Hello Everyone

[Max31]

Hello everyone, I was diagnosed as Type 2 on Tuesday, bit of a shock really as I thought I was called back to the docs to get the results of a blood test for my my Afib medications but hey ho here I am. I have yo-yo dieted since I was a teenager and I’m still overweight, I used to do Slimming World and I was so used to what I could and couldn’t have but this is so different to that way of eating and is hard to get used to if I’m honest. My daughter bought me the Two Chubby Cubs cookbook at Christmas and I’ve ordered 2 other books, the Carbs & Calorie Counter one and one recommended by my brother (He was diagnosed back in March 2020), The Diabetes Meal Panner by Phil Vickery so wish me luck and thanks for having me

 

[Vonny]

Hi @Max31 and welcome to the club that no one really wants to join! I lost shedloads of weight on Slimming World 20 odd years ago, but over the decades put it (and more) back on. Carb watching is definitely the way to go if you want to lose weight and reduce your blood sugar. I never thought dieting would be so easy, but just cutting out bread, spuds, pasta and rice means I can eat the same as everyone else just without the carbs. And once you stop them you don't miss them, a definite bonus.

Best of luck with your endeavours and if you have any questions, just shout out. There will always be someone here who knows the answer.

 

[ianf0ster]

When I was diagnosed with Type 2 I didn't think I really needed to lose weight (though it had crept up over the decades).
I did recognise that I needed to control my Blood Glucose and that cutting carbohydrates was the most logical way of doing that since they start turning into sugars as soon as you put them in your mouth.
However I had no idea how much I needed to cut them, so I purchased a Blood Glucose meter and let that guide me. The rest is history - T2 remission and 22lbs weight loss (current BMI is 22).

The main cost of testing your BG is the test strips because at first you will need to test the effect of every meal until you get a feel for how different amounts of different foods affect you - we can all have our own unique reactions to the same food items.

The two reliable reasonably priced meters with the cheapest test strips are:
Spirit Healthcare TEE2
SD Gluco Navii

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Max31

Hope those cookery books give you some inspiration for a new way of eating.

As @ianf0ster says, getting a BG meter with affordable strips can be a really helpful and practical way of checking any meals or recipes that are described as suitable for people with diabetes.

Different people have very different reactions to foods, so it’s a matter of beginning to understand how your body responds to different amounts and types of carbohydrates, and whether the ‘slow release’ reputation of various things (or ‘quick release’ for that matter!) holds true for you and your individual metabolism/gut biome.

By checking before and again 2hrs after eating you can see the effect of meals in your levels and adjust accordingly. Ideally you’d be looking to limit the ‘meal rise’ to a maximum of 2-3 mmol/L

Good luck and keep asking questions 🙂