Buzz Blog Post #4

Ok – I’ve concentrated on Buzz for the first few posts – now it’s Daddy’s turn.


Daddy was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Luckily, it’s in the early stages, and he doesn’t have to use meds to control his insulin – yet. That’s our goal – to make sure he doesn’t have to begin. In addition, he’s had some blood pressure and cholesterol issues, so we decided to see just how much we can accomplish by changing some eating patterns. Luckily, his weight is spot on – so calorie control isn’t as much of an issue as it could be.

Now – for those of you who think changing habits is hard – let me point out that Daddy is 67, and has started learning to cook this year. He’s changed from primarily eating out – every meal – to primarily cooking at home. By himself and for himself. Yes, I do feed him a few nights a week – but for the most part he does it on his own.

So – with his diagnosis he came home with a bunch of sheets from the doctor. There was a bunch of – wel l – I won’t call it information – but stuff on there about starches and fats, exchanges and allowances. I’ve dealt with food for years, including with some health issues, and I have to say this was about the stupidest thing I’d ever seen. Not only did Daddy not understand a bit of what he was supposed to do, after reading it all over several times, I didn’t know what he was supposed to do either.

So I started researching. I hit the net, I called the Diabetes Foundation, and I finally spoke to a good friend who is a nutritionist. And I’m glad I did. This is what she said:

“We don’t want anyone with diabetes to feel excluded or left out. Yes there are changes that need to be made, but they are all a matter of making some smart decisions.”

So instead of a bunch of lists of what Daddy couldn’t have, we were then able to look at it in terms of what he COULD have. Sure – he’s gotta give up the Milky Ways. But he doesn’t have to ditch every one of his favorite foods. And more importantly, he doesn’t suddenly have to follow a ‘diet’. That’s a bad word. We just have to learn together which are the better foods for him.

The nutritionist started with portions. I thought this trick was brilliant, and it was the first thing I taught him. Not portion control necessarily – although it’s a given that you can’t heap three plates full of food at every meal and stay on track health wise. Instead, it’s about what mix of foods you can have at each meal, and how to tell you’re eating the right amounts of each type of nutrient. It’s called the ‘plate’ method – which cracks me up since it’s so simple there’s not much method to it.

Pretend you are looking at a dinner plate – and when I taught him I actually put a plate out and divided it with skewers – and that there’s a line dividing the plate in half. Then put another imaginary line across one of the halves – so your plate now has a section that’s one half and two sections of one quarter each. Ok?

This is how you fill your plate at meal time. On the big portion you put vegetables – that makes up the majority of each meal and is also the type of nutrients your body needs most. In one of the two quarter sections you place lean meats. And in the third section, which is also one-quarter of the plate, you can have complex carbohydrates. At its simplest, that’s all there is to it. A couple of notes though.

One of the things that throws people off is the portion size of lean meats. I pulled out a deck of cards and put it on the plate in the ‘protein’ section. That’s not very big. Daddy doesn’t have to worry too much about weight – we want it to stay where it is – but cholesterol is an issue. The easiest way to immediately drop fat and cholesterol is to concentrate on skinless chicken and fish. Lean pork is also a good choice, although bacon and sausage will throw you off in a heartbeat. Some cuts of beef are ok on occasion – remember, we don’t want him to feel deprived or that he’s ‘dieting’ and therefore can’t have anything he likes. But moderation is the key here.

Complex carbohydrates may be the toughest part for him. All sugars aren’t the same, and that can be very confusing. Table sugar like is found in most baked goods is the worst. But whole grains are pretty good – which means he can have some baked goods. And complex starches aren’t so bad either – they just need to be done, like the meats, in moderation.

So we’ve started. He’s already started using the plate method. My next task is to make sugars and carbohydrates makes sense, so he can continue choosing good things with confidence. Wish me luck! ;-)