Thank you all very much for your thoughtful replies and wise suggestions. I know a lot of people live quietly and successfully with Type 2.

When I'm home, managing food intake is no problem... evenings on the road, in airports, or in social situations, especially dinners in other peoples' homes, are another story. I've wandered airport food courts once or twice recently and not been able to find anything I can eat, so left hungry. I attended my client's midday Christmas party / lunch buffet last week and it was top-heavy with tempting but lethal starches, from stuffing to mac and cheese to cakes and cookies. I loaded up on lean roast turkey, creamed spinach and cranberry sauce, and probably should have thought twice about the sugar in the latter. Even so people seemed to think I was being impolite and didn't like the spread.

Like you, Sunny 1, I just came back from a week in the UK. Breakfast was actually no problem (eggs, sausage, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms)... lunch and dinner were harder. Chips, mash, curry and rice, etc. all hard to avoid. Salad culture has come a long way in the UK but it's still not like it is in the US.

After a couple of months of the new food regime I have, however, knocked my average blood glucose readings down into the 90-120 range (I was at 250 on diagnosis day), and lost twenty pounds, so my big first-inning learning is that I can control my fate and effort pays off. Wheat seems to be my particular Kryptonite -- pizza crust, pasta, etc. cause crazy BG spikes. (I don't miss sweet stuff much.) Moderate booze doesn't appear to bother me, but I want it a lot less these days for some reason, so mainly drink flavored sparkling water.

I agree that exercise plays a huge role. In my current gig I walk nearly two miles a day to/from the train as part of my commute, so it's kind of taking care of itself, but when this project ends I'll probably have to invest in a treadmill.

I don't want to make too much of the Type 2 management challenge. I've been reading Internet support forums for diabetics and there sure seems to be a lot of woe-is-me pity partying going on from people who've been eating poorly for years and now can't believe they have to cool it on the brownies and sundaes. But, as i said in the top post, you sure start to notice how much of the everyday American (and UK!) diet is problematic.