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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.
Diet
- Thread starter jonni
- Start date
- Status
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello Jonni,
It takes a while to work out what amount of carbs are right for you, it is different for all of us, and different foods effect various people differently.
It may help to start to keep a food diary and note what foods you are eating have the highest carb level and try to reduce those.
I use a book Carbs & Cals - a guide for counting -Diabetes UK shop - Diabetes UK Shop to help with finding out carb values.
Another way is to use your meter to measure the effects of various foods test-review-adjust gives information on how to do this.
Basically you need to take a reading just before eating and then again 2 hours after to see how much the food has changed your levels.
It all takes a while but will let you end up knowing what foods it is best for you to avoid, to keep your blood sugar levels in a good range.
It takes a while to work out what amount of carbs are right for you, it is different for all of us, and different foods effect various people differently.
It may help to start to keep a food diary and note what foods you are eating have the highest carb level and try to reduce those.
I use a book Carbs & Cals - a guide for counting -Diabetes UK shop - Diabetes UK Shop to help with finding out carb values.
Another way is to use your meter to measure the effects of various foods test-review-adjust gives information on how to do this.
Basically you need to take a reading just before eating and then again 2 hours after to see how much the food has changed your levels.
It all takes a while but will let you end up knowing what foods it is best for you to avoid, to keep your blood sugar levels in a good range.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
The simple answer is less than you are eating now. How much less depends on a variety of things but it is highly individual. Things like your HbA1c result (the blood test used to diagnose diabetes) will have a bearing on it, so if you don't know that result, ring your surgery and ask for it.
The things that we recommend are....
Keeping a few diary for a few days of everything you currently eat and drink and figuring out how many carbs you are consuming now. Learning to read and interpret "Nutritional information" on packaging (usually in very small print on the side or back of the packet) is a key skill with diabetes management.
Investing in a basic BG meter. This will enable you to see how your body responds to food and tailor your diet to what your body can cope with and it can be quite individual. By testing just before and then 2 hours after a meal, you will see how badly (or otherwise) your levels spiked and use that info to adjust that meal by reducing the portion size of the carbs for next time and test again until you find the right portion size or give up on that meal as not being worth the BG upheaval and find other lower carb things you enjoy more. Most people here on the forum find their BG meter an invaluable tool in helping them to see which foods to cut back on or even cut out and which they can get away with. It is also motivating both in the sense of seeing a bad response to certain foods and therefore discouraging you from eating/drinking them again, because diabetes is a bit of an odd condition in that you often don't see or feel very different, especially if you levels have been high for a while and your body has got used to that. Also it is very encouraging when you start to see your levels coming down on a day by day basis and therefore know that the changes you are making are working.
The 2 BG meters most frequently recommended on the forum as being reliable and economical to self fund are the Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. Bothe meters retail at about £15 for the basic kit but you would need to purchase at least 2 extra pots of test strips and a box of lancets to get you started with intensive testing that is needed in the beginning. As a diabetic you are exempt from paying VAT so you need to tick a box to confirm you are diabetic and remove the VAT from the price.
The other option is a Very Low Calorie diet like the Newcastle or Fast 800 which often involves meal replacement shakes. Some people find that more difficult than others and you have to maintain the weight loss afterwards to retain the benefit to your diabetes status.
The simple answer is less than you are eating now. How much less depends on a variety of things but it is highly individual. Things like your HbA1c result (the blood test used to diagnose diabetes) will have a bearing on it, so if you don't know that result, ring your surgery and ask for it.
The things that we recommend are....
Keeping a few diary for a few days of everything you currently eat and drink and figuring out how many carbs you are consuming now. Learning to read and interpret "Nutritional information" on packaging (usually in very small print on the side or back of the packet) is a key skill with diabetes management.
Investing in a basic BG meter. This will enable you to see how your body responds to food and tailor your diet to what your body can cope with and it can be quite individual. By testing just before and then 2 hours after a meal, you will see how badly (or otherwise) your levels spiked and use that info to adjust that meal by reducing the portion size of the carbs for next time and test again until you find the right portion size or give up on that meal as not being worth the BG upheaval and find other lower carb things you enjoy more. Most people here on the forum find their BG meter an invaluable tool in helping them to see which foods to cut back on or even cut out and which they can get away with. It is also motivating both in the sense of seeing a bad response to certain foods and therefore discouraging you from eating/drinking them again, because diabetes is a bit of an odd condition in that you often don't see or feel very different, especially if you levels have been high for a while and your body has got used to that. Also it is very encouraging when you start to see your levels coming down on a day by day basis and therefore know that the changes you are making are working.
The 2 BG meters most frequently recommended on the forum as being reliable and economical to self fund are the Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. Bothe meters retail at about £15 for the basic kit but you would need to purchase at least 2 extra pots of test strips and a box of lancets to get you started with intensive testing that is needed in the beginning. As a diabetic you are exempt from paying VAT so you need to tick a box to confirm you are diabetic and remove the VAT from the price.
The other option is a Very Low Calorie diet like the Newcastle or Fast 800 which often involves meal replacement shakes. Some people find that more difficult than others and you have to maintain the weight loss afterwards to retain the benefit to your diabetes status.
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