Originally Posted by
jethro56
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There's no cure yet. So if I go back to eating poorly and gain weight and quit exercising I'll have to go back on the meds. It tends to run in families so it's something you should test for probably every 6 months. It also means the exercising and losing weight is an order of magnitude (10X) more important for you than the other 75% of people.
This is so spot on! Everything said in this paragraph should be noted.
chefisaac, sorry about your dad. If he heeds his doctor's guidance, he should have a long, productive life. My mom was a Type-2 ... and didn't take care of herself. It was sad, but what can we children do? If they won't listen, or follow their doctor's advice, there is little anyone else can do. I am also Type-2, and try to control it, but I have a weakness for ice cream. Several years ago, I was able to lose forty pounds over a two-month period. I went from 225 lbs. to 185 lbs. The resultant weight loss allowed me to discontinue oral medicine. It's taken about five years for my weight to slowly creep up to its current 205-210 lbs. Yup, back on the medicine, (Metformin). I'm slowly working on getting it back down to about 190, but it is always difficult during the winter because after-work exercise is difficult to fit in, (along with a full-time mortgage-paying day job and teaching two nights a week at the local community college). Like jethro56 says, diet and exercise is so very important in controlling Type-2 diabetes.
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p.s. Worst thing about loosing that weight is that my tennis game went down the toilet. No longer did I have that mass behind my strokes. I was a whole lot quicker around the court. I could get to a ball much sooner ... but once there, I couldn't do anything with it. Still haven't recovered my old game. Maybe time for lessons again?