So my Doctor tells me, "Get serious with your dietary habits." in response to elevated blood sugar.
OK, I get it. No worries.

However, those 5 Guys and Smashburger shops all along my potential routes. Had to turn one down last night..: (

I don't like higher end restaurants as I don't have time for the detailed reports.

I need to find shopped restaurants with good menu choices and easy reports. Or grocery stores.

Sigh...feel like a newbie again.

The key is to not eat very much of the high carb items. Even with active type 2 diabetes, one has a "budget" of 45 grams of carbs per meal. So, take away the top of the burger bun. Eat a small portion of your fries. No sugar laden beverages. Remember, it is total carbs, not just sugar that you need to control. So focus on that one item (which includes the sugars) and you will be able to eat "some" of almost anything. I learned all of this when I went to a 2 day "boot camp" for folks newly diagnoses with diabetes. With non-insulin medication and limiting the carb intake, I have been able to keep that vital A1C value close to 6.0 for almost 8 years.

I hear you Mike, I am in the same boat. Unfortunately, self control is not my strong suit. o matter how many time I say "I will only eat a few fries" they all seem to disappear. I know "I" didn't eat them! surely not!! So my best option has been to cut way down on restaurant shops.
When you find something exciting, let me know.

It might be my real mealtime, and I'm too busy to eat elsewhere, but usually I taste and take it home to the dogs. My dogs would never eat French fries on their own, but with another dog looking on, they do competitive eating. (Two dogs can eat three times what one dog alone would eat.) Even my cat gets some of the hamburger. I don't clean everything off, so sometimes the pickles are left over and sometimes not. The other day, one dog carried a tomato slice away from the other food to keep it from the doggie friend. The problem is that I started gaining weight when one MSC suddenly decided to give me a bunch of eateries in the area several months in a row. The lump payment is nice, though.

I always joke I deduct my cholesterol med as a business deduction from my 5 guys shops!

Some of the five guys shops are phone in or online ordering where you can pick up and take. And some don't require the burger, You cand order the veggie sandwich without the bun and extra veggies. I take those awesome grilled veggies home, add a little garlic, oregano, basil, and carefully measured pasta. And now I have a transformed a potential diabetic train wreck into something healthy. Usually, the portion of veggies will be enough for two meals of my five guys pasta. Lol. If the order is for eat in, I eat a few fries and still go home with my veggies. And after I place my order and have receipt in hand, I "remember" to tell them not to add salt to my veggies. I haven't found a way to doctor any of the gross McD food yet so it goes to the first hungry person I find after I make sure it is well made.

I have strong mind control

I eat 3-4 fries and that is all I allow myself. I only eat half the burger and then only 1/4 of the soda and then I dump it and fill it with fresh water.

If I want to be able to do these FF shops, I have to exhibit "some" control...

I do quite a few restaurant shops, and am becoming pleasantly surprised that more and more are offering healthier options. I also do a lot of grocery shops and use them for perimeter shopping. The central aisles tend to be the unhealthiest, so I mostly steer clear of them and stick to the perimeter, where I hit the produce section, seafood, fish, then dairy. It helps that one of the grocery stores I shop, the shop is primarily about meat/produce.


As for dieting, I believe it's best when done as a way of life rather than a short-term practice.

I practice the salad plate method. Rather than using a dinner plate, we only use the salad plates. We load the plates with two vegetables first, then the meat, then the starch. I don't practice strict measuring methods, but have found that this does help keep my portions in check.

I don't count calories, but I do believe in making my calories count. There are healthy versions of just about every type of food out there, and I mostly stick to buying those. Since starting that, my food costs have actually gone down. The healthy brands have way better coupon values.

Type I 45 yrs on insulin the entire time.

I'm on a pump, and I don't HAVE TO LIMIT carbs, but I'm not a big carb person anyway.

If you take any medication, ie: injections, do you count carbs? I use ONLY EVOO in EVERYTHING, and, I mean, cakes, cookies, everything.

I NEVER ate an entire burger or fries.. just like half.

Eat more complex carbs - oatmeal, WHOLE WHEAT grains, very limited on WHITE FOODS.

You can get a burger or hot dog in a bowl, bunless, at 5G. They have aluminum containers. I last ordered a little burger bowl. Got the one patty, with grilled veggies. It was good. They also will do burger or hot dog lettuce wraps. I can take or leave the fries, so they don't pose a temptation threat. Would rather munch on the peanuts. Here, the MSC and client have done away with ordering restrictions. Pretty much anything on the menu is allowed.

It's difficult to get something healthy on a shop at Sonic and McD's. I sometimes get the grilled chicken wrap at McD's.

Moe's and Jersey Mikes are good places, get to pick your own fixings, and ordering requirements are wide open.

One of my friends asks the server to pack half her dinner/lunch to go before it even comes to the table. You can do the same at fast food places. Just bring a container with you and pack what you do not want yourself to eat before you even start on the fries and while you still have some will power left. I know once I start to eat I just keep picking away at the portion still on my plate until there is nothing left. If it is packed away, your brain gets a chance to interfere with your eating desires when it turns on in order to open your box and eat some more.

I practice the salad plate method. Rather than using a dinner plate, we only use the salad plates. We load the plates with two vegetables first, then the meat, then the starch. I don't practice strict measuring methods, but have found that this does help keep my portions in check.

Me too. A couple of years ago I decided to prove the adage "You eat with your eyes first" wrong. I started filling a salad plate up instead of a much larger dinner plate. A month later I found I couldn't finish a filled dinner plate and I had dropped weight without any effort at all. Today I have dropped 40 pounds and friends tell me it's time to stop. Stop what? I've never denied myself anything I really wanted. On those two occasions a year when I crave pie, I head to Marie Callendars. I don't have the stuff sitting around the house and that's a good thing.

Fast food shops are my nemesis. I take a couple of bites of each item and take the rest in a "doggie" bag. I pitch it as soon as I see a garbage can out of sight of the resto. Can't take the grease anymore - Thank God!

bestofbothworlds Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Me too. A couple of years ago I decided to prove
> the adage "You eat with your eyes first" wrong. I
> started filling a salad plate up instead of a much
> larger dinner plate. A month later I found I
> couldn't finish a filled dinner plate and I had
> dropped weight without any effort at all. Today I
> have dropped 40 pounds and friends tell me it's
> time to stop. Stop what? I've never denied
> myself anything I really wanted.

Same here. I still do Cinnabon shops, still have ice cream, still eat red meat once a week. While these aren't healthy for me, I know... I have found that I want them less and less. The more good stuff I put into my body, the less I find myself craving empty calories.

I couldn't finish a full dinner plate now if I tried. By only using salad plates, I'm still full, but not overfull. I have more energy now that I'm not experiencing "food coma" three times a day. My skin cleared up, I sleep better, I have more energy, and I drink more water. Before, my skin went dry to oily, back to dry, back to oily... vicious cycle. I attribute that entirely to the fatty meats I was eating, the copious amounts of soft drinks and coffee I was consuming to combat that constant fatigued feeling from over-eating on simple starches and experiencing sugar crashes.

Since switching to the salad plate method, I feel 1000% times better. Fewer headaches, less snappish feeling, sleeping better, eating better, exercising more, drinking more water, and in general... I feel awesome. It's amazing what changing one small thing can do... the snowball effect it creates.

I wish I had known before you and your sister came by for dinner. I would have done a fruit pizza for dessert instead of the chocolate cake...and I wouldn't have forced y'all to take half the cake with you.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The key is to not eat very much of the high carb
> items. Even with active type 2 diabetes, one has
> a "budget" of 45 grams of carbs per meal. So,
> take away the top of the burger bun. Eat a small
> portion of your fries. No sugar laden beverages.
> Remember, it is total carbs, not just sugar that
> you need to control. So focus on that one item
> (which includes the sugars) and you will be able
> to eat "some" of almost anything. I learned all
> of this when I went to a 2 day "boot camp" for
> folks newly diagnoses with diabetes. With
> non-insulin medication and limiting the carb
> intake, I have been able to keep that vital A1C
> value close to 6.0 for almost 8 years.

I had a 5 guys shop today too and was worried about it, but there are ways to avoid 1000 calorie meals. I always get the "little" burger and do it bunless with little fries. Eating the fries that area laying at the bottom of the bag just creeps me out anyway so I only eat the ones in the cup. With Cajun spicing my mouth burns too much and I get too thirsty after about half a cup so I can't continue with those. Their amazing million drink station contains tons of sugary soda but I discovered PowerAde Zero last time I shopped there and always get that now. I love the online shops because I can order my food in the comfort of my home well away from the delicious smells of fattier choices and while being supervised by my hubby if I need it. When I go to the location my food is already ordered so there is no issue with willpower. My final trick is one you find a lower calorie option you can tolerate, always order the same thing. I find that when I do this I will eat because I am hungry, not because I am having a craving, and will stop when I am satisfied, not when I am painfully full. I think I gained 5 lbs in the first few weeks of mystery shopping because of fast food, but now I actually eat less of the stuff since I think of it as work, not a treat and only allow myself to eat on a shop. They can still be very useful on days like today when I had a route planned and added one of these in the middle instead of starving, wasting gas driving home, or wasting money paying for my own meal while out and about.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2014 04:46AM by VickyS.

The new Coke machines at 5G have sugar free options. As for the fries I get one of those peanut holders they have, fill that with fries and that is all I eat of them.

Don't worry too much because you will probably be banned soon. Since being banned from Lotsa Fries 6 months ago I have lost 15 pounds and my cholesterol is now normal. The delightful chicken is not such a bad trade - haha. But I still miss watching them shake the fries and looking for the famous grease stain.

Mike,

In the fall of 2010, I was fired by Market Force; within a few months, I'd lost 25 lbs., my blood pressure dropped a cumulative total of approx. 50 points and I was no longer a borderline diabetic. Others have posted that you can moderate, BUT, if you fail--you pay the price. My position is that for a few dollars, it isn't worth gambling on your self control. I'm still embarrassed that I was so ignorant as to why my health and appearance had suffered.

Take my approach.

I still sample all required foods to meet the client guidelines, but ultimately, I throw out the carbs or avoid ordering it if the guidelines allow it.

For example: When I do to burger shops, I eat without cheese, mayo and bun. If I can avoid ordering fries or any carb-rich sides, great! If not, I'll just throw it away. When I go to Chipotle, I just load up on beans, no tortilla, no sour cream, no cheese.