Hello - Just joined :)

[helenloutaylor]

Hello. I've just joined as I have been struggling to find information and have pretty much been left to fend for myself. I was diagnosed Mid-July with blood sugar at 60. I was put onto the TDR program (no solid food just shakes) however I apparently am intolerant to Palm Oil (Just another one to add to the list!) so I had to come off. I was on Metformin prior to going onto the shakes - however when I spoke to my doctor I said that I would be carrying on with an 800 calorie a day diet (as this was what I would have had with the shakes) so she advised to stay off Metformin and check in 3 months. I had my bloods done Friday (I wait with baited breath!) to see what my levels are now. I have managed to lose 4 stone since June and my daily blood readings seem to float between 4.2 - 5.7 (they were 9.8-11.2 at the start). I had cut out all bread, rice, pasta, potatoes - all the carb heavy stuff - but have really struggled the past few weeks as I have intolerances to many vegetables so my food pool is already quite small.
I've only browsed the recipe section so far, so I am looking forward to learning more as I go on.

 

[Martin.A]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. You're not alone in being left to pretty much fend for yourself. It's a comment that comes up time and time again from new members. The good news is that you're now amongst people with a wealth of knowledge who can offer advice and guidance based on their own experiences of managing their diabetes day by day.

Well done on the weight loss, and by the look of your daily readings I'd be surprised if you don't see a drop in your HbA1c when the result comes through. Coincidentally I also had bloods done Friday so I fully understand why you would be waiting with bated breath for the result. I am, too!

Your GP also deserves some credit for giving you 3 months to see if you can manage without medication. That doesn't always happen either.

How are you with cauliflower or celeriac? Have you tried riced cauli instead of rice, and mashed cauli or mashed celeriac instead of potatoes? You can also make chips with celeriac. I use red lentil pasta as it is much lower carb than regular pasta, and there are other non-grain pastas that are even lower. I even have bread some days, but never more than 2 slices - in a sandwich for instance, usually a BLT - and whilst most breakfast cereals are generally considered a bad choice I can manage one Weetabix for breakfast with some Greek yogurt and a mix of berries.

Please feel free to post any questions about anything at all to do with managing your diabetes. Someone will respond, usually several someones.

 

[ianf0ster]

You are doing great. It's always difficult to give advice about controlling Type without a lot of information about the person asking because we are all very different. I was/am a slim Type 2 TOFI {Thin Outside, Fat Inside}, so those 800 calorie diets really didn't seem to be for me.
Here is the advice that I followed on my path to remission from Type 2:

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...

josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

 

[helenloutaylor]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. You're not alone in being left to pretty much fend for yourself. It's a comment that comes up time and time again from new members. The good news is that you're now amongst people with a wealth of knowledge who can offer advice and guidance based on their own experiences of managing their diabetes day by day.

Well done on the weight loss, and by the look of your daily readings I'd be surprised if you don't see a drop in your HbA1c when the result comes through. Coincidentally I also had bloods done Friday so I fully understand why you would be waiting with bated breath for the result. I am, too!

Your GP also deserves some credit for giving you 3 months to see if you can manage without medication. That doesn't always happen either.

How are you with cauliflower or celeriac? Have you tried riced cauli instead of rice, and mashed cauli or mashed celeriac instead of potatoes? You can also make chips with celeriac. I use red lentil pasta as it is much lower carb than regular pasta, and there are other non-grain pastas that are even lower. I even have bread some days, but never more than 2 slices - in a sandwich for instance, usually a BLT - and whilst most breakfast cereals are generally considered a bad choice I can manage one Weetabix for breakfast with some Greek yogurt and a mix of berries.

Please feel free to post any questions about anything at all to do with managing your diabetes. Someone will respond, usually several someones.

Awww thank you for the welcome and the congrats on the weight loss. It's been a struggle at times keeping to such low calories. Erm.... yes so veg wise it's easier to list what I can eat which is pretty much potatoes, peas, carrots, mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes and corn - you can see the issue here lol This also causes an issue with salad as I also cannot tolerate lettuce. I have just bought some whole meal bread but have been using wholegrain Ryvita to have with things like soup. I've been at this for a few months so I just really wanted something else to break the cycle of having the same small group of veg time and time again.

 

[helenloutaylor]

You are doing great. It's always difficult to give advice about controlling Type without a lot of information about the person asking because we are all very different. I was/am a slim Type 2 TOFI {Thin Outside, Fat Inside}, so those 800 calorie diets really didn't seem to be for me.
Here is the advice that I followed on my path to remission from Type 2:

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...

josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

I was severely overweight as I have a severe back injury which has made exercise impossible for the last 10 years, I began to get depressed about it and so the weight just piled on. I think the GP first goal was to lose weight and see what happened - hence the ridiculous strict diet to lose weight fast. I think the plan is to get down to a reasonable weight and see what happens - and then go from there. Thank you for the link - I will definitely go have a look 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

The fact you have a blood glucose monitor is brilliant as that does allow you to test how the foods you can tolerate (allergy wise) affect your blood glucose.
Have a look at this link which is a low carbohydrate approach rather than low calorie but it may give you some more ideas for food you can try. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @helenloutaylor

Hope you get encouraging results from your HbA1c, the BG results you have been getting certainly seem promising!

Well done on the weight loss too. Hopefully that will have helped ‘reset’ your metabolism.

Hope you are able to build a flexible and enjoyable way of eating within your restrictions and intolerances - sounds like that might be something of a challenge!

 

[GooseyGander]

Hi @helenloutaylor,
You sound like you are doing amazingly and that everything looks like it’s going in the right direction.
I understand what you are going through. I was diagnosed with T2 in July, at a level of 80 at the age of 39. I saw a GP who only works one day a week in my practice, another GP who just took a urine sample and a nurse who just printed off documents from the NHS website (which I had already read) about diabetes. I suggested to the nurse doing a diet and she said it’s not sustainable and that I just take the meds and eat less sausage rolls. I never felt more let down.
I read Matthew Mosley‘s 8-week diet book and followed his practices and with exercise and the diet, last week my blood test came back at 36 (by looking at the NHS app, very useful!). This forum and website has given me so Much support and information, and then Google anything extra I need to know whether it be Gi values, recipes or general diabetic information.
Anything you need to ask, just do it on here, no question is too silly, and will have either been asked before or someone else will have been thinking about it too, so it’s all good.
fingers crossed for your results, can’t wait to hear. Keep it up.

 

[Felinia]

Awww thank you for the welcome and the congrats on the weight loss. It's been a struggle at times keeping to such low calories. Erm.... yes so veg wise it's easier to list what I can eat which is pretty much potatoes, peas, carrots, mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes and corn - you can see the issue here lol This also causes an issue with salad as I also cannot tolerate lettuce. I have just bought some whole meal bread but have been using wholegrain Ryvita to have with things like soup. I've been at this for a few months so I just really wanted something else to break the cycle of having the same small group of veg time and time again.

Just a couple of food suggestions. How about making a soup with the tomatoes, peppers, onions and a stock cube? I also make a sort of ratatouille with peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes ( I also add a chopped courgette and aubergine if you an tolerate them) and use it as a hot vegetable dish or sauce with a pasta substitute. You can still make your own salad without the lettuce - I do sometimes.

 

[helenloutaylor]

So my blood tests came back today - sitting just within pre-diabetic range at 43! My Dr is impressed and I am over the moon considering I had no clue what I was doing! BMI is down and I have another 6 stone to lose. Dr is happy for me to reintroduce some rice and pasta so I am celebrating tonight with some salmon and rice noodles!

 

[Leadinglights]

So my blood tests came back today - sitting just within pre-diabetic range at 43! My Dr is impressed and I am over the moon considering I had no clue what I was doing! BMI is down and I have another 6 stone to lose. Dr is happy for me to reintroduce some rice and pasta so I am celebrating tonight with some salmon and rice noodles!

Despite getting down to normal range that is something I feel I have no need to do, I have found I much prefer the alternatives. If I have pasta it is either black bean or edamame bean which is low carb and rice is just carbs with no redeeming features.

 

[helenloutaylor]

Despite getting down to normal range that is something I feel I have no need to do, I have found I much prefer the alternatives. If I have pasta it is either black bean or edamame bean which is low carb and rice is just carbs with no redeeming features.

Hi and thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I cannot tolerate either black bean or edamame bean. It’s more the fact that I can have some food variation. When your veg pool is only about 8 items - it gets so boring and really makes it hard to stick with.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

So my blood tests came back today - sitting just within pre-diabetic range at 43! My Dr is impressed and I am over the moon considering I had no clue what I was doing! BMI is down and I have another 6 stone to lose. Dr is happy for me to reintroduce some rice and pasta so I am celebrating tonight with some salmon and rice noodles!

Great news @helenloutaylor

Hope you are able to find a portion-size of rice and pasta that satisfies and keeps your BGs happy.

Well done on your cracking weight loss so far too!