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pamss

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in mid June. After the initial shock I've embarked on weight loss and increased my exercise in the hope of getting into remission (is that the right expression), and avoid having to take medication. I seem to have endless questions, most of which have been answered by the Specialist nurse at the surgery I go to.
 
Welcome to the forum @pamss. Don't worry to much about the terminology, whatever word is used, we are all referring to getting our blood glucose down to what might be considered "normal" levels. Don't worry about your endless questions. Ask whatever you like on here, we have all been where you are now and know what it is like working your way through an absolute morass of information trying to sort out what is useful to you and what isn't. We will do what we can to help.

And... if the specialist nurse at your surgery is a good 'un, then treasure her. She (assuming it is a she) will be worth her weight in gold!
 
pamss said:
I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in mid June. After the initial shock I've embarked on weight loss and increased my exercise in the hope of getting into remission (is that the right expression), and avoid having to take medication. I seem to have endless questions, most of which have been answered by the Specialist nurse at the surgery I go to.
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Has she explained that dietary measures are important and suggested anything like low carb or low calorie or shakes-based regimes to assist.
You may find this link useful if a low carb approach is something you are interested in trying. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
 
Leadinglights said:
Has she explained that dietary measures are important and suggested anything like low carb or low calorie or shakes-based regimes to assist.
You may find this link useful if a low carb approach is something you are interested in trying. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
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We are going down the route of no major change in diet (I have a good diet anyway), just check portion control, and that's working well already. No food groups to be cut out and I'm very definitely not into shakes or things like that.
 
pamss said:
We are going down the route of no major change in diet (I have a good diet anyway), just check portion control, and that's working well already. No food groups to be cut out and I'm very definitely not into shakes or things like that.
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Often people think they have a good diet but a good diet for someone not diabetic is not necessarily so for Type 2 diabetics and having too much carbohydrate will not do you any favours for managing to get your blood glucose down.
The suggested amount of carbs is no more than 130g per day it does not mean NO carbs.
Sadly some diabetic nurses and GPs do not recognise how powerful reducing carbs can be and still advice a diet based on the NHS eatwell plate which for many people is too high in carbs.
Certainly I agree with you on the shakes based regimes.
You may find the book or app Carbs and Cals useful as it gives carb values of various portion sizes of a whole range of foods so helps making some better food choices. You will be surprised how many carbs there are in quite small portions of some foods. It is an eye opener.
 
pamss said:
We are going down the route of no major change in diet (I have a good diet anyway), just check portion control, and that's working well already. No food groups to be cut out and I'm very definitely not into shakes or things like that.
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I don't see the reasoning behind that teatment unless the nurse thinks that type 2 is all about being overweight and eating too much.
Often the first steps on the road to remission is realising that the advice to eat a healthy diet with grain and starchy foods is how we got to be a type 2 diabetic in the first place.
I am now 5 years into seeing normal numbers - it took 6 months from diagnosis to get back to a Hba1c of 41, but I was eating no more than 50 gm of carbs a day and testing my blood glucose after meals.
 
pamss said:
We are going down the route of no major change in diet (I have a good diet anyway), just check portion control, and that's working well already. No food groups to be cut out and I'm very definitely not into shakes or things like that.
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Glad to hear you are off to a good start @pamss

Were you given your starting HbA1c as a reference point? This can help you understand the extent to which your metabolism was struggling with the menu you were eating pre-diagnosis. The further past 48 you started, the more difficult your body was finding things.

Portion control can be very effective, and also choosing the right sources of energy, and the right proportions of macronutrients for your unique metabolic make-up.

I’m with you on not wanting to entirely cut out any partcular food groups (while this may be technically possible, I’ve never felt it was a wise move). but an adjustment to proportions can be very helpful for some here - eg reducing the proportion of energy from carbohydrates, or choosing sources of carbs to suit you as an individual.

If you’d like a very practical and pragmatic way of adjusting your portions of various things with confidence, you might want to look into ‘eating to your meter’ by getting an affordable blood glucose meter (eg the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2). By taking a reading immediately before eating a meal, and again 2hrs later, you can see how your body has responded to the foods involved. Ideally you’d look for a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L, and ultimately you’d want to peak at 8.5mmol/L or less.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Glad to hear you are off to a good start @pamss

Were you given your starting HbA1c as a reference point? This can help you understand the extent to which your metabolism was struggling with the menu you were eating pre-diagnosis. The further past 48 you started, the more difficult your body was finding things.

Portion control can be very effective, and also choosing the right sources of energy, and the right proportions of macronutrients for your unique metabolic make-up.

I’m with you on not wanting to entirely cut out any partcular food groups (while this may be technically possible, I’ve never felt it was a wise move). but an adjustment to proportions can be very helpful for some here - eg reducing the proportion of energy from carbohydrates, or choosing sources of carbs to suit you as an individual.

If you’d like a very practical and pragmatic way of adjusting your portions of various things with confidence, you might want to look into ‘eating to your meter’ by getting an affordable blood glucose meter (eg the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2). By taking a reading immediately before eating a meal, and again 2hrs later, you can see how your body has responded to the foods involved. Ideally you’d look for a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L, and ultimately you’d want to peak at 8.5mmol/L or less.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂
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Thank you for your supportive and positive message.
 
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