After blood test been informed I am diabetes 2 prediabetic,

[benjibutton]

So trying to understand what I need to know best to everybody benjibutton

 

[Vonny]

Hi @benjibutton and welcome to the forum 🙂 If you are prediabetic that means you should be able to manage it with a small change to your diet. The biggest thing you can do to help is to reduce your carb intake. It's not just cake and biscuits which raise your blood glucose, any starchy food such as bread, rice, pasta and spuds are immediately turned into glucose.
Has your GP put you on any medication? It really is a post code lottery as to whether or not you are given the chance to manage it with diet alone. Did your GP tell you your hba1c? I assume if you have been diagnosed pre-diabetic it is between 42 and 48.

 

[Leadinglights]

Really there is no justification for medication if only prediabetic unless your GP feels you would not be committed to making some lifestyle changes, primarily diet though any exercise you can do will help.
It is the carbohydrates not just sugar that you need to be careful of, particularly those cakes, biscuits and pastries that people are in the habit of having with their cuppa.
Reducing portions of the usual accompaniments to meals like potatoes, bread, rice and pasta and having extra other veg or salad may be sufficient to bring your blood glucose level down. Also making sure you stay well hydrated, drinking water or diet drinks and tea or coffee are OK as long as you don't have sugar in them.
What sort of meals do you have, breakfast is often the hardest to change as the traditional cereal and toast are not the best options but Greek yoghurt with berries and maybe a small portion of cereal or eggs in any form are a good choice.

 

[benjibutton]

Hi Vonny
Early days yet for me. Going to make major lifestyle changes to solve problem. Was on 3 sugars in black coffee now no sugar, bought a couple of cookbooks so I can eat proper food.Biggewst problem for me is alcohol. Every night since I was 14 to now 72 yrs I have had least 4 beers + a large brandy - when I was younger more - so it will be interesting to say the least
Best
benjibutton

 

[benjibutton]

Hi Leadinglights. I only ever had 2 black coffees for breakfast and now no sugar so can't pretend I enjoy but needs must when the devil drives
best
Benjibutton

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Vonny
Early days yet for me. Going to make major lifestyle changes to solve problem. Was on 3 sugars in black coffee now no sugar, bought a couple of cookbooks so I can eat proper food.Biggewst problem for me is alcohol. Every night since I was 14 to now 72 yrs I have had least 4 beers + a large brandy - when I was younger more - so it will be interesting to say the least
Best
benjibutton

I think you need to look at your alcohol consumption as not only is beer high in carbohydrate but alcohol affects the way the body handles the carbohydrates you have.
Spirits with diet mixers are a better option to beer as lower carb.
There are now some low carb beers which some people say are OK but avoid the low alcohol ones as they tend to be higher carb than normal ones.

 

[benjibutton]

Thank you leadinglights. In fact my intention is to stop the alcohol after this weekend ( social event) which is why I said it will be interesting ! My intention is to stop completely apart from my birthday and Christmas, in order to lose weight and avoid diabetes. I don't like needles so it is an extra encouragement to avoid type 1. Many thanks for your helpful input Best benjibutton

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you leadinglights. In fact my intention is to stop the alcohol after this weekend ( social event) which is why I said it will be interesting ! My intention is to stop completely apart from my birthday and Christmas, in order to lose weight and avoid diabetes. I don't like needles so it is an extra encouragement to avoid type 1. Many thanks for your helpful input Best benjibutton

Unless you have been misdiagnosed you cannot become Type 1 they are different conditions although both called diabetes. Yes some people who are Type 2 do need to take insulin but you cannot 'progress' to Type 1.
Good luck with your 'cold turkey' approach.

 

[benjibutton]

Thank you I am sure I will need it but it's got to be easier than cutting back . I did the same with cigarettes, so here's hoping lol

 

[Vonny]

I drink red wine @benjibutton, though I treat myself to a pint of real ale on occasion!

 

[benjibutton]

Fair play Vonny - I'm going to save a fortune on my shopping bill as I've been told, but after looking at what I am allowed to eat, and what I actually like, I've got a feeling I will lose weight only because I am eating a lot less -lol!

 

[benjibutton]

Just got my HBAIC score of 46 - don't know if this is good or bad

 

[Vonny]

Just got my HBAIC score of 46 - don't know if this is good or bad

Well it means you are definitely pre-diabetic but with some changes to your diet you should be able to reduce it back to 41 or less, so I think it's good! I was 76 to start with and many people here were in triple figures, so 46 is a great place to start from 🙂

 

[benjibutton]

Vonny Thank you so much, it's all confusing to start with Best benjibutton

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @benjibutton

Sounds like you are planning to make some very positive changes! I really hope you start seeing and feeling the benefits of them to help encourage you along the way.

4 beers every night and a couple of coffees in the day with 3 spoons of sugar each probably account for around 110g of carbohydrate that you will be cutting out of your daily intake with those changes alone. Not to mention the well known health benefits of reducing alcohol consumption!

Combined with a few modest tweaks to your menu, it feels certain that you will see a marked benefit on your glucose levels, HbA1c, and your waistline.

Keep going! We are rooting for you 🙂

If you would like a good overview of T2 diabetes, to add to the knowledge you’ve already picked up, you might like to register for the Learning Zone (orange tab in the main menu). loads if helpful and informative content available for free there. Additionally, members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter and Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, which you can work through gradually and will give you a solid starting point. Although you don’t have a full-blown T2 diagnosis, it can be helpful to understand the condition, and what it could entail.

Hopefully with the changes you are making though, you can turn things around and avoid a diagnosis of T2 altogether 🙂

 

[benjibutton]

Had my first Diabetics meal last night - unbelievable lol. Herb chicken was OK I suppose, salad was fine, but brown muck - quinoa was dreadful. Finished off with greek yoghurt and fresh raspberries - excellent. I can see some menu adjustments are needed ! lol

 

[Leadinglights]

Had my first Diabetics meal last night - unbelievable lol. Herb chicken was OK I suppose, salad was fine, but brown muck - quinoa was dreadful. Finished off with greek yoghurt and fresh raspberries - excellent. I can see some menu adjustments are needed ! lol

Not a fan of quinoa. Try butternut squash mash or roasted.

 

[benjibutton]

Hi everydayupsanddowns Thank you I have registered with the Learning Zone. I can handle no sugar in coffee and the alcohol goes after this weekend ( social event ) so these alone should knock my figures and waistline down. I got 2 recipe books and some oily fish ( which I do like ) and some other stuff. Going to try brown pasta. Brought granary + brown bread. So all I need now is some experimental cooking best benjibutton

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Had my first Diabetics meal last night - unbelievable lol. Herb chicken was OK I suppose, salad was fine, but brown muck - quinoa was dreadful. Finished off with greek yoghurt and fresh raspberries - excellent. I can see some menu adjustments are needed ! lol

Sounds like you are on a voyage of culinary discovery @benjibutton

Whatever changes you make need to be sustainable long-term, so it’s important to find things you genuinely enjoy eating, rather than suffering through things you think you *should* be eating, but which you loathe.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi everydayupsanddowns Thank you I have registered with the Learning Zone. I can handle no sugar in coffee and the alcohol goes after this weekend ( social event ) so these alone should knock my figures and waistline down. I got 2 recipe books and some oily fish ( which I do like ) and some other stuff. Going to try brown pasta. Brought granary + brown bread. So all I need now is some experimental cooking best benjibutton

If you are having bread and pasta just be careful of the portion size as they are both high carb regardless of being 'brown'