Change diet and weight loss to avoid metformin - I'm trying!!

[Franthepotter]

Or the hummus about 10g per 100g as made from chickpeas which have carbs.
Similarly beetroot about 10g per 100g
Depends on how much of each you had.

Oh dear I think I'm learning here. So pulses have quite a heavy carb load. That's tough.

 

[Leadinglights]

Oh dear I think I'm learning here. So pulses have quite a heavy carb load. That's tough.

Get yourself the Carbs and Cals book from Amazon or there is an app. Easy to see what carbs there are in various portions of a whole range of foods. I was and still is my bible for checking things out.

 

[Franthepotter]

There are three elements in nutrition - protein, carbohydrate and fats. If something is not protein or fat it must be carbohydrate including fruit and veg.

As for trying to avoid Metformin, you've been diagnosed with a life changing, live threatening condition and you need all the help you can get with it.

Thanks its good to hear it straight. I'm in a bit of denial but do intend to take the meds in 3 months time if needed.

 

[Drummer]

I think beetroot is around 7% carbs - in UK terms, that is without the 'fiber' which US sources quote.
To start your notebook
Carrot 8 Swede 3,7 onion 4.6 kohlrabi 4.2 sweet pepper red 3.5 yellow 3 green 2.5 Turnip 3.4 Leek 3.3

Try not to worry too much about future problems which night never materialise. I have been surprised at how much better I feel these days, how far from normal I had been pushed just by following the wrong diet and overeating carbs, becoming hugely overweight because they are considered 'healthy' when they were killing me slowly and steadily.

 

[Dragonheart]

At the moment I'm eat no free carbs ... so I'm eating eggs veg a bit of cheese a little fish. The 9 or 10 is 2 hours after. If I go for a brisk walk after eating or a v gentle jog then it goes high but comes down again.

What are you at before eating though? It’s only a spike if it jumps up a lot higher than before the meal. Everyone goes up a bit and then back down. Without the before reading you have no way of knowing. If your hba1c estimate is 40 now you’re obviously doing something right.

what are you drinking with the meal? Any sauces? Which veg typically? And beans or pulses?

 

[Dragonheart]

Oh dear I think I'm learning here. So pulses have quite a heavy carb load. That's tough.

They aren’t low carb

Also just to make it trickier some if us react particularly strongly to certain types of carb, over and above what you’d expect from the carb count alone. I don’t know why. Maybe we have a biome that struggles with certain foods and the way we break them down (just a guess). For some that might be grains, or beans or carrots or onions. It might be none of those and we have predictable rises.

As for medication. You didn’t become diabetic overnight and it’ll take a little while to find remission. Months not days usually. But it’s all progress. You may or may not need medication to help you further. Your plan of seeing where these life changes get you in 3 months is a good one. We don’t all need that extra help, some do, sometimes longer term, sometimes just for a while. The more you can do long term with diet and lifestyle, and maintain it, the less medication you will need over your lifetime and the longer it’ll be before you need it (if ever). Metfomin will not prevent it being progressive without the lifestyle part to go with it.

 

[Sharron1]

Oh dear I think I'm learning here. So pulses have quite a heavy carb load. That's tough.

It's all trial and error and then some more! With the addition that carby foods can work differently for everyone. One size does not fit all. It takes time. Good luck.

 

[Franthepotter]

I think beetroot is around 7% carbs - in UK terms, that is without the 'fiber' which US sources quote.
To start your notebook
Carrot 8 Swede 3,7 onion 4.6 kohlrabi 4.2 sweet pepper red 3.5 yellow 3 green 2.5 Turnip 3.4 Leek 3.3

Try not to worry too much about future problems which night never materialise. I have been surprised at how much better I feel these days, how far from normal I had been pushed just by following the wrong diet and overeating carbs, becoming hugely overweight because they are considered 'healthy' when they were killing me slowly and steadily.

Dear drummer
Thank you that's helpful. Are those carb values for 100g of each foodstuff please?

 

[Leadinglights]

Dear drummer
Thank you that's helpful. Are those carb values for 100g of each foodstuff please?

Anything quoted as a % will be per 100g so you would need to work it out for the portion you have eg for a 50g portion of say beetroot divide 7 by 100 and multiply by 50 or even easier in that case divide 7 by 2 = 3.5g

 

[Franthepotter]

It's all trial and error and then some more! With the addition that carby foods can work differently for everyone. One size does not fit all. It takes time. Good luck.

Thx for that its helpful

 

[Franthepotter]

They aren’t low carb

Also just to make it trickier some if us react particularly strongly to certain types of carb, over and above what you’d expect from the carb count alone. I don’t know why. Maybe we have a biome that struggles with certain foods and the way we break them down (just a guess). For some that might be grains, or beans or carrots or onions. It might be none of those and we have predictable rises.

As for medication. You didn’t become diabetic overnight and it’ll take a little while to find remission. Months not days usually. But it’s all progress. You may or may not need medication to help you further. Your plan of seeing where these life changes get you in 3 months is a good one. We don’t all need that extra help, some do, sometimes longer term, sometimes just for a while. The more you can do long term with diet and lifestyle, and maintain it, the less medication you will need over your lifetime and the longer it’ll be before you need it (if ever). Metfomin will not prevent it being progressive without the lifestyle part to go with it.

Thx hsss that's helpful and really positive. At least I'm a potter not a chef !!!

 

[Drummer]

Dear drummer
Thank you that's helpful. Are those carb values for 100g of each foodstuff please?

Yes, the digestible carbs - not the value used in the US.

 

[Franthepotter]

Hi all. So I'd love sone feedback. 1 minth of change of diet and generally good walking cycling etc. I've lost 2kg (67kg to 65kg). I generally don't eat breakfast. I know that's not good. I had a tin of sardines at midday today and 1hr after am still at 9.1which is really high. Today I didn't walk or jog before food. Is that spike dangerous?? My average on my chm is still showing 5.8. Thx so much fran

 

[Burylancs]

Hi all. So I'd love sone feedback. 1 minth of change of diet and generally good walking cycling etc. I've lost 2kg (67kg to 65kg). I generally don't eat breakfast. I know that's not good. I had a tin of sardines at midday today and 1hr after am still at 9.1which is really high. Today I didn't walk or jog before food. Is that spike dangerous?? My average on my chm is still showing 5.8. Thx so much fran

Hi all. So I'd love sone feedback. 1 minth of change of diet and generally good walking cycling etc. I've lost 2kg (67kg to 65kg). I generally don't eat breakfast. I know that's not good. I had a tin of sardines at midday today and 1hr after am still at 9.1which is really high. Today I didn't walk or jog before food. Is that spike dangerous?? My average on my chm is still showing 5.8. Thx so much fran

What did you have with the sardines?
And what was your bg immediately before the sardines ?
Recommended to test TWO hours after a meal for the second phase insulin to kick in

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Oh dear I think I'm learning here. So pulses have quite a heavy carb load. That's tough.

Some of the carbs in pulses are a form of resistant starch that the body finds it less efficient to absorb (I forget if it’s amylase, amylose, amylopectin or something else!). It’s why beans/pulses have a reputation for giving you wind… the undigested carbs pass through to the lower intestine where bacteria feed on them giving off CO2 that then (ahem!) needs to escape.

This can make pulses a good option for some people as they only have a fraction of their notional carb count as far as blood glucose is concerned.

However this is diabetes, so some on the forum find their metabolisms digest all the carbs in pulses and legumes just fine.

All vegetables have trace amounts of carbs in them (even lettuce!). That doesn’t mean you must avoid them as they also have fibre and vitamins. A general rule of thumb seems to be that things get carbier when they grow below ground vs on the ground and above ground.

 

[Franthepotter]

Update after Desmond. Hi all so I went to Desmond day on Monday. I was explained I was having too few carbs and too much fat. So today I tried to gently change that. I had a breakfast of salad and tinned fish, then a small half tablespoon of qui oa for lunch. So today I have not spiked which is good but my overall levels are flat but over 7.5. Any suggestions?? I could continue with occasional 'pure' carbs and add oil or go back to no pure/free carbs and reduce the olive oil excess. Any views??? Thx so much. The potter

 

[harbottle]

What sort of fat are you eating?

 

[Leadinglights]

Update after Desmond. Hi all so I went to Desmond day on Monday. I was explained I was having too few carbs and too much fat. So today I tried to gently change that. I had a breakfast of salad and tinned fish, then a small half tablespoon of qui oa for lunch. So today I have not spiked which is good but my overall levels are flat but over 7.5. Any suggestions?? I could continue with occasional 'pure' carbs and add oil or go back to no pure/free carbs and reduce the olive oil excess. Any views??? Thx so much. The potter

The DESMOND course because it is run by the NHS but it was designed by the Leicester Diabetic centre but does follow the standard NHS Eatwell Plate which for may who are Type 2 trying to reduce their HbA1C by diet is too high in Carbs for many to tolerate and of course they also promote the low fat which is why they are probably saying too high in fat and too low in carbs. This is likley why many people ebnd up on more and more medication as they don't acknowledge how effective low carb can be in reducing blood glucose. What is right for you is only something you can determine by testing with your home monitor.
By all means listen to what they are saying but also read other things like the introduction in the Freshwell link and make your own mind up.

 

[Franthepotter]

The DESMOND course because it is run by the NHS but it was designed by the Leicester Diabetic centre but does follow the standard NHS Eatwell Plate which for may who are Type 2 trying to reduce their HbA1C by diet is too high in Carbs for many to tolerate and of course they also promote the low fat which is why they are probably saying too high in fat and too low in carbs. This is likley why many people ebnd up on more and more medication as they don't acknowledge how effective low carb can be in reducing blood glucose. What is right for you is only something you can determine by testing with your home monitor.
By all means listen to what they are saying but also read other things like the introduction in the Freshwell link and make your own mind up.

I will do. That's exactly my conclusion from the course. They seemed to be pushing free carbs. Maybe sensible for folks who are new to food etc but I do know what I'm eating. It was rather depressing really.

 

[Franthepotter]

What sort of fat are you eating?

I'm sticking to olive oil but have also been eating quite a lot of hard goats cheese.