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Hello! I thought I’d join this group for support and ideas on how to manage T2 via diet. Any suggestions welcome. TIA!
- Thread starter Rena
- Start date
- Status
Hi there.
For me reducing carbohydrate intake to a minimum (ultra low carb/ketogenic diet) combined with some time restricted eating (no breakfast just lunch and dinner) put me into remission in 4 months post diagnosis. It also put a number of other health conditions into reverse and helped with weight loss.
Are you taking any meds and what was your most recent HbA1c?
For me reducing carbohydrate intake to a minimum (ultra low carb/ketogenic diet) combined with some time restricted eating (no breakfast just lunch and dinner) put me into remission in 4 months post diagnosis. It also put a number of other health conditions into reverse and helped with weight loss.
Are you taking any meds and what was your most recent HbA1c?
I have started Metformin a couple of months ago and my recent Hb1c was 55. This said, I wasn’t really being careful as I thought the meds would help. I now wish to control through diet and come the meds so i have cut out crisps, sweets, lowered carbs and reduced caffeine as I was drinking approx 10 cups of coffee a day!! Retest in 3 months. Thanks.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum, you will find all sorts of opinions of how to manage your diabetes but the important thing is to find a way which is enjoyable and sustainable and really becomes a new way of eating not a short term quick fix.
Some find alow carbohydrate approach works for them but that can vary between the Keto approach of very few carb to others who will regard low carb as being no more than 130g per day but often it will be around 100g per day. Yet other people find a low calorie or shakes-based regime to give them a kick start which they then follow up with keeping a watchful eye on carb intake. It can depend on what your HbA1C is, if you have weight to lose and if you have been prescribed medication as to what might be suitable.
This link may help you with some ideas.
https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
With an HbA1C of 55mmol/mol it should be very possible to reduce by dietary changes, often GPs will give people the opportunity before prescribing medication as it is not the magic bullet people imagine and people still need to reduce their carb intake, all carbs not just the usual cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks. Caffeine does affect blood glucose in some people but that is very individual, it is the cumulative effect of the milk and sugar, if you have it.
Some find alow carbohydrate approach works for them but that can vary between the Keto approach of very few carb to others who will regard low carb as being no more than 130g per day but often it will be around 100g per day. Yet other people find a low calorie or shakes-based regime to give them a kick start which they then follow up with keeping a watchful eye on carb intake. It can depend on what your HbA1C is, if you have weight to lose and if you have been prescribed medication as to what might be suitable.
This link may help you with some ideas.
https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
With an HbA1C of 55mmol/mol it should be very possible to reduce by dietary changes, often GPs will give people the opportunity before prescribing medication as it is not the magic bullet people imagine and people still need to reduce their carb intake, all carbs not just the usual cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks. Caffeine does affect blood glucose in some people but that is very individual, it is the cumulative effect of the milk and sugar, if you have it.
I'm not convinced that coffee has much impact (I drink lots of it with double cream).
Crisps, sweets are obviously bad but carbs can be in many other things bread, pasta, rice, starchy veg, tropical fruit and most ultra processed food won't do you a lot of good either.
Thanks for the insight, really helpful.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Rena and welcome to the forum. A HbA1c of 55 is over the diagnostic limit but not massively so and it could well be that you will get it down by a few adjustments to your current diet rather than making wholesale dietary changes.
As you have probably picked up, much of the glucose in your blood comes from digesting the carbohydrate in your food and reducing carbohydrate intake will reduce the blood glucose.
Some, like @bulkbiker have gone to a very low carbohydrate diet. Many, including myself, have simply looked at what we were eating, identified high carb items and either found substitutes or rebalanced meals to reduce them aiming for around 100-130 g carbs total per day as suggested by @Leadinglights
Quite which way you go depends very much on you. For example, if you need to loose a bit of weight, then concentrating on that might be enough to get your blood glucose down. If you cook, then that helps because you can get more control from the start. Whichever way you go, you need to finish up with a new eating regime which you are comfortable with for the long term.
If you read around the forum you will see how different things have worked for different people. Take what suits you from all their experiences. What I would suggest is that you start to make a brutally honest food diary for a week or so and when you have a better understanding use that to target any changes you are going to make. No need to panic, you are looking to get your HbA1c down over the next few months, not the next few days.
As you have probably picked up, much of the glucose in your blood comes from digesting the carbohydrate in your food and reducing carbohydrate intake will reduce the blood glucose.
Some, like @bulkbiker have gone to a very low carbohydrate diet. Many, including myself, have simply looked at what we were eating, identified high carb items and either found substitutes or rebalanced meals to reduce them aiming for around 100-130 g carbs total per day as suggested by @Leadinglights
Quite which way you go depends very much on you. For example, if you need to loose a bit of weight, then concentrating on that might be enough to get your blood glucose down. If you cook, then that helps because you can get more control from the start. Whichever way you go, you need to finish up with a new eating regime which you are comfortable with for the long term.
If you read around the forum you will see how different things have worked for different people. Take what suits you from all their experiences. What I would suggest is that you start to make a brutally honest food diary for a week or so and when you have a better understanding use that to target any changes you are going to make. No need to panic, you are looking to get your HbA1c down over the next few months, not the next few days.
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