Advise please

[Stupot]

New to all this, looks like I have type 2 with a score of 67 “still working that one out” the doc didn’t give a lot of of advice or explanation hopefully this will come later after the second blood test confirms. In the mean time some changes with foods and lifestyle Is the one piece of advise he gave me.
The forum is a great source of information but you can get bogged down with it, so I am going to ask a couple of direct questions to get me going to the right place from members who have been there done that.
1. I will start with my breakfast which is generally a bowl of Kelloggs corn flakes and Rice Krispies mixed together (yes a odd combination) but I like it, here I usually top this with fruit which may be grapes, banana, sultanas etc to try to be healthy “but it seems that combination doesn’t work”, sometimes I may have Weetabix or Oats so Simple but not very often, I have all this with fully skimmed red top milk and two cups of tea with a bit of sweater.
After reading a bit on the forums I take it the flakes & Krispies are a no no, do any of you have a good replacement if you think changing these would help? Reading the packet info on other cereals you think are better for you seem like their all the same?
2. Secondly I need to lose some weight, I love the gym & try to do a mix of cardio and weights, but keep reading about exercise & blood sugar levels which is a bit scary. I feel exercise has got to be good for me but now I have this type 2 issue?
would also like to mention I take 40mg Atorvastatin/day as well, last reading 5.2
Any advise please on the gym programme/workout?
All feed back would be welcome & thanks.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

5.2 sounds like you have it cracked.
I'm good with cereals, and the gym was the best thing I did.
It improves your cardiovascular system, builds muscles that use BG, and generally reduces insulin resistance.
I also take statins to improve my cholesterol, along with keeping the saturated fats down

 

[Drummer]

Most cereals and anything made with grain are going to be about 2/3rds of their weight carbohydrate - so about six times more than I can cope with day to day.
My personal method of controlling blood glucose was worked out using a meter - I got a Tee2+ from Spirit Healthcare and if I ate too many carbs to cope with, it showed up in the testing.
I seem able to extract more carbs from peas and beans than should be expected, but you can't really argue with a reading in the low teens instead of under 8mmol/l.
My first meal of the day (I only have two) can be mozzarella and a tomato, or scrambled egg, and a tomato, or steak and mushrooms with a stir fry. These colder mornings I have had swede based bubble and squeak with various different options according to what I found in the fridge.
I eat low carb, have done since diagnosis and have lost weight without effort, also size - my winter clothes don't fit.
Your Hba1c of 67 is moderately high - mine was 91 at diagnosis, but it soon reduced down to normal without much effort, to be honest. I am more active now that 5 years ago, but that is because it is my nature to be active and it was the wrong foods making me feel old.

 

[Leadinglights]

You are starting the day with very high carb foods at a time when many people are more sensitive to carbs. Some people can tolerate some cereals but certainly not normally the suggested portion size and not without testing.
Breakfast is often the most difficult meal to think what to have. Things like Greek yoghurt and berries with seeds and nuts or just a very small portion of a low sugar cereal like granola or All Bran. Eggs in any way so with bacon, tomato, mushrooms or scrambled with smoked salmon. Some people can tolerate a small slice of toast but only one.
Continental style breakfast with cooked meats and cheese but limit the bread is usually OK.
There is no need to torture yourself with skimmed milk as you will not save carbs over semi, full fat or cream. Indeed cream has less carbs than milk.
Have a look on the thread What did you Eat Yesterday in the food forum for ideas of what to eat.

 

[helli]

Regarding exercise, for most people with diabetes, the worrying things is the risk of hypos (low blood sugars). As your diabetes is not being treated with insulin, this should not be a risk.

If you are testing your blood sugars, you may find that different types of exercise will affect them in different ways. Typically, longer cardio can lead to lower levels whereas resistance training and interval training can cause highs. However, an immediate high can lead to lower levels later.

I deliberately wrote "typically" because we are all different and it is best to test what works for you.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Regarding exercise, for most people with diabetes, the worrying things is the risk of hypos (low blood sugars). As your diabetes is not being treated with insulin, this should not be a risk.

If you are testing your blood sugars, you may find that different types of exercise will affect them in different ways. Typically, longer cardio can lead to lower levels whereas resistance training and interval training can cause highs. However, an immediate high can lead to lower levels later.

I deliberately wrote "typically" because we are all different and it is best to test what works for you.

I can't remember if I initially got a high after a long resistance session.
I hit everything, hard, did two circuits of everything, and fished with a swim and a sauna.
I certainly saw lows for days after that.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Most cereals and anything made with grain are going to be about 2/3rds of their weight carbohydrate - so about six times more than I can cope with day to day.
My personal method of controlling blood glucose was worked out using a meter - I got a Tee2+ from Spirit Healthcare and if I ate too many carbs to cope with, it showed up in the testing.
I seem able to extract more carbs from peas and beans than should be expected, but you can't really argue with a reading in the low teens instead of under 8mmol/l.
My first meal of the day (I only have two) can be mozzarella and a tomato, or scrambled egg, and a tomato, or steak and mushrooms with a stir fry. These colder mornings I have had swede based bubble and squeak with various different options according to what I found in the fridge.
I eat low carb, have done since diagnosis and have lost weight without effort, also size - my winter clothes don't fit.
Your Hba1c of 67 is moderately high - mine was 91 at diagnosis, but it soon reduced down to normal without much effort, to be honest. I am more active now that 5 years ago, but that is because it is my nature to be active and it was the wrong foods making me feel old.

Have you read about Adaptive insulin resistance?
Very common on a low carb diet.
It may not be that you "extract more carbs", it's just that your insulin resistance increases.
It can be reversed.
It seems like a very plausible theory.
The Diet Doctor talks about it on his low carb website.