Diagnosed type 2 yesterday - feeling very wobbly

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rosiedoll

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Hi

Diagnosed type 2 yesterday (completely out of the blue) and feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. Starting medication today and will be trying to lose weight through changing eating habits, having decided against the 12 week 'soups, shakes, bars' programme offered by my GP. Any practical advice on getting to grips with this situation would be greatly appreciated!
 
rosiedoll said:
Hi

Diagnosed type 2 yesterday (completely out of the blue) and feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. Starting medication today and will be trying to lose weight through changing eating habits, having decided against the 12 week 'soups, shakes, bars' programme offered by my GP. Any practical advice on getting to grips with this situation would be greatly appreciated!
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No surprise about how you feel about your diagnosis. We've all been there and got that T-shirt. Can you give us some details, eg your HbA1c, what meds you've been put on, what advice you've been given about diet (my guess is not much) and whether you've been told you need to lose weight? Sorry if that sounds intrusive but knowing your circumstances enables us to tailor advice to your particular needs. In the meantime, welcome aboard.
 
Hi Rosie, one way to keep it simple is to follow Dr David Unwin's diet plan. He is a pioneering GP and over 150 of his patients are now in remission. Here is his diet sheet and here he is explaining things.
 
Thanks for these replies and I’ll certainly look at the Learning Zone and Dr Unwin’s plan. My HbA1c is 62 - I know anything over 48 is bad - is this really bad? I wasn’t given much of an explanation by the GP over the phone - just told me I’m diabetic and said it’s the 12 week shake diet or start medication and try to lose weight.
All very perfunctory and not even face to face which I don’t think helped. My medication is Metformin 500mg.
 
rosiedoll said:
Thanks for these replies and I’ll certainly look at the Learning Zone and Dr Unwin’s plan. My HbA1c is 62 - I know anything over 48 is bad - is this really bad? I wasn’t given much of an explanation by the GP over the phone - just told me I’m diabetic and said it’s the 12 week shake diet or start medication and try to lose weight.
All very perfunctory and not even face to face which I don’t think helped. My medication is Metformin 500mg.
Click to expand...
The threshold for diagnosis is anything over 47mmol/mol so 62 is a fair way into the diabetic zone but certainly not as high as many here who have managed to get it down into normal by a combination of either just dietary changes or with the help of medication.
Diet is the most important and as you are only on metformin then a low carbohydrate approach should be fine if that is what would suit you. this link has some good explanation and menu plans which should give you some ideas for meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is low carb but that is suggested as being no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day, it is not NO carbs.
Some people opt for low calorie but are mindful of the carbs but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable.
Many find it useful to keep a food diary of everything they eat and drink with an estimate of the carbs so they can see how far they are from the 130g per day and see where some savings can be made.
 
rosiedoll said:
Hi

Diagnosed type 2 yesterday (completely out of the blue) and feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. Starting medication today and will be trying to lose weight through changing eating habits, having decided against the 12 week 'soups, shakes, bars' programme offered by my GP. Any practical advice on getting to grips with this situation would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Hi, I was diagnosed in April (Hba1c 65) and have been following a low carb diet (max 130g per day) and I’m taking metformin. 3 months later I’m 2 stone lighter and though I haven’t yet had a repeat blood test I hope everything is heading in the right direction (scheduled for early August). I’ve decided not to do finger prick blood tests but what has been most helpful is an app - I use Nutracheck, recommended on here. I type absolutely everything in that I eat or drink and it helpfully tots up the carbs and calories for me each day. It reads most barcodes on commercial products. That plus digital scales to weigh most of my food have been so helpful.
If your low carb diet is high in veg and relatively high in protein I find I’m managing very well without getting too hungry.
 
Leadinglights said:
The threshold for diagnosis is anything over 47mmol/mol so 62 is a fair way into the diabetic zone but certainly not as high as many here who have managed to get it down into normal by a combination of either just dietary changes or with the help of medication.
Diet is the most important and as you are only on metformin then a low carbohydrate approach should be fine if that is what would suit you. this link has some good explanation and menu plans which should give you some ideas for meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is low carb but that is suggested as being no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day, it is not NO carbs.
Some people opt for low calorie but are mindful of the carbs but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable.
Many find it useful to keep a food diary of everything they eat and drink with an estimate of the carbs so they can see how far they are from the 130g per day and see where some savings can be made.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much - really helpful
 
Lizajane10 said:
Hi, I was diagnosed in April (Hba1c 65) and have been following a low carb diet (max 130g per day) and I’m taking metformin. 3 months later I’m 2 stone lighter and though I haven’t yet had a repeat blood test I hope everything is heading in the right direction (scheduled for early August). I’ve decided not to do finger prick blood tests but what has been most helpful is an app - I use Nutracheck, recommended on here. I type absolutely everything in that I eat or drink and it helpfully tots up the carbs and calories for me each day. It reads most barcodes on commercial products. That plus digital scales to weigh most of my food have been so helpful.
If your low carb diet is high in veg and relatively high in protein I find I’m managing very well without getting too hungry.
Click to expand...
Thanks - this gives me hope that I can navigate my way through and I’ll take a look at Nutracheck.
 
rosiedoll said:
Hi

Diagnosed type 2 yesterday (completely out of the blue) and feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. Starting medication today and will be trying to lose weight through changing eating habits, having decided against the 12 week 'soups, shakes, bars' programme offered by my GP. Any practical advice on getting to grips with this situation would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Hello Rosie doll. I was diagnosed just a week ago. The Nutracheck is fabulous! I've chosen the low carb option to try and lose weight. The best thing is it gives you an hdea of portion sizes and it's so interesting learning about nutrition. Good luck with it all.
 
Hi @rosiedoll and welcome to the forum!

As you might be able to tell already, you'll find a lot of great advice here from users with lived experience. Suggestions on different lifestyle approaches, support, a place to rant or a type of 'search engine' - the forum offers a lot, so if you'll have questions or worries - just share. It might feel overwhelming at first with all the new information flooding your way, but as @Inka mentioned - the Learning Zone is a good place to start, just take it one day at a time!
 
rosiedoll said:
Hi

Diagnosed type 2 yesterday (completely out of the blue) and feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. Starting medication today and will be trying to lose weight through changing eating habits, having decided against the 12 week 'soups, shakes, bars' programme offered by my GP. Any practical advice on getting to grips with this situation would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
I felt the same when I was diagnosed as type one diabetic over two and a half years ago..that came out of the blue as well.
 
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