Trying to get a handle on my diabetes

Okay, so I'm a medical librarian, which means I know the complications of diabetes, have read the patient information and a few studies, know the medicines involved, and generally have a good knowledge of the disease's mechanism. The problem I have is what to eat, especially for a pescetarian (think vegetarian who eats fish and seafood) who has little time to cook and quite frankly is bad at it. I went to a diabetes education class but it was mostly on checking blood sugar and keeping meals to about 45 grams of carbs, but beyond that, I'm pretty clueless. I know how to eat healthy in general, but not how to eat healthy for good glucose control, and I've been terrible in putting any of the theory I do know in practice. But, my blood sugars have been consistently over 300 the last few days and I'm on four diabetes medications. I have to do something. I'm 130 lbs overweight and my body is breaking down, and I'm just 43 years old.

Now when I was a kid, one of the diets my mother tried was a diabetic exchange one, and it's the only one I ever tried and stayed on for more than a week or two, because it's fairly easy. So I've been looking at some information on the Internet and I've ordered some books from Amazon:

The Official Pocket Guide to Diabetic Exchanges by the American Diabetes Association
What Do I Eat Now? by Patricia Geil and Tami Ross
Diabetes Meals in 30 Minutes--or Less! by Robyn Webb

They had a special deal where they were just a little over $26 for the set, which means free shipping. Since they were shipped Friday from the warehouse in Lexington (the same city where I live), I'm thinking they'll arrive tomorrow or Wednesday.

I also checked out some books from the library today:

Diabetes Mellitus: A Practical Handbook by Sue Milchovich and Barbara Dunn-Long
The Joslin Guide to Diabetes: A Program for Managing Your Treatment by Richard Beaser and Amy Campbell
The All=Natural Diabetes Cookbook: the Whole Food Approach to Great Taste and Healthy Eating by Jackie Newgent (lots of vegetarian recipes)
Charting a Course to Wellness: Creative Ways of Living With Heart Disease and Diabetes by Teena and Graham Kerr (which has vegetarian options for many of their meat dishes)

Lest you think I just scoured the non-fiction section, I also picked up Death Masks by Jim Butcher, as I'm slowing going through all the Dresden Files series. :)

Anyway, I'm going to try to pay more attention to what I eat, use the exchange lists (it's small enough to fit in my purse), and start making meal plans instead of eating whatever comes to hand. It's a start, anyway. I need to exercise, too. The best thing to do would be probably walk around the hospital grounds every day for a break, because I don't have much time throughout the rest of the day.

Wish me luck!