Am I worrying too much?

[Reg]

Just had a quick look at Weetabix (market leader) and it says that 2 x biscuits are 26g of carbs.

Oh yes!! I took the amount of carbs for one biscuit but can now see it says that is for TWO! LOL! Thanks for pointing this out!

 

[Reg]

@Reg it is a confusing time and as others have posted - the steroids/illness will all have raised your BG, as will stress - so hard though it sounds - try not to over worry. You have certainly chosen the right reading material - I have the Becker book and am hoping to buy the carbs/cals I have a sneaky feeling I may already have a copy somewhere - they are very useful. Things will become clearer, give it time. The forum is also great for support - as you know.
Your BG do not seem alarmingly high and you know the reasons behind the readings above 9. You're testing foods/tolerance which is the right thing to do.

I hope you find some food options that suit you well.

Thank you Neens! It certainly is a big learning curve!

 

[Reg]

Hi @Reg, I won’t offer any further advice as you have everything you need above. Just wanted to say that we are all in the same boat and I still watch every day what I’m eating, it’s a constant thought. Some days I’m not as good as others and I do struggle, can’t deny it, having said that my levels are down from 90 to 43, cholesterol is good, blood pressure good and these are the things we need to remember why we are doing this. All of us are trying to prevent further problems later on in life. Over time you will learn, with the benefit of your meter, what foods you need to avoid and it will become second nature but at the moment it is of course very new and a bit overwhelming but don’t fret you will get there especially with the help of your new friends here on this forum and your wife who sounds a star. Keep posting Reg and let us know how you are getting on. Sue x

Thank you Sue, well done on your readings from 90 to 43. You may be struggling at times but sounds like you are winning the battle!!
All the best and thank you for your encouragement.

 

[Reg]

Hi Reg, You've had really good advice from everyone on this post. One thing I would suggest is getting an app and/or web membership which records all your foods (carbs, cals etc) and keeps running totals for you or Mrs Reg. Great to have when in the supermarket and you can plan your day in advance. Like you I realises my 2 Oatibix were 30gm carbs, and the 200ml of milk soon shoved it up past 50! I now have just one Oatibix with 125ml unsweetened almond or coconut milk, plus 40 gm frozen berries. I also get through a cauliflower a week, plus lots of carrot/swede puree and don't miss potatoes or rice. You are only just in the diabetic range, and my DSN told me once I got my level to 48, I could have the OCCASIONAL treat, so I do, and don't feel deprived. Best wishes

Hi Felinia! I hadn't thought about the carbs in the milk. Mrs R has just added almond milk to her shopping list. She cooked 90% sausages with lots of vegetables last night and you are right I didn't miss the potatoes. The main carbs was the cheese sauce on the cauliflower. I also had a treat! A chocolate eclair which was 13.4 carbs. So total carbs for the day was 54!! My best day so far!
Thanks again for your reply and advice.

 

[Felinia]

Hi Felinia! I hadn't thought about the carbs in the milk. Mrs R has just added almond milk to her shopping list. She cooked 90% sausages with lots of vegetables last night and you are right I didn't miss the potatoes. The main carbs was the cheese sauce on the cauliflower. I also had a treat! A chocolate eclair which was 13.4 carbs. So total carbs for the day was 54!! My best day so far!
Thanks again for your reply and advice.

Well done. Please remind Mrs Reg to get the unsweetened versions of milk alternatives. Some wise person on here said everything that goes in your tum goes in the food diary - food, drink, snacks, the odd nibble. You might find both of you lose a few pounds as well.

 

[Reg]

Well done. Please remind Mrs Reg to get the unsweetened versions of milk alternatives. Some wise person on here said everything that goes in your tum goes in the food diary - food, drink, snacks, the odd nibble. You might find both of you lose a few pounds as well.

I don't need to loose weight, I am my lowest I have been for years. So how do you go on a low carb diet to keep your blood sugar down and not loose weight? My wife would like to loose a few pounds so it may be good for her!!

 

[trophywench]

Well Reg - that's where the HF bit comes in - except not a good idea for Mrs Reg if she's a bit heavier than she needs to be. However - 'high fat' doesn't mean frying food in lard, it's just that you don't deliberately eat 'low fat' things or eg avoid every single bit of fat on meat, or avoid things like oily fish because the type of fat in oily fish is jolly good for us.

 

[Felinia]

I don't need to loose weight, I am my lowest I have been for years. So how do you go on a low carb diet to keep your blood sugar down and not loose weight? My wife would like to loose a few pounds so it may be good for her!!

A lot of low fat foods are actually full of sugars, so carbs, so not good for you. I have switched to Full fat Greek style yogurt and eat lots of things like salmon, trout and mackerel. Sainsbury's do, or did, salmon burgers, which make a nice change. You could increase your protein intake as well. I put chopped chicken in my home made soups, and I get very large organic eggs from the nearby farm. As I do need to lose weight I watch my portion sizes, but Mrs Reg could have smaller portions than you. Cauliflower or broccoli with cheese is a good idea for you. Some people make it with cream cheese mixed with full fat cheese, rather than make a sauce with flour. Some people just grate cheese over the top and bake/grill. My brother always used to save some of the cooking liquor and just melt the cheese in that. Lots of recipes on here.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

She cooked 90% sausages with lots of vegetables last night and you are right I didn't miss the potatoes. The main carbs was the cheese sauce on the cauliflower. I also had a treat! A chocolate eclair which was 13.4 carbs. So total carbs for the day was 54!! My best day so far!

Glad to see you are finding your way through the maze Reg 🙂

Don't panic about those occasional high numbers and blips while you are experimenting and trying things out. If you are using a 'test-review-adjust' type framework (https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html) to examine your current food intake there are bound to be a few surprises along the way.

I would suggest it's also a reasonable approach to not 'ditch' foods you really value entirely on the basis of a single reading. As other have pointed out there are many things that affect BG aside from just food and activity levels (stress, illness and steroids being well known examples). So it can help to double check foods that you would struggle to do without entirely - even trying them at different times of the day can make a difference. Smaller amounts, different varieties and accompaniments can also help to smooth BG fluctuations.

What you are aiming for is the 'low spike, excellent nutrition way of eating that suits Reg' - which will be unique to you and contain your very own set of staples, occasional treats and compromises.

Good luck and keep us posted 🙂

 

[Reg]

Glad to see you are finding your way through the maze Reg 🙂

Don't panic about those occasional high numbers and blips while you are experimenting and trying things out. If you are using a 'test-review-adjust' type framework (https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html) to examine your current food intake there are bound to be a few surprises along the way.

I would suggest it's also a reasonable approach to not 'ditch' foods you really value entirely on the basis of a single reading. As other have pointed out there are many things that affect BG aside from just food and activity levels (stress, illness and steroids being well known examples). So it can help to double check foods that you would struggle to do without entirely - even trying them at different times of the day can make a difference. Smaller amounts, different varieties and accompaniments can also help to smooth BG fluctuations.

What you are aiming for is the 'low spike, excellent nutrition way of eating that suits Reg' - which will be unique to you and contain your very own set of staples, occasional treats and compromises.

Good luck and keep us posted 🙂

Thanks Mike! That is good advice. It’s a big learning curve and so pleased this forum is helping me.

 

[Lucylemonpip]

Was just thinking, butter on Weetabix is nice too! Used to have that sometimes when a youngster. Lol.

 

[Lucylemonpip]

But that only allows for 125ml of milk, Lucy which isn't even enough for ONE Weetabix for me.

Lol. Half milk / half cream or butter on the Weetabix. Nice. 🙂

 

[Drummer]

A lower carb option for cauliflower cheese is to cook the cauliflower until almost done, put it into a warm dish, cover with cream cheese, then throw on grated hard cheese - I like Red Leicester, and spices, or herbs can be used as liked, and a strong blue cheese crumbled on top. Place the dish in a warm oven and allow the cheese to melt and become light golden tinged.

 

[Reg]

A lower carb option for cauliflower cheese is to cook the cauliflower until almost done, put it into a warm dish, cover with cream cheese, then throw on grated hard cheese - I like Red Leicester, and spices, or herbs can be used as liked, and a strong blue cheese crumbled on top. Place the dish in a warm oven and allow the cheese to melt and become light golden tinged.

Definitely going to try this as I find cauliflower pretty tasteless!! Maybe add some bacon to go with it for a tasty lunch!

 

[Tee G]

@Reg, im with you, cauliflower is a little bland for my tastes, i like to cut it up into florets along with broccoli, drizzle a little healthy oil, (I like like rapeseed/ sunflower) with half a teaspoon of melted butter (Naughty but nice) add thin slices of garlic, stir it all and sprinkle lightly with the cheese of your choice (I used a blue cheese) then bake in the oven for about 20 mins? Delish!

 

[ianf0ster]

cauliflower is a little bland for my tastes, i like to cut it up into florets along with broccoli, drizzle a little healthy oil, (I like like rapeseed/ sunflower) with half a teaspoon of melted butter (Naughty but nice) add thin slices of garlic, stir it all and sprinkle lightly with the cheese of your choice (I used a blue cheese) then bake in the oven for about 20 mins? Delish!

Some of us would say that Butter is less naughty than are either Rapeseed or Sunflower Oils.

 

[Felinia]

I had a tasty cauliflower dish at my pub. As I recall the cauliflower was cut into steaks, rubber lightly with oil, then sprinkled with spice - it could be paprika or some curry powder. Whatever, it had quite a kick. Then it was roasted in the oven, and sprinkled with grated cheese for the last 5 minutes. They served it with salad and I passed on the garlic bread.

 

[Reg]

I had a tasty cauliflower dish at my pub. As I recall the cauliflower was cut into steaks, rubber lightly with oil, then sprinkled with spice - it could be paprika or some curry powder. Whatever, it had quite a kick. Then it was roasted in the oven, and sprinkled with grated cheese for the last 5 minutes. They served it with salad and I passed on the garlic bread.

Sounds yummy!!

 

[Reg]

@Reg, im with you, cauliflower is a little bland for my tastes, i like to cut it up into florets along with broccoli, drizzle a little healthy oil, (I like like rapeseed/ sunflower) with half a teaspoon of melted butter (Naughty but nice) add thin slices of garlic, stir it all and sprinkle lightly with the cheese of your choice (I used a blue cheese) then bake in the oven for about 20 mins? Delish!

Sounds good enough to eat!!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Please make your wife aware (if she is the one that does most of the cooking) that cauliflower can be cooked and mashed with a good dollop of cream cheese to replace potato with high meat content bangers or to top a cottage pie or a fish pie. I love cauliflower cheese (as described by @Drummer with cream cheese and red Leicester and no flour) with ham or gammon and broccoli or green beans. Leeks are delicious sweated in butter as is cabbage. I can happily eat a plate of bacon and cabbage tossed in the bacon fat. I also love stir fried veg and ratatouille cooked in loads of lovely olive oil and then topped with Gruyere and baked. These are all ways of increasing your fat intake and making vegetables so much more enjoyable.
At diagnosis I too worried about all the things I could no longer eat but by introducing more fat into my diet I feel fuller and enjoy my food as much, if not more than I did before and I can feel quite spoiled (decadent even) about having cream in my coffee every morning instead of sugar and a nice chunk of cheese whenever I feel peckish and like @Freddie1966 I have developed new tastes to replace the things I now need to avoid. I buy nuts now instead of crisps or biscuits and olives and blue cheese, which I used to hate pre diagnosis. I tried celeriac the other day for the first time and found that quite pleasant, both mashed with cream cheese (like I have my cauliflower) and roasted.
They initially assumed I was Type 2 and I learned to eat very low carb but eventually it was established that I was Type 1 and insulin was essential and whilst I could now, more or less, eat normally and inject insulin for whatever I eat, I continue to prefer to eat low carb and use minimal insulin as I feel this is a sustainable and enjoyable way of life for me now. It just takes a few months to get your head around low carb eating and what to buy and how to cook it and increasing fat intake to stabilise weight (if you don't have any to lose) and make you feel sated is a big part of it.