Newly Diagnosed - Top 20 do's and don't s?

[Neale Francis]

Hi all, firstly glad to be here and this is the first real step I've taken to get this under control.
Gladly will take any advice and have got my appt booked for the local DESMOND course but that's not until middle of August so I'm keen to get things moving and reaping the health benefits.

So just wondered until I get fully up to speed whether there was a list of Do's and Don't s in regard to which foods to eat and drink etc?

Also if there was a rough guide to understanding what I should look at on food labels when I go shopping i.e. reading the labels. That seems to be an art in itself!!!!

Thanks in advance for any advice..

 

[Martin Canty]

Hi Neale, welcome to the group, sorry to see you here though.....

Do's & Dont's..... It's not as onerous as it sounds, number 1 do... Limit your carb intake, Cut (or reduce) bread, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables & increase green leafy vegetables.
Number 2 do... Don't stress about the disease, it's a life sentence without the possibility of parole, but it's up to you as to whether to do "Hard Time" or not....

 

[Neale Francis]

Thanks - exactly what I needed a easy common sense approach! Thanks Martin really appreciate it!
😉

 

[Stitch147]

Hi Neale welcome to the forum.
Another tip. Watch the amount of fruit that you eat. 2-3 portions a day.

 

[Martin Canty]

Watch the amount of fruit

Berries are a good bet if you are eating fruit, the more tropical types of fruit are very high in sugars

 

[Ljc]

For some diabetics porridge can cause high BG (blood glucose) levels.
Low fat foods often have quite a bit of sugar added to make them taste better.

Have you been given a meter to test your BG levels

 

[grovesy]

To find what works for you and can be maintained long term.

 

[Neale Francis]

Not unfortunately not been given a Meter yet, but eating some fruit Grapes mainly, managed to cut the Alcohol down by half so far so that's my first milestone.

 

[Ljc]

Grapes ouch , it's not that you cant have any but they are full of sugar as are oranges.
Well done for cutting down on alcohol.

Sadly most GP practices do not supply meters for us T2s unless we are on certain medications that can cause us to go hypo (low BG) IMO this is down to cost cutting
If you are refused a meter and you probably will be
But how are you to know how certain foods affect you unless your able to test.

The SD Codefree meter and test strips available from Amazon is the most economical to fund , 50 test strips are around £8 ish
sorry had to edit as my iPad is saying stupid things again

 

[Neale Francis]

Apparently our local DESMOND meeting supply the Meters when do a Day Course - So fingers crossed!

 

[Martin Canty]

supply the Meters when do a Day Course

Ha, reminds me of my DX day..... Leave the Dr's office with prescriptions for drugs & testing supplies.... Get them from the Pharmacy, go home & spend probably 30 minutes trying to test for the first time.... Now it's just Stab & Jab!!!!
The irony is that I've administered lots of BG finger prick tests in my role as Paid Call Firefighter!!!

 

[Ljc]

Ha, reminds me of my DX day..... Leave the Dr's office with prescriptions for drugs & testing supplies.... Get them from the Pharmacy, go home & spend probably 30 minutes trying to test for the first time.... Now it's just Stab & Jab!!!!
The irony is that I've administered lots of BG finger prick tests in my role as Paid Call Firefighter!!!

Ha, luckily I was ahead of the game when I was first diagnosed. One of my many rolls was to prick people's fingers to check their iron level before they donated blood

 

[Northerner]

Hi all, firstly glad to be here and this is the first real step I've taken to get this under control.
Gladly will take any advice and have got my appt booked for the local DESMOND course but that's not until middle of August so I'm keen to get things moving and reaping the health benefits.

So just wondered until I get fully up to speed whether there was a list of Do's and Don't s in regard to which foods to eat and drink etc?

Also if there was a rough guide to understanding what I should look at on food labels when I go shopping i.e. reading the labels. That seems to be an art in itself!!!!

Thanks in advance for any advice..

Hi Neale, welcome to the forum 🙂 Here's a quick reading list for you:

Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter - great introductions to understanding diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - excellent, positive book to guide you through the early months.
The GL Diet for Dummies - very good introduction to the 'Glycaemic Load' approach to selecting and combining foods so that they have a slow, steady impact on blood glucose levels.

Also, you should get your free copy of 100 things I wish I'd known about diabetes from Diabetes UK 🙂

When you do your course and get your meter, read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how to use it efficiently to tailor your diet to suit your tolerances and manage your diabetes well - and remember, 'Well-controlled diabetes is the major cause of....absolutely nothing!' 🙂 No reason you can't live a long, healthy, happy life with diabetes as long as you are prepared to put in a bit of work, which you clearly are since you came here looking for help! 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions - it's very difficult to leave us stumped for an answer, but we always enjoy a challenge! 🙂

 

[bilbie]

Apparently our local DESMOND meeting supply the Meters when do a Day Course - So fingers crossed!

The meter is cheap, it's the strips that cost money. Most T2's don't get given them. Without a meter you haven't the feedback to what is raising your BG. Have a think about getting the sd codefree.

Without a meter and to get the Blood Glucose down quickly, I would cut Sugars including fruit/juice and the grains, Starches.
This induction diet will work and then add more carbs later.
http://au.atkins.com/new-atkins/the-program/phase-1-induction.html

 

[Stitch147]

Grapes = little sugar bombs!!!

I steer clear of grapes now as they send my levels soaring. I tend to stick to berries (straw, rasp, blue) and the occasional apple. All the fruits I used to eat I dont anymore, banana's, pineapple, melon, mango are all a no-no for me.

 

[MarkT]

Hi Neale welcome to the forum.
Another tip. Watch the amount of fruit that you eat. 2-3 portions a day.

Interesting you say this, as my doctor, an alledged diabetes specialist", wants me to eat my 5 fruit portions per day. I think a case of more testing for a while to check. Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[Stitch147]

Interesting you say this, as my doctor, an alledged diabetes specialist", wants me to eat my 5 fruit portions per day. I think a case of more testing for a while to check. Thanks for pointing this out.

I was regulary eating between 5-7 portions of fruit before diagnosis and my Dr told me this was way too much because of the amount of natural sugar in it, he advised me 2-3 portions of fruit and 3-5 portions of vegetables a day. That way I'm still getting my "5 a day" but its mostly veg.

 

[bilbie]

Interesting you say this, as my doctor, an alledged diabetes specialist", wants me to eat my 5 fruit portions per day. I think a case of more testing for a while to check. Thanks for pointing this out.

I guess it would all depends on your BG and weight, Fructose has to be metabolised the same as alcohol

Diabetics also convert glucose to fructose up to 10 times more than non diabetics.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KybOPCB2Qd4

 

[Mark Parrott]

Fruit peaks BG very quickly, usually within the hour. So if you want to test fruit, l would test every 30 mins up to 2 hours. Thankfully, I'm OK with bananas.

 

[MarkT]

Now, i know I can't touch bananas...Don't ask how!😱