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newbie here

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dirtydancing24

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi my name is sharon have recently been diagnosed type 2. hoping for some friendly hints, tips and advice. Dont really know where to start. still getting my head around it all aswell. Have been refered to a diabetic clinic for 9 month programme, just waiting to hear back
 
Welcome to the forum @dirtydancing24 & @Spiritduck.🙂 It is quite a shock getting diagnosed with diabetes, but it;s a perfectly manageable condition. The important thing is to watch carbohydrates, as these raise our blood sugar levels (BG). So that means cutting back on things like bread, rice, pasta & potatoes as well as the usual sugar filled things. Testing your BG is recommended by most of us here to see how your body copes with carbs. Most GP's won't prescribe meters to type 2's (unless on hypo inducing drugs) & they come up with all sorts of silly excuses. If you haven't been prescribed a meter, the best value one is the SD Codefree from Amazon or Home Health. It has much cheaper test strips than any other brand. Test before meals & 2 hours after & look for a rise of no more than 2-3mmols. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time for your BG's to come down, but by following a low carb diet you should start to see good results within a few weeks.
 
You might be given all sorts of advice about 'eating healthy' - and including carbs in your diet, when it is carbohydrates which are the problem.
Diabetics cannot cope with the amounts of sugars and starches we can get in any supermarket, and it is not that we overeat - we cannot cope with carbs.
I now have the perfect excuse to stick to doing the Atkins diet - a way of life I have been told so many times is just plain wrong, but it always made me feel so well, I had loads of energy, felt well, looked well, was cheerful and could lose weight easily. Amazingly - it is the exact same diet which made my blood glucose normal and dropped my Hba1c down to 41 in 6 months.By sticking to a maximum of 50 gm of carb a day my diabetes just went away. I can eat more carbs now - but I don't as I need to lose weight thanks to almost two years on a cholesterol reducing diet - which didn't help at all.
 
Hi. Welcome. Let me assure you that this is a great place to learn. "Reduce your Carbs" was the best advice anyone gave me. I'm 11 weeks in and still have moments where I wonder what on earth is going on but I now feel fitter, have lost weight and know I have quite alot of control over this.
 
Welcome to you both, this is most definitely the place to learn how to take control 🙂 read as much as you can, this is not text book theory but the lived experience of real people with real lives! As Mark has already said, the carbs are the enemy so that’s a great starting point. The next step is to get yourself a meter and test, it’s the only way to work out which foods your body responds to so you can avoid the ones that are not working for you. Feel free to ask any questions :D
 
Mark Parrott said:
Welcome to the forum @dirtydancing24 & @Spiritduck.🙂 It is quite a shock getting diagnosed with diabetes, but it;s a perfectly manageable condition. The important thing is to watch carbohydrates, as these raise our blood sugar levels (BG). So that means cutting back on things like bread, rice, pasta & potatoes as well as the usual sugar filled things. Testing your BG is recommended by most of us here to see how your body copes with carbs. Most GP's won't prescribe meters to type 2's (unless on hypo inducing drugs) & they come up with all sorts of silly excuses. If you haven't been prescribed a meter, the best value one is the SD Codefree from Amazon or Home Health. It has much cheaper test strips than any other brand. Test before meals & 2 hours after & look for a rise of no more than 2-3mmols. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time for your BG's to come down, but by following a low carb diet you should start to see good results within a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the recommendations on the meters really helpful.
 
Drummer said:
You might be given all sorts of advice about 'eating healthy' - and including carbs in your diet, when it is carbohydrates which are the problem.
Diabetics cannot cope with the amounts of sugars and starches we can get in any supermarket, and it is not that we overeat - we cannot cope with carbs.
I now have the perfect excuse to stick to doing the Atkins diet - a way of life I have been told so many times is just plain wrong, but it always made me feel so well, I had loads of energy, felt well, looked well, was cheerful and could lose weight easily. Amazingly - it is the exact same diet which made my blood glucose normal and dropped my Hba1c down to 41 in 6 months.By sticking to a maximum of 50 gm of carb a day my diabetes just went away. I can eat more carbs now - but I don't as I need to lose weight thanks to almost two years on a cholesterol reducing diet - which didn't help at all.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this as when i saw diabetic nurse she told me to include carbs in my diet. will try the low carb diet. so much information we get contradicts each other but i would listen to people diagnosed with diabetes as they know there own bodys and know what works for them . the nhs should support this.
 
Officially I have done the impossible - got normal readings - as 'everyone' knows that diabetes is a progressive disease which leads to misery and a nasty end - but I'm not going that way, I eat a diet which is delicious, sustaining, energising and I feel really happy and content on two meals a day and, at the moment am eating 40 gm of carb a day to reduce my body fat. That is impossible too I am told - no diet targets just body fat - well excuse my maths but according to my scales, which tell me my percentage of fat, the rest of me is maintaining its weight - so I must be a medical marvel, or the information is wrong.
 
Welcome @dirtydancing24 and to @Spiritduck too, great that you have found this forum. As Mark has said, it can be overwhelming at first but it is a manageable condition and there are lots of people here to help. Great to see that you're already aware of the individual nature of type 2 diabetes and that it is a case of understanding your own body and how it reacts to different things. There are a few helpful books and websites recommended by members over the years in the 'Useful links for people new to diabetes'. so do take a look.
And keep asking questions, we are here to answer them! :D
 
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