I have been told I am prediabetic. I have seen the lifestyle nurse at my local surgery, but I am really struggling. I need to lose a lot of weight and I am not sure what I can and can not eat. the nurse told me for instance that I am only allowed 2 pieces of fruit a day. I have a sweet tooth and like to have something sweet after meals so I usually turn to fruit. Am I supposed to restrict carbs, and fat? How many calories should I be eating to control diabetes and lose weight, We don't seem to have the support system here in Wales as in England. Help needed, please. I am also disabled and unable to go the gym and such like.
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- Thread starter Pat1944
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TheClockworkDodo
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- Type 1
Hello Pat, and welcome 🙂
I'll leave your questions about calories and weight loss for some of the type 2s to answer, as I don't know very much about those, but just to say that you will have to be a bit more careful about fruit, yes, as it spikes blood sugar. You'll need to avoid fruit juice, fruit smoothies, fruit drinks, and dried fruits, and cut down on exotic fruits and things like grapes and bananas. The best fruits for people with diabetes tend to be berries, apples, and pears, but some people can get away with fruit more easily than others, so the only way you'd really know which fruit effect you badly is to test your blood sugar before eating and then two hours afterwards.
Have you been given a blood sugar meter to do tests? If not we can suggest one for you to get, which will help you see how different foods effect you. It varies from person to person, so the only way to really be sure is to test.
Yes, you will need to restrict carbs - things like pasta, rice, pizza, bread, and potatoes, as well as things like cakes and biscuits. If you eat white bread/rice/pasta, you could try changing to brown or granary bread and brown rice/pasta and eating smaller portions, that helps some people (especially as you only have prediabetes at the moment, you might not need to do things as drastically as if you had diabetes).
I'm disabled too, and can't do a lot of exercise. Can you walk at all? Even just a gentle walk helps lower your blood sugar, or otherwise something like swimming, or just pottering about in the garden - anything you can do that means you are moving about a bit rather than sitting still. There are stretching exercises you can do if you're in a wheelchair, or pedalling ones if you can move your legs but can't get up.
The other thing which will help is to drink plenty of water - several glasses a day - as that will lower your blood sugar.
For the sweet tooth, I'd suggest a packet of Tic-Tacs - eat one after a meal to give you a hit of something sweet! High cocoa chocolate is also fine for diabetics, but it does have to be very high cocoa (85% or more), and not in huge quantities. It's an acquired taste, but you do get used to it (I prefer it to the sweeter kind).
And don't, whatever you do, eat low fat foods - they tend to contain extra sugar so that makes them completely unsuitable for diabetics.
I'll leave your questions about calories and weight loss for some of the type 2s to answer, as I don't know very much about those, but just to say that you will have to be a bit more careful about fruit, yes, as it spikes blood sugar. You'll need to avoid fruit juice, fruit smoothies, fruit drinks, and dried fruits, and cut down on exotic fruits and things like grapes and bananas. The best fruits for people with diabetes tend to be berries, apples, and pears, but some people can get away with fruit more easily than others, so the only way you'd really know which fruit effect you badly is to test your blood sugar before eating and then two hours afterwards.
Have you been given a blood sugar meter to do tests? If not we can suggest one for you to get, which will help you see how different foods effect you. It varies from person to person, so the only way to really be sure is to test.
Yes, you will need to restrict carbs - things like pasta, rice, pizza, bread, and potatoes, as well as things like cakes and biscuits. If you eat white bread/rice/pasta, you could try changing to brown or granary bread and brown rice/pasta and eating smaller portions, that helps some people (especially as you only have prediabetes at the moment, you might not need to do things as drastically as if you had diabetes).
I'm disabled too, and can't do a lot of exercise. Can you walk at all? Even just a gentle walk helps lower your blood sugar, or otherwise something like swimming, or just pottering about in the garden - anything you can do that means you are moving about a bit rather than sitting still. There are stretching exercises you can do if you're in a wheelchair, or pedalling ones if you can move your legs but can't get up.
The other thing which will help is to drink plenty of water - several glasses a day - as that will lower your blood sugar.
For the sweet tooth, I'd suggest a packet of Tic-Tacs - eat one after a meal to give you a hit of something sweet! High cocoa chocolate is also fine for diabetics, but it does have to be very high cocoa (85% or more), and not in huge quantities. It's an acquired taste, but you do get used to it (I prefer it to the sweeter kind).
And don't, whatever you do, eat low fat foods - they tend to contain extra sugar so that makes them completely unsuitable for diabetics.
Hi Pat,
Forget about calories, focus on the carbs as that’s what pushes our blood sugars up and puts the weight on, by reducing the carbs as Juliet has said, you will take back control of your bloods and the weight will come off!
Take some time to read through the other posts, everything you need to know is here, ask any questions you might have
Forget about calories, focus on the carbs as that’s what pushes our blood sugars up and puts the weight on, by reducing the carbs as Juliet has said, you will take back control of your bloods and the weight will come off!
Take some time to read through the other posts, everything you need to know is here, ask any questions you might have
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I should have said, you could also try fruit yogurt for a sweet thing after meals, but check the carbs on the label and go for the ones which are lowest in carbs (ignore calories, sugar, fat, traffic lights, and anything else, just look at total carbs). I think the ones I eat are about 10-20g carbs per pot.
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