The Plan

In the last 2 weeks while waiting for my Endocrinologist appointment, I read all I could about Pre Diabetes, Diabetes and what that means for my diet. I decided to follow the Glycemic Index to minimize carb intake. Since my cholesterol also was high, I have to go with low fat as well. Kidney problems means that high protein intake won't be good either. So I decided that I could eat unlimited carbs (which includes sugar) that comes from Vegetables and Fruits. I was also missing Iron so I happened upon leafy vegetable alternatives with ample supplies of Iron (bok choy, edamame, gai lan, spinach) Actually the more I read, the more I realized that to easily break through with this diet, I should be vegetarian. Since I want to make a lifestyle change for life and not just a lose weight quick scheme - I didn't think that it would be realistic to cut off my love of meat. At least not cold turkey. (Unlike smoking, which I have quit forever, since a month ago)

Cutting rice is already a huge sacrifice that I'm coping with. Afterall, I can't name of a single Vietnamese dish that does not have rice, tapioca, or noodles.

I cleared out my kitchen cabinets of candy, snacks and carbs and headed to:
1) Trader Joes to stocked up my kitchen with whole wheat: spaghetti, pita, pizza dough, crackers and brown rice for my emergency carb needs.
2) Ranch 99 for all their cheap vegetables, fruits and chicken breasts.
3) Safeway for yogurt, and fresh(er) fruits.
3) Walmart to get new cooking supplies - grater for carrots. pizza dish. wok steaming utensils.

So what did I do after this shopping spree?

I cooked of course!! We've been rotating houses once a week to cook a good healthy dinner. I've experimented with dishes that I've never made before and it's turned out to be a great success so far.

I've regulated my diet to be as follows for the past 2 weeks:

Drinks:
Water (Refill bottle 3 times a day)
Tea

Daily Breakfast:
Choice #1: Low fat yogurt with pomegranate or grapefruit or banana.
Choice #2: Soy milk with Kelloggs Smart Set Cereal (Has a huge dose of iron)

Daily Lunch:
Choice #1: Self serve salad with chicken/turkey cold cuts or tuna (at work)
Choice #2: Whole wheat bread or flax seed sandwich.

Daily Snacks (at 3-4pm):
Choice #1: Fruit (Orange, Banana, Grapefruit)
Choice #2: Edamame
Choice #3: Quaker Rice Cakes

Daily Dinner:
Choice #1: Salad
Choice #2: Cheese and 10-15 Whole Wheat crackers. Grapefruit.
Choice #3: Special Cooking experiments (mentioned in future posts)