Can I experiment as a prediabetic?

[Irish]

Excuse me, if this is in the incorrect forum.
Diagnosed with Prediabetes for second time. Had it in 2019. Back to normal. Back again.
Doctor advised to cut down on sugary stuff, and refined carbohydrates.
But people online will say to avoid entirely.
I am getting tested in 6 months again.
Is it okay to do for this 6 months? I will try cutting out, and down on some stuff, and leaving others as is.
As a sort of guideline.
Pasta. I used to put in slow cooker along with chicken for example. I might put in enough for three days. I would eat small amounts. It was usually penne pasta. But Pasta is not something I would miss.
Rice. I can live without it. Although I did see some diabetic rice, which is supposed to lower blood sugar levels when they spike. I couldn't say, because The doctor won't give me a glucose monitor.
Keep Icecream-once a week
Chocate and cakes. I will do my best to stay away from them.
Chips and mash from takeaway. Once a month.
Potatoes. Maybe two small potatoes or quarter of a big one twice a week, cooked in airfryer.
White bread. I guess I can live without that. Maybe if i need to I can find some kind of replacement.
Breakfast cereal. I have lots of cereal here including quaker oats, moma super seeds porridge. Moma-cranberry and raisin.
They are not made with wheat, but the carbs are around the 40 mark.
But I am going to stick with the cereal. I will be adding fruit to the unsweetened cereal.
After breakfast, I like to have a yogurt. I was eating danio yogurts, usually the vanilla and ones with a chocolate flakes.
But i was also eating fruit based and chocolate added yogurts eg yogurts with added pieces.
Here are ingredients for Danio. Unfortunately no mention of carbs
"Skimmed MILK sugar (9%) water liquid sugar (0.9%) thickeners (processed starch / E1442, guar gum / E412) natural vanilla flavor Concentrated lemon juice minerals from concentrated MILK carrot lactic ferments (MILK) pods depleted vanilla acidity corrector (sodium citrates / E331) Decor: vanilla bark MILK: Origin France.
Anyway year I got some tesco greek like plain yogurt. I was expecting to have a negative reaction even after adding fruit.
Well I put some from a tub in a bowl, and added about half a banana in slices.
WOW. It was absolutely lovely. I didn't expect that.
BUT, to bring fruit in. So I like to have a yogurt after my breakfast. If I am eating a non sweetened cereal, then I would need some fruit in the cereal. Then if I was having some plain yogurt after, I would be adding more fruit. But thinking about it now, I could add honey to one or the other. I also like to eat custard and fruit. Well it's tesco custard and fruit. But I am going to use Plain yogurt as it's probably healthier.

Any thoughts?

 

[Inka]

You can certainly experiment 🙂 You don’t have to cut out all carbs. Find a way of eating that works for you, your blood sugar and your weight target. Being able to sustain a diet important.

I love Greek yoghurt too. It’s nice with strawberries as well as banana. You say you need fruit in a non-sweetened cereal. Just try to watch what you add for carbs. You may well find your taste buds change. Mine did. I always used to have a teaspoon of sugar on each Weetabix I ate, but now I like them without any sugar. I gradually reduced it and my tastes changed.

 

[Irish]

Thanks very much for those encouraging words. Are there any fruits you would say are best left alone, or not used as much as others. Fruits I would use are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, oranges, mangoes, plums, peaches, nectarines, Bananas, pears. I think that covers the lot-ha ha.
Any opinion on honey as a sweetener?

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks very much for those encouraging words. Are there any fruits you would say are best left alone, or not used as much as others. Fruits I would use are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, oranges, mangoes, plums, peaches, nectarines, Bananas, pears. I think that covers the lot-ha ha.
Any opinion on honey as a sweetener?

The berries are usually fine for people but things like mangoes and bananas peaches and nectarines are higher in carbs.
The Book or app Carbs and Cals gives a good guide of the carbohydrate value of a whole range of foods and is useful in planning your meals, there will be some surprises when you compare what appears to be similar food. Even if your G P won't give you a monitor you can self fund one which you can buy on line (Amazon). monitors people here find reliable and cheap to use are the Gluco Navil or TEE2 both of which have strips at about £10 for 50 probably the cheapest available. Full fat versions of dairy products are usually lower in carb than the low fat so worth considering, they will also be more filling so make you feel less hungry when cutting down on the carbs. When looking at the carb in foods you need to look at the total carb not just the sugar, this is particularly true with cereals as some purport to be low sugar but still have a high carb value so portion size is important if you still want to have it. But that is where a good testing regime comes in as you can see the effect food/meals have on your blood glucose levels by testing before you eat and after 2 hours, a rise of no more than 3mmol/l is a good indication the meal was ok for you. If higher then you would want to reduce the portion size of the high carb component or find a substitute.

 

[Irish]

Appreciate the time you took to reply. Interesting what you say about full fat milk vs low fat.
My brother is a type 2 diabetic. He uses soya milk. Is that a better option.
Money is a bit on the short side right now for monitor. But hopefully later I can get monitor and book.
I can't use app, because I only have a 2 g phone, and my tablet is broke.
But I see there are alternative ones for a desktop computer. So maybe I will look at what's available and see if any are worth using. Maybe I will ask for advise here.

 

[Inka]

Thanks very much for those encouraging words. Are there any fruits you would say are best left alone, or not used as much as others. Fruits I would use are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, oranges, mangoes, plums, peaches, nectarines, Bananas, pears. I think that covers the lot-ha ha.
Any opinion on honey as a sweetener?

As a general rule, bananas and tropical fruits are the highest in carbs so you’ll have to watch those. Berries are generally the lowest. Apples and pears are ok but go for a smaller one, same with peaches and nectarines. It’s a bit individual though - some people can manage fruit ok whereas others have to be quite strict.

Honey is pretty much pure carbs/sugar so not a lot better than table sugar really. It’s better to reduce your sweetness need by gradually cutting down. I know people harp on about educating your palate, but your tastes really will change.

 

[Inka]

I have this carb book. It’s small, cheaper and has been useful to me:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Carb-Count...412&sprefix=Collins+carb+count,aps,181&sr=8-1

It’s around £5 but you often see it slightly cheaper in shops that stock the Gem books.

 

[Irish]

Thank you again, Inka. I appreciate all the advice.

 

[Drummer]

As you are in the prediabetic range then simply cutting out the higher carbohydrate foods and sticking to the lower ones should be enough to make a difference - cereals, or anything that contains grain are high in starch, so avoiding those should be a good start - and then anything high sugar - which includes a lot of fruit.
You should get retested at intervals, so you can see then how effective your efforts are.

 

[Irish]

Getting tested in 6 months.

 

[Leadinglights]

Appreciate the time you took to reply. Interesting what you say about full fat milk vs low fat.
My brother is a type 2 diabetic. He uses soya milk. Is that a better option.
Money is a bit on the short side right now for monitor. But hopefully later I can get monitor and book.
I can't use app, because I only have a 2 g phone, and my tablet is broke.
But I see there are alternative ones for a desktop computer. So maybe I will look at what's available and see if any are worth using. Maybe I will ask for advise here.

Unsweetened soya milk is 1g carb for half a pint, sweetened soya milk 7g carb, cows milk any type 13g carb so yes less carb if you like it. It is cream that has fewer carbs than cows milk.

 

[Irish]

Thank you.