Advice for Type 2 who is losing it!

[Northerner]

See this is what boggles my mind- I'm fairly aware of general foods and their components- but how can full fat milk be better for a diabetic than skimmed (which I have used for about 35 years) - I think this is where I am going wrong- I need to reeducate myself.

The fat in the milk helps slow the digestion so can help reduce the impact of carbs on blood sugar levels 🙂 The whole 'fat is evil' mantra is becoming discredited these days, with research showing that it is excessive carbohydrate consumption that causes things like weight gain and contributes to higher cholesterol. Everything went 'low fat' 30 years ago, but they replaced the fat with sugar and that#'s when the population started gaining weight! 🙄

Having said all that, I have been a skimmed milk drinker for decades and find full-fat awful! 🙂

 

[Stitch147]

See this is what boggles my mind- I'm fairly aware of general foods and their components- but how can full fat milk be better for a diabetic than skimmed (which I have used for about 35 years) - I think this is where I am going wrong- I need to reeducate myself.

I think it has more to do with the fat content slowing down the release more than anything else, I don't think its a huge difference when it comes to sugar. Since diagnosis I switched from skimmed milk back to full fat milk, sometimes at home I will put cream into my coffee rather than having milk. Personally I find I don't get the spike after full fat milk.

 

[Mark T]

It depends on how much milk is in the coffee, it's it's just a dash then it's just a dash of carb's. But with a latte it's probably 70% steamed milk - so the type is important. My consultant said I should avoid Soya Milk. I can't remember why he said so.

 

[trophywench]

Check the boxes and packages of things for total carb content - sometimes very helpful eg biscuits - where the packet tells you it's so many g of carb per 100g weight, but also says how many g of carb 'per Biscuit'. For spuds - for some reason it's always stuck in my mind that a 60g raw spud converts to 10g carb when boiled, which is apparently equivalent to an 'egg sized' potato. I recall asking the Doc in 1972 whether that was a quail's egg or an ostrich one? and bursting out laughing.

WEIGH things mate! - it's the only way until you get used to 'eyeballing' stuff on your plate.

 

[Zillah]

I think it has more to do with the fat content slowing down the release more than anything else, I don't think its a huge difference when it comes to sugar. Since diagnosis I switched from skimmed milk back to full fat milk, sometimes at home I will put cream into my coffee rather than having milk. Personally I find I don't get the spike after full fat milk.

That is really interesting- I should definitely have come onto this site at the beginning of my diagnosis- I have had that much conflicting advice from my doctor and Diabetic Nurse my head spins - Thanks again

 

[grovesy]

That is really interesting- I should definitely have come onto this site at the beginning of my diagnosis- I have had that much conflicting advice from my doctor and Diabetic Nurse my head spins - Thanks again

The thing is that works for some does not work for all.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I'm lucky that milk has very little effect on my blood sugars. This proves that we are all different.

 

[Zillah]

So BG before eating was 9.6- following a whole meal ham sandwich and a Satsuma two hours later it is 12.8. Looks like my idea of healthy whole meal was a not so good one

 

[Northerner]

So BG before eating was 9.6- following a whole meal ham sandwich and a Satsuma two hours later it is 12.8. Looks like my idea of healthy whole meal was a not so good one

Again, that's not a bad rise, only around 3 mmol/l - the problem is that your 'fasting' level is up in the 9s. How long have you been taking the metformin? It does take a week or two to 'establish' itself in your system, it's not the sort of medication that has an instant effect on your levels, so it may be that those fasting levels will begin to reduce over time, making your pre and post meal levels look a lot more respectable 🙂

 

[Zillah]

Again, that's not a bad rise, only around 3 mmol/l - the problem is that your 'fasting' level is up in the 9s. How long have you been taking the metformin? It does take a week or two to 'establish' itself in your system, it's not the sort of medication that has an instant effect on your levels, so it may be that those fasting levels will begin to reduce over time, making your pre and post meal levels look a lot more respectable 🙂

I have been taking them since October

 

[grovesy]

I find Burgen bread has less impact on my post meal levels.

 

[trophywench]

There's still more or less the same amount of carbs in stuff whether it's brown or white - BuT! - tere's always a But! with diabetes diets LOL - wholemeal stuff eg bread rice or pasta, absorbs into theboodstream slower than the white variety of the same thing because the brown element of it is fibrous so slows down the starchy part of whatever it is. This is really useful to some Type 2s especially if they have a decentamount of insulin production going on.

When anyone eats, the insulin generated by the pancreas responds pdq followed up by more once the body detects its 'first response' isn't enough. Many Type 2s have a very iffy 'first response' but a reasonable 'deferred response' - hence if you can delay the absorption a bit, it might help!

I wouldn't worry too much about that rise, but if you can get it down a bit more of course that would be helpful. If your starting BG had been 5, you wouldn't panic would you?

So - the task is to achieve that lower BG to start with, IF you can - and the less impact all/any of your meals have during the day, then it will be at a better level for more of the day overall, so the occasional rise above it won't be regarded by anyone as life threatening!

Type 2 creeps on slowly ...... so sorting it isn't quick either.

This IS a marathon - never a sprint!

 

[Mark T]

Metformin works best with both dietary and exercise changes together. How much exercise do you get? Any after work (easier said then done I know).

For your walking at lunchtime, your aim is to get to a walking speed where your heart rate is slightly raised and you warm up. Don't take it too far though - your BG can raise if you exercise too hard.

Many of us prefer burgen (or other seeded breads) over plain wholemeal. The seeded breads tend to release their carbs slower which gives your body more time to respond. For the same reason, I prefer non-sweet apples over satsuma's and pears because the fruit sugars are slower. Although these days I have a nut bar instead of fruit.

 

[Martin Canty]

whole meal ham sandwich and a Satsuma two hours later it is 12.8

Problem is that most of this meal is carb & while your levels are running high you have increased insulin resistance. My advice would be to cut back on the carbs (at least until your levels are lower), for example, I would convert this meal to a ham lettuce wrap & a full fat yogurt. There are also some high protein breads available as a substitute which members find more acceptable.

I didn't see it mentioned in this thread but as a general rule , low fat products need to have additional carbs added in order to make them palatable which in turn makes them less than ideal for diabetics.

 

[Flower]

I take instant Cappuccinos to work to save on the milk dilemma

Hi Zillah, do have a read of the ingredients on the cappuccino sachets, the first ingredient listed on the Nestle mix is sugar closely followed by glucose syrup with coffee further down the list. The carb content for a mug made with water is approx 12g which is high for a hot drink.

 

[Beck S]

Thanks for the suggestion-I'll have a look this evening- and on Amazon for the book 🙂

Yep, Carbs and Cals is good. I also use the app MyFitnessPal as Robin mentioned up there, as it's easier for me when I'm out and about. You can record what you eat, it scans barcodes for most foods you'll come across and add them to your food diary, and you can get a summary of your nutrient totals for the day. When I was first diagnosed, I aimed for around 100-110g of carbs a day, and I could see there easily what I was going through. I invested in some flat kitchen scales too, so I can weigh my food if I really need to.

May I also recommend Hovis Lower Carb bread too? There's a white bread option that's lower in carbs, but has a higher fibre and protein content to it's way better for you than normal white bread. You can get it in Tesco and Morrisons that I've seen. It's pretty good too.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I second what Beck said. Also worth trying are the protein rolls from Lidl. They are triangular in shape & full of seeds. Some people find them too dense, but I quite like them. They get softer if warmed up a bit.

 

[Zillah]

Problem is that most of this meal is carb & while your levels are running high you have increased insulin resistance. My advice would be to cut back on the carbs (at least until your levels are lower), for example, I would convert this meal to a ham lettuce wrap & a full fat yogurt. There are also some high protein breads available as a substitute which members find more acceptable.

I didn't see it mentioned in this thread but as a general rule , low fat products need to have additional carbs added in order to make them palatable which in turn makes them less than ideal for diabetics.

Wow thats interesting thank you, l love yogurts and have been avoiding them like the plague,,,yay {)

 

[Zillah]

Hi Zillah, do have a read of the ingredients on the cappuccino sachets, the first ingredient listed on the Nestle mix is sugar closely followed by glucose syrup with coffee further down the list. The carb content for a mug made with water is approx 12g which is high for a hot drink.

Oh Crikey-I did but obviously misread what was appropriate for diabetics- I am totally cross with myself for how daft I have been- I thought i was being pretty good but i haven't been. Thank you have now taken them off my shopping list haha

 

[Zillah]

Metformin works best with both dietary and exercise changes together. How much exercise do you get? Any after work (easier said then done I know).

For your walking at lunchtime, your aim is to get to a walking speed where your heart rate is slightly raised and you warm up. Don't take it too far though - your BG can raise if you exercise too hard.

Many of us prefer burgen (or other seeded breads) over plain wholemeal. The seeded breads tend to release their carbs slower which gives your body more time to respond. For the same reason, I prefer non-sweet apples over satsuma's and pears because the fruit sugars are slower. Although these days I have a nut bar instead of fruit.

I have just started cycling again but exercise in the week is difficult during winter so its only weekends-plus I am continually exhausted which Im worried may be due to my rubbish levels