

·         Milk/Yogurt (12 g each) = 2 per day

·         Veggies, non-starchy (5 g) = 4 per day

·         Lean meat = 8 oz

·         Fats = 7 grams

All of these have to be divided between 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.  For someone who is used to only eating 2 meals per day, this is going to take a lot of discipline on my part.  I am also going to have to add exercise to my day because this is another way to help lower my blood sugars.

Testing for Diabetes

Causal plasma glucose is a concentration greater than 200mg/dl along with the following symptoms:

• Frequent urination
• Frequent thirst
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Persistent vaginal infection for women
• Irritability

Causal plasma glucose is a glucose level that is normal prior to testing.

Fasting plasma glucose is greater than 126 mg/dl when you have had no food for 8 hours.

My glucose level 1 1/2 hours after eating a bowl of regular oatmeal was 385 mg/dl, hence the reason I got so upset when I heard what the number was.  If you have not had your glucose tested within the last year, it should be something you ask your health care provider at your next visit.  Do not be caught by surprise the way I was.

Blood glucose is greater than 200 mg/dl when tested after 2 hours for an oral glucose tolerance test.  To do this test, a person must fast for 8 hours and then ingest 75 grams of glucose.

Newly Diagnosed Diabetic

Hello, my name is Bobbi and I am a newly diagnosed Type II Diabetic. Believe me, this came as a total shock to me, even though I am a retired Registered Nurse. In all seriousness, I think the warning signs had been showing for a long time, but I kept myself in denial until I had a scare with heart palpitations.

I work from home, so I was busy knitting in front of the television until it was time for my phone operator shift to begin. I suddenly had a racing heartbeat and I could feel it pounding in my ears. I am prone to anxiety attacks due to my bi-polar disease, so at first, I thought this was the problem. But I had never felt the palpitations with an anxiety attack. My husband had a cardiac episode 11 months ago and ended up with six stents in his heart, so I became concerned. I called the doctor’s office and they referred me to the Emergency Room of the local hospital.

I hesitated about five minutes thinking maybe I was imagining my problems, then I decided to not take any chances. I drove five miles to the hospital and was taken right into the ER and worked up as a chest pain patient. I had four nurses descend on me and start the work-up, which promptly caused an anxiety attack. When all my labs had finally been drawn, IV started, EKG taken and was hooked up to every monitor possible, I finally started to calm down.

I was showing no heart palpitations, but my racing heart was finally dropping below the 100 beats per minute rate. I started to feel foolish that I had come to the hospital at all – with the exception of an elevated blood pressure, my vital signs were good and I was feeling better…

… Feeling better until I found out my blood sugar levels were 385 (normal is 70-120). I was expecting heart problems not blood sugar problems, but my cardiac labs and EKG were normal. I was immediately given 10 units of regular insulin to bring my blood sugar down – after one hour, my sugar was down to 278. This was still too high, so I was admitted to the hospital for overnight observation.

I was sent home the next day with all my new diabetic material to read (I was a labor and delivery nurse, so I didn’t know very much about diabetes) and prescriptions for oral medication for my blood sugar and high blood pressure and a glucometer with test strips. I have to test my blood sugar four times a day for the next week. I have a doctor’s appointment for Thursday, February 9th, so the plan is to keep a log of my sugars and start working on my diet and exercise plan.

I wanted to start this blog to help me keep track of my progress, but also to help other diabetics, especially newly diagnosed diabetics, with the knowledge I will be learning. This may be a bumping ride, after all, I am 49 years old and sometimes it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

So follow along with me as I start this new journey in my life …