Hello I’m a newbie for 2025

[Alp]

Hey Everyone! 🙂

I’m 31 and I’ve recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after months of not knowing what was causing my symptoms.

I would love to hear your stories and the journey you are on especially those suffering from type 2 diabetes like myself.

Questions I have ?

How to manage sleep if having tendencies to sleep in the day due to feeling fatigue ?

What are tasty alternatives for chocolate and fizzy pop ?

Can anyone recommend one of those food box subscriptions e.g hello fresh , green chef , gousto etc and which is the best as a starter cooking from scratch ?

Thanks

Have a nice day !

 

[JITR]

Welcome. On the positive side now you know what the problem is. As you seem to know already the main part of the solution is diet.

A simple starting point is this meal planner and food list from the Freshwell Surgery. The are recipes and menu plans on that website as well as those here on Diabetes UK.

Instead of food boxes I'd think about buying a book like this. I saw it in Waterstone's at the weekend for the first time. It's very good both as an introduction to dealing with T2D and as a cookbook. Jenny Phillps provided dietary guidance. Dr David Unwin wrote the introduction. Here is his diet sheet.

Me, I just eat chop up and cook protein and vegetables like those on the food list. I lost 22 kg and over 6 inches from my waist, and feel years younger.

 

[saffron15]

@Alp welcome to the forum. 31 is quite young to be diagnosed with type 2. What was your hba1C? Were you given two tests?
I was called in to my surgery as a blood test had shown my cholesteral had crept up. I would describe myself as retired fatty with high blood pressure. I discovered I had not been checked for diabetes for 10 years so requested a test . I was shocked when the reading was 69. I had already stopped pastry cakes and processed meat because of cholestral. I then cut pasta rice and most bread and potatoes. I was put on metformin and 6 weeks later a SGLT2. My reading now is 44.
Depending on other medical conditions I assume you would be able to aim for remission.
I cut a lot of carbs eating fish or lean meat and veg. I still have some bread and occasionally potatoes but small portions. I don't now eat pasta but there are alternatives. I make sure I have appropriate food available. Some people go keto but if you need to lose weight 130 gms of carbs is good plus move more. 10 minute walk after food orvsome stretching or stair climbing. For breakfast I have 10% fat Greek style yoghurt with blueberries and nuts. This morning I had it with M and S no grain fruit and nut granola. I lost almost a kilo a week at the start.

The freshwell site and app will give you good ideas. This GP practice has all the info in one place. At the bottom under low carb they link to moseley caldesi and freshwell.

Diabetes & Metabolic Health | New Forest PCN

newforestpcn.co.uk

 

[Leadinglights]

It is often a shock when people find they have a diabetes diagnosis but it can be a relief as it explains symptoms.
Once you start to reduce your blood glucose you should start to feel less tired but it is always worth getting checked for anaemia or vitamin deficiency if you haven't already.
I think you can make simple low carb meals without spending money on pre prepared boxed meals by getting some basic ingredients and looking at recipes for low carb dishes.
This link has lots of ideas and some menu plans to suit various tastes. It is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Many have found this a successful approach.

 

[JimmyBlue]

Hi @Alp welcome to the diabetes forums. As others have said, as you lose weight and reduce BG you should see the tiredness change. Adding exercise helps to.

In terms of replacements for chocolate and fizzy drinks, for the latter I have no suggestions as I don't think fizzy drinks have a like for like replacement but tap water does for me most of the time, and the odd glass or two of red wine with a meal is also nice. Chocolate is just a question of moving to the odd piece of dark chocolate from time to time although both Freshwells and SugarFreeLondoner (a useful website) provide recipes for things like chocolate mouse and biscuits.

As @saffron15 and @Leadinglights both say, the route plenty of others, myself included, have taken is to reduce our carb intakes. I managed to lose a stone between start of October and end of November last year following my diagnosis and have seen a material reduction in my HbA1c from 86 to 47 by following the ideas and suggestions on both the Diabetes UK website, Freshwell recipes and most importantly of all the people in these forums. I have also become a nifty baker if my wife is to believed (low carb bread rolls and low carb shortbread biscuits are a speciality).

Finally, I am not sure using the boxed meal providers really helps as their recipes will continue to including things like potatoes, pasta, and rice all of which are high carb foods. The box my wife subscribes to is OddBox which provides fruit only, veg only or fruit and veg boxes. This provides us with new ingredients every fortnight based on what they have. Our order excludes things like potatoes and parsnips.

 

[Leadinglights]

If your fizzy drinks are full sugar ones then swap for the diet version or try some of the flavoured sparkling water.
Some of the dark chocolate in various flavours from ALDI, the Moser Roth ones are good but should still be had in moderation and a small portion not a whole bar at once.