i am new to diabetes and have question

[jonny the hog]

hi everybody as you can see by my title this is all new to me and a little daunting for me. and due to the coronavirus I don't think I have had the help I need but joining this group looks like that's about to change . so may I start by hoping everyone is safe and well . so I got diagnosed on the 8th April was sent a diet sheet and a prescription and advise to join a help group so here I am . I have some questions and any help would be most greatfully received . my first question is probably been asked before I have a large appetite but need to drop some weight can I just have two meals a day and have a bigger portion of food at those meal times . the second question is I am trying to use the traffic light system on food packaging and wondered if I add up all the % on the packaging up to my daily RI can I get a true reading from all the different packets.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @jonny the hog

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and you picked a tricky time for it!

I‘m not quite sure what the content of your diet sheet was, but sometimes folks arrive on the forum having been offered rather less than helpful advice - it just depends on how up to date your surgery is.

The most significant aspect of your meal plans as far as your blood glucose management is concerned will be carbohydrates, in all their forms. Carbs are readily broken down by the body into glucose in the bloodstream, and while there may be a very small benefit from choosing higher fibre types (seedy bread, whole meal pasta) the variations from person to person are significant - and you may find that ‘healthy whole grain’ carbs are anything but for you as an individual.

Generally, T2 members here find that reducing carb intake and also changing types provides very positive BG outcomes, and reduces hunger especially if proteins and good fats are included in the menu in reasonable proportions.

You can use a BG meter to identify any carbs that seem to be spiking BG - taking a reading before and 2hours after eating, and noting what the differences are. Then you can experiment with reducing amounts and types of carbs in that particular meal (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference). Gradually tweaking and tailoring your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline and your BG levels 🙂

If you are interested in this approach you may find test-review-adjust by Alan S a helpful framework.

One of the most affordable meters members here have found is from SD, and has been recently updated to the SD Gluco Navii which has test strips at around £8 for 50

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[Drummer]

hi everybody as you can see by my title this is all new to me and a little daunting for me. and due to the coronavirus I don't think I have had the help I need but joining this group looks like that's about to change . so may I start by hoping everyone is safe and well . so I got diagnosed on the 8th April was sent a diet sheet and a prescription and advise to join a help group so here I am . I have some questions and any help would be most greatfully received . my first question is probably been asked before I have a large appetite but need to drop some weight can I just have two meals a day and have a bigger portion of food at those meal times . the second question is I am trying to use the traffic light system on food packaging and wondered if I add up all the % on the packaging up to my daily RI can I get a true reading from all the different packets.

The traffic light system is no use at all for diabetics as it doesn't show the carbohydrate content, which is what you need to know.
If you can get hold of a meter to test your blood glucose levels you should see a direct correlation between the carbs you eat and the number on the meter two hours after starting to eat. Well - pretty close anyway.
If you feel you need to eat a lot then choosing low carb foods can help to give you are large amount to eat - though I found that ditching the carbs in my diet, a 'healthy' diet it was too, full of wholemeal and brown carbs, meant that I lost interest in eating for a while. I am still never hungry, but I make cheerful salads, colourful veges and lots of meat fish eggs cheese etc. to chose from.

 

[jonny the hog]

Welcome to the forum @jonny the hog

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and you picked a tricky time for it!

I‘m not quite sure what the content of your diet sheet was, but sometimes folks arrive on the forum having been offered rather less than helpful advice - it just depends on how up to date your surgery is.

The most significant aspect of your meal plans as far as your blood glucose management is concerned will be carbohydrates, in all their forms. Carbs are readily broken down by the body into glucose in the bloodstream, and while there may be a very small benefit from choosing higher fibre types (seedy bread, whole meal pasta) the variations from person to person are significant - and you may find that ‘healthy whole grain’ carbs are anything but for you as an individual.

Generally, T2 members here find that reducing carb intake and also changing types provides very positive BG outcomes, and reduces hunger especially if proteins and good fats are included in the menu in reasonable proportions.

You can use a BG meter to identify any carbs that seem to be spiking BG - taking a reading before and 2hours after eating, and noting what the differences are. Then you can experiment with reducing amounts and types of carbs in that particular meal (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference). Gradually tweaking and tailoring your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline and your BG levels 🙂

If you are interested in this approach you may find test-review-adjust by Alan S a helpful framework.

One of the most affordable meters members here have found is from SD, and has been recently updated to the SD Gluco Navii which has test strips at around £8 for 50

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂

hi thanks for your help sounds like I need a meter and I will of course let you know my outcome

 

[jonny the hog]

The traffic light system is no use at all for diabetics as it doesn't show the carbohydrate content, which is what you need to know.
If you can get hold of a meter to test your blood glucose levels you should see a direct correlation between the carbs you eat and the number on the meter two hours after starting to eat. Well - pretty close anyway.
If you feel you need to eat a lot then choosing low carb foods can help to give you are large amount to eat - though I found that ditching the carbs in my diet, a 'healthy' diet it was too, full of wholemeal and brown carbs, meant that I lost interest in eating for a while. I am still never hungry, but I make cheerful salads, colourful veges and lots of meat fish eggs cheese etc. to chose from.

hi thanks for your help it would seem I have been looking at the wrong things as the traffic light system is not giving me the right information

 

[jonny the hog]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

I would ignore the traffic lights as they don't tell you what the carbohydrate content is, which is the most important element for diabetics. Instead look at the nutritional label and in particular the amount of carbohydrate. This is always shown as per 100g and sometimes also per portion.

Martin

hi martin thanks for your help I thought that I needed to use the traffic light system to reduce everything else accept I didn't even know I had to watch my carbohydrate intake.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @jonny the hog

A difficult time to be diagnosed but I hope that the advice above will help you to get started in making changes. Keep the questions coming and read around the various threads. There is plenty of help on here and I know that I have learnt most of what I know about managing my Diabetes from others on here.