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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.
Diabetic?
- Thread starter Sharon 71
- Start date
- Status
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome @Sharon 71 🙂
There’s some basic info here:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics
Do you have any symptoms? What prompted the blood test?
There’s some basic info here:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics
Do you have any symptoms? What prompted the blood test?
Hi,my friend is diabetic and she was testing her blood one day and I asked her to test mine and the readings were high,one being over12 before eating,I have no symptoms that I know of apart from a dry mouth but I smoke so that could be why, anyway I had my blood tested as I was a little concerned and it has come back at 50 ,so I'm not sure if that's diabetes or pre diabetes
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi and welcome. If the 50 referred to the HbA1c test, you are just in the diabetic range. I suggest you look at the Learning Zone here, and make some tweaks to your diet - reducing carbs and increasing vegetables. If you are overweight, losing will also help, as will increasing your exercise if possible. Good that you've picked it up early and can act on it. Best wishes.
Ljc
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hi @Sharon 71 . Welcome to the forum . You will get tons of helpful, advice and lots of cyber support. Assuming the 50 was the result of the Hb1ac blood test , you have only just crossed over into the diabetes threshold
< 42 is normal
42 to 47 is pre diabetes , sometimes called glucose intolerant
48 gets you into our very select club.
So it’s been caught early , which is great.
Firstly don’t panic ok. I had no symptoms either and my Hb1ac was very much higher up in the early 100s and some folks were even higher .
If you register on the learning zone on the top of the page and gradually work your way through the T2 topics you will learn lots
Usually the first thought when newly diagnosed is, what on Earth can I eat. Well you can forget what you may have heard in the past ok.
Protein in all it’s forms is fine.
A normal amount of good fats is fine, so long as you don’t have a medical condition where you have been told to reduce fats, I am not necessarily talking about high cholesterol here.
Diabetes is all about our bodies not being able to cope with carbohydrates very well, sugar is just a simple carbohydrate, which is already included in the carbohydrate content which is in the nutritional label in the back of packs .
It sure doesn’t mean you can’t eat carbohydrates either. More about that later
What many find helpful is to eat normally for say a week while keeping a brutally honest food diary.
This will show you where you could reduce/replace the carbs esp the starch ones .
As you have only just crossed over the threshold, you should only need to make some small changes.
You might like to think about testing your blood glucose regularly for a while
Just to find out which carbohydrates your body can and can’t tolerate as we are all very different in this respect .
I think I have bombarded you with enough info for the time being , as it is a lot to take in .
But please don’t panic Diabetes is doable , and many on here have ended up healthier and fitter because diabetes has made them make some good changes.
Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes , we will do our best to help based in what has worked for us.
< 42 is normal
42 to 47 is pre diabetes , sometimes called glucose intolerant
48 gets you into our very select club.
So it’s been caught early , which is great.
Firstly don’t panic ok. I had no symptoms either and my Hb1ac was very much higher up in the early 100s and some folks were even higher .
If you register on the learning zone on the top of the page and gradually work your way through the T2 topics you will learn lots
Usually the first thought when newly diagnosed is, what on Earth can I eat. Well you can forget what you may have heard in the past ok.
Protein in all it’s forms is fine.
A normal amount of good fats is fine, so long as you don’t have a medical condition where you have been told to reduce fats, I am not necessarily talking about high cholesterol here.
Diabetes is all about our bodies not being able to cope with carbohydrates very well, sugar is just a simple carbohydrate, which is already included in the carbohydrate content which is in the nutritional label in the back of packs .
It sure doesn’t mean you can’t eat carbohydrates either. More about that later
What many find helpful is to eat normally for say a week while keeping a brutally honest food diary.
This will show you where you could reduce/replace the carbs esp the starch ones .
As you have only just crossed over the threshold, you should only need to make some small changes.
You might like to think about testing your blood glucose regularly for a while
Just to find out which carbohydrates your body can and can’t tolerate as we are all very different in this respect .
I think I have bombarded you with enough info for the time being , as it is a lot to take in .
But please don’t panic Diabetes is doable , and many on here have ended up healthier and fitter because diabetes has made them make some good changes.
Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes , we will do our best to help based in what has worked for us.
Thanks for the helpful advice from both off you,I think I'll need a bit off guidance with testing my blood glucose,i.e how often,I'm also needing help with food , what I can eat ,how much etc etc, will my nurse or doctor give me a blood glucose monitor and test strips..I've no idea ,I don't know a great deal about diabetes,I'm not sure if I'd be type 1,2 or 3 ,I suspect I could be type 2,so I'm a bit lost with it all,but I am wondering about how to tweak my diet ,I don't ever have breakfast, sometimes have lunch ,then a meal early evening, and snack at night, crisps,cheese,sweets,but not loads,so if someone can help that would be good
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Then you’re just in the diabetic zone. Losing weight if you have any to lose will help, taking exercise will help too. Eating breakfast could help too as our bodies sometimes pump out their own glucose when we don’t eat and that will put blood sugar up. What kind of lunch and evening meals do you eat? You’ll probably need to watch the amount of carbs you eat - all carbs, not just sweet ones. So, potatoes, pasta, rice, crisps, bread, etc.
Most Type 2s don’t get a blood glucose meter but some do, so see what your nurse says. You can always buy one if not.
Hi I need to lose weight as I'm overweight,I eat varying different food,I don't eat a lot of fruit and veg,but mainly eat vegetables,red meat,fish, chicken,mashed potatoes, occasionally rice,pasta occasionally,white and seeded bread,butter, sugar in tea,which I have cut down, fried food, crisps,all different food really,so I'm not sure where to go from here
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
If you keep a food diary of your usual foods for a few days, you’ll see where you can cut down on carbs. It might simply be a matter of having smaller portions of carbs and more veg and/or salad. So basically similar meals but reduce the carb part of the meal. You can also substitute lower carb versions eg have cauliflower rice instead of normal rice.
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Adding to Inka's advice, you can get an app which measures all the calories and carbs of your food (I use NutraCheck which gives a free 7-day trial I think). You just have to be brutally honest and weigh/record everything. Diabetes UK recommends less than 130gm carbs a day. You will be surprised at how high in carbs some things are. 2 slices of white bread can be over 40gm carbs, and an apple 20gm. I also found I felt better by spacing my meals throughout the day, not having one big blowout during the evening, and feeling the need to snack (and I did love crisps!!).
Cherrelle DUK
Much missed Online Community Coordinator
Hi Sharon, welcome to the forum.
Hopefully you'll get to speak with your doctor soon so you can get some clarity on what type you are. If you are type 2, they won't usually give you a glucose meter so you'd have to get one yourself. They're readily available from places like Amazon and Argos.
As kindly advised above, I'd keep a food diary for a week to get a good look at what you're eating so you can plan substitutes. Managing blood sugar can be difficult as there are many carbs in what we consider a normal diet so adjustments will need to be made.
It's not all doom and gloom, just and adjustment or example, having eggs and mushrooms for lunch, replacing rice with salad or veg to go with your meat. This thread has some useful examples https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-did-you-eat-yesterday.30349/.
We've got a pretty active food section on the site so do take a look at that and feel free to ask any questions you may have. https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/food-carb-queries-recipes.4/
Hopefully you'll get to speak with your doctor soon so you can get some clarity on what type you are. If you are type 2, they won't usually give you a glucose meter so you'd have to get one yourself. They're readily available from places like Amazon and Argos.
As kindly advised above, I'd keep a food diary for a week to get a good look at what you're eating so you can plan substitutes. Managing blood sugar can be difficult as there are many carbs in what we consider a normal diet so adjustments will need to be made.
It's not all doom and gloom, just and adjustment or example, having eggs and mushrooms for lunch, replacing rice with salad or veg to go with your meat. This thread has some useful examples https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-did-you-eat-yesterday.30349/.
We've got a pretty active food section on the site so do take a look at that and feel free to ask any questions you may have. https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/food-carb-queries-recipes.4/
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Carbs and cals book or app is good as it gives pictures of food portions as well as the weight and carb value, but a pair of digital scales in the kitchen will be a big help certainly until you get a feel for the portion size and how much carb it is.
You probably only need to weigh high carb foods as they can be really deceptive and it is easy to have far more than would be wise.
You probably only need to weigh high carb foods as they can be really deceptive and it is easy to have far more than would be wise.
kentish maid
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I got the Carbs and cals book @Leadinglights mentioned and found it very useful, certainly a good investment
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
The important things to weigh are your carb and protein items, fresh vegetables not so much. You'll soon get an idea of a portion size. I keep digital scales and a clear bowl on my worktop, and weigh before I cook. It only takes a matter of seconds. If you are cooking for a family, you might prefer to weigh your cooked portions.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
As you are not far into the realms of diabetes you might find that avoiding or reducing high carb foods is an easy target.
I do not eat potatoes or rice or pasta.
I use swede, which I boil and add into stews and casseroles - much of the flavour is left in the boiling water. I cook cauliflower and chop it up to replace rice when I have a curry, and I make cauliflower cheese when my husband has macaroni cheese.
Low carb is often an effortless way to lose weight.
I do not eat potatoes or rice or pasta.
I use swede, which I boil and add into stews and casseroles - much of the flavour is left in the boiling water. I cook cauliflower and chop it up to replace rice when I have a curry, and I make cauliflower cheese when my husband has macaroni cheese.
Low carb is often an effortless way to lose weight.
I love potatoes, and pasta,so I'll strug
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