Pre-Diabetes and the RDI

While I do not yet have "frank" diabetes, I am what is classified as Pre-Diabetic.


Pre-Diabetes from diabeteswellbeing.com- "The condition occurs when a person's blood glucose readings are elevated above normal, but lower than is considered a diagnosis of diabetes. This condition almost always exists in people prior to developing type 2 diabetes."

This quote from the endocrinologist.com quite matter of factly explains what my RDI portions should be.  I was having trouble figuring it out. 
"Overall, a nutrition plan for a person with diabetes includes 10 to 20 percent of calories from protein, no more than 30 percent of calories from fats (with no more than 10 percent from saturated fats), and the remaining 50 to 60 percent from carbohydrates. Carbohydrate foods that contain dietary fiber are encouraged, . Sodium intake of no more than 3000 mg per day is suggested."

What is the proper diet for Pre-Diabetes? from diabeteswellbeing.com
"The proper diet for pre diabetes really isn't that much different than if you have diabetes. Certainly, the stakes may be a bit higher with diabetes, and glucose control may be a bit more important. Nonetheless, you need to work on the following (to begin with):

• Portion Control - Stop eating so much!
• Avoid refined or processed carbohydrates (e.g., white sugar, white flower, high fructose corn syrup, etc.).
• Eat well balanced meals (less carbohydrates, more vegetables, fruit and lean protein)."

My RDI pie chart

  protein - 9%

fats - 20%

 carbs - 71%

Keeping all this in mind, I have been monitoring and tracking my food for the last couple of days, with regard to my RDI - my pie chart is a little heavy on the carbs and pretty light on the protein, therefore I will have to really work on that.  Of course, my comfort foods, my craving foods are all carb based.  REALLY gotta work on those cravings!

BMI and Goal Setting

Your BMI is 55.1 - severely obese

Your weight is substantially above the healthy range for your height, which means you have a higher than average risk of developing diseases associated with obesity.

Losing enough weight to bring your BMI to below 25 will benefit your health, and the way you look and feel.

You can lose weight by making sure the number of calories you eat each day is less than the number of calories you need to maintain your weight at its current level. This is best achieved by making changes to your eating habits so your diet is healthier, and starting to get some exercise which you can build up and maintain regularly.

It may sound crazy, but that was insanely hard to read.  I mean, it isn't a surprise to anyone that I am overweight.  Overweight and obese in my case are one and the same.  I can wear all the baggy clothes that I want to and it is never going to hide the fact that I am fat.  Uggggh, the dreaded F word.  I hate to say it, hear it or type it.  So reminiscent of my childhood "Fatty Fatty 2x4". "Tub of Lard", "Porker", "Pig", "Miss Piggy".  Is it any wonder I shudder when I hear the word?

I have never had a problem admitting to myself that my weight was an issue, but it certainly is hard to hear it from someone else, whether it be my husband (who is VERY careful to never say it), family, medical staff, clothing store clerks or even my 3 year old who yesterday told me I have a very, Very, VERY large bum!

With an eye toward staying in reality, I don't expect to ever get down to the ideal weight for my height which is 104-127lbs.  I mean, that is just a ridiculous number!  First of all it would require me to lose 200lbs, secondly, that is not a realistic weight for me.  I think that would be setting myself up for failure.  No one in my family is that thin, for a couple of generations back even.  We are bigger boned and at nearly 40, I don't even think I would look good at that weight.


My goal at this point is 175lbs which at a BMI of 31 is still considered obese, I would be much healthier, have much more energy and feel a whole lot better about myself.  It would mean a total weight loss goal of 136lbs (a whole person!).  Still, that feel like an insurmountable number.  Lets say I lost 3lbs week, which I don't think I would be able to do it would take me over 45 weeks!  A more reasonable number of 2lbs a week would take me 68 weeks which is well over a year!


I can hear Christopher Adams in my head already, it isn't a race, its a journey, its a process, don't put such pressure on yourself, it happened over time, it will take time to get it off, etc etc etc.  :)


I am more a reward based kind of girl, so I am going to break it up into more realistic chunks with non-edible rewards!  Things that will make me feel good about myself and be a treat.  The kind of thing a really busy mom of 5 just never manages to find the time for!

• manicure
• new hair style
• highlights
• massage
• pedicure

The chunks will be 25lbs.  Everytime I hit a milestone of 25lbs lost I will pick a treat and go do it.  I will probably purchase gift certificates on a mass purchase site like Groupon or Wagjag etc, to keep the prices down.  When I hit my big goal, I doing a whole spa day baby!  Gimme the works!  :)

Transparency.....or lack of it

Right now on the Facebook support page for those of us who have purchased the program, I started a poll. The results are surprising I think for everyone.

The question I asked was "Do your friends and family know you are doing this program?"

Now we can't attach too much importance on the results as only 7 of 119 members have responded, but so far, 5 of the 7 have admitted they are keeping the program a secret.

I asked the respondents for more - explanations or information - why are they keeping it a secret. Only one person responded so far - ...afraid of another failure.

I can totally relate to that. I think just the idea of failure keeps us - or at least me from even trying. Even if I can envision myself finally losing the weight - the daydream always turns into a nightmare of me gaining it all back plus more. The idea of working that hard only to end up worse than I was is heartbreaking.

Of course - it is a very real fear, the women I used to work with would go through spurts of dieting and exercising. They would lose the weight, look awesome and then "poof!", it was all back on. It was a constant cycle. It didn't matter if they were using Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Dr. Bernstein etc., or if they were doing it on their own. Whether it was a solitary journey or with a diet buddy. Everyday at lunch we would get a full breakdown of their current attempt - calories, points, allowed food vs. not allowed food, amount of exercise, how many pounds they had lost, did they pee before weigh in, did they remember to wear weightless clothes? They were obsessed with it and made sure we all knew every little piece of information. Not a one of them kept the weight off.

How demoralizing that must be. I don't know if I am emotionally strong enough to deal with it.

Logically I know that they viewed the process as a diet - not a long term, life long change of habit and lifestyle. So logically I know that they set themselves up for failure before they even started. They started down a path they could not continue for the rest of their lives. Too restrictive, too narrow, everything focused on eating/not eating and not on living.

OK, back to the poll results. This is my explanation of why I don't tell my friends and family.
"there are a number of reasons, my family splinters into hyper manic cheerleaders, obsessive convulsive calorie counters, and Eeyore like naysayers. I really don't need the added stress of their expectations, criticisms and feeling like I am living under a microscope. I am being open and honest in my blog and that is enough for me right now"

What that basically amounts to is, I too am afraid of failure. I am afraid to stand up and announce to the world (or at least my inner circle) that yet again, I am on a "diet" bandwagon. I am afraid to subject myself to someone else monitoring (well meaning-ly of course) my every mouthful. I am afraid to see judgement and disappointment in their eyes. I am afraid to listen to them criticize the program and me have to defend it so early on.

Christopher Adams responded with 

"As an interesting aside - all of that "added stress of their expectations" etc, can be great stuff to work on. Because it all highlights areas of internal challenges for you (if you didnt have them then whatever anyone around you said or did wouldnt bother you in the slightest). In fact it can often be a great barometer of your internal progress is how you react internally to them. It important to distinguish between what's your 'stuff' and what's their 'stuff'. What they do thats all about them - how you act in response to them - that's all about you. And as far as holding a mirror up to us our families are normally excellent at knowing which buttons to push. There's a great saying - "if you think you are enlightened, go home and live with your parents again" :)"

Honestly, I guess I am just not enlightened enough or strong enough. Currently it is taking everything I have to handle my crazy hectic daily life and work on this program. I don't have anything extra left over to deal with figuring out my stuff vs their stuff. All I know is that it affects me negatively and I need to minimize that so I can focus on this important new endeavor. As I become stronger, emotionally more in tune with myself and enjoying some successes, then I will move onto how/why they affect me in the way they do.