Wesley S
"And sorry - but I reject the notion that it's difficult to lose weight on the road. It's easy to pop into a grocery store and buy inexpensive fruit and water bottles instead of pulling through the drive-thru for fries and a soft drink. If you're sitting next to a big bag of apples and bananas you are less likely to pull into Whataburger."

Wesley, who ever said bananas were good for diabetics?? WRONG!

Carol, fruits in moderation & in balance is good, an abundance of fruits alone will turn to sugar & the sugar blood count will skyrocket & peak.
You want to stop the peaks & drops & that's why you test to get an idea of how to moniter you food intake & how that effects you blood count.

Example,
Breakfast- I do 3 carbs which comes from if balanced, 1 carb from starch (say 2 slices of light bread or 1/2 an english muffin), 1 carb from fruit (maybe 1/4 cup of dried fruit or a small banana) & 1 carb from a milk product or byproduct (maybe 2/3cup of low-fat yogurt).
Now I can add to that 1 protein (say 1 egg or 1 cup raw veggies) along with that I should have a little fat (maybe 1 slice of bacon) & then some "free foods".

Lunch is the same 3 carb serving; balanced=starch, fruit, milk. Again with maybe 3oz of protein (that number will change depending on the person), 1 fat serving 1 veggie serving & again some "free foods"

Supper; maybe a 6" ear of corn (your starch), 1 1/4cup of water melon (your fruit), 1cup of low fat milk (your milk). Along with you protein; 5oz of lean pork or, beef or fish, 2 servings of fat (2 tbsp of salad dressing) plus a large salad & again some "free foods"

3 squares a day!!!!
now you need the snacks inbetween maels. For me I try to target between 17-20 carbohydrates.

The balance is important. Example. Starch may turn to ssugar with an hour, protein within 2 hours & will cause a peak in sugar levels but balancing the meal spreads the sugar spike out over a period of 3 hrs. The oil/fat (good fat is always a preference, meaning non animal fats) will slow down the fruit changing to sugar)

SO your friend needds to learn about what foods fall into what groups, what amout he can eat safely (consult an expert) & learn to read the food lables when buying foods.
He won't be able to do this without consulting a doctor (for finding out his blood levels & labs) & a nutri/diet expert to work in cojunction with his primary health care phys.
Once he has a handle of all this along with keeping his levels even & down to where they should be 90-100 then he can check his levels not so often but he needs to know where his levels are now, he could be a walking time bomb, find out if he needs meds & what kind (oral or injection) & get in some kind of exercise, exercise with diet = sleep is most very important, the combo is what will keep him alive in the long run. If he can't manage it, it's his tough shit, he'll pay eventually. Doesn't matter if he can't find the time or he's working all month long, if he wants to live long he'd better start finding the time to do what he has to do

Barry, who's trying to find his way too.

I never in my life had to worry about foods & exercise. I work heavy labor all my life & kept in great shape, eat what I wanted & got more exercise than I needed. Having a transplant & the meds that came with it caused my type 2 diabetes. It's a whole new & strange world for me too but we live & learn.

Good luck with your friend