Life begins at 70 (Long)
 

Hi All

This is long but I am sharing with you as not too many around me can appreciate my jubilation. I hope you all find this encouraging too.

I want to tell you about my parents who are both in their 70's with age onset diabetes diagnosed around 5 years ago.

Recently my father was put on medication to help control his sugar levels, but my mother is still able to control hers by diet. However she does have blood pressure and cholesterol medication to control those problems.

They have all the best advice with nutrition and are very careful over what they eat, but their sugar levels lurch from highs to lows on a daily basis and they find things are difficult at times, especially when away from home.

I have been on at Mum over the Atkins plan after I started on the WOE and lost several Kgs, and she has been quietly trying to cut back on her carb count but has not really been convinced.

But something changed this month, when they travelled to see my brother, stopping at my place for few days each way.

On the first visit I gave them my usual breakfast (2 egg cheese omelette, with bacon and mid morning my father felt ill. He had taken his medication, but had not eaten his usual carbohydrates (porridge and toast) For the rest of the stay we were all more cautious. I told him what I was cooking and how many carbs they would get and we watched their test results closely.

While they were away I did soem research into why he was getting the reaction, and came across Dr Bernstiens site and those online chapters. So I was all ready for the return visit.

My brothers wife is on weight watchers and the family eat a lot of bread and pasta, rice and potatoes. So there is a lot of difference between what the two families eat.

When they returned, Dad and I got talking about the effect of the tablets, and I printed out the free book pages and just let him read. First he was most impressed with the personal story, then the bit that really grabbed him was "if a farmer wants to fatten his pigs he feeds them grain"

I was really careful with what I fed them over the next few days, and dad would skip a tablet and then test. The results were really encouraging, he was like a kid, especially when I let him have sf jelly and cream for dessert!

They have returned home now, and got a printout from their testers. They have spoken to the doctor and told him they want to change what they eat. He has agreed and wants to see them in a month. He wanted them to test while they were eating!! but they are going to try the diastix idea that Bernstein uses.

I know they are a little upset as they grow their own potatoes, and my mothers new batch of museli is fattening the sparrows, but Dad really wants to come off the medication, and I know my mum would like her cholesterol levels to come down. She has a good mental image of sugar putting a sticky lining inside your arteries, in the same way plaque sticks to teeth.

I am due to vist them over Easter - I can't wait to see how they are getting on and as a bonus, I wont have to turn down my mohter's cooking!!

I know they still have a lot to learn, we need to find the book, its not available in the local library, and I havent looked in the bookshops yet, but meanwhile I am reading everything I can in this forum and passing the snippets on.

They do have one concern that I cant find the answer to, and that is this plan is supposed to help you lose weight as well. That would be good for my mother but not for my father, so will his weight go down even though if anything he should be carrying a little more?

Thanks for reading everyone, I hope it inspires someone else too.

Joy

Hi Joy!

The answer is that Dr. Berstein's Diabetes Solution is not designed for weight loss, but blood sugar control. To loose weight on the plan, Dr. Bernstein recommends cutting back on the protein portions by 1/3 first at one meal and then at a second if the weight is still not decreasing, so this should be an ideal plan for both of your parents.
I'm sure they'll be excited to see their blood sugars coming down and being able to get off medications using diet alone and it's great they you're looking for the book for them to read and reference as well. The more they understand about how food affects blood sugar, the better they'll do. :thup:

Thank you for clearing that point up for me - I will email them with your answer, I know my dad will feel reassured, and if my mother wants to try the weight loss as well, she can.

Quote from my dad

"Well if we end up living forever we know who to blame!!"


Joy

Hi Joy,

Bear in mind I'm not really familiar with Bernstein (just Atkins and Protein Power). If they're at all similar though, I would think that to keep your dad from losing weight, just get him to increase his protein and fat intake, thus raising his total calories. He might even gain a little lean muscle mass. :) It really depends on what his lean body mass is versus his body fat - he may lose some fat, but he probably won't lose much muscle.

I would definitely considering getting all three books when you have the chance (Bernstein, Atkins, and Protein Power) as I think they all have similar logic (e.g. carbs bad, meat/fat/most vegetables good, fruits in small quantities) and there is useful info in all of them.

I just loved the quote from your dad! :D

Wish I could get my family members into this too, I'm so happy for you that things are going well! :)