Any diabetics using the FB?

[llchevy56]

Wondering if there are any diabetics out there who are using the FB and working towards weight loss?  I'm insulin dependent and trying to lose weight but more importantly trying to regain my health and physical strength while balancing everything.  A challenge a day! Love to hear your stories....

[Havenocents]

Counting carbs is pretty much meaningless IMO.  You need carbs for energy, especially if you exercise.  I am type 2, and I still average at least 200g of carbs a day.  There are good carbs, and not so good carbs.  Bread and potatoes fall into the not so good.  Most vegetables and fruits are great carbs.  If you exercise enough, you can pretty much eat what you want, lower your A1C, and still lose weight.  The key is to use a program like MyFitnessPal to monitor what you are eating, and keep your exercise going with fitbit.

[Lightsinger]

Everyone is different.  I don't think there is a "one size fits all" regimen.  I've done both carbohydrate counting and calorie counting.   Both work, but just watching calories accomplishes both things for me.  I shoot for a balanced, lower calorie regimen -- not a diet, I will never diet again! -- and it keeps me energetic and helps me keep my weight down, along with exercise. 

The problem with diets is that they ALL work.  For a while.  Then the weight comes back, plus it brings friends, and you have to start all over.  Better to eat a well balanced regimen.  I've been doing that 14 years and counting.  It has worked for me so far. 

[Havenocents]

Bottom line is that you have to make a lifestyle change to keep your weight off.  I never exercised regularly, now I exercise every day.  I never kept track of what went into my stomach, now I track everything.  Once you put yourself in total control of your physical well being it becomes less challenging to keep the weight off, and stay healthy.

[Lightsinger]

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@Havenocents wrote:

Bottom line is that you have to make a lifestyle change to keep your weight off.  I never exercised regularly, now I exercise every day.  I never kept track of what went into my stomach, now I track everything.  Once you put yourself in total control of your physical well being it becomes less challenging to keep the weight off, and stay healthy.

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No argument from me!  🙂   

[karen46203]

I am also a person with type 2 diabetes.  I  have had it since 09/15/2010.  I use a fitbit flex.  I must confess that my sugars are not where they are supposed to be.  I have not lost or gained any weight with the fitbit.  But I do like it.

[Spang]

I hsve worke with this since 1992. With trial and error I find my best results from the correct mefs and having more protien compared to carbs. Need the carbs but protien helps to keep the sugsrs level less bounce.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

[AliciaM001]

I have been using my FB Flex for 2 weeks now. I'm a T-2 diabetic and my BS have always run high. I'm on lots of meds, but since I started tracking my steps & food intake (and water!), I have lost 12.6 lbs and my BS are now consistently under 120, no matter what time of day I test. I am now around 100 50% of the time. I started at 5K steps and increased to 6k steps 4 days ago. I am on a low carb plan, which seems to work for me. I try to keep my net carbs (total carbs - total fiber gm) under 100 gm daily. For the first time ever, I am not having massive food cravings; I'm full and actually have to force myself to eat!

Fitbit has really forced me to confront my food intake for the 1st time since being dx'd as a diabetic, and that plus my steps has really helped me. And logging water intake! Was not drinking nearly enough H2O, but now I am.

Best of luck to everyone on this journey to better health!

AliciaM

Sent from my iPhone

[landscapefreek]

I was diagnosed in 1993.  Was in denial for a long long time ... ended up on insulin.  Went to dieticians in the past, but most recently I went to another dietician and a nurse practitioner who have helped me more than everyone else over the past 20 years!  I suggest going to a dietician to help you understand how each part of our diet affects the other, specifically carbs and protien.

The 2nd most valuable lesson from the nurse practitioner was how to eat when exercising.  No one had ever told me a formula and what he told me works!  When I would go for a bike ride, or long hikes, etc., my sugar would drop to the point that I didn't want to do it again.  He told me 10 minutes before the activity, to eat 1 carb for every 2 minutes I would ride.  So if I was going on a 30 minute ride, I should eat 15 carbs before I left.  This has been a huge life saver for me and I've returned to cycling, hiking, even landscaping in our yard.

[Lightsinger]

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@landscapefreek wrote:

I was diagnosed in 1993.  Was in denial for a long long time ... ended up on insulin.  Went to dieticians in the past, but most recently I went to another dietician and a nurse practitioner who have helped me more than everyone else over the past 20 years!  I suggest going to a dietician to help you understand how each part of our diet affects the other, specifically carbs and protien.

The 2nd most valuable lesson from the nurse practitioner was how to eat when exercising.  No one had ever told me a formula and what he told me works!  When I would go for a bike ride, or long hikes, etc., my sugar would drop to the point that I didn't want to do it again.  He told me 10 minutes before the activity, to eat 1 carb for every 2 minutes I would ride.  So if I was going on a 30 minute ride, I should eat 15 carbs before I left.  This has been a huge life saver for me and I've returned to cycling, hiking, even landscaping in our yard.

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That's huge!  Sometimes I felt like my legs were made of lead when I tried to exercise without having a snack.  I felt completely drained even before I started, so exercising was really difficult.  Now, I have a snack, and by the time I walk to the exercise room, I'm starting to feel the energy I need to get it done.  Yes, do a small 15 grams of carbohydrate snack before exercising, and keep the energy going. 

[soapsuds]

Thank you Landscapefreak, that helps.

[johnnyboy]

How to track HbA1c over the past year? Does anyone know how to do this? there is a field on the fit bit log for an entry. do this space automaticly appear or do I enter it in, of course I have now way to get that except from my doctor each year. Confused.

[Havenocents]

You have to enter it yourself. It does no calculation.

[Lightsinger]

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@johnnyboy wrote:

How to track HbA1c over the past year? Does anyone know how to do this? there is a field on the fit bit log for an entry. do this space automaticly appear or do I enter it in, of course I have now way to get that except from my doctor each year. Confused.

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The Fitbit cannot be used to determine your HbA1c.  You get this information from bloodwork your doctor has done, and enter that into the place for it on the program.  Some people get an A1c done every three months, and that's a good place to track how you are doing.  For personal tracking on a daily basis, I recommend logging your glucose levels in the place for it.  Depending on how often you test -- I test four times daily, someone on insulin might test up to ten times a day -- you can log up to four readings.  That will give you information every bit as useful, maybe even more so, than just your A1c alone.

[Jaymie]

I was diagnosed T2 on May 1 and got my FB soon after. The FB really seems to work well with my obsessive nature. When the doctor told me she thought I could control things with diet and exercise I started reading everything I could get my hands on. The lower carb eating, cinnamon, and increased water seem to be helping bring my numbers down. I've even lost 23 pounds without really concentrating on portion control. What I know will utimately bring my numbers to where I want them to be is the exercise component.  FB seems to be helping me work towards that goal. The ability to track and graph everything has really made my "inner geek" feel more in control of the journey. Cheers to all of us taking control of our health!

[Lightsinger]

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@Jaymie wrote:

I was diagnosed T2 on May 1 and got my FB soon after. The FB really seems to work well with my obsessive nature. When the doctor told me she thought I could control things with diet and exercise I started reading everything I could get my hands on. The lower carb eating, cinnamon, and increased water seem to be helping bring my numbers down. I've even lost 23 pounds without really concentrating on portion control. What I know will utimately bring my numbers to where I want them to be is the exercise component.  FB seems to be helping me work towards that goal. The ability to track and graph everything has really made my "inner geek" feel more in control of the journey. Cheers to all of us taking control of our health!

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My doctor thinks I'm a little obsessive about my numbers -- but she's not the one with diabetes. 😉  Now, 14 years later, she admits that she wishes all of her diabetic patients were doing what I do.  Just had my A1c bloodwork done Thursday, and I fully expect that when I get the results Monday, my A1c number will be well below the 6.0 that is considered pre-diabetic or even non-diabetic numbers.  Right where I want it to be.  Fitbit is a good tool to help me accomplish that, because exercise IS an important component, along with a diabetes friendly eating regimen. 

[kalie]

I'm 19 and was diagnosed with type 1 almost a year ago. It was definitley a life changer and took a lot to get used to but I think I'm getting the hang of it. My A1C was about 15 when I was diagnosed and I'm proud to say the last time I was at the endo's it was 5.4 (which was almost the same as the doc's and she doesn't have diabetes!). So I've figured out how to maintain healthy blood sugars for the most part. Although, the biggest issue that I noticed is insulin makes me gain weight that I never would have gained before, so for the past year I've been trying to counteract that. I love my Fitbit and it's been helping me out a lot!

[LewWagner]

Just got back my blood test results from Jan 18th.  A1C is 5.7 (first time in 8 months since I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes).  My other blood values are all within normal ranges (for a 58 year old, that's not bad). 

I'm keeping track of my exercising using FitBit and TomTom GPS SportsWatch and for the first time ever, I will have done over 40 miles walking in a week this week.  I'm still eating the same food I have talked about before but now my body is "waking up."  It's more efficiently consuming calories and I'm walking faster and faster during my walks.    Today, I actually felt my endorphins kicking in and making my body feel good.  I haven't felt that in a long, long time. 

Heck, I just reached 194.5 lbs (from 300 back on Nov 1, 2013), and I'm about to get to 190 lbs by the end of June (I had originally forecast that weight for July 29th).  I can't wait for the doc to tell me when I get to 180 lbs, that I can stop taking my Metaformin.  I want so much to be done with this chapter of my life (the past 8 months with Type II) that I can taste it....

If I can do it, you can, too.  Say it with me, "I CAN, TOO..."

[Like1info]

I am glad I found this section.  I have been using the fitbit for about 3 months now and love it.  I am also on the Weight Watchers program.  To date I have lost 37 lbs., but it's been over a very long time.  At this point in my life I don't care about that.  I just want to go slowly down, want to loose 40 more.   Anyway, I mirror the two programs and that gives me a lot of information!  I think WW for me is about 1200 to 1300 calories.  When I wasn't loosing much, I looked into the fitbit infor and found I was ok on points, but the kind of food was not helping me.  I started to add more protein, veggies, less salt, etc.  I love logging in the food and seeing how my day turns out.  I am retired so I have time for this, and I have made it a kind of game.   Anyway, good luck to all out there using this device.  I think it's SUPER!  

[Lightsinger]

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@LewWagner wrote:

Just got back my blood test results from Jan 18th.  A1C is 5.7 (first time in 8 months since I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes).  My other blood values are all within normal ranges (for a 58 year old, that's not bad). 

I'm keeping track of my exercising using FitBit and TomTom GPS SportsWatch and for the first time ever, I will have done over 40 miles walking in a week this week.  I'm still eating the same food I have talked about before but now my body is "waking up."  It's more efficiently consuming calories and I'm walking faster and faster during my walks.    Today, I actually felt my endorphins kicking in and making my body feel good.  I haven't felt that in a long, long time. 

Heck, I just reached 194.5 lbs (from 300 back on Nov 1, 2013), and I'm about to get to 190 lbs by the end of June (I had originally forecast that weight for July 29th).  I can't wait for the doc to tell me when I get to 180 lbs, that I can stop taking my Metaformin.  I want so much to be done with this chapter of my life (the past 8 months with Type II) that I can taste it....

If I can do it, you can, too.  Say it with me, "I CAN, TOO..."

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I wish it was as simple as getting off metformin -- please understand that even if you get to stop taking the metformin, you will be diabetic for the rest of your life.  Being able to control with diet and exercise is certainly an option, but it's not something that you will be done with once you're off metformin.  I can control with diet and exercise, too, but I'm always one high carb meal away from being reminded that I'm diabetic.  There's no cure for it, only control. 

[AliciaM001]

I view T-2 diabetes the way I do any form of substance abuse. For alcoholics, even if they're dry, they are still alcoholics. If they fall off the wagon and start drinking, they are back where they were before they got sober. For diabetics, even if you get your BS down to what is considered normal, and your A1C is in a normal range, you are still a diabetic. If you stop exercising and eating properly, you will be back on your meds with high BS.

I do hope that I can get off my meds at some point and be controlled solely by diet and exercise, but I am realistic enough to know that perhaps I can't get completely off my meds. Losing weight and getting my BS under control now is something I will have to deal with the rest of my life.

Non-diabetics can eat whatever they want without the type of consequences that we have. They may end up at some point becoming T-2 DMs if they aren't careful.

For those of us who are T-2s, how our disease affects us is somewhat unique. We may be taking more or less meds than the next person, but as long as we are trying our best, that is all any of us can do.

FYI, it is Day 19 for me using the FB, and I am now down 16.4 lbs. My BS are averaging under 110 and I have gone from taking 5 glipizides/day to 2/day. 

Best of luck to all on this journey to better health!

AliciaM