You're diabetic, you might ask about being put on metformin right away

>I have insurance only through my part time job and they only cover $1000 a year. I had gestational diabetes in 1995. I went today and had one test done my blood sugar was 219. Monday when he gets HB1c results to see what he tells me to do.<

Welcome to the non-exclusive diabetes club. Not so hard to get into, unfortunately. With your history of gestational diabetes, you should have had at least annual bloodwork after your baby arrived; it's possible you've been walking around with elevated glucose levels for quite some time. That's actually pretty typical of type 2s, who are often diabetic for a long long time before their formal diagnosis.

>My boss's doctor is having him do just diet and exercise, no meds.<

Most folks these days are given a 3-month trial period to see how they do with diet and exercise (so-called lifestyle) modifications. If it does end up you're diabetic, you might ask about being put on metformin right away. It's a very good type two medication that doesn't make your pancreas make more insulin, but it does help your body's cells be less resistant to what insulin you DO have, plus it helps stop the liver from dumping stored glucose into the bloodstream so readily during times of fasting or increased muscle demand. Metformin is started out at a small dosage and gradually increased because it can bother some people with nausea and diarrhea, but usually within a week or two, the side effects ease off. Ask for the extended release form of the drug, and take it with food.

>I don't eat a lot of sweets, chocolate, cakes, etc. For a few weeks I've cut out white bread, tortillas.<

If you have any hope of controlling this without meds, you definitely need to steer clear of refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and most simple starches.

>I would like to know what I should eat. Or are there any books worth purchasing for cooking for diabetics?<

There are loads of diabetic cookbooks, and loads more info on the internet. Do you have weight to lose or gain? The best plan is to eat three portion-controlled meals a day and one or two small snacks. Decide on what calorie level you want to eat daily (best set by your doc or a nutritionist, but they're probably going to tell you 1200-1500, depending on your activity level), and just parcel those calories out evenly, choosing from protein sources, whole grains, beans, nuts, whole fruit (not juice) and low fat milk and dairy, with an eye to keeping the total carb grams under 150ish a day (we have folks on this group eating less than 50, but everyone's different). It'd be best to get custom-made- just-for- you nutritional advice from a real nutritionist, someone your doc can refer you to.