I'm a newbie

[stargazer]

Hi everyone, im so glad I have found this site. I was told I have type 2 diabetes at the beginning of October. I have always been overweight with a sweet tooth so was not surprised to be honest.
I stopped sugar immediately, no sugar in my tea, no sweets, its been hard. Since then I have struggled with what I am allowed to eat. I have a video call with a dietician on 1st December so hope she can give me advice.
I have been buying food with only green on the traffic light system on packaging, so limited choice, I have no idea about carbohydrates etc.
I am getting some sweetness with fruit, I have lost a stone already but think that is because I am hardly eating.
Any advice would be appreciated x

 

[notmez]

hey welcome. how did you find out, was it a random blood test or some other issues that helped you get flagged up? do you know what your HBA1c number is? it will be a number that is measured in mmol and anything above 48 is counted as having diabetes.

What is HbA1c?

HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below. If you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, your target HbA1c level should be below 42mmol/mol (6%).

www.diabetes.org.uk

I have type 2 diabetes – what can I eat?

If you've just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, one of the first things you might be worried about is food. You’re likely to be faced with what seems like an endless list of new tasks. Medical appointments, taking medication, stopping smoking, being more active and eating a healthy, balanced...

www.diabetes.org.uk

This is a great place to be, there is a huge amount of information and a lot of helpful people. if you want to share a bit more information im sure someone will be around who can answer any questions if you have any.

The learning zone is also a great source of info, look for the orange banner link at the top of the page

I found out i was type 2 at the end of July and have been managing mine with a reduced carb diet, exercise and medication. keep an eye out on those traffic lights because while they tell you the food might not have much sugar the carbs in the food also turn in to sugar.

Have you been put on any medication? what sort of food do you eat and what do you like?

Feel free to ask any and all questions

 

[Lucyr]

Those traffic lights can be helpful but they can be confusing too, so you can use them as a guide to help compare foods but don’t use them as a total indication of good and bad foods.

Take this popcorn for instance, red for fat and orange for saturated fats and salts. But, the percentages show it’s 9% of your daily reccomended fat intake and 3% of salt intake, so unless you’re eating loads of other fats or multiple packets it’s not going to take you over the daily recommendation on its own, it depends what else you eat that day.

The traffic lights also don’t tell you the carbohydrates, which is the part that affects your blood sugar. That’s a similar story, at 10g carb a portion will easily fit into a low carb diet plan (those who follow a low carb diet aim under 130g per day, not all of us follow one) but it does depend on what else you’re eating that day, if you’re having one portion or 10 portions, what exercise you’re doing, what the alternative options are etc.

 

[stargazer]

Thank you both for the welcome, I have no idea of HbA1c, the nurse at my GP practice mentioned 13? she said it was too high for the past 3 months. I was at the nurse for my asthma when I mentioned I was tired all the time and was losing weight without trying, she arranged blood tests and called me the next day, I was shocked how quickly they got results. I was put on Metaformin, due to go back in January for a follow up blood test.
Im a fussy eater, dont like pasta or potatoes, think that might be a good thing?
I start work at 5pm each day so I need to eat something before then meaning I dont eat with the rest of the family, I dont feel like a big meal so usually have soup (from a can) and or a sandwich, when I get in from work I am hungry so have crackers and cheese. I would say I have 4 smallish meals a day just because of my lifestyle, babysitting grandchildren during the day and then out to work at teatime. This is where the sweetie and crisps came in as I would snack between meals.
Now I am forcing myself to eat and hungry a lot as I have cut out all the rubbish in between.

 

[notmez]

GP practice mentioned 13

not sure what that is, did they do a finger prick test with a little blood glucose meter? the HBA1c is identified from doing a vein blood test and sending the samples off to get checked. usually a few days, i had one done on monday and i;ll get the result on friday.

Im a fussy eater, dont like pasta or potatoes, think that might be a good thing?

thats good for you, both are high carb and great items to reduce if you can, obviously not relevant for you. i still love both of them but i now have half the amount as i would normally and add extra veg and source instead.

I mentioned I was tired all the time and was losing weight without trying

i'll ask the question, but its not something i know much about, how much weight have you lost and how quickly? rapid weight loss can sometimes be linked with T1 if you also have other symptoms - i dont know much about that but there are lots of people who would be able to help more.

 

[Spathiphyllum]

Stargazer: Notmez is right. You say that your asthma nurse did a blood test for diabetes when you mentioned you were "losing weight without trying"-- well, rapid unintentional weight loss is one of the signs of (untreated) Type 1 diabetes.

You say that since you were told you have diabetes you've lost weight "because I am hardly eating". Ok, but-- how much weight had you lost before the diagnosis, and over how much time?

You also need to find out exactly what blood tests you've had and what the results are. It may turn out that you do indeed have Type 2; but unfortunately it's common for people with Type 1 to be misdiagnosed at first, so it's best to check!

In the meantime, until you get proper advice from your GP, reducing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet is a good idea. All best wishes!

 

[Leadinglights]

Some good low carb options for 'snacks' rather than proper meals are protein nut bars like Nature Valley, KIND or shop own or some of the others which seem to have appeared recently as they are about 10g carb or less per bar. Full fat greek yoghurt with berries or nuts and seeds or high protein yoghurt or Kvarg deserts. Nuts, cheese, avocados, eggs, cooked meat with salad and coleslaw are all good low carb options.
Some people are fine with bread but have only 1 slice or look for some of the lower carb breads.
It is important to rule out Type 1 diabetes as the treatment will be different and it will be helpful if you could find out your HbA1C as that will indicate where you are at on the diabetes ladder.
Meanwhile have a look at this link for some menu ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
The Learning Zone is also a good resource for info and links.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is useful for giving carb value of various portion sizes for lots of foods and looking for the TOTAL carbs on packet rather than the useless traffic light info.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi stargazer. welcome to the forum.

I would have a chat with your nurse and ask her to let you know what your HBa1c is, that's the average of your blood sugar levels over the last three months and will help with tracking your progress.

The traffic light system on food is annoyingly not designed for diabetics so what may be green for others can be red for you.

The foods to adjust are carbohydrates/ sugars. This includes things like rice, bread, porridge, sugar drinks and so on. The only way to figure out what works for you is to test your blood sugars upon waking and two hours after a meal.

You can always keep a food diary for a week then see what you can swap or replace to help with your goals.

It can be a lot to take in so have a read of the links above and feel free to ask us any questions you may have.

 

[notmez]

@stargazer on a completely unrelated note. Your username. Are you in to astronomy, astrophotography or do you just like looking up? It's something I've been interested in for a while but only just started to actively take part in things.