Hello, newly diagnosed with type 2

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

Hello, welcome to my first thread.

As the title states, I am a newbie....still coming to terms with being diagnosed with type 2 and food is a problem. I have been on Metformin for 2 months (I take 4 tablets daily, if this helps) and wondered what others out there are doing, who may be in similar circumstances.

I have weight to lose but also have other health issues, the repetitive cycle of eating and needing to take medication together is tiresome, even when not wanting to eat, it must be done.....really need to lower my carb intake but apart from meat and salad, not sure and exactly how much carby foods (in weights & measurements) I should be consuming as there is a huge variant in the recipes I have seen on this forum. I can cook well but when it comes to cutting out carbs, I struggle. I also go through phases where I get fed up with eating meat or other animal related products and turn temporarily vegan or vegetarian but do tend to go back to meat and dairy, off and on for many years.

This is my first time posting here so hope this is not unusual.



Thank you for reading.

 

[Felinia]

Martin is spot on. I suggest you use a website/app which measures all the elements Martin mentioned. I use one called NutraCheck and it's very easy to use. Some others are free - mine is £7.99 a month, but the first 6 months were free. It has all the measurements for literally thousands of foods, and keeps running totals per meal, day and week, so you can see at a glance where you are (and saves you working it out!!!). You can also build your own recipes which will give you values per serving. If you are not into computers, of course you can keep written records instead, which will involve looking at a lot of packets and using the calculator for serving sizes. As for carbs, the main things to cut back on are potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables (ie parsnips), sugary cereals, fruit juice. You will have been advised to have wholegrain bread, rice, pasta, eat a piece of fruit rather than smoothies or juices, switch to jumbo porridge, and WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES. I keep my digital scales on the kitchen worktop, but Diabetes UK has a great book with pictures of portion sizes for easy reference. My carb limit is 75gm - 90gm per day, but that is me. We are all different, but I understand we need some carbs for good brain function, and it is important to ensure we get all the essential minerals and vitamins. Hope this helps with the carb issue.

 

[Drummer]

For many the advice to eat brown carbs rather than white ones does nothing to lower blood glucose. They are, after all, still high carb foods and if you can not cope with them you are not doing yourself any favours.
Eating fruit, if high sugar - well - not a good choice.
The essential food groups are protein and fat, carbs are optional. Most people can cope with small amounts - I eat a salad and some low carb veges each day, more for variety than out of any great need.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome to the forum BumbleBee from a fellow T2.
I'd recommend self testing. This will show you what effect any food has on your BG, along with any changes you make.
Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully, after a couple of weeks you'll start to see a pattern.
You can get the SD Code Free for £13, and strips for this meter are £8 for 50. No postage on either.

 

[CathyB]

Hi and welcome, I agree with what the others have said. Personally I completely cut all rice, pasta and potatoes and the only bread I eat is a Low carb LivLife loaf from Waitrose. A big revelation for me was cauliflower, I had previously only had it as a side veg or cauliflower cheese, now I mash it with a little whole grain mustard instead of mashed potatoes, great to replace potatoes on a cottage pie, especially with a generous sprinkle of cheese on top. I use cauliflower rice with a curry or in a stir fry with peppers, mushrooms, garlic and asparagus.....I had never really eaten asparagus much before but I love it now! I still have cauliflower cheese but make it using cream cheese and hard cheese mixed so there is no milk or flour....equally yummy! I love a good curry or a favourite is chicken and mushrooms with creme fraiche he served with broccoli.....so many yummy things to try and all low carb 😛

 

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.
We've all been where you are but it does eventually settle down to become the new normal. Low carb is generally considered to be less than 130g per day but many members go lower, some much lower. Fresh meat, fish, salad and green veg are all pretty well carb free so as long as your diet is rich in those things you should see your BG levels dropping and the lbs coming off. It took me 2-3 months before I felt I had my diet sorted, recording the carbohydrate, calorie, fat, protein and fibre content of everything I was eating. These days I know what I can eat, what I can't eat and how much I can eat.

My motto is to manage my diabetes, not let it manage me.

Can I ask where your Hba1c was at diagnosis, ie how far across the diabetes threshold you are?

Martin.

Hello Martin and thank you for replying.
I have been researching various foods and am going to head for lo carb high protein, meat and salad etc., I would like to know how many grams of carbs are in each food as if it’s with me I should know and remember things and will hopefully become second nature. I was eating my regular foods as before diagnosis but now I need to really change as the feeling of being faint all the time is no good and having to also take regular ongoing medication after eating is a big issue. I don’t know what Hba1c is as I haven’t been for any follow up appointments....this is still something I’m coming to terms with.

 

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

Martin is spot on. I suggest you use a website/app which measures all the elements Martin mentioned. I use one called NutraCheck and it's very easy to use. Some others are free - mine is £7.99 a month, but the first 6 months were free. It has all the measurements for literally thousands of foods, and keeps running totals per meal, day and week, so you can see at a glance where you are (and saves you working it out!!!). You can also build your own recipes which will give you values per serving. If you are not into computers, of course you can keep written records instead, which will involve looking at a lot of packets and using the calculator for serving sizes. As for carbs, the main things to cut back on are potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables (ie parsnips), sugary cereals, fruit juice. You will have been advised to have wholegrain bread, rice, pasta, eat a piece of fruit rather than smoothies or juices, switch to jumbo porridge, and WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES. I keep my digital scales on the kitchen worktop, but Diabetes UK has a great book with pictures of portion sizes for easy reference. My carb limit is 75gm - 90gm per day, but that is me. We are all different, but I understand we need some carbs for good brain function, and it is important to ensure we get all the essential minerals and vitamins. Hope this helps with the carb issue.

Hello Felicia, thank you for replying.
The app idea is a good one, I had never heard of this, I will try it manually first and see how it goes. I take tablets and don’t inject, how would I test myself, would it only be through blood or could I just monitor how I feel etc.? I am taking a couple of supplements but not many, I take magnesium and vitamin C, D and calcium but that’s it and ideally only temporarily until I can get enough of those nutrients from food. All new for me and still don’t really know where I am, hoping it will all settle soon.

 

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

Welcome to the forum BumbleBee from a fellow T2.
I'd recommend self testing. This will show you what effect any food has on your BG, along with any changes you make.
Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully, after a couple of weeks you'll start to see a pattern.
You can get the SD Code Free for £13, and strips for this meter are £8 for 50. No postage on either.

Hello Ralph, thank you for replying,
I will keep a food diary if at least for my own sanity and hopefully will get better but I don’t know what an SD code is strips for a meter are either, sorry.

 

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

Hi and welcome, I agree with what the others have said. Personally I completely cut all rice, pasta and potatoes and the only bread I eat is a Low carb LivLife loaf from Waitrose. A big revelation for me was cauliflower, I had previously only had it as a side veg or cauliflower cheese, now I mash it with a little whole grain mustard instead of mashed potatoes, great to replace potatoes on a cottage pie, especially with a generous sprinkle of cheese on top. I use cauliflower rice with a curry or in a stir fry with peppers, mushrooms, garlic and asparagus.....I had never really eaten asparagus much before but I love it now! I still have cauliflower cheese but make it using cream cheese and hard cheese mixed so there is no milk or flour....equally yummy! I love a good curry or a favourite is chicken and mushrooms with creme fraiche he served with broccoli.....so many yummy things to try and all low carb 😛

Hello Cathy, thank you for replying.
I will have to try the bread you mention, so many foods I would not have normally thought about although I do really like white asparagus, cannot stand the green mushrooms and asparagus for me is what I might just end up munching a lot of with chicken probably and cauliflower cheese is also yummy, is milk not good to have as that’s how I make mine but I use cornflour instead of wheat flour?

 

[PlumpBumbleBee1979]

For many the advice to eat brown carbs rather than white ones does nothing to lower blood glucose. They are, after all, still high carb foods and if you can not cope with them you are not doing yourself any favours.
Eating fruit, if high sugar - well - not a good choice.
The essential food groups are protein and fat, carbs are optional. Most people can cope with small amounts - I eat a salad and some low carb veges each day, more for variety than out of any great need.

Hello Drummer, thank you for replying.
White or brown bread, still carbs and sugar converted in the body so I agree, no difference and only option is to cut it out, I thought of making my own keto bread, will see how it goes. As for sugar I still crave it and will just have to go cold turkey, having a little is no good for me, if it’s there I will want it so might as well have none.

 

[Felinia]

Hello Felicia, thank you for replying.
The app idea is a good one, I had never heard of this, I will try it manually first and see how it goes. I take tablets and don’t inject, how would I test myself, would it only be through blood or could I just monitor how I feel etc.? I am taking a couple of supplements but not many, I take magnesium and vitamin C, D and calcium but that’s it and ideally only temporarily until I can get enough of those nutrients from food. All new for me and still don’t really know where I am, hoping it will all settle soon.

You test your blood sugar using a monitor which pricks your finger with a lancet, then you let the blood load onto a test strip in the monitor which shows your blood glucose level. Ralph-YK describes it in his reply above. This is what I use, and it really is the only way to know for sure, along with the 3 monthly HbA1c test. You are advised to monitor on rising, immediately before and 2 hours after each meal, then just before going to bed, and keeping a record of the results and what you ate. Some people do this all the time, but I used it for specific meals to establish what caused my blood glucose to rise. My diabetic nurse told me she didn't want me to get obsessed about monitoring. I am about to do one week's solid testing prior to my 3 month review.
I think the idea is that you should be 4 - 7 before eating and <8.5 2 hours after, but I'd check what your monitor says, and I'm sure others on this forum will correct me if I'm wrong. For example, the other day I came back from Aquafit and my reading was 5.3. But then I had my meal, which included some potato, and it shot up to 11.5, which is very bad - so I know potato is not good for me. I'm still coming to grips with it, and haven't fully sorted my diet, as I too have multiple health issues. I am expecting to have missed most of the targets set for me by my diabetic nurse - not for lack of trying, but could have done better!
Another app is MyFitnessPal which I know others use - I don't know if it's free or not, but it seems to do much the same as the one I use.

 

[Felinia]

Codefree Blood Glucose Monitor/Monitoring Test/Testing Kit+Strips+Lancets+Case - in mmol/L
I suggest you cut and paste the above into AMAZON and see what comes up. This is the one I have. You can also put it in GOOGLE and it will describe what it does. It's a little digital device, with a supply of lancets which you put in for each test, to prick your finger with. Very simple. It also comes with little rectangular strips which you put in the bottom of the monitor then hold your finger at the end, so the blood runs onto the strip. This then analyses the blood and displays the result. But seeing pictures will make it much clearer.

 

[Ralph-YK]

I take tablets and don’t inject, how would I test myself, would it only be through blood or could I just monitor how I feel etc.?

Hello Ralph, thank you for replying,
I will keep a food diary if at least for my own sanity and hopefully will get better but I don’t know what an SD code is strips for a meter are either, sorry.

I get the impression that some do have an idea from how they feel. However, testing would be using blood. This is what the SD Code Free would be for. It's a meter for testing blood glucose levels. You put a test strip in it (like most meters), put a drop of blood on the strip, and it gives you a reading. Do this before and after reading and you'll see the affect on your BG level.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Felinia's post didn't show up for me till after I posted. Lol

 

[Nick Cliff]

Hi @PlumpBumbleBee1979
Some great advice on diet above. I'm sure you'll find what suits you best.
You don't mention exercise. For me it's not diet, but diet AND exercise together. Not pumping iron, but getting regular exercise as part of your routine.
I'm disappointed you weren't advise about using a blood sugar meter. When I was diagnosed I was even issued one on prescription, but those days are gone I suppose. Although they are not fantastically accurate they give you an indication of whether you are doing well or badly as you make changes.
Good luck with making those changes..

 

[Nick Cliff]

@Anitram Thanks for the links

 

[DebbieC]

Hello, welcome to my first thread.

As the title states, I am a newbie....still coming to terms with being diagnosed with type 2 and food is a problem. I have been on Metformin for 2 months (I take 4 tablets daily, if this helps) and wondered what others out there are doing, who may be in similar circumstances.

I have weight to lose but also have other health issues, the repetitive cycle of eating and needing to take medication together is tiresome, even when not wanting to eat, it must be done.....really need to lower my carb intake but apart from meat and salad, not sure and exactly how much carby foods (in weights & measurements) I should be consuming as there is a huge variant in the recipes I have seen on this forum. I can cook well but when it comes to cutting out carbs, I struggle. I also go through phases where I get fed up with eating meat or other animal related products and turn temporarily vegan or vegetarian but do tend to go back to meat and dairy, off and on for many years.

This is my first time posting here so hope this is not unusual.



Thank you for reading.

 

[DebbieC]

Hi I’m not diabetic but I am mum to an autistic son who was diagnosed same time as you and on same level of metformin, I have learnt lots from the lovely people on here and have support my son to do low carb and WW point system and he’s lost 32lb in 7 weeks, still has proper oats about once a week for breakfast, small amount low carb bread , few new potatoes about twice a week (just 2) ....

 

[DebbieC]

Hello, welcome to my first thread.

As the title states, I am a newbie....still coming to terms with being diagnosed with type 2 and food is a problem. I have been on Metformin for 2 months (I take 4 tablets daily, if this helps) and wondered what others out there are doing, who may be in similar circumstances.

I have weight to lose but also have other health issues, the repetitive cycle of eating and needing to take medication together is tiresome, even when not wanting to eat, it must be done.....really need to lower my carb intake but apart from meat and salad, not sure and exactly how much carby foods (in weights & measurements) I should be consuming as there is a huge variant in the recipes I have seen on this forum. I can cook well but when it comes to cutting out carbs, I struggle. I also go through phases where I get fed up with eating meat or other animal related products and turn temporarily vegan or vegetarian but do tend to go back to meat and dairy, off and on for many years.

This is my first time posting here so hope this is not unusual.



Thank you for reading.

 

[DebbieC]

Sorry ran out of text, heck sausages, salmon, veg, pulses in moderation, nice recipes in Dr Mosley blood sugar diet, fathead pizza with almond flour, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, olives, hummus, peanut butter, spouts (my favourite) chilli, Bolognese, jelly with cream, nuts, ..... and loads more ... cook from scratch no jars or ready meals ... good luck x