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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Angreen
- Thread starter Angreen
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Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Angreen and welcome to the forum. There are loads of T2 members on here who's experiences will help you get on track.
You will have been diagnosed on the basis of a HbA1c blood test result, do you know what it was? I ask because it is a good guide to the sorts of things you will need to think about to get control.
You will have been diagnosed on the basis of a HbA1c blood test result, do you know what it was? I ask because it is a good guide to the sorts of things you will need to think about to get control.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi Andy and welcome
You have come to the right place to learn and be supported with your goal.
Can you tell us a bit more about how you came to be diagnosed. Did you have some symptoms or was it just a routine blood test? Do you know your HbA1c result. This is usually a number of 48 or higher. It is the starting point of your diabetes journey and gives us an idea of where on the diabetes scale you are. That will help us to advise you on the sort of steps you need to take. It also helps to know if you need to lose some or perhaps a lot of weight and how physically active you currently are.
Diabetes is all about an inability to effectively metabolise carbohydrates. Most people have been led to believe it is all about sugar, but starchy carbs also get broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream, so dietary changes need to take that into consideration so reducing your intake of all carbs is usually beneficial....
that means the obvious cakes biscuits and sweets as well as sugar/honey/syrup but also bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc. Anything made of grains or grain products will be carb rich and needs to be moderated, so breakfast cereals, pastry, batter. Even otherwise healthy stuff like wholegrain, wholemeal and porridge are high in carbs and can cause problems and fruit in all it's forms... fresh, dried, frozen and juiced... is high in sugars so needs to be rationed.
It may seem like there is nothing much left to eat, but meat, fish, eggs, nuts, mushrooms and cheese are all on the menu along with plenty of leafy veg. etc.
If you read some of the posts on the forum you will get an idea of how to go on, but feel free to ask if there is anything specific you want to know.
You have come to the right place to learn and be supported with your goal.
Can you tell us a bit more about how you came to be diagnosed. Did you have some symptoms or was it just a routine blood test? Do you know your HbA1c result. This is usually a number of 48 or higher. It is the starting point of your diabetes journey and gives us an idea of where on the diabetes scale you are. That will help us to advise you on the sort of steps you need to take. It also helps to know if you need to lose some or perhaps a lot of weight and how physically active you currently are.
Diabetes is all about an inability to effectively metabolise carbohydrates. Most people have been led to believe it is all about sugar, but starchy carbs also get broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream, so dietary changes need to take that into consideration so reducing your intake of all carbs is usually beneficial....
that means the obvious cakes biscuits and sweets as well as sugar/honey/syrup but also bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc. Anything made of grains or grain products will be carb rich and needs to be moderated, so breakfast cereals, pastry, batter. Even otherwise healthy stuff like wholegrain, wholemeal and porridge are high in carbs and can cause problems and fruit in all it's forms... fresh, dried, frozen and juiced... is high in sugars so needs to be rationed.
It may seem like there is nothing much left to eat, but meat, fish, eggs, nuts, mushrooms and cheese are all on the menu along with plenty of leafy veg. etc.
If you read some of the posts on the forum you will get an idea of how to go on, but feel free to ask if there is anything specific you want to know.
Hi my number was 57. Done as a yearly check up.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You are not far over the diabetes threshold then (which is 48) It should not take too much effort to push it back into remission. Are you able to walk? As well as dietary changes, a brisk daily walk can really help.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Angreen
If you are hoping to manage your diabetes without medication, then taking a careful look at what you are eating is a really good step.
A helpful first step can be simply to keep a (brutally honest!) food diary for a week to keep a note of everything you are eating. And keeping a note, or estimate of the carbohydrate content of the meals.
While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will be wanting to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to various foods are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which types and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ your BG without checking for yourself.
Many members here find checking before and 2hrs after eating with a BG meter is a great way to see how different amounts amd types of carbs are affecting their BG. Initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them, but aiming for a ‘meal rise’ of only 2-3mmol/L will allow your overall levels to come down gently.
Once you can see how your BG responds to different meals, you can begin experimenting with reducing amounts of carbs and trying different types (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.
If you need to self fund your BG meter, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50
Let us know how you get on 🙂
If you are hoping to manage your diabetes without medication, then taking a careful look at what you are eating is a really good step.
A helpful first step can be simply to keep a (brutally honest!) food diary for a week to keep a note of everything you are eating. And keeping a note, or estimate of the carbohydrate content of the meals.
While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will be wanting to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to various foods are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which types and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ your BG without checking for yourself.
Many members here find checking before and 2hrs after eating with a BG meter is a great way to see how different amounts amd types of carbs are affecting their BG. Initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them, but aiming for a ‘meal rise’ of only 2-3mmol/L will allow your overall levels to come down gently.
Once you can see how your BG responds to different meals, you can begin experimenting with reducing amounts of carbs and trying different types (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.
If you need to self fund your BG meter, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50
Let us know how you get on 🙂
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