Newly diagnosed Monday

[Hemsley38]

Hiya
I am so new to all of this and nit a clue what I am doing. I had my diagnosis confirmed for type 2 diabetes and am feeling a little low and not a clue what is going on. It's all a little overwhelming. I just need good food ideas, as eating now scares me in a way. All suggestions most welcome.
Thank you.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome to the forum Hamsley from a fellow T2.
It's not food in general that affects our blood glucose (BG). It's carbohydrates in particular that can make us spike. You may be able to eat some. Which, how much and what with is the question.
I'd suggest getting a meter (the Code free has the best price strips) and self test before and after eating. This allows you to see what affect food has on your BG, as well as any changes you make.
Keep a food diary as well as a record of your levels. After a couple of weeks you should start to see a pattern.

 

[CathyB]

Hi and welcome to the forum. It can all feel a little overwhelming at first, I remember spending weeks convinced I would starve to death as there was nothing worth eating! I followed the low carb path and now cant imagine going back to eating like I used to. I used a food diary to work out what worked for me or what I needed to tweak / cut out, I tested before eating and then again about 2 hours after, if my reading was any more than 2 higher than my pre reading I would make a change, didn’t take long to see what I needed to do. I gave up rice, potatoes and pasta completely and found cauliflower was really versatile, either blitzed to replace rice or mashed with a little mustard to replace potato, great on its own or used to top a cottage pie and sprinkle with cheese, yummy! The one thing I couldn’t give up was bread so I switched to a low carb alternative called LivLife, makes nice toast or great for a quick sandwich. Eggs for breakfast, bacon and mushrooms, any meat really (not honey glazed). You learn to check the carb count in everything before you buy. Honestly its not as hard as you think. Be careful with fruit as it has a lot of natural sugar, especially the tropical ones like banana or mango. Have a good read of the posts here then ask any questions you have, we are a friendly bunch and have all been where you are now 🙂

 

[Drummer]

Maybe roast a chicken?
Nothing seems as bad when observed over the top of a gently steaming golden skinned nicely cooked chicken.

 

[MrDaibetes]

Welcome to the forum. Being newly diagnosed can be overwhelming but there is lots of information on the Diabetes UK website, if you have any questions then please do not be afraid to ask.

 

[ColinUK]

Maybe roast a chicken?
Nothing seems as bad when observed over the top of a gently steaming golden skinned nicely cooked chicken.

That’s an idea. Very newly diagnosed myself (three hours ago) so may well head to the organic butcher and pick up a lovely chicken to roast.

 

[rebrascora]

That’s an idea. Very newly diagnosed myself (three hours ago) so may well head to the organic butcher and pick up a lovely chicken to roast.

Just go steady on the spuds. Many people don't realise that it is carbohydrates and not just sugar and sweet stuff which affects our blood glucose levels, so bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals (even healthy porridge) and couscous etc all need to be limited to help lower our BG levels. Leafy veg and Mediterranean veg are all good but root veg and fruit (particularly tropical fruit) can be quite high in sugars. Mushrooms, nuts and eggs, meat and fish are all good and cauliflower is one of our most useful and versatile veg as diabetics. It can be mashed with a good dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of mustard to replace potato mash and grated or finely chopped to replace rice or couscous and who doesn't like cauliflower cheese? So maybe stop at the green grocers too and get some cauli and broccoli, leeks and cabbage or Brussels if you like them. Aubergines have been a revelation for me as they soak up cooking fat and go well with both fish and meat. Had some cut into chunks and fried with burgers and mushrooms the other day and they were lush. Have also had them pan fried in butter with salmon.... many of us have found that increasing our intake of healthy fat (which surprisingly includes meat fat and butter and cheese as well as olive oil) whilst we are eating a very low carb diet, provides us with slow release energy, keeps us from feeling hungry and tastes good which means that long term, our low carb diet is sustainable. Eating a variety of fresh veg is important when you are eating low carb.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hiya
I am so new to all of this and nit a clue what I am doing. I had my diagnosis confirmed for type 2 diabetes and am feeling a little low and not a clue what is going on. It's all a little overwhelming. I just need good food ideas, as eating now scares me in a way. All suggestions most welcome.
Thank you.

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis @Hemsley38, but glad you have found this helpful and supportive forum.

It's not at all unusual to feel overwhelmed and lost when you receive a diagnosis like diabetes, but take heart - diabetes is generally a slow moving foe, and you have plenty of time to make small adjustments to your diet and lifestyle to aim for better BG outcomes. Some people even reflect and say that their diabetes was a bit if a catalys and turning point where they began to make healthy changes, to feel better, and also to get access to regular health checks so that any potential issues can be spotted early and treated promptly.

Lots of members here highly recommend Maggie Davies' Letter to the Newly Diagnosed https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s.61307/

And also Gretchen Becker's Book 'Type 2 diabetes the first year' which is written in a very clear and understandable way. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/073821860X/

One of the biggest questions in the beginning is often 'what on earth can I eat' and the answer, as with many things diabetes-related is 'it depends'. Everyone has a different reaction to foods, and while there are general principles (carbohydrate raises BG levels more than anything else - and not just sugar, all carbohydrate) the precise tolerances of each person to different things lie bread, or grains, or fruit, or porridge can be very different. So the best bet is usually to use a BG meter (you can buy one with affordable strips if your surgery will not provide one for you eg http://amzn.to/2xw9ID7) and use it to experiment with the food you currently eat to see hoe you r body responds, then make small changes to aim for lower BG differences before-after eating.

There's a helpful write up of how to approach this called 'test review adjust' here: https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

Good luck with it all and let us know how you are getting on 🙂

 

[Holsmum]

Hello- I Only very recently joined but there is lots of helpful advice on here! My starting point was to cut the amount of carbs for my daughter in half - I cut out the very obvious sugars too and am cooking from scratch for her ( I batch cook and freeze)
In a very short time she is down from 57 hbAc1 to 54 - get a monitor- v easy to use and it will give you an idea which foods cause you to have higher sugars - just a cautionary note, don’t get too hung up on them if you do get a higher reading for no obvious reason- as I did!!! She did balance out over the day

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome to the forum. 🙂

The only thing I know how to do is read read read and watch health documentaries. I like Michael Mosley. Don't bother reading "Can I Eat That?" by Jenefer wotsit, boring as all get out and one of the recipes at the back is for baked spuds! I ask you!