diabetes food planning ....

[robertedward]

I am hopeless with diet hence a monthly average sugar of 23mmol... been reading up on carb's and got some ideas , but think I need the old fashioned regimented style diet.

Friend of mine 30 years ago or maybe more used to be type 1 and he used to have a set number of what he called lines to take at certain times of day . Ie biscuit and milk say 2 lines at 11am maybe 5 lines at 1pm and so on

anybody know anything about how this worked and was calculated. I think a line might have been what we now call 1 CHO

 

[Northerner]

Hi Robert, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm sure some of our longer-diagnosed members can help you with the 'lines' - I have heard them mentioned before, although I think that they were used in relation to fixed insulin doses, which are rarely used these days. What medication are you on, and how long have you been diagnosed? Your levels are certainly way too high to be good for your long-term health, so it's good that you are seeking out ways of reducing this and getting your blood sugar levels under control.

Do you test your blood sugars regularly? If so (and I think if not, then you really would benefit from doing so!) then please take a look at the following links for a good strategy for getting your diabetes under control:

Jennifer's good advice:

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=5835

plus, a highly recommended book:

Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker

This should provide you with a far better strategy than trying to emulate the way your friend controlled things 30 years ago - things have moved a long way since then!

One thing you can start straight away is to keep a food diary - record absolutely everything you eat and drink (except water!), paying particular attention to carbohydrates. Weigh your food if necessary so that you can get as accurate as possible a figure for your daily intake of carbs, protein and fat. This will be an ideal record for you to take to a dietician who will be able to suggest possible improvements to your diet. Ask your GP to refer you if you don't currently have access to a dietician.

Please ask any questions you may have - nothing is considered 'silly', and we'll do our best to help. I look forward to hearing more from you! 🙂

 

[AJLang]

Hi the "lines" your friend was referring to was because in those days we couldn't alter insulin based upon food. The insulin was always "working" so you had to eat six times a day to keep BGs at a semi reasonable level whilst trying to minimise hypos. This approach was very much based upon injecting a combined dose of short acting and long acting insulin once or twice a day. As Northener says things have moved on a lot since then (thank goodness).

 

[Alan S]

I am hopeless with diet hence a monthly average sugar of 23mmol... been reading up on carb's and got some ideas , but think I need the old fashioned regimented style diet.

Friend of mine 30 years ago or maybe more used to be type 1 and he used to have a set number of what he called lines to take at certain times of day . Ie biscuit and milk say 2 lines at 11am maybe 5 lines at 1pm and so on

anybody know anything about how this worked and was calculated. I think a line might have been what we now call 1 CHO

G'day Robert

Let me offer a lateral idea.

Instead of a regimented diet, consider a regimented post-meal testing routine. Then use the results of those tests to review the menu that led to them. Change those menus to change the results.

That may eventually lead to a regimented diet but it will be the diet perfectly tailored for better blood glucose levels for you.

With an average of 23 mmol/l I hope you are seeing a doctor regularly. If you aren't on medications or insulin you probably should be. If you use insulin please make changes cautiously, because you don't want to go from much too high (and you are dangerously high) to too low. But still make changes.

Please read this: (click on it): Test, Review, Adjust

PS. If you really want a regimented diet, post a list of your typical present menu, your favourite foods and the foods you detest and I'll make some suggestions. Buit please read the article on that link first.

And please see a doctor ASAP.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

1 line would = 10 carbs ( I think)
I was meant to have set amount of carbs back in those days. Lucky for me I had a very smart Mum who soon worked out that x amount of insulin was needed for x amount of carbs So I had a certain leaway but not much.

Lines were never mentioned to my Mum either she was just given books with all the carb values in. Yet my Uncle who was diagnosed around about the same time had lines

 

[chrismbee]

Hi Robert and welcome to the forum 🙂

There are many on these pages that are in a similar position to yourself so you never need to feel that you are alone in this.
My local hospital used to refer to the carbohydrate as "units", with 1 unit = 10 CHO. We were tought to gauge food in terms of these units.
Although that practice has been superceded by dose adjustment in recent times, the underlying strategy is the same ie. you match your food intake to your treatment.
I'm going to fly in the face of others here and agree that a fixed diet is probably the easiest way to get started and develop your understanding. Once you have found a diet that gives you better control, you can then start experiementing with different foods and/or quantities. Take it a step at a time. There's an awful lot to learn but it's generally not difficult.
The key is regular (blood) tests and being honest with yourself with the results. Nobody is going to chastise you for getting it wrong. Don't be tempted to not test, just because you expect a bad result.
Ask loads of questions, follow the links available on the forum and, when all seems pointless, ask some more questions!
Good luck.