A FAVORITE LUNCH

Well, this one is a great easy lunch with familiar materials. Tuna Salad on a low carb tortilla, and sugar free tapioca pudding for dessert.

TUNA SALAD

1 can light tuna in water, drained
2 eggs
1 tbs sweet pickle
1 tbs chopped onion
2 tbs light mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients.

Measure 3 oz of tuna salad, and spread on low-carb tortilla.

Add tomato, lettuce, green peppers, olives as desired.

Fat 4gm, Carbs 4gm, Protein 18gm

For dessert, nothing beats sugar free tapioca pudding, available in the refrigerated pudding section at Walmart. Each pudding is 11 grams carbs, minus 4gm fiber. This makes the grams of protein and carbs approximately equal for the meal.

Easy, fast, and tastes great!

LIPOIC ACID MAY HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Each time I eat, I take 600mg of alpha lipoic acid. This is good for 30 points postprandial on my blood sugar readings. Alpha lipoic acid is an enzyme that is created in the body, but a 1500mg and above, it has great blood sugar lowering properties. It came to us from the anti-aging movement, and there are lots of good reasons to take alpha lipoic acid - it also protects against the amyloid plaque diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's and Alzheimers.

Make sure you have a source of biotin in your diet, as alpha lipoic acid creates a biotin deficiency. But alpha lipoic acid has been in use in Germany for some 50 years to protect diabetics from neuropathy. This is simply a great supplement for diabetics.

Read more about alpha lipoic acid here:

http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?id=984

Be sure to work with your doctor to turn down your diabetic medications. Alpha lipoic acid works very fast, so you will need to reduce your medications immediately.

ARE YOU HUNGRY AND TIRED ALL THE TIME?

When I weighed 283 pounds, I was hungry all the time and tired all the time. I had not yet learned that CARBS make you HUNGRY and TIRED. It is the insulin response to carbs that makes you hungry, and it is insulin resistance that makes you tired. Both problems can be solved by balancing protein and carbs. No more hunger, energy shooting up day by day. What a turnaround.

Here is a thumbnail target for women:

5'7" and under = 25gm fat 90 gm protein, 90 carb gram daily
5'7" and over = 25gm fat, 100gm protein, 100gm carb daily

and for men:

5'7" and under 30gm fat, 100gm protein, 100gm carb daily
5'7" and over 30 gm fat, 125gm protein, 125gm carb daily

BE SURE TO ADD A PROTEIN BAR TO THESE TARGETS IF YOU EXERCISE 30 MINUTES.

ALSO, BE SURE TO TAKE YOUR OMEGA 3 SUPPLEMENTS IN ADDITION, 10GM FLAX OR FISH OIL OR COCONUT OIL.

Remember, mildly hungry, not starving. If you are starving, you are losing muscle. That means you are slowing your metabolism.

Viola! Hunger and tiredness disappear the 2nd day of this! YAY!!!!!

BALANCED PROTEIN AND CARB AT RESTAURANTS

It can be done! It is possible to hit your fat, carb and protein targets when you eat meals at restaurants, or at someone else's house.

Make a fist - (no, I don't mean kill someone at take their food) and visualize half your fist in lean protein, half in good carbs. Then add all the salad you want, just use the light dressing.

The problem is that they will (no doubt) bring you 4 or 5 fistfuls. You know what to do - take the extra home and have another 2 meals.

Remember, we are talking just in time food here. Do you want your belly to look like a fist or a loaded plate?

My blood sugar gave me the answer. Your answer is your own. Mine is to have several meals from what other people call the "average American diet."

CREAM CHEESE SQUARES

This is shortbread with jam topping and it is OUTRAGEOUS. The coconut flour is what makes the fiber high and the carbs low. Protein comes from the cream cheese. It only takes a minute to whip up, and it is a diabetic's dream come true.

CREAM CHEESE SQUARES - 6 servings

8 oz fat free cream cheese
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup Splenda
1/2 cup coconut flour
4 tbs sugar free fruit preserves or jam

Blend together cream cheese, salt, and Splenda. Add coconut flour and mix thoroughly. Layer batter on the bottom of a greased 8" by 8" pan. Bake at 375F for 18 minutes. Spread 2 tsp preserves on each of six pieces and cut unto bars.

Fat 3gm carbs 15gm Fiber 7gm Protein 8g calories 116

OATMEAL WONDER COOKIES

Being diabetic means tossing out the packaged cookies that are not protein loaded. So, I had to come up with a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin cookies that are balanced protein and carb. They have 10 gm fat per cookie, but that is fine, because the fat comes from coconut flour and nuts and eggs. These are all natural fats, not transfats, and help make cell walls permeable again for insulin and glucose to get inside cells. They taste great, too!

OATMEAL WONDER COOKIES - makes 18 cookies

3 pkg Protein Oatmeal, Apples 'N Cinnamon
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup splenda
2 tbs chia seed
2 tbs baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts


Mix all dry ingredients. Mix oil and eggs, add to dry mixture. Add raisins and walnuts.
Spray a cookie sheet with pan spray. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or until brown.

FAT 10 gm Carbs 9 gm, Fiber 5gm, Protein 5 gm Calories 148

CARB PLANNING FOR DIABETICS BY BODY WEIGHT

All carbohydrates (either from sugar or starch) will raise blood sugar to a similar degree. In general, one gram of carbohydrates raises blood sugar by 3 points in people who weigh 200 pounds, 4 points for weights of 150 pounds, and 5 points for 100 pounds.

Of course, adding chia for fiber and eating low on the glycemic index will moderate this blood sugar rise. But the formula can be used for a thumbnail approximation of how many carbs to eat at a time if you are diabetic.

For example, Sue weighs 200 pounds, and starts eating when her blood glucose falls to 110. She must limit her carb intake to 20 carb grams if she wants to keep her post prandial glucose below 180. (20 times 3 = 60 points post prandial rise in blood sugar from 20 carbs)

If Sue's goal is to eat 100 grams of protein and carbs, then she must eat 5 times per day in order to keep her blood sugar under control.

Martha

CHIA SEED

An old superfood of the Aztecs is a new superfood for diabetics! Chia seed is the stuff made famous by Chia Pets. But you don't need to sprout it to get the benefit to blood sugar.

Just stir chia seed into your protein drinks, or soups, or protein cereals, or salad, or any dish! The little seeds plump up and give you MARVELOUS doses of Omega 3 oils, fiber, and protein.

The soluble fiber in chia seed slows down the entry of carbs into your bloodstream, so it makes the glycemic index lower, of anything you eat, And since we are balancing protein and carbs to do that anyway, we can count on chia to make our blood sugar even lower!

The other nice part of chia is that it makes life in the bathroom a bunch easier!

It increases stamina, and provides lots of good minerals, too.

All this on 4 protein grams, 12 carb grams (11 soluble fiber grams) and 9 fat grams per ounce.

Can't beat it! I stir one tablespoon into my food and drink, for a total of 4 times per day.

LOW GLYCEMIC SIDE DISHES

If you are diabetic, and even if you are not, the white potatoes, bread, and rice have to be pitched out the window. The glycemic index, a measure of how much the food raises your blood sugar, and how fast, is the reason. The GI for white potatoes, bread, and rice is around 100 - the same as table sugar. You might as well be eating table sugar.

So, what to do? Here's a few winning vegetables with glycemic index around 55.

SWEET POTATOES

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

SUMMER SQUASH

ZUCCHINI

I spray a pan and saute squash, and add just a touch of parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

The spaghetti squash is great to bake in the oven, de-seed, and serve with or without marinara and parmesan. Just a touch of butter substitute brings out the flavor. It has 10 carb grams per cup, just like most squash.

And the average sweet potato only has 22 carb grams. That fits in to my meal plan of 25gm protein and 25gm carbs. Delicious, and very little disturbance of blood sugar.

And of course, all green vegies like green beans, spinach, broccoli, and so on are free in terms of blood sugar. Pile them on any meal, and enjoy!