Does Milk have a bad effect ?

[Steve711]

Good Morning
I was diagnosed with type 2 around 3 weeks ago with a Hb1c of 99 and after talking to my doctor she has agreed that if i follow the fast 800 way of eating she will keep me off of Metformin as long as i show a significant drop on my monthly Hb1c test. Three weeks later it is now 88 but my next test will be June 16th so want to see another decent drop. The one thing i am finding hard is i do like milk in my coffee will this have an effect on my Hb1c ?

 

[Steve711]

Hi. Welcome to the Forum. First off well done your GP for not reaching for the prescription pad straight away and giving you the opportunity to bring down your BG through diet, although that's more usual for someone who's just into the diabetes zone rather than someone as high as you were. Well done on the drop so far but you're still very high.

100ml of semi-skimmed milk is 4.8g carbohydrate so you'd have to be getting through an awful lot of it for it to be keeping your levels up. How do you make your coffee and how often? Pre-diagnosis I enjoyed a latte or two every day but gave them up on my DN's advice because of the high milk content - around 15g carb every time. On a low carb diet two lattes would be pretty much a third of my daily carb allowance.

The short interval between your HbA1c tests is unlikely to see a huge drop as the one on June 16th will pick up some of the same weeks as your initial one (it looks at the previous 10-12 weeks) but at least you're heading in the right direction.

How are you find the fast 800 diet?

Thanks for the reply Martin

Well i have cut down my coffee intake from about 10 cups a day to about 5 so hopefully be ok as its about the only thing i enjoy that's left.

I have totally changed my diet with virtually no carbs and have lost a stone and a half in a month so all positive at the moment.

Also joining the gym with my son tomorrow so we will see how that goes but must help.
Yes i am pleased my doctor has given me the chance to change things but she has said we need to see a consistent drop each month with my Hb1c.

The fast 800 is very hard at first but after the first week it gets easier but a small price to pay if if brings down my levels.

 

[Steve711]

After a lot of trial and error I now make my mug of coffee with 60ml of whole oat milk and a splash of double cream - carbs 5g. These days I only have milk in tea, and even then only 30ml.

Well done on the weight loss so far and yes, exercise will help. Take on board, though, that gentle exercise tends to lower BG whereas strenuous exercise tends to raise it as your muscles demand more glucose from your liver.

Thanks Martin

Just noticed how well you have done how did you achieve that drop in your Hb1c in such a short space of time please ?

 

[Vonny]

HI @Steve711, I used to drink up to a dozen cups of coffee a days, but once diagnosed I cut it down to 4 cups as it meant the amount of semi-skimmed milk worked out at 20g carb per day. Since I'd given up taters, rice, pasta and bread I figured I could spend 20 carbs a day on my caffeine fixes!

Now I'm at target weight with good hba1c levels I've relaxed slightly and have up to 6 coffees a day now. Also, once a week I treat myself to a flat white from Costa at a whopping 14g! I used to have one whenever I was within sniffing distance of a Costa but now it is a treat and I enjoy it so much more than before.

I'm glad the 800 calories per day is working for you. That was how I kick started my weight loss and I'm so glad I did.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds like you are doing great @Steve711

Hope you can find a way to continue to enjoy your coffee, while sticking to your eating plan. 700 must be really tough - but great to hear what a positive impact it is having on your weight.

Hope you see a steady improvement in your A1c 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

I think a lot of people think all they have to do is take the meds and all will be well without making any changes to their lifestyle. I can think of a couple of friends who took meds not insulin but just seemed to eat a normal diet, chips, sandwiches, puddings, but now are suffering the effects and are struggling to walk.
The people who come on here are those who are motivated to get help and advice but I suspect they are the minority of those with diabetes.

 

[EllsBells]

I know of people who just took the meds offered and carried on and have permanent ulcers on their legs that mean they can't wear trousers to work. They've completely normalised it. Given how long minor hand injuries are taking to heal - yeah, no thanks.

 

[Drummer]

I put a spoonful of extra thick cream into a jug, add the coffee hot from the percolator and use the hand held Bamix to froth it up. I do that twice a day and I'm good - very few carbs and delicious coffee.

 

[NotPink]

I think a lot of people think all they have to do is take the meds and all will be well without making any changes to their lifestyle. I can think of a couple of friends who took meds not insulin but just seemed to eat a normal diet, chips, sandwiches, puddings, but now are suffering the effects and are struggling to walk.
The people who come on here are those who are motivated to get help and advice but I suspect they are the minority of those with diabetes.

Absolutely. A young mum was in a weekly diabetic group with me and she left quite quickly because she said that she had an anniversary celebration, 2 birthdays coming up etc etc and she wasn't going to give up her diet for anyone. I was quite sad, she was a lovely person and only hope she is ok.

 

[Leadinglights]

She might be OK (diabetes complications aren't inevitable) but why would she want to take the risk? Unless, of course, she's not aware of the risks.

One rather large lady on my X-PERT course always brought in a pack of chocolate chip cookies for the interval and she always offered them round, and she had some takers. Hopefully, by the end of the course, she and the others had got the message (I quit halfway through after a disagreement about self-testing with the DN running the course).

When I did the MyDesmond course many years ago there was a huge range of people, some definitely 'with attitude' , others who were doing it for the umpteenth time (clearly not worked for them) and others who talked about chai and flax seeds which I had never heard of so had obviously really engaged with it.