fallen of track

[hoodedclaw132]

Been type2 for nearly 7 years now ,fallen off the wagon for the last year or so , with lock down etc, blood sugar up , weight up and not much exercise , now trying to get back on track , next check with the doctors in 3 months , need to get my health back on track

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

You are certainly not the only one to fall off the wagon during lockdown. It affected people in different ways, some comfort ate, particularly working from home and baked bread and cakes which of course they then ate and bakes some more and drank more alcohol and put on weight, whilst others found they had more time to focus on their diet and exercise. It has been a stressful time, but the important thing is that you realise that you need to get on top of things again and coming here to the forum is a great first step.

Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your diabetes? Things like what if any medication you are taking for it? Your latest HbA1c result if you know it. What dietary advice you have been given if any over the years and how mobile you are to be able to exercise? And how much weight if any you need to lose?

Dietary advice is slowly changing for Type 2 diabetes although the NHS are still a bit behind the curve. For instance you may have been told to cut down on sugar and sweet stuff but that is really only half of the picture.... all carbs break down into glucose in our digestive system, so things like bread and pasta and potatoes and rice , even the brown/wholemeal varieties and breakfast cereals cause our BG levels to rise quite significantly, so cutting down on portion size of these starchy carbs as well as the sugars can really help to manage your diabetes better......

Or you can go for the Very Low Calorie short term diet like the Newcastle or Fast 800, which usually involves meal replacement shakes to lose weight rapidly and try to reverse your diabetes. I believe that the longer you have been Type 2 the less chance of remission with this very low calorie approach. There are however people who have been insulin dependent for a number of years who have come off all medication and manage their diabetes just through diet and exercise by following a low carbohydrate, higher fat way of eating and lost weight in the process.

Different approaches suit different people, so you may need to experiment to find what works for you..... or go back to what was working for you before and hope that continues to do the job. Just documenting your efforts on the forum can be helpful in keeping you accountable and it can be inspiring to read of other members successes and perhaps pick up some tips from them.

Anyway, I hope you find the forum helpful in getting back in the driving seat and if you have any specific questions, just ask.

 

[hoodedclaw132]

Hi and welcome.

You are certainly not the only one to fall off the wagon during lockdown. It affected people in different ways, some comfort ate, particularly working from home and baked bread and cakes which of course they then ate and bakes some more and drank more alcohol and put on weight, whilst others found they had more time to focus on their diet and exercise. It has been a stressful time, but the important thing is that you realise that you need to get on top of things again and coming here to the forum is a great first step.

Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your diabetes? Things like what if any medication you are taking for it? Your latest HbA1c result if you know it. What dietary advice you have been given if any over the years and how mobile you are to be able to exercise? And how much weight if any you need to lose?

Dietary advice is slowly changing for Type 2 diabetes although the NHS are still a bit behind the curve. For instance you may have been told to cut down on sugar and sweet stuff but that is really only half of the picture.... all carbs break down into glucose in our digestive system, so things like bread and pasta and potatoes and rice , even the brown/wholemeal varieties and breakfast cereals cause our BG levels to rise quite significantly, so cutting down on portion size of these starchy carbs as well as the sugars can really help to manage your diabetes better......

Or you can go for the Very Low Calorie short term diet like the Newcastle or Fast 800, which usually involves meal replacement shakes to lose weight rapidly and try to reverse your diabetes. I believe that the longer you have been Type 2 the less chance of remission with this very low calorie approach. There are however people who have been insulin dependent for a number of years who have come off all medication and manage their diabetes just through diet and exercise by following a low carbohydrate, higher fat way of eating and lost weight in the process.

Different approaches suit different people, so you may need to experiment to find what works for you..... or go back to what was working for you before and hope that continues to do the job. Just documenting your efforts on the forum can be helpful in keeping you accountable and it can be inspiring to read of other members successes and perhaps pick up some tips from them.

Anyway, I hope you find the forum helpful in getting back in the driving seat and if you have any specific questions, just ask.

my last hbac1 was 80, never been like that b4 , always been 48-52 , didn't think i had been quite that bad lol , have a new job in an office so harder to get out 4 exercise etc , so i think that's not helped as well.

 

[Windy]

Hi Hoodedclaw, the pandemic and lockdowns have been difficult. I definitely gained weight and stopped exercising as much, as I didn't walk into work and back as we were all told to work at home, nor did walks at lunch, which I used to do to escape the office phones.

There's lots of ways you can make little changes to help with your health and diet. Why don't you try to do little things first? In no particular order:

• go for a walk at lunch time round the block from your office.
• cycle or walk into work, if you live close enough and the roads are ok to cycle on. Or get the bus one way and walk home.
• Park your car further away from the office, or get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk the extra distance.
• Take up swimming a couple of nights a week after work
• Do intermittent fasting, so have a couple of lower calorie days a week
• Borrow a friend's dog and take that round the block.
• Do parts of the NHS exercise videos or find gentle yoga videos on youtube

Think about what would be easy and feasible for you to fit into your lifestyle and time available. But find something that you like and can do and go for it.

 

[hoodedclaw132]

thank you for the advice much appreciated