Pre-Diabetic or Diabetic Vegans? Not sure I agree with my nutritionist (soy, bottle)
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I have decided to give it 100% to try a low-fat vegan diet (plant-based). I have read all of the research and watched Forks Over Knives, etc., regarding how eating a plant based diet can turn around diabetes, as well as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
My blood sugar is high, but not diabetic. I'm what you call pre-diabetic - although I had a doctor once say that being pre-diabetic is like being a little bit preggers LOL. Either you are or you aren't. I also, by the way, have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, even with medication.
At any rate, I have been doing fantastically on the plant based diet, and have stopped taking all high blood pressure medication, statins, reflux, etc., and have not eaten any animal products or by-products since August 13th.
The first week at most, I felt tired and had a headache and went to bed really early. But, now I feel amazing. I have so much more energy, headaches are rare and mild - and I've lost 3 pounds. I feel full, too.
Anyway, I went to a scheduled meeting with a nutritionist and she told me she was concerned that I was eating so many carbs - I eat lots of lentils and beans along with the veggies, corn tortillas, whole grain everything, and not a lot of fruit, really avoiding added sugars, low salt, etc.
She wants me to add more protein, like peanut butter and tofu, to use soy milk instead of almond milk, and to replace some of the lentils and beans I eat with those, because they are lower in carbs and have more protein.
My concern is that those have so much more fat! In the Forks Over Knives, and Engine 2 Diet, they say to really minimize the high fat plant foods. They're not banned, but should be minimized.
I'm afraid that if I eat these higher fat foods, then I'll stop losing the weight. And I feel like it's like chasing your tail - they say to lose weight to avoid diabetes, then they tell me to eat high fat foods with tons more calories!
Then, of course, they tell you to manage your portion control and hello, if I was good at that, I wouldn't be over 200 pounds at 5'5". I'm just afraid following her advice will be the kiss of death for my being able to stay on this diet.
Anyway, if anyone else has had high blood sugar, and you are low fat vegan, I'd love to hear your feedback and if your blood sugar lowered, etc., and if your experience has shown that it is necessary to eat more proteins like tofu or peanut butter, etc. Thanks.
You have it backwards. Low carb high fat will allow you to lose weight. I realize that as a vegan, that will limit your choices. It is not advisable to go low fat and low carb but you are seeing the effects of going high carb. It also matters which type of carbs you consume. They are not all the same. There is such a thing as a glycemic index which will tell you how foods affect your blood sugar. If you consume carbs that raise your blood sugar, that will increase your insulin levels. Insulin is the fat storage hormone. It signals the body to store the consumed carbs as fat (on your body) and at the same time raise your lipid levels. Stay away from food that raises your blood sugar and you should do better. Sugar and refined carbohydrates are the obvious culprits.
It is a complicated subject and I cannot fully describe it in one post.
The one thing I didn't see mentioned is exercise. You would be able to consume more carbs if you burned them off. If that is not the case, then limit the carbs.
Eating fats do not make your fat, carbohydrates do. Eating both at the same time is even worse. You cannot eliminate carbs from your diet completely, just choose them wisely.
Get rid of the stigma that eating fat is bad. That is the hardest thing to do for many.
If you do not change your diet you will (may) become a full diabetic.
Anyway, I went to a scheduled meeting with a nutritionist and she told me she was concerned that I was eating so many carbs - I eat lots of lentils and beans along with the veggies, corn tortillas, whole grain everything, and not a lot of fruit, really avoiding added sugars, low salt, etc.
She wants me to add more protein, like peanut butter and tofu, to use soy milk instead of almond milk, and to replace some of the lentils and beans I eat with those, because they are lower in carbs and have more protein.
My concern is that those have so much more fat! In the Forks Over Knives, and Engine 2 Diet, they say to really minimize the high fat plant foods. They're not banned, but should be minimized.
I'm afraid that if I eat these higher fat foods, then I'll stop losing the weight. And I feel like it's like chasing your tail - they say to lose weight to avoid diabetes, then they tell me to eat high fat foods with tons more calories!
Then, of course, they tell you to manage your portion control and hello, if I was good at that, I wouldn't be over 200 pounds at 5'5". I'm just afraid following her advice will be the kiss of death for my being able to stay on this diet.
Good going, NMSFM!
Frankly, I would suggest that you ditch the nutritionist and continue to follow a low-fat, low salt, low-added sugar, low-processed food, plant-based diet.
Additionally, although you have already done a lot research, I would suggest that you also check Dr. Michael Greger's fact-based website, https://nutritionfacts.org/. It's fantastic! You can do a search on just about any nutritional topic, plus he has daily blogs. BTW, forget about adding more protein, you get plenty!!
Another of my favorites is https://www.drmcdougall.com/. BTW, if you are interested, you can catch Dr. McDougall's free webinars each Thursday at 11 AM Pacific Time. They're very casual, he answers questions, and he covers a different topic each week. If interested, you still have time before 11 AM to register (First name & email address) for today's live discussion.
One thing they all have in common is that they say that a plant-based, low-fat, low added sugar,low salt, low processed food lifestyle is best. One of the best things about this approach is that you don't have to worry about portion size.
Don't forget B12
I know you are asking about personal experiences, but this is all general.
One of my favorite plant-based YouTubers is Chef AJ. She's down-to-earth, "been there" with health and weight struggles; and also follows the recommendations of people like Drs. T. Colin Campbell, Michael Greger, John McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal Barnard and Michael Klaper.
Here's what Dr. Greger has to say about taking "pulses" (Beans, chickpeas and lentils) to help control blood sugar. The video is 4:07 minutes long and is extremely informative.
It's not surprising that you heard that from a nutritionist.
I'm going to preface this by saying: Please do what you feel is best for your health. But since you asked, if it were me, I would ignore the nutritionist and stick to the plant-based diet for six months or so and then have insulin levels reevaluated. I can't tell you from experience how it affected my blood sugar levels, but my cholesterol sure dropped SIGNIFICANTLY after switching to plant-based. If you're feeling well, it's probably a sign you're doing something right.
Protein is in practically everything. As long as you are getting enough calories, you won't need to worry about being deficient in protein on a plant-based diet (but get used to people telling you otherwise. All. The. Time).
Moderate exercise will help, too. And don't forget your B12.
I'm curious to know how your levels change, if you feel like updating us down the line. Best wishes.
OP: I think it is fine to get a second opinion from another nutritionist or a dietician... one who has examined you, not one who has produced a book or video for the masses. What isn't a great idea is to risk your health by not moderating your carbs. You can eat a plant-based diet without it being too high in carbs for someone who is diabetic or prediabetic.
Last edited by Ginge McFantaPants; 08-23-2017 at 03:23 PM..
I just can't thank you all enough for the feedback and support. I am binge reading and watching the videos and articles suggested.
The nutritionist wanted me to come back in 3 weeks, and she asked my doctor for approval to have labs done. So, what I'll do, is wait to have the lab test done as close to that meeting as possible.
I have my blood tests from March of this year. I have been as bad or worse, prior to this diet, as far as my eating habits. So, I think using the March blood tests should be a fair marker to compare tests in around 3 weeks from now.
So, my thinking is to go ahead with the plant-based diet I've been doing, as-is, so that I can see the results of doing it this way - rather than starting to add more tofu, etc., into the mix. That way, I can separate out how this diet is working on its own merits.
I was psyched to watch the video about beans and how they help blood sugars. I am actually really happy to eat beans and lentils, and as someone who is poor enough to go to the food bank, I can get these for free there, along with brown rice and corn tortillas and veggies and fruit.
I looked at the tofu package and it is good until October, so it can wait until I see how my blood tests come back. When they do, I'll post the before and after here for anyone interested. We'll also have to take into consideration that my last blood tests were done while on medication, which I have stopped taking.
But as one of you mentioned above, probably the most significant consideration here, is how I feel. And I feel amazingly better. Mentally and physically. I just feel lighter, I hurt less, I don't get angry as easily. I also suffer from depression and anxiety, and although that's inherited, I'm beginning to think this diet may also help my mental health.
So, we'll see. But, it's so nice to eat and be full and actually lose weight, and feel better in the bargain.
And yes, for those who mentioned B12, I've been putting brewers yeast in my food, which I actually really like.
The only thing I'm cheating on a bit, is using a really good basil pesto I made - before reading I shouldn't eat olive oil LOL. I actually got a beautiful bottle of extra virgin olive oil, two huge bags of fresh basil from Trader Joes, and free walnuts at the food bank one day and couldn't believe my luck! I made pesto with brewers (nutritional) yeast instead of parmesan and it's to die for! I put it on whole wheat pasta. I've limited eating it to a couple times a week. But, that's the worst "cheat" I've done, and still lost weight.
Dinner tonight was corn tortillas and a mixture of lentils, pinto beans, brown rice, veggies with turmeric, ginger, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, a little bit of salt and black pepper, and brewers yeast with fresh tomato and jalapeno salsa, and some Tapatillo - as if it needed more heat LOL.
Even my reflux is vastly improved, even though I eat lots of hot sauce. I find that if you really spice it up, you don't miss the salt.
Anyway, thanks so much for the info and support. I'll keep you updated, in case anyone here or any future reader wants to see my blood test numbers here.
Good luck with your blood work. I switched from vegetarian to vegan almost 2 months ago. I haven't seen the numbers change much on the scale, but I also feel lighter. Also, my lower back pain, which has been with me for a couple of decades and has gotten progressively worse, disappeared after the first 4 or 5 days after quitting dairy. I went from not being able to walk across the street to being able to walk for miles!
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I have decided to give it 100% to try a low-fat vegan diet (plant-based). I have read all of the research and watched Forks Over Knives, etc., regarding how eating a plant based diet can turn around diabetes, as well as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
My blood sugar is high, but not diabetic. I'm what you call pre-diabetic - although I had a doctor once say that being pre-diabetic is like being a little bit preggers LOL. Either you are or you aren't. I also, by the way, have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, even with medication.
At any rate, I have been doing fantastically on the plant based diet, and have stopped taking all high blood pressure medication, statins, reflux, etc., and have not eaten any animal products or by-products since August 13th.
The first week at most, I felt tired and had a headache and went to bed really early. But, now I feel amazing. I have so much more energy, headaches are rare and mild - and I've lost 3 pounds. I feel full, too.
Anyway, I went to a scheduled meeting with a nutritionist and she told me she was concerned that I was eating so many carbs - I eat lots of lentils and beans along with the veggies, corn tortillas, whole grain everything, and not a lot of fruit, really avoiding added sugars, low salt, etc.
She wants me to add more protein, like peanut butter and tofu, to use soy milk instead of almond milk, and to replace some of the lentils and beans I eat with those, because they are lower in carbs and have more protein.
My concern is that those have so much more fat! In the Forks Over Knives, and Engine 2 Diet, they say to really minimize the high fat plant foods. They're not banned, but should be minimized.
I'm afraid that if I eat these higher fat foods, then I'll stop losing the weight. And I feel like it's like chasing your tail - they say to lose weight to avoid diabetes, then they tell me to eat high fat foods with tons more calories!
Then, of course, they tell you to manage your portion control and hello, if I was good at that, I wouldn't be over 200 pounds at 5'5". I'm just afraid following her advice will be the kiss of death for my being able to stay on this diet.
Anyway, if anyone else has had high blood sugar, and you are low fat vegan, I'd love to hear your feedback and if your blood sugar lowered, etc., and if your experience has shown that it is necessary to eat more proteins like tofu or peanut butter, etc. Thanks.
Ditto what everyone said except gguerra, the problem is not the carbs but the fat when both combined (which is why low carb seems to work too). When we are feeling better that is the best indication that something is working for us so keep doing what you were doing and keep learning.
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