I'm 34 yrs old type 2 diabetic.I was diagnosed 2 yrs ago, and have controlled it with diet and exercise. I'm 5'10" and weigh 150 lbs. I want to start bodybuilding and would like info on how to do this without taking in to many carbs and driving my sugar level through the roof. Please give me any advice that you may have. The doctors say to do cardio work but I want to get big, but not steroid big..

You would be amazed at how much you can improve with relatively little carbohydrate intake as a bodybuilder. Don't get me wrong, you do need carbohydrates but you don't need to be loading in pasta every day to get big. Here are some responses that I written to our members that you may find interesting.
,br> Response 1
The best way to make sure you are controlling your insulin and ultimately your energy levels in a good way is to eat a diet that consists of approximately 40-50 percent carbohydrates, 25-30 percent protein, and 25-30 percent fat. The other way is to simply eat healthy foods in smaller portions throughout the day and to exercise. However, I have found that if you do both, some amazing things can happen. You can maintain a much leaner body with less work, you will have a more consistent energy level with less fatigue and you may also experience positive changes in your cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

A big part of controlling insulin and energy levels means controlling something called glucagon. Glucagon, like insulin, is released from the pancreas. However, it is insulin's biological opposite. Insulin is a storage oriented hormone whereas glucagon is a release or mobilization oriented hormone. If you want to release the stored calories within your body you need to balance your insulin-glucagon ratios.

The balance of these two hormones is critical for survival and it depends on two things. One is the size of the meal you eat (overeating is not good no matter how healthy the food is!). The other is the ratio of protein to carbohydrate in each meal. That is why simply eating a diet that is more balanced in its macronutrient (carb, protein, fat) level like I mentioned above is so important.

In closing, just remember that no special diet or training strategy is going to be the magical panacea for everyone. The opposite is just as true. Eating carrots or corn, as you mentioned in your question, isn’t going to ruin your life so you really don’t want to get too stressed out about the little things.

Also, for some great tips on healthy eating, check out our basic nutrition section at:

http://www.fitrex.com/nutrition.shtml

Response 2
In order to gain mass you must eat large quantities of healthy food-- beef, chicken, turkey, fish, oatmeal, whole grain breads, milk etc. Then you must create a need in your body to gain more weight. This need is created by resistance training or lifting weights.

So, in combination with eating as much as possible, taking supplements like creatine, glutamine and meal replacement packets like Met-Rx and Myoplex, you must lift weights!

Response 3
A weight gainer is helpful if you are having a hard time getting enough calories from whole foods. However, most weight gainers are high in simple sugars. Eating a high percentage of simple sugars is going to contribute to increases in bodyfat. Therefore, it would be preferred to eat a balanced diet of proteins, complex carbs, and fat. Some good complex carbs include potatoes, oatmeal, apples, broccoli, and other whole grain foods. For your protein intake try to get about 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Great protein sources are chicken, tuna, egg whites, low fat dairy products, Whey protein, and meal replacement powders like Met-Rx and Myoplex. Quality fat sources include nuts, seeds, Flax seed oil, Udo’s oil, and Olive oil. Check out the recommended readings (Books) in the Fitness Info area of our web site. Also, try to eat 4-6 balanced meals per day. For more information check out the nutrition section and the article archive.

Now, to give you my type of specific examples, let’s first look at what some great carbohydrate, protein, and quality fatty acid foods are:

Carbohydrate Foods
Whole grain (not just wheat but, WHOLE wheat) breads pastas, and oatmeal
Fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, grapefruit)
Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, potato’s, lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers)

Protein Foods
Fish (salmon, tuna, these foods are also great sources of quality fatty acids)
Chicken
Low Fat Dairy products (cottage cheese, milk, mozzarella cheese, yogurts)
Extra Firm Tufo
Pork Chops
Whey Protein Powders
Soy based Protein Powders
Meal Replacement Powders (Met-Rx, Myoplex, Met Max, Lean Body brands)
Egg Whites

Quality Fatty Acid Foods and Oils
Fresh Nuts, Seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower) Olive Oil, Flax Seed Oil, Udo’s oil (check out the recommended reading list for info on Udo’s oil)
Avocados
Now, you really need to “learn” more about these foods. By learning more, what I am recommending is that you find out the gram content of the macronutrient (carb, protein, fat) levels a serving of these foods provides. In our nutrition section you will see an area that says searchable food database. Click on this to search out what a serving of chicken offers from a protein standpoint, or what a tablespoon of Olive oil has from a fat standpoint or what a serving of oatmeal has from a carbohydrate standpoint etc. Once you become familiar with the foods that you like to eat from the above recommendations you will be well on your way to organizing your daily food intake. If you put a little effort into this you will be much better off than for me to recommend a certain eating plan that may have foods on it that you really don’t care for.

Also, there will be times when you are eating out that you will have to make some decisions about certain foods. If you are knowledgeable about what some of the foods that you like have in them you will have the power in your hands. It’s should not be in some regimented menu that I may recommend! I know it’s more fun or interesting to think about eating foods like “Ginger Chicken Stir Fry” or “Salmon Mousse with Cucumber Salad”. But, how frequently do we really eat foods like this or even have the time to prepare them! ? If I did put a menu together, which I have done many times before, invariably, for whatever reason (taste, time, etc) you wouldn’t be able to eat the dinner that I recommend on Thursday evening or the breakfast recommendation on Monday morning. This is exactly why I don’t put together meal plans for people. Meal plans are a recipe for failure because they are nearly impossible to follow and to make them more exciting or “readable” I would have to put in these wild variations of foods that are fun and taste great but don’t work for the reasons that I mention above.