PEERtrainer Health

Will Reducing Wheat Intake Help Beat Type 2 Diabetes?

We have started to look at a new book that we were sent called "The Weight Loss Plan For Beating Diabetes" by Dr Frederic Vagnini. (Dr V for those of you who listen to WOR in NYC)

In general the book gives advice that is both grounded in the reality of how people live their lives, but also explores some interesting ideas that you might not have come across in your search to combat Type 2 Diabetes.

A good example of this is in one of his "general guidelines" when following his meal plans:

"I recommend limiting or even omitting wheat products altogether. Wheat is a very common allergen that in my experience is a major block to weight loss. In addition, wheat and its proteins, gluten and gliadin, are highly inflammatory, causing tissue damage and immune challenges and further contributing to weight struggles."

His book goes on to identify a whole range of alternatives. The meal plans he outlines are excellent because they are very "doable" recipes that are likely to help you feel full. They all feature "nutrient dense" foods like spinach, broccoli, grapefruit, green beans. And they also feature proteins and carbs. The reason we mention this is that there are those who advocate a very high plant nutrient, low animal protein diet. Even if this is some place that you end up, the meals that Dr V. outlines are an excellent first step.

Our role at PEERtrainer is to serve as "observers" of health trends. We look at the work of lots of MD's and also get to see how thousands of people react to and use that advice. From the perspective of the people we interact with, reducing or eliminating wheat (and dairy for many) has been beneficial.

From the perspective of the front line Doctors and researchers, there are more and more voices that strongly suggest that people take a look at the role of wheat and their personal health. There is a ton of research out there, but the above quote by Dr V. really summarizes the broad effect of wheat on health.

In general, it is clear that this book is written by a Doctor who is very patient-centric. Meaning he talks to you, not at you, and approaches his advice from the perspective of someone who is deeply familiar with the real life challenges that people face in their life. 

We were sent a copy of this book by a firm promoting it, with the hopes that we write about it or promote it in some way. We should note that we get sent many many books to review, and we end up pointing people to a small number of them. We observe that this book could be a useful tool to help you in your fight with Type 2 Diabetes. Here is the Amazon link if you want to buy it. (We get a tiny commission if you buy through this link, and that is the extent of the "endorsement.")

3 Ideas That Will Help You Get More Energy

This video was created in response to the response that we got from the first question we asked in the PEERtrainer Pursuit Of Excellence Program. 

Please give as much feedback as you can here in the comments section. If you have something that would be valuable to everyone, it makes sense to share it here, not just send me an email.

How To Get Piles Of Energy In 15 Minutes

The purpose of these videos that we recently (and quickly!!) made is to demonstrate how easy it is to make soup at home that is filling, low in calories, will give you a PILE of energy and helps you get massive amounts of nutrients. The key for me was the Cuisinart Smart Stick that I found in my drawer. I had been reading about blended vegetable soup for energy, and I was trying to figure out how to do it. Habib often cooks stuff and then has to pour it into countertop Cuisinart. Back and forth process, which is messy and a pain. I am so glad I found this thing. I had won it at some holiday party late last year, and it was just sitting in a drawer. It made the soup making process very easy.

The point I want to hammer on here is that if you are looking for more energy (and I know a TON of you are)- please try this approach. There is another video referenced, which you can watch lower down on this page where you see what I put into it. In this case it was broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, onion and chicken broth. I threw that stuff in, cooked it for 15 minutes, and then used the stick to blend it up. You can use whatever veggies or ingredients you want, and flavor it any way you want. The breakthrough for me was that I found an easy and tasty way to get my greens in. Habib and I do this almost every day now. He wants to fuel up for his long runs (10-18 miles) and I use it to power through my days.

Part 1, Preparing The Stuff You Need To Make The Soup (Editors Note, the cost was closer to $6 for the ingredients)

Part 2, How To Use The Smart Stick (Makes this very easy)

Part 3, Short Video Showing A Quick Adjustment I Made To The Taste Of The Soup:

We put this together for the new PEERtrainer Pursuit of Excellence Program. In the beginning of this program we focus on practical ways to get more energy. This has been a big request and a very popular focus. 

I looked up the Smart Stick on Amazon, and there are two models:

Fancy Model With Deluxe Attachments

Basic Model If You Just Want To Blend

Kitchen Aid also makes one that is more expensive than either of these, and from the reviews is more powerful if you are planning on blending more than veggies on a regular basis. Hope this helps you, and please share your own recipes and tips with us!

Click here for the written recipe of the soup featured above. 

Imagine Being 7 Months Pregnant, You Get Heart Palpitations And A Series Of Doctors Refuse To See You

By Habib Wicks, PEERtrainer Co-Founder

As many of you know I have been training for a marathon. I run several times a week with a group of guys who have run marathons before. As far as "PEERtrainers" go, these guys are the best. They schedule runs, motivate me to run on days that I don't want to. Many of them are doctors as well, so I have to endure lots of complaining about some of the inside baseball of being a doctor. 

Usually I focus on my own breathing and let them talk and talk so I can have a better chance of keeping up with them. Yesterday though I heard a very interesting story which I felt compelled to write about. One of the guys is a cardiologist, and he was particularly upset about something that happened in the last couple days. 

There was a woman in the hospital, somewhere in the system that was 7 months pregnant and having heart palpitations. I was told by my friend that a whole series of doctors would not see her, I think 4 or 5. My friends assistant called him and asked if he would. He agreed to, and explained that the other doctors did not want to touch the case with a ten foot pole out of fear of being sued.

He gets into the room to see her and she just starts crying and crying. She is glad to see my friend. But can you imagine what is going through this woman's head? You are way pregnant, your heart starts acting funny, you are probably freaking out. And a series of doctors refuse to see you?

Bad stuff can and does happen to women during pregnancy. Anyway, there is this huge healthcare debate about things that might or might not happen in the future depending on what happens. And in this debate, the words "tort reform" have come up. It is something that Republicans always talk about, and that some Democrats are starting to talk about. As I understand it, "tort reform" means reworking the issue of suing doctors when something goes wrong. 

It is one of those buzzwords that we hear get tossed around, and it sounds like an abstraction. Which is why I wanted to blog about this story. I am not a lawyer or a doctor, but it seems that when doctors refuse to see patients out of fear of being sued, something needs to be worked on. And I have NO IDEA how one would structure "tort reform." Obviously if someone screws up, there needs to be recourse. 

Anyway, I thought this might be interesting contribution to the healthcare debate. Hopefully not too controversial. This is one of those things that everyone can relate to and understand.

Does Hypnosis Really Work?

I first heard about hypnosis over 15 years ago when my mom used it to quit smoking. Her first time, she quit for 7 years, lapsed again for a year, did hypnosis again and she has not picked up a cigarette again.

I had to try it after I saw what it did for my mother but I still always thought hypnosis was kind of weird until I found out that Andre Agassi used it. Just his name alone motivates me to be more, do more and accomplish what I dream about. I then found out Richard Branson and Tiger Woods use hypnosis and it made me feel a little less "out there" about my love of hypnosis. I am in some GREAT company.

So when I was asked to write this article (by Habib who discovered hypnosis relaxed him more than red wine), I went hunting for the evidence that supports why I like hypnosis so much.

From David Spiegel, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine: "We are now producing evidence showing(hypnosis) can be significantly therapeutic... studies have shown it to be highly effective as a tool for certain kinds of habit control... Hypnosis is safer than virtually any medication any of us doctors use."

...and this one from the Journal of Consulting Clinical psychology: "A Study conducted at the University of Connecticut found people using hypnosis were able to lose, on average about 2 1/2 times as much weight as those not using hypnosis.

...and this one, from Harvard Medical School: "Hypnosis is one of the top 4 mind-body therapies practiced by Americans today."

I'm a big fan of hypnosis for this simple reason: the "suggestions" aren't saying anything that I don't already want for myself. I want to feel great about working out and I want to select good food. I want health, real health so I can have a high energy day when I'm hanging out with my children. I can't even tell you all the science behind the "suggestions" in your subconscious vs your subconscious and how it actually works.

What I love is the way it makes me feel. I'm somewhat of an anxious, person, always on the run and never sitting still. Even when I'm doing yoga, I'm thinking about the person I forgot to call before the class. I know the value of meditation and being still and alone with your thoughts but for the entire 20 minutes, I'm processing the day.

Hypnosis is different. It combines the best of meditation and yoga, being alone with yourself and instead of filling your head with all the "should dos and didn't do's, your head is filled with all of the stuff you want. You're sitting there, not worried about everything you didn't do, and you're feeling just incredible and listening to this great hope in a euphoric state. I've never felt anything quite like it. Even after my first session, I remember thinking, who cares if I really lose weight, this feels so great I'll do it anyway.

The best part is you're doing something that feels great, and day by day, you start to realize the suggestions. They actually start to happen. It not only clears your mind of the negativity, you reach for it when you feel down, and you're immediately put in this hopeful, charged state, filled with energy, but calm directed energy. Not frenetic energy that is a bunch of action without really getting anywhere. It's the calm energy that makes you feel strong and directed and gives you the certainly that you will do it this time.

After I've listened to a hypnosis mp3, that day, throughout the day different sentences pop into my head. It's like being in an endorphin induced state after you workout.

While hypnosis can make you feel all of those great things, they are not all created equal. Different therapists have different techniques. You might like the way one person puts you into a specific state, while another therapist can invoke uncomfortable anxiety, just by the sound of their voice!! If you've tried it before and declared it's not for you, it might not be but it also might be the wrong cd or the wrong person. It really is just like a yoga instructor - some are great at their craft, and some should really keep their day job.

What i like the most is this: my mp3's are always there when I need them. I can be back on track anytime I want just by putting in my earphones. I know that I can feel great in an instant, any time I want which is sometimes, the only thing I need. In a great state, I make great choices. It's when I'm not feeling great, I'm overwhelmed or I'm stressed, that I need to have something that can change my thinking in an instant and my hypnosis CD's do this.

We have written much more about this on the site, and have written an article that looks into the link between hypnosis and successful weight loss. We also interviewed Matt Hoover of The Biggest Loser recently and discovered that he used hypnosis as a top collegiate wrestler and also to help keep the weight off that he lost.

Discuss This In The PEERtrainer Community

Is Weight Watchers Good For Type 2 Diabetes?

The short answer to this question is:

"Whatever diet works for you to help you lose weight is good for Type 2 Diabetes"

Weight Watchers does not have a formal diet for diabetics like NutriSystem does. But their approach to losing weight will be very helpful to Type 2 Diabetics. Weight Watchers will teach you portion control, and their new Momentum Program will teach you healthy recipes that you like eating and making.

If you are a Type 2 Diabetic, you want to attend their meetings in person and get some hands on help. The key is simply finding what works for you. Click here to read our guide to helping diabetics find the diet that is most likely to help them. There are diets and ways to approach your eating that work and can help you.

The most important thing is that you change what you eat. That is the ultimate cure for most cases of Type 2 Diabetes.

Some Thoughts On The Best Diet For Someone With Diabetes Or Metabolic Syndrome

We are building an extensive page on the main PEERtrainer site that covers a set of ideas and approaches that help a diabetic adopt the best diet possible. We cast a wide net here and outline some of the things that we have seen work over the past few years. The biggest issue we see is that people tend to gravitate towards diets that restrict calories and carbs.

This usually leads to failure, which leads to frustration which for Type 2 diabetics means only relying on medication to help control the symptoms. We see that different approaches that focus on changing what one eats rather than eating less help a great deal. In our free Tip Of The Day program we focus a ton on the practical elements of adopting a healthier diet.

Treating Post-Partum Depression and "The Baby Blues"

There are many new moms working on losing the baby weight on PEERtrainer, and we talk to a lot of you in our Tip Of The Day weight loss program. This is probably the most overwhelmed you will ever be in your life and often people are not really prepared. And you really can't be- especially if it is your first. And in some ways your second child can be even more of an unexpected jolt!

Regardless, you are going to need to get some help. And you want to make sure that you don't have the expectation that your mother, mother-in-law, husband, friend are going to be there or have all the answers. Misunderstandings in this area are common, and what you really want is to develop a "you zone" where you can start to organize and adjust your thoughts and expectations to your new reality.

If you are lucky you can go to a counselor who really feels like a friend. It's not like there is anything wrong with you, you really just need to be shepherded into this "new place." The reality is that while your own situation is unique, what you are facing is very very common. So get in the habit of getting help and getting in the "you zone." By doing this you can really make some of the overwhelm manageable.

One thing you may want to consider is getting a set of CD's with a good therapist on there who can take you through this process and help you foster your "you zone." Probably the most important thing you can do is find something relaxing and calming. 

One of the leading experts in this field and someone who is very good at helping new moms through this process is Shoshana Bennett. She is the author of Post-Partum Depression For Dummies. She also has a CD titled "Beyond The Baby Blues" that are very popular. She is also a clinical hypnotist, which simply means she knows how to help you "recondition" your mind in a  way that you want. Most of us have this cartoon image of someone in a crazy trance. Hypnosis is simply the power of suggestion, and it works really well to make you feel great. 

This is the outline of her program:

Session 1: Taking Care of Yourself

This short session will help you find a way to take care of your needs, no matter how much support you have from others. It is unhealthy always to be focused on the needs of others, rather than on your own needs. Shoshana's organic style will help you figure out what YOU need, and give you permission to take those healthy steps so you can have the energy to take care of your family.

Session 2: Feeling Confident

This session will help you feel confident about the healthy choices and decisions you're making as a mother, and to change those behaviors which may not be so healthy. This session can alleviate doubts and fears and will allow you to feel the satisfaction of knowing you're doing your best.

Session 3: Creating Harmony

Perfect balance with all your many roles (wife, mother, employee, or whatever fits your individual situation), is an unrealistic goal. Creating harmony among all your roles, however, is not only possible: Shoshana helps her clients do it on a daily basis – and it feel great! In addition, this session can help you create ways to manage your expectations in a realistic way so that your new role as a mother can integrate healthfully with the "you" before you were a mom.

Although the program was created for new moms with the baby blues, it is clearly a program that can help any new mom. Following the steps in this program can also minimize the risk of postpartum depression. That is why people are calling these "the new mom's survival CDs!".

You can read more about Bennett's CD's here.

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This is a high quality product, from a very good company. We have known them for several years and have high regard for the work they do. -Jackie

Diet and Meal Plan For People With Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes

We have started to see questions from people who have diabetes, metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes who want to know what kinds of meals they should be eating. Usually in a situation like this we would answer with a boilerplate "you have to ask your doctor" kind of thing.

The problem with this response is that your doctors advice is probably not that great. Very few MD's specialize in nutrition and overall the subject is poorly understood. As a general rule, doctors in the US treat the symptoms of disease, rather than focus on root cause. Think about your visits to the doctors office over the last 5 years-- you are probably in and out of the doctors office in ten minutes. (After waiting an hour.)

And then you leave with a bunch of prescriptions. And that is pretty much it. Now, the drugs that are made today are truly extraordinary. They work really well. But if you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or warned that you are at risk, you need to start focusing on the root cause as well as the symptoms. 

Your eating and meal plans are a key part of addressing the root cause side of the equation.

The most important thing you need to focus on is a plan for long term weight loss. You don't want to get on a diet where you are just going to gain the weight back. Mapping out a strategy is key. First of all, You will need to forget the food pyramid in planning your meals. The base of the traditional pyramid is grains and cereals. You will need to make vegetables, salads and beans the base of your personal food pyramid and meal planning as a long term goal.

The stuff that is in plants is the key to long term health. But if you are reading this, you probably eat very few fruits and vegetables each day, and you probably can't imagine eating this way. And that is ok, just understand that making a shift in this direction will be easier than you think. The trick is finding very practical ways of doing this.

At PEERtrainer, we focus on helping people make the changes they are able to at the moment. The first thing you need to do right now is just lose a couple pounds and start to develop the "weight loss success muscle." You can lose weight and you can keep it off. You just need to learn how to. The following is a sequence of ten things you can do over time to eating right.

1. The first place to start is simple portion control. You need to learn how to do this yourself, or you need to have someone help you with this. NutriSystem is a good place to start for many people because they prepare familiar foods for you in the correct portions at a good price. We have written a detailed review of NutriSystem programs for diabetics and pre-diabetes.

2. It might be that you need some in person support and guidance, and Weight Watchers does a very good job in this department. They have a new Momentum Program which will help you with portion control and also help you get more vegetables, salads and beans in your diet with tasty recipes. The link takes you to the PEERtrainer review of their program.

3. Get a copy of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat To Live." This book will teach you in detail about why you need to make the long term transition to a much more plant-based diet. The basic idea is that in every group of people on the planet, as consumption of animal protein goes up, so do diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke etc. 

4. Get more support. PEERtrainer has a free weight loss program called the "Tip Of The Day." Each day you will get an email with one idea to focus on that day. It is a very innovative program and it is easy to do. People find that it is a great reminder service to stay on track, and it does introduce a lot of practical ideas to make the changes you need to over time. Over 15,000 people get that email each day!

5. Understand that changing how you think will help your health and that you can do this quickly. We have a great article published on the site called "How To Change Anything In Your Life" and it goes over a seven step process that will help you.

6. Assess your belief that weight loss is possible. Have you decided to make a change but deep down inside you expect that you will either not succeed or that you will gain the weight back? There is a HUGE difference between your expectations and desires when it comes to weight loss. You can read this article to help you understand what your real expectations are.

7. Learn that "No" is a complete sentence. So much of our food decisions result from subtle pressure from friends, family, even the waiter/waitress at a restaurant. You are going to need to develop the "No" muscle whenever you feel pressured.

8. Get inspiration from others. We just published a letter from a reader which we ended up sending to the entire community. It is called "How To Feel Great Right Now." If you want a positive jolt right now, read it.

9. Get out of the mindset that you have to be on only one diet. Learn to mix and match. We call this "Diet Fusion."

10. No matter what, know that weight loss is possible and use as many tools as you can. You can't build a house with just a hammer...

PEERtrainer Diet Blog

You are Diabetic and Your Doctor Thinks You Can't Lose Weight....

One of the dirty secrets of treatment of Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetics is that most doctors take the approach that it is nearly impossible to get people to lose weight. As a result, the treatment pays lip service to "diet and lifestyle improvements" and just gives you medications that often result in greater weight gain and increased diabetes. 

So the question is- what do you think? The reality is that Type 2 diabetes can be cured, not just managed or made part of your lifestyle. There are a bunch of ways to lose weight that work. This blog post highlights several of them, and they are all different approaches. Some of it is very mainstream, and other approaches are a little new. But they all work in different ways, and the bottom line is that you can lose more weight than you ever thought possible, as long as you start to think and act a little differently.

This is what we do at PEERtrainer- we help people make massive change, one step at a time, and we base this all in the reality of how people really live. Just start to mix up your patterns. Do one thing this week, just one thing. If you approach each week like this, you will make massive changes over time that will stun your doctor. It is also really important that if you follow any of the steps below and you start to lose weight, go to your doctor immediately to make sure your medications are in the proper dosage.

Step 1: Glycemic Control and Portion Control

The first step is obviously get the blood sugar under control. This is what your doctor just told you and we'd be very curious to hear the specific things you were told. Leave them in the comments in the bottom of this blog post, we really want to hear them. The ultimate treatment (and potential cure) of Type 2 Diabetes is a diet very high in plant based foods, especially greens.

However, first things first. You need to get your portions under control and do so in a way that brings your glucose levels inline. And the best way to do this is to lose weight. You might want to consider a meal delivery service like NutriSystem for the first few months. NutriSystem programs for diabetics like NutriSystem D are clinically proven to help get things under control for you.

The reason this might be a good idea is that for most people dieting is hard. NutriSystem makes it easy, and basically costs nothing for most people. You already spend money for food, more than you probably think. You simply shift the cost to this program. They also do a fairly good job of giving you support and also showing you how to start adding more plant-based foods into your diet.

It may be that you can adopt a healthy diet on your own instantly, but be open to making it easy on yourself and finding ways of boosting your odds of success.

Step 2: Get Massive Motivation and Support

You can make incredible changes in your lifestyle. But as we said earlier, the odds of your immediate friends and family being a negative influence in your life is pretty high. So you are going to need to look outside your immediate circle for daily influence and ideas. To plug PEERtrainer for a second, we have some incredible resources to support and motivate you. The single most effective free tool we have right now is the PEERtrainer Tip Of The Day Program. This will give you massive motivation and support via daily emails. Click on that link to learn a little more, but it is a really cool program.

There are a ton of other resources out there to help you, and just be open to new ideas as much as you can. One of the things we really focus on is helping build your level of belief that massive positive change is possible.

Step 3: Begin The Path To Nutritional Excellence

We firmly believe that people need to make the first steps towards weight loss as easy and doable as possible. That is why we view things like the NutriSystem Diet to be a very realistic first step. But down the road you are going to need to read Eat To Live Or Eat For Health and learn about the work of Dr. Joel Fuhrman. We go out of our way to credit Dr. Fuhrman with pioneering the field of "nutritional excellence." He is influencing the entire diet industry and has been instrumental in the development of Weight Watchers new Momentum Program and was a core influence of Dr. Ian Smith's Fat Smash Diet.

This three step process that we outlined will help you with both the short term and long term aspects of getting your Type 2 Diabetes in control. If you do start to adopt the high nutrient diet over time that Dr. Fuhrman recommends- only 10% animal protein, high amounts of greens and salads each day- make sure to see your doctor and make sure any medications you are taking are at the right levels.

No matter what you do, make sure to check out the PEERtrainer Tip Of The Day page. You also might want to join PEERtrainer and start logging your food and exercise each day to make sure your portions are really under control and you get support. And if you feel like you need some help getting started, don't be afraid to get some help with a company like NutriSystem:

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes