Hallo and hope you can help!

[Vonny]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with type 2 just over 2 months ago. Never thought I'd get it as I don't eat sweet stuff but didn't realise that being a complete carb monster had the same effect! My son was diagnosed 3 years ago at 23 (now he was a sugar head and no mistake!) and my mum also had it, so I suppose I was bound to get it.

I lost a stone in the first 7 weeks through metformin, no refined carbs and walking between 3 and 6 miles per day. I now want to introduce more fruit and complex carbs, but also need to lose another 2.5 stones. My Hba1c was 76 and has reduced to 54.

I've read a load of stuff on the internet, but sometimes it's conflicting and I'm not sure what to believe, so I thought I'd check with you if anyone can confirm I'm doing this right:
I eat eggs, fish, meat, cheese, all veg except taters and make stews, goulash, chilli, bolog, curry, with which I sometimes have 2 tablespoon of wholegrain rice. I have a few strawberries and cherries per day. A typical day is omelette for breks, salmon salad for lunch and meat and 3 or 4 veg for tea with gravy. One benecol a day in the hope my cholesterol will also come down.
I hate pulses and beans which narrows my options significantly!
So my questions to you clever people are:
Can I introduce 30 grams mixed unsalted nuts as a lunch (around 200 cals)? I believe these are good for cholesterol
What fruit is best for me?
Are there any other complex carbs I could introduce?
Any exercises other than walking which may help? I'm 61 and broke my ankle in 3 places last year, so high intensity training is out for me.
Many thanks for reading this long screed, and hope that someone can help me. I was really fired up to start with but now feel I need a bit of support 😱) x

 

[Toucan]

Hello Vonny and welcome to the forum.
It looks as if you have made an amazingly good start. Your food choices look very sensible, and that plus the exercise has resulted in an excellent weight loss and a good reduction in Hba1c.
Hopefully these great results will help give you the motivation to keep going.

I will try to answer some of your questions.
Including some nuts in your diet is fine - particularly almonds, walnuts and brazils, as these are lowest in carbs.- Peanuts are slightly higher, and make sure that they are not salted.
Fruit: I tend to restrict fruit to one portion a day, as it can be quite high in carbs. Berries are good, - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. Cherries are slightly higher carb, and take care on portion size.
Vegetables are generally good, although those that grow above the ground tend to be lower in carb than those that grow below the ground.

Most of us living with Diabetes find that we have a low tolerance to carbs, but the level of tolerance varies between us, so it is difficult to suggest how much complex carb to include.
Do you have a glucose meter?
This is what I used to work out what was best for me to eat. We are all different and the meter allows you to work out which particular foods spike your blood glucose levels.
If you don't have one then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.

There is also a book that I use a lot http://www.carbsandcals.com/thebook.html
It gives carb values of many foods and is well illustrated and straightforward to use.

I hope that this is of some help - but if you keep going along the route you are on, I'm sure you will continue to get good results.

There is a lot more information on the many pages of the forum, so please take a browse around.
Also it would be great if you can keep posting and let us know how it goes, and ask away at any more questions.

 

[trophywench]

Cherries are a lot higher in carb than you probably think - although they are nothing whatever like grapes they have a similar effect on my BG so I always need to inject insulin to cater for them should I fancy some, hence I rarely treat myself. My T2 late MiL referred to both cherries and grapes as 'like individual little bags of sugar'. Berries generally have less carb apiece than many other fruits - more 'skin' and seeds per berry than 'flesh'. A strawberry is 'more difficult' than eg, a raspberry since a strawberry isn't relieved by anywhere near such a noticeable skin - and can regularly be much more sweet anyway cos the seeds are so tiny in comparison to the overall size of each fruit.

 

[Vonny]

Hello Vonny and welcome to the forum.
It looks as if you have made an amazingly good start. Your food choices look very sensible, and that plus the exercise has resulted in an excellent weight loss and a good reduction in Hba1c.
Hopefully these great results will help give you the motivation to keep going.

I will try to answer some of your questions.
Including some nuts in your diet is fine - particularly almonds, walnuts and brazils, as these are lowest in carbs.- Peanuts are slightly higher, and make sure that they are not salted.
Fruit: I tend to restrict fruit to one portion a day, as it can be quite high in carbs. Berries are good, - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. Cherries are slightly higher carb, and take care on portion size.
Vegetables are generally good, although those that grow above the ground tend to be lower in carb than those that grow below the ground.

Most of us living with Diabetes find that we have a low tolerance to carbs, but the level of tolerance varies between us, so it is difficult to suggest how much complex carb to include.
Do you have a glucose meter?
This is what I used to work out what was best for me to eat. We are all different and the meter allows you to work out which particular foods spike your blood glucose levels.
If you don't have one then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.

There is also a book that I use a lot http://www.carbsandcals.com/thebook.html
It gives carb values of many foods and is well illustrated and straightforward to use.

I hope that this is of some help - but if you keep going along the route you are on, I'm sure you will continue to get good results.

There is a lot more information on the many pages of the forum, so please take a browse around.
Also it would be great if you can keep posting and let us know how it goes, and ask away at any more questions.

Hi Toucan and many thanks for your comprehensive reply.

I will definitely get the book, and will look at the Gluco Navii.

That's great news about the nuts. I used to eat them by the hundredweight, but have given them up entirely. If I can incorporate a sensible amount into my diet rather than as a snack, that will really give me a boost.

Again, many thanks. It's nice to know I'm on the right track. The diabetic nurse was very good but obviously the workshops have been discontinued due to covid, so it's good to know there is this forum to browse and to get and give support. x

 

[Vonny]

Cherries are a lot higher in carb than you probably think - although they are nothing whatever like grapes they have a similar effect on my BG so I always need to inject insulin to cater for them should I fancy some, hence I rarely treat myself. My T2 late MiL referred to both cherries and grapes as 'like individual little bags of sugar'. Berries generally have less carb apiece than many other fruits - more 'skin' and seeds per berry than 'flesh'. A strawberry is 'more difficult' than eg, a raspberry since a strawberry isn't relieved by anywhere near such a noticeable skin - and can regularly be much more sweet anyway cos the seeds are so tiny in comparison to the overall size of each fruit.

Thanks so much, really useful news about cherries...that's another one off my list! I'll swap to blueberries and hope they are an improvement. x

 

[ColinUK]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with type 2 just over 2 months ago. Never thought I'd get it as I don't eat sweet stuff but didn't realise that being a complete carb monster had the same effect! My son was diagnosed 3 years ago at 23 (now he was a sugar head and no mistake!) and my mum also had it, so I suppose I was bound to get it.

I lost a stone in the first 7 weeks through metformin, no refined carbs and walking between 3 and 6 miles per day. I now want to introduce more fruit and complex carbs, but also need to lose another 2.5 stones. My Hba1c was 76 and has reduced to 54.

I've read a load of stuff on the internet, but sometimes it's conflicting and I'm not sure what to believe, so I thought I'd check with you if anyone can confirm I'm doing this right:
I eat eggs, fish, meat, cheese, all veg except taters and make stews, goulash, chilli, bolog, curry, with which I sometimes have 2 tablespoon of wholegrain rice. I have a few strawberries and cherries per day. A typical day is omelette for breks, salmon salad for lunch and meat and 3 or 4 veg for tea with gravy. One benecol a day in the hope my cholesterol will also come down.
I hate pulses and beans which narrows my options significantly!
So my questions to you clever people are:
Can I introduce 30 grams mixed unsalted nuts as a lunch (around 200 cals)? I believe these are good for cholesterol
What fruit is best for me?
Are there any other complex carbs I could introduce?
Any exercises other than walking which may help? I'm 61 and broke my ankle in 3 places last year, so high intensity training is out for me.
Many thanks for reading this long screed, and hope that someone can help me. I was really fired up to start with but now feel I need a bit of support 😱) x

Ignore my post in the other thread suggesting you do an introduction post!
And welcome 🙂

 

[ColinUK]

Thanks so much, really useful news about cherries...that's another one off my list! I'll swap to blueberries and hope they are an improvement. x

Quite often people find that berries can’t be an everyday thing but are fine if restricted to say once or twice a week and are served alongside some Greek yogurt or double cream.
Something I’ve learnt seems to be that many favour a low carb high fat or keto type way of eating and it’s what I envisage progressing to once I’ve dropped my excess weight.
Have you read or been recommended any books about diabetes? And specifically about ways of eating which are efficacious for T2 diabetics looking to control or reverse it?

 

[trophywench]

I'd rather call it LC higher Fat - cos nobody recommends eating everything swimming in grease! - Yuk. Just don't be afraid of fat for the sake of it - unless of course you have another health condition which countermands the idea.

 

[rebrascora]

Food doesn't have to be swimming in grease to have a high fat content by any means. I was horrified when I first realised that Keto involved eating something like 70% of your nutritional intake as fat, but the thing is that because you are eating very calorie dense, rich, satisfying foods you eat much less of them, so the average person might imagine a normal plate of food for a meal and 70% of it being fat and I can imagine how that might be stomach churning, but it is just not like that because you eat much less and bulk your food out with low carb veggies. For example an egg salad comprising a couple of boiled eggs with a spoon or two of mayonnaise and a large leafy salad probably amounts to about 50% fat and throw in a small avocado and you are getting close to 70%, but an egg salad is hardly swimming in grease!

 

[Vonny]

Quite often people find that berries can’t be an everyday thing but are fine if restricted to say once or twice a week and are served alongside some Greek yogurt or double cream.
Something I’ve learnt seems to be that many favour a low carb high fat or keto type way of eating and it’s what I envisage progressing to once I’ve dropped my excess weight.
Have you read or been recommended any books about diabetes? And specifically about ways of eating which are efficacious for T2 diabetics looking to control or reverse it?

Good point, I think I'll relegate the berries to "treat status"! I've just ordered Carbs&Cals pocket guide, and How Not to Die, recommended to me by a couple of friends, although I think that might be too "planty" for me. I'd love to reverse it if possible rather than just control. Thanks so much for your support x

 

[rebrascora]

As regards fruit, berries are one of the best (ie lowest carb) options along with currants (ie black currants and red currants0 and don't forget gooseberries which will be coming into season soon...nothing beats a nice creamy gooseberry fool, or current fruit of the moment, stewed rhubarb (with Stevia or other artificial sweetener)... been having this at least every other day with cream or yoghurt and mixed seeds. I occasionally have half an apple or half a banana as a special treat. The banana is also usually eaten with cream or yoghurt and ground or chopped nuts. The fat from the cream and nuts slows the release of the glucose from the fruit and bulks it out.
You just have to be careful to ration your fruit and know what your BG levels will tolerate and what sends them sky rocketing.
My partner bought some cherries the other day and I treat myself to one or two (no more than 2) and I really savour them and don't see too much impact on my levels but not every day and not with other fruits....I suppose I treat them like sweets that I can dip into occasionally rather than sitting down to a bowlful of them. Just one here and there. It is about not overloading your system with too much glucose at one time.

 

[Vonny]

As regards fruit, berries are one of the best (ie lowest carb) options along with currants (ie black currants and red currants0 and don't forget gooseberries which will be coming into season soon...nothing beats a nice creamy gooseberry fool, or current fruit of the moment, stewed rhubarb (with Stevia or other artificial sweetener)... been having this at least every other day with cream or yoghurt and mixed seeds. I occasionally have half an apple or half a banana as a special treat. The banana is also usually eaten with cream or yoghurt and ground or chopped nuts. The fat from the cream and nuts slows the release of the glucose from the fruit and bulks it out.
You just have to be careful to ration your fruit and know what your BG levels will tolerate and what sends them sky rocketing.
My partner bought some cherries the other day and I treat myself to one or two (no more than 2) and I really savour them and don't see too much impact on my levels but not every day and not with other fruits....I suppose I treat them like sweets that I can dip into occasionally rather than sitting down to a bowlful of them. Just one here and there. It is about not overloading your system with too much glucose at one time.

So much to learn! I didn't realise that nuts and cream/yoghurt would slow down the release of glucose. Hopefully I'll start getting a proper handle on all this soon. This forum is an absolute font of information. Many thanks x

 

[KARNAK]

Welcome @Vonny please stay with us, your health as with every member
on the the forum is very precious to us. As you continue your journey your own
knowledge will help us all understand how to help others in a similar position.

We`re not adverse to humour so if you want a laugh, welcome aboard.

 

[Vonny]

Welcome @Vonny please stay with us, your health as with every member
on the the forum is very precious to us. As you continue your journey your own
knowledge will help us all understand how to help others in a similar position.

We`re not adverse to humour so if you want a laugh, welcome aboard.

A laugh would not go amiss!!! Thank you for your welcome, and I certainly intend to stay with the forum x

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Vonny, and congratulations on your great start.

Glad you have found the forum for advice, tips and moral support (and enertainment and laughs too!)

I would second @toucan’s suggestion of a BG meter to help you individualise your eating plan and to choose the sources and amounts of carbs that suit YOU rather than just the ones that work for others.

Tolerance to carbs is highly individual, and depends on your own metabolism, genetic make-up and gut biome, so while there are generally useful ‘rules of thumb’, when it comes to specifics of how much rice? / any bread?? / which fruits? / occasional porridge or not?? / how often for berries? / and any number of other dietary imponderables... a BG meter will give you impartial advice as to what works for you as an individual, so you don’t end up restricting things which are fine, in favour of others which don’t suit you so well - just because that’s what works for other people 🙂

 

[Vonny]

Welcome to the forum @Vonny, and congratulations on your great start.

Glad you have found the forum for advice, tips and moral support (and enertainment and laughs too!)

I would second @toucan’s suggestion of a BG meter to help you individualise your eating plan and to choose the sources and amounts of carbs that suit YOU rather than just the ones that work for others.

Tolerance to carbs is highly individual, and depends on your own metabolism, genetic make-up and gut biome, so while there are generally useful ‘rules of thumb’, when it comes to specifics of how much rice? / any bread?? / which fruits? / occasional porridge or not?? / how often for berries? / and any number of other dietary imponderables... a BG meter will give you impartial advice as to what works for you as an individual, so you don’t end up restricting things which are fine, in favour of others which don’t suit you so well - just because that’s what works for other people 🙂

Many thanks for this advice everydayupsanddowns. How often do you take a reading of the meter? Is it something which I'd use after eating, say, some fruit, to see if I spike, or should it be eg a daily reading at the same time? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm just so new to all this x

 

[Drummer]

I used my meter to take a reading just before eating and then two hours later so I could see how the meal affected me. If the increase was more than two whole numbers then I would consider how to tweak what I'd eaten.
In the evenings I would eat my meal and check two hours later to see if I should indulge in some berries and cream or not - I saw my levels reducing week on week so there were only a few occasions when I decided against dessert but I think it helped at the time, feeling that i was making decisions which were helping me to reach my goal of normality.

 

[Vonny]

Th

I used my meter to take a reading just before eating and then two hours later so I could see how the meal affected me. If the increase was more than two whole numbers then I would consider how to tweak what I'd eaten.
In the evenings I would eat my meal and check two hours later to see if I should indulge in some berries and cream or not - I saw my levels reducing week on week so there were only a few occasions when I decided against dessert but I think it helped at the time, feeling that i was making decisions which were helping me to reach my goal of normality.

Thank you so much for the advice Drummer, I will do as you suggest and see how I'm doing! x

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Many thanks for this advice everydayupsanddowns. How often do you take a reading of the meter? Is it something which I'd use after eating, say, some fruit, to see if I spike, or should it be eg a daily reading at the same time? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm just so new to all this x

No need to apologise at all! there is a lot to take in the beginning!

Many members find a ‘test, review, adjust’ approach of checks before and then 2 hours after meals give them very useful pairs of readings to show the meal (or snack) rise. To start with the numbers themselves are less important than the differences between them, and if you can gradually begin to reduce the rise from meals, ideally down to a difference of approx 2-3mmol/L, then the overall numbers will begon to come down gradually.

This popular blog post test-review-adjust by Alan S offers a helpful framework.

If you need to self fund your BG meter (many GP practices are reluctant to prescribe unless on certain medications) it’s important to choose wisely - especially when it comes to the cost of the strips you need which can cost up to £30 perpot. The most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 which both have test strips at around £8 for 50

 

[Vonny]

No need to apologise at all! there is a lot to take in the beginning!

Many members find a ‘test, review, adjust’ approach of checks before and then 2 hours after meals give them very useful pairs of readings to show the meal (or snack) rise. To start with the numbers themselves are less important than the differences between them, and if you can gradually begin to reduce the rise from meals, ideally down to a difference of approx 2-3mmol/L, then the overall numbers will begon to come down gradually.

This popular blog post test-review-adjust by Alan S offers a helpful framework.

If you need to self fund your BG meter (many GP practices are reluctant to prescribe unless on certain medications) it’s important to choose wisely - especially when it comes to the cost of the strips you need which can cost up to £30 perpot. The most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 which both have test strips at around £8 for 50

Many thanks, that sounds a reasonable cost x