Hello, just started meds as BS very high- looking for advice and support Re diet

[Louise.E]

I’m at a loss what to eat as rely on potatoes, pasta, bananas and baked beans

 

[SB2015]

Hi Louise

Sorry to hear about your high BGs and need for meds. It would help if you were able to tell us what meds you are on so that advice can be tailored to your needs.

The foods that you ‘rely on’ are indeed things that are high in carbs, which is what causes the rise that we experience in blood glucose levels. There are a number of alternatives that you could try. Have a look at the food thread on this forum for lots of tasty ideas.

One thing that I found an eye opener was to work out the amount of carbs that I was eating at each meal (I had to do this to calculate the amount of insulin I needed). When I realised the size of the spikes that I was getting after meals I looked at how I could reduce these. By reducing the size of our plates, we found it a lot easier to reduce the size of our meals, and therefore reduce the spike I was getting in my BG after each meal.

The only way that you can know what is happening to you in response to the foods that you eat is by testing before and then again 2 hours after the meal. There is a lot of debate over this for T2s, possibly as there is no funding for this. However there are plenty of T2s in here who have managed to come off meds by finding out the impact on their BG that different foods do. I'd suggest having a read of Maggie Davey's letter to give you a good idea of how to approach things, and also Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to give you an understanding of how to use a BG meter to discover your tolerances for the food choices you make.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I’m at a loss what to eat as rely on potatoes, pasta, bananas and baked beans

For baked beans, different variants have different carbs. And you could make your own, of course (though that's less convenient than just opening a tin).

For starchy things like potatoes, pasta, rice, you could try cooking them twice. I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced, but people do say that cooking then cooling them and reheating makes some of the starch "resistant starch", so lowering the carbohydrate content.

Can't help with bananas, though. Except that (likely, anyway) if you're eating one now and again in the context of a meal, it seems likely your dietitian will approve, even if eating one on its own spikes your BG.

 

[becca19962014]

Test and look at what's causing the spikes.

I still eat those foods (not bananas which was awful for me as I loved them, but the spikes were just far too much) but I carefully measure my portions now, baked beans are a treat and I never buy big tins only the tiny ones. I was told I could eat them most days and banana for after but I cannot tolerate that frequently. Potatoes for me are fine (they aren't for everyone).

Testing helped me hugely but also working out what a actual portion was, as I was eating too much and not realising. Pasta now I only eat dolmio sachet for one with a sauce as I know it's a portion.

 

[Drummer]

I’m at a loss what to eat as rely on potatoes, pasta, bananas and baked beans

Hello Louise. Are you eating starchy foods as you are vegetarian, or for cheapness?
I would not eat any of the high carb foods you list, as I would be seeing very high blood glucose levels if I did - but I eat lots of cheap meats and fish, and low carb vegetables - many of them big bags of frozen mixtures.

 

[Hannah76]

use brown pasta and rice instead of white if that's what your using. It's slower releasing and wont give you those spikes in your BG. and, they don't taste any different to me. Good luck

 

[Drummer]

use brown pasta and rice instead of white if that's what your using. It's slower releasing and wont give you those spikes in your BG. and, they don't taste any different to me. Good luck

Unfortunately the OP is not type one - so unless they are on insulin, grains and legumes are not a good idea.