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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hello
- Thread starter JeanM
- Start date
- Status
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello and welcome
This is a copy of a post to another newly diagnosed Type 2, that I made earlier today. I hope it helps you as well.
You are in the right place here. It can be very overwhelming at first but as you get to learn more about diabetes you should find you soon adjust. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your HbA1c, any medication you are on, other medical conditions and how you came to be diagnosed? That way we can best make suggestions.
I would suggest you start by working your way through the Learning Zone (orange tab above), slowly one module a day so you can take in the information. Please ask any questions you may have - there is no such thing as a silly question - we have all been where you are now.
You can best help yourself by making lifestyle changes - food, weight and exercise. If you are overweight a weight loss generally helps reduce blood glucose. Exercise is also helpful. This can be as simple as a daily walk. I'm 72 with mobility issues, but go to the swimming pool 3 times a week. I do aquafit (we are mainly ladies of a certain age - I'm one of the youngest!), but my 88 year old friend simply swims. My 80+ neighbour cycles twice a week, and my other neighbour has the most walked dogs in the area!
You asked about what to eat and drink. A lot depends on how far you are in the diabetic range - if you are just in the range a few simple adjustments might be enough. Most Type 2 benefit by reducing their carbohydrate intake. By that I mean bread, potato, rice, pasta, most fruits, cakes, biscuits, sweets, pastries, not just sugar. But not going overboard, as that can damage your eyes. It is suggested trying to keep below 130gm carbs a day. But everybody is different and some people are more sensitive to carbs than others. I experimented and settled on around 90gm a day. I found substitute foods, like cauliflower rice, soy bean noodles, roasted squash and lots of new vegetables to try. I got an app which measures calories, carbs, fats, proteins, fibre, salt and exercise, by meal, by day and by week. There are lots of food suggestions on the thread "What did you eat yesterday", looking for Type 2 respondents. All I drink is water, decaf tea and coffee, but others may have drinks suggestions.
A typical day for me is
Breakfast: poached egg, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes or Greek yogurt with berries (some top with seeds and nuts)
Lunch: Home made vegetable soup or salad
Dinner: 2/3 plate vegetables (not root veggies) plus 1/3 plate protein like steamed fish or grilled chicken
Snack: Depends on my daily carbs and how many I have available. I do like a dash of lime juice in my water, or a little dark chocolate. Sometimes it's fruit like strawberries.
This is a copy of a post to another newly diagnosed Type 2, that I made earlier today. I hope it helps you as well.
You are in the right place here. It can be very overwhelming at first but as you get to learn more about diabetes you should find you soon adjust. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your HbA1c, any medication you are on, other medical conditions and how you came to be diagnosed? That way we can best make suggestions.
I would suggest you start by working your way through the Learning Zone (orange tab above), slowly one module a day so you can take in the information. Please ask any questions you may have - there is no such thing as a silly question - we have all been where you are now.
You can best help yourself by making lifestyle changes - food, weight and exercise. If you are overweight a weight loss generally helps reduce blood glucose. Exercise is also helpful. This can be as simple as a daily walk. I'm 72 with mobility issues, but go to the swimming pool 3 times a week. I do aquafit (we are mainly ladies of a certain age - I'm one of the youngest!), but my 88 year old friend simply swims. My 80+ neighbour cycles twice a week, and my other neighbour has the most walked dogs in the area!
You asked about what to eat and drink. A lot depends on how far you are in the diabetic range - if you are just in the range a few simple adjustments might be enough. Most Type 2 benefit by reducing their carbohydrate intake. By that I mean bread, potato, rice, pasta, most fruits, cakes, biscuits, sweets, pastries, not just sugar. But not going overboard, as that can damage your eyes. It is suggested trying to keep below 130gm carbs a day. But everybody is different and some people are more sensitive to carbs than others. I experimented and settled on around 90gm a day. I found substitute foods, like cauliflower rice, soy bean noodles, roasted squash and lots of new vegetables to try. I got an app which measures calories, carbs, fats, proteins, fibre, salt and exercise, by meal, by day and by week. There are lots of food suggestions on the thread "What did you eat yesterday", looking for Type 2 respondents. All I drink is water, decaf tea and coffee, but others may have drinks suggestions.
A typical day for me is
Breakfast: poached egg, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes or Greek yogurt with berries (some top with seeds and nuts)
Lunch: Home made vegetable soup or salad
Dinner: 2/3 plate vegetables (not root veggies) plus 1/3 plate protein like steamed fish or grilled chicken
Snack: Depends on my daily carbs and how many I have available. I do like a dash of lime juice in my water, or a little dark chocolate. Sometimes it's fruit like strawberries.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @JeanM
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Can you remember what your HbA1c was? This will be a number above 48mmol/mol (though can be a lot higher!). This can help you understand how tricky your metabolism is finding coping with the carbohydrate content of your menu at the moment.
Diabetes UK produced this ‘enjoy food’ supplement which covers a lot of useful information that you might find helpful.
There are also these meal plans, which suggest a variety of different strategies and approaches (lower carb, mediterranean, lower calorie, veggie etc etc).
Meal plans and diabetes
Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...
Many members here find the most important aspect of their menu in terms of blood glucose management, is the total carbohydrate content (not just ‘of which sugars’). One of the tricky things is that everyone’s tolerance is different, so it’s a question of finding a level of carbohydrate intake (and the types and sources of carbs) which suit you as an individual 🙂
Tim Aylesbury
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello Jean,
Welcome to the Forumn.
As well as the information available from Diabetes UK, including this forumn, there are Local Support Groups, which you could contact to discuss any non-medical concerns.
Regards.
Tim.
Timothy J. Henshaw
Secretary
Aylesbury Vale Diabetes UK Group
Welcome to the Forumn.
As well as the information available from Diabetes UK, including this forumn, there are Local Support Groups, which you could contact to discuss any non-medical concerns.
Regards.
Tim.
Timothy J. Henshaw
Secretary
Aylesbury Vale Diabetes UK Group
Thankyou. My HbA1c is 57 but it has been gradually rising and rising and I need to get to grips with everything at the moment I’m utterly confused and would love to go to a venue to discuss things tooWelcome to the forum @JeanM
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Can you remember what your HbA1c was? This will be a number above 48mmol/mol (though can be a lot higher!). This can help you understand how tricky your metabolism is finding coping with the carbohydrate content of your menu at the moment.
Diabetes UK produced this ‘enjoy food’ supplement which covers a lot of useful information that you might find helpful.
There are also these meal plans, which suggest a variety of different strategies and approaches (lower carb, mediterranean, lower calorie, veggie etc etc).
Meal plans and diabetes
Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...www.diabetes.org.uk
Many members here find the most important aspect of their menu in terms of blood glucose management, is the total carbohydrate content (not just ‘of which sugars’). One of the tricky things is that everyone’s tolerance is different, so it’s a question of finding a level of carbohydrate intake (and the types and sources of carbs) which suit you as an individual 🙂
That would be fantastic for me. How do I go about finding one near to me? Thankyou
Thankyou for taking the time to respond to me and providing so much information it’s very kind of you
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If you go onto the main Diabetes UK website and search local support groups and look for your region there may be something near you. It could be that they are not yet back to face to face meetings but there will be contact details.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This link may also help you with some ideas on what to eat and what not to eat, a low carb approach based on real foods. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
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