Good morning everyone. I'm not new here but have not posted for a while. I have just had a wake up call from my DN as my Hb1ac has come back as 61. I have been told to reduce it by 14th Dec or my medication will increase. I am currently taking 2x500mg Metformin twice a day. I am also on Atorvastatin. Losartan potassium and Bendroflouraside. I have had type 2 diabetes for the past 3 years and really struggling with what to eat. My previous Hba1c reads are 76., 49, 56,58 and 59. This morning my waking BG was 11.5 and after a breakfast of 2 weetabix it increased to 17.1. If anyone can give me some tips on what to eat for meals. I would be grateful. I am sorry for the long post but I'm so unhappy at the moment and can't seem to find the motivation I need. Since diagnosis in 2017 I have lost over 3 stone.
-
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.
Despondent Type 2.
- Thread starter Trisha66
- Start date
- Status
Martin9
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Trisha66
The problem with weetabix is the carbohydrate content , 2 weetabix + milk equates to around 30 g of carbs, counter intuitively you would be better having bacon & eggs for breakfast or consider changing to what the Europeans eat for breakfast like cold meats /cheeses etc.
Thanks for your reply Martin. I have decided to change my whole attitude to eating and am grateful for your suggestions. I have buried my head in the sand for too long and need to take responsibility for myself. Hopefully I'll have better things to report soon.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Trisha66, sorry to hear that you are going through a bad patch but there are positives in your post to build on. You have got your HbA1c down from your starting point and have lost a lot of weight over the last three years. Seems to me it might be time to refocus and start another push to get things moving again.
Tackling what you are eating looks like a good place to start. Most on here who have got things well under control would not have a couple of weetabix for breakfast - would give us a spike just like you have seen. The key to eating to get your blood glucose down is to think about carbohydrate intake since in simple terms it is the carbohydrate you eat that finishes up as glucose in the blood. Two weetabix is 26g of carbohydrate and that would seem to be more than enough for your system to cope with when presented with a product made essentially from wheat. Do you have anything else with your breakfast? If so then that might be adding to it.
My top tip is to start to think about carbs and to start a food diary in which you note down what you eat and then work out the carb content. Does not have to be absolutely accurate but it does have to be honest. Keep monitoring your blood glucose before and after eating and from that information begin to look for patterns. Seek out the things that are giving you bigger increases and begin to eliminate them from your diet. Don't rush at it but do it systematically, substituting things where you can, altering portion sizes, or whatever is needed to get the post meal increase under control.
Just seen your last post. You are dead right, the trick is to work out what works for you. We are here to help where we can so keep posting.
Tackling what you are eating looks like a good place to start. Most on here who have got things well under control would not have a couple of weetabix for breakfast - would give us a spike just like you have seen. The key to eating to get your blood glucose down is to think about carbohydrate intake since in simple terms it is the carbohydrate you eat that finishes up as glucose in the blood. Two weetabix is 26g of carbohydrate and that would seem to be more than enough for your system to cope with when presented with a product made essentially from wheat. Do you have anything else with your breakfast? If so then that might be adding to it.
My top tip is to start to think about carbs and to start a food diary in which you note down what you eat and then work out the carb content. Does not have to be absolutely accurate but it does have to be honest. Keep monitoring your blood glucose before and after eating and from that information begin to look for patterns. Seek out the things that are giving you bigger increases and begin to eliminate them from your diet. Don't rush at it but do it systematically, substituting things where you can, altering portion sizes, or whatever is needed to get the post meal increase under control.
Just seen your last post. You are dead right, the trick is to work out what works for you. We are here to help where we can so keep posting.
adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Trish
I'm recently diagnosed so I'm on the same journey of exploring what foods do what. I use the mySugr app on my iPad which enables me to record and track blood sugar, carbs etc. Still trying to understand what foods do what but starting to understand a little bit.
I'm recently diagnosed so I'm on the same journey of exploring what foods do what. I use the mySugr app on my iPad which enables me to record and track blood sugar, carbs etc. Still trying to understand what foods do what but starting to understand a little bit.
adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
And you Trisha - I'm sure you get it sorted
grovesy
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I agree your breakfast not sound the best.
Good for losing the weight but I am not totally convinced myself that for everyone weight loss is the solution many suggest.
Over the years I have adjust what I have eaten many times. Differnt things have worked at differn times.
Good for losing the weight but I am not totally convinced myself that for everyone weight loss is the solution many suggest.
Over the years I have adjust what I have eaten many times. Differnt things have worked at differn times.
Martin9
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
it took me a while, with advice from here, to realise that it wasn’t just the simple sugars I needed to eradicate from my diet, but the the more complex starches which our body readily changes into sugars.
Basically anything made from rice, wheat, other grains, veg which grow underground like potato, carrot, swede etc are high in carbs.
Even some fruits are high in sugar , so need to watch those ...
Have you seen the German style of breakfast , they have cold meats , eggs, cheeses, and very small bits of rye brown breads it’s as if they know what’s better for all not just us diabetics..
I’ve tried to include a pic of normal German brekkie before, but doesn’t let me here...
For my breakfast I sometimes have thin ham, boiled egg , and cheese coleslaw it’s about thinking different ...xx
Regards
M x
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If you are thinking of a bit of a ‘restart‘ for your diabetes management two resources that frequently get recommended as really useful overviews of diabetes are Maggie Davey’s Letter and Gretchen Becker’s book, which are packed full of information and written in plain and accessible language.
Good luck with the carb reductions to improve your BG results - there are lots of hints and suggestions for swaps and changes in the ‘food and carbs’ section. While you are making changes to your menu - it’s worth remembering that it can be best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels are harder on the fine blood vessels, and changing things more gently will give your body time to adapt.
Good luck with the carb reductions to improve your BG results - there are lots of hints and suggestions for swaps and changes in the ‘food and carbs’ section. While you are making changes to your menu - it’s worth remembering that it can be best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels are harder on the fine blood vessels, and changing things more gently will give your body time to adapt.
- Status