Food plan

[Rick 88]

Hi my name is Rick.
It will be 2 years in October when I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Symptoms included feeling low tired all the time lost loads of weight and weeing a lot.
Didn’t come much as a shock as my brother and mum also have type 1 so the symptoms made sense of what it was.
Got told off my doctor recently my BP check was up to 99 again, which has annoyed me a bit as I thought I was handling it well.
Been looking on diabetic food sights a lot and now I’m here to ask if anybody knows of any meal ideas and snack ideas, which will make me full and it being good for you also. Don’t want to lose anymore weight also.
Thanks in advance

 

[Kaylz]

to be honest as a Type 1 I assume by now you'll be on insulin? Are you carb counting? If so then you can just eat as normal a meal as anyone else as long as you cover it and you don't spike too much, personally a day for me is jumbo oats and raspberries for breakfast, a sandwich and a nature valley nut protein bar for dinner, and either omelette/chicken/mince/steak etc with potatoes and veg for tea, I don't snack but if your looking for low carb options that would be the likes of cheese, boiled eggs, cold meats etc
xx

 

[Rick 88]

Cheers for the reply.
Yes I’m on insulin, sort of been carb counting been taking it as it is, if I have more carbs I’ll up my insulin by guesswork. Going to start a new diet which is why I’m asking really. Bought oats and fruit for mornings, I feel so tired at the end of my working day so will protein bars be good for my energy levels then? And if so will it effect my blood sugars much? Thanks

 

[Kaylz]

If you start carb counting properly and establish your insulin to carb ratio it may do you the world of good

I'm unsure I'm tired all the time but I've been up at 6am everyday for almost 3 years and don't sleep well lol, it depends on the Type of protein, the ones I mentioned have just under 10g carbs per bar but there are others with far higher carbs, I cant say whether it would effect your blood sugar much as diabetes is so individual what works for one doesn't work for the next etc, it all comes down to testing and seeing what works for you personally xx

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Rick and welcome
You need to use your Blood Glucose meter to test much more frequently to figure this out. Personally I prefer to eat a very low carbohydrate diet and use the minimum amount of insulin to reduce the risk of going hypo. Which insulin(s) are you using? If you have a basal/bolus system (ie a fast acting insulin and a slow release) then very low carb may work for you too but if you use a mixed insulin then you have less flexibility I believe. Have they offered you a DAFNE course? It stands for Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating. It is a 5 day course but may really help you.
Things like porridge/oats can be difficult to match insulin to because it takes so long to break down that sometimes the bolus insulin is gone before it spikes your BG so you can go hypo after eating, but some people get away with it. I find that an omelette with a variety of fillings or a cooked English breakfast (no bread/toast/hash browns or baked beans) works well and I only need a very small bolus insulin for it.
For snacks, cheese is good and nuts.... try not to have salted nuts too often, but mixed nuts or brazils or walnuts are good (assuming you are not allergic) Lidl do large packs of nuts like this relatively cheaply. Boiled eggs make a good filling snack. I like olives and they are great as they contain lots of good oils and virtually no carbs but I know they are an acquired taste. Salami and pork scratchings are an occasional low carb treat, but don't over do them. Have you tried that Biltong.... (air cured beef)? I'm not keen on it but some people seem to like it. It seems quite expensive though.
Try to increase your vegetable intake and particularly cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach etc. They can be improved with the addition of butter/cream cheese/grated cheese which will give you the calories that you are not getting from carbohydrates and significantly reduce the amount of bread, pasta, potatoes and rice as well as obviously cakes and biscuits and crisps.
I tend to have a big 2 egg mushroom, onion, ham courgette, pepper and cheese omelette for breakfast, then just a snack of cheese and/or nuts/olives at lunchtime and an evening meal with meat or fish and lots of veg and a very small portion of potatoes...just 2or 3 small pieces. Then some creamy Greek yoghurt and berries for afters. There is a lot of variation on this but that is a basic example....

 

[nonethewiser]

Been looking on diabetic food sights a lot and now I’m here to ask if anybody knows of any meal ideas and snack ideas, which will make me full and it being good for you also.

Seriously mate, keep well away from foods marketed and labelled diabetic.

The good thing is with type 1 you can eat a normal diet within reason, my daily food intake is very similar to kaylz, fill up on snacks if need be to gain or maintain weight.

 

[Rick 88]

Hi Rick and welcome
You need to use your Blood Glucose meter to test much more frequently to figure this out. Personally I prefer to eat a very low carbohydrate diet and use the minimum amount of insulin to reduce the risk of going hypo. Which insulin(s) are you using? If you have a basal/bolus system (ie a fast acting insulin and a slow release) then very low carb may work for you too but if you use a mixed insulin then you have less flexibility I believe. Have they offered you a DAFNE course? It stands for Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating. It is a 5 day course but may really help you.
Things like porridge/oats can be difficult to match insulin to because it takes so long to break down that sometimes the bolus insulin is gone before it spikes your BG so you can go hypo after eating, but some people get away with it. I find that an omelette with a variety of fillings or a cooked English breakfast (no bread/toast/hash browns or baked beans) works well and I only need a very small bolus insulin for it.
For snacks, cheese is good and nuts.... try not to have salted nuts too often, but mixed nuts or brazils or walnuts are good (assuming you are not allergic) Lidl do large packs of nuts like this relatively cheaply. Boiled eggs make a good filling snack. I like olives and they are great as they contain lots of good oils and virtually no carbs but I know they are an acquired taste. Salami and pork scratchings are an occasional low carb treat, but don't over do them. Have you tried that Biltong.... (air cured beef)? I'm not keen on it but some people seem to like it. It seems quite expensive though.
Try to increase your vegetable intake and particularly cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach etc. They can be improved with the addition of butter/cream cheese/grated cheese which will give you the calories that you are not getting from carbohydrates and significantly reduce the amount of bread, pasta, potatoes and rice as well as obviously cakes and biscuits and crisps.
I tend to have a big 2 egg mushroom, onion, ham courgette, pepper and cheese omelette for breakfast, then just a snack of cheese and/or nuts/olives at lunchtime and an evening meal with meat or fish and lots of veg and a very small portion of potatoes...just 2or 3 small pieces. Then some creamy Greek yoghurt and berries for afters. There is a lot of variation on this but that is a basic example....

Thanks for the response, I’m on nova rapid as my fast acting insulin and Lantus as my slow acting at night. Thanks for your tips on meal ideas will have a try of some and try to figure out what my bloods do.

 

[Rick 88]

Seriously mate, keep well away from foods marketed and labelled diabetic.

The good thing is with type 1 you can eat a normal diet within reason, my daily food intake is very similar to kaylz, fill up on snacks if need be to gain or maintain weight.

Hi,sorry I meant diabetic pages from google for ideas about meals. Heard diabetic brands are just as bad for you. Thanks for your response will try and take away ideas from this page to help me out, which I really do appreciate so thanks.

 

[Kaylz]

Hi,sorry I meant diabetic pages from google for ideas about meals. Heard diabetic brands are just as bad for you. Thanks for your response will try and take away ideas from this page to help me out, which I really do appreciate so thanks.

Some of those sites are all about low carb and that lifestyle doesn't suit everyone no matter how much some may try to ram it down your throat, if carbs work for you and you pre bolus to control spikes then great don't cut them out of your diet, I eat around 100g carbs a day and spend very little time out of range but some will say carbs are the devil and don't go near them, the key is to find what works for YOU 🙂
xx