Confused

[WendyB61]

Hi I have type 2 diabetes managed by just diet no medication so far, I was diagnosed January 2021 and was doing well concentrating on low carb, then my doctors put me on a 12 week diet course with SlimmingWorld which has really messed up how I was managing my diabetes, my bg readings were all between 4 and 8 but now they are 11, but I wasn’t losing weight before SW but now I am although very slowly, so which is the best approach?

 

[janw]

Losing weight by slowly reducing your carbs to no more than 130g per day is the best way to go, this is where an online food diary helps, you log everything you eat and drink and it keeps a tally for you, some allow you to log exercise and add those calories burned onto your daily total. There are lots of free apps about. I use MyFitnessPal as I can use in on my laptop as well as on the app on my phone - easy to add to wherever I am, home or away, and watch what I eat. We don't need to worry about calories, nor fat - fats compensate for the lower carbs.
SW is known to be somewhat carb heavy, it might get you having less calories, but calories are not what effect your BG, that is the carbs. There may be some food ideas you can keep, but you do need to check the carbs. Avoid dishes with potato, rice, pastas, bread and pastry, even beans, legumes, sweetcorn and peas. Stick with berries for your daily fruit, veggies that grow above the ground are best - those that grow under the ground have the highest carbs, This is where your BG meter comes into play - try something, test it 2 hours after that first bite and you don't want to see a rise of more than 2 - 3 mmol - or try reducing the portion size (scales are useful too for accurate measurements), if that is still too high, then find a lower carb alternative instead.
Do check your carb intake and adjust your portion size if necessary, but do use a food diary as that lets you know how you are doing and what adjustments you might need to make. I would maybe do a mix of low carb foods you have been having, as well as a few acceptable ones from SW.
I don't know why you are being rushed to lose weight, slow and steady is the best way especially as your number is low enough not to need meds right now - I have not had any meds yet, am on diet and exercise only and will be due my 9 month check up next month - I have lost about 1.5 stones so far and am in my correct BMI again. I don't plan on going on any meds unless the situation changes and leaves me with no choice - but until then I will keep my food diary, do plenty of walking or use the exercise bike and watch my numbers fall. I aim to have around 100g of carbs per day as that suits me, some go lower, some extremely low, but it has to be reduced slowly to prevent other issues from cropping up - I don't always manage to keep to around 100g, but if I can keep below 130g then I know I'm still on the right track for me.
I hope you get where you need to be - not all Drs know enough about diabetes to actually talk much sense, unless they walk the walk, they cannot talk the talk 🙂 Stick with us here, the ones who walk and talk, we will help keep you on the right path 🙂

 

[Windy]

Hi I have type 2 diabetes managed by just diet no medication so far, I was diagnosed January 2021 and was doing well concentrating on low carb, then my doctors put me on a 12 week diet course with SlimmingWorld which has really messed up how I was managing my diabetes, my bg readings were all between 4 and 8 but now they are 11, but I wasn’t losing weight before SW but now I am although very slowly, so which is the best approach?

I agree with @janw's advice.
If it were me, I'd ditch slimming world due to the BG rise, even if the GP prescribed it. It doesn't seem optimised for diabetics at all.
Could you consider doing intermittent fasting (two days a week of 800 calories, 5 days of normal meals, eating whatever you were having before when your BG was between 4 and 8) instead? You'd still lose weight, but it'd be gentler on you BG. You could give it a go for a month and see if it works for you. Don't be afraid to change tack if it doesn't, it's about finding something that's easy to follow and works.
Best wishes, Sarah

 

[Leadinglights]

I suspect GPs recommend the Slimming World program as it is fairly akin to the NHS Eat Well Plate which for many is far too high in carbohydrates. As you were doing well before there seems no reason to not stick with it, if you have lost weight with the SW it might have just kick started you and it will continue when you go back to your previous low carb approach.

 

[rebrascora]

The other option is to tweak the Slimming World menu to do lower carb and just add in more veggies.

 

[nonethewiser]

SW is somewhat carb heavy is nonsense, on diet you can pick & choose foods to eat, know this as wife did diet 4 year ago.

Example, for lunch she would have chicken salad or cheese omelette with salad, obviously making it with reduced fat cheese & homemade low cal coleslaw.

Breakfast was berries with low fat yogurt, she would sprinkle some good quality granola over it but that's optional.

Before SW she was diagnosed prediabetic & reversed condition by losing 5 stone with help of SW, so don't be put off by comments that diet is carb heavy as it isn't.

 

[ianf0ster]

SW is somewhat carb heavy is nonsense, on diet you can pick & choose foods to eat, know this as wife did diet 4 year ago.

Example, for lunch she would have chicken salad or cheese omelette with salad, obviously making it with reduced fat cheese & homemade low cal coleslaw.

Breakfast was berries with low fat yogurt, she would sprinkle some good quality granola over it but that's optional.

Before SW she was diagnosed prediabetic & reversed condition by losing 5 stone with help of SW, so don't be put off by comments that diet is carb heavy as it isn't.

I'm surprised that you advise the OP to stick with SW when they say that it appears to have raised their BG.
Surely the first priority is getting the BG down (as they were already doing with low carb) and the only secondly looking at either reducing calories or doing other tweaks to slowly reduce the weight.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you have seen some BG rises while following Slimming World @WendyB61 - though great that you have seen some weight loss on the programme.

Can you identify any changes in your SW meals versus your previous approach?

Do you think it might be possible to adapt Slimming World meals to be more BG friendly by reducing their total carbohydrate content?

 

[nonethewiser]

I'm surprised that you advise the OP to stick with SW when they say that it appears to have raised their BG.
Surely the first priority is getting the BG down (as they were already doing with low carb) and the only secondly looking at either reducing calories or doing other tweaks to slowly reduce the weight.

So where do I advise OP to stick with SW?

Reply was to janw second post in where they say diet is somewhat carb heavy, so give example of what wife ate for breakfast lunch, it's as low or high in carbs as you want diet to be, so perfectly doable for people with diabetes looking to lose weight.

 

[ianf0ster]

@nonethewiser I took your comment:
'Before SW she was diagnosed prediabetic & reversed condition by losing 5 stone with help of SW, so don't be put off by comments that diet is carb heavy as it isn't. '
As being advice for the OP and for others considering different diets rather than a reply to @janw

 

[gll]

If SW is working you could tweak as suggested and still get meetings or online support from them if that helps keep you motivated and focused.

At the end of the day if your choice is to manage with diet alone it will be for the long haul so find what suits you best for weight loss and lifestyle as well as your diabetes and go for it whatever choice you make.

Wishing you every success x

 

[nonethewiser]

@nonethewiser I took your comment:
'Before SW she was diagnosed prediabetic & reversed condition by losing 5 stone with help of SW, so don't be put off by comments that diet is carb heavy as it isn't. '
As being advice for the OP and for others considering different diets rather than a reply to @janw

It is what it says, not my fault you read it wrong.