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Garryayling

Garryayling

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Good afternoon
Just been diagnosed with type two and feeling a little overwhelmed with what I can and can’t eat to be honest. Any help would be appreciated

Garry
 
Welcome to the forum. It can be a bit overwhelming to get a diagnosis but how much you will need to do depends on where you are on the diabetes scale and if you have been prescribed any medication so information about your diagnosis would be helpful so people can make appropriate comments.
There is plenty you can eat and making the correct choices will see your blood glucose levels come down. As it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose cutting out the very big hitters like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portions of the other high carb foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, pastry and tropical fruits and basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, vegetables, salads, fruit such as berries still give options for tasty meals.
Things to be wary of are ready meals, pre-prepared sauces as these can be high carbs. Looking at packets, tins and jars will become second nature.
Have a look at this link for good explanation and some ideas for modifying your diet, it is a low carb approach which you may find suitable depending on what medication if any you are taking. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
 
Hi @Garryayling and welcome to the forum.

There is no one 'healthy diet' for everybody. Inuit, Central Asians, Maasai and others were healthy for hundreds of years on a high protein high fat diet. Fish and blubber in the case of Inuit; meat, blood and milk for the others. No grains, virtually no veg and very little fruit (only seasonal).

But although it's disputed, modern medicine tell us that such a diet is bad for us now.

Well if you buy a blood glucose meter and use it before and after meals you will soon find that grains, tropical fruit, fruit juice , starches and sugars are all bad for Type 2 diabetics. All carbohydrates quickly turn into glucose when digested, so the simplest way to keep blood glucose down (for a Type 2) is to eat less carbs in the first place.

If you take a BG finger -prick test before a meal and then again 2hrs after first bite , if the rise in BG is more than 2 mmol (especially over 3 mmol) then that meal had too much of the 'wrong sort' of carbs for YOUR body.
Even though that same thing may be OK for another Type 2 Diabetic.

That's the only exact way of finding out what you can eat.
I eat meat, fish, eggs, chees low car veg, most nuts (avoid the higher carb ones) seeds and berries.
 
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Leadinglights said:
Welcome to the forum. It can be a bit overwhelming to get a diagnosis but how much you will need to do depends on where you are on the diabetes scale and if you have been prescribed any medication so information about your diagnosis would be helpful so people can make appropriate comments.
There is plenty you can eat and making the correct choices will see your blood glucose levels come down. As it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose cutting out the very big hitters like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portions of the other high carb foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, pastry and tropical fruits and basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, vegetables, salads, fruit such as berries still give options for tasty meals.
Things to be wary of are ready meals, pre-prepared sauces as these can be high carbs. Looking at packets, tins and jars will become second nature.
Have a look at this link for good explanation and some ideas for modifying your diet, it is a low carb approach which you may find suitable depending on what medication if any you are taking. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Click to expand...
Hi
I have been prescribed metformin tablets as my levels from my two blood tests where 62 and 61.
 
Welcome to the forum @Garryayling

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Overwhelming feelings and emotions are not at all uncommon with a diagnosis of diabetes - particularly because of the (unfair and unjustified) blame and stigma that are all too often associated with T2 :(

There's no one-size-fits-all diet or meal plan that works for everyone's diabetes, and it can be a tricky balancing act between foods which are better at optimising blood glucose levels, and foods which research shows increase risks of heart and vascular damage.

There's a downloadable 'enjoy food' guide here which has a good overview of things to look out for.

Your question of ‘what can I eat’ is one of the commonest at diagnosis - and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. It's not that you can never eat any of these again - but working out appropriate portion sizes that your body can cope with can be a really helpful strategy.

One option might be to 'start where you are' by establishing your baseline menu as a starting point. Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a brutally honest food diary for a week or two. Note down everything you eat and drink, along with a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content (not just 'of which sugars') in your meals and snacks - it doesn’t have to be gram-perfect, the nearest 5-10g is fine.

It might sound like a bit of a faff, and will involve weighing portions, squinting at the fine print on packaging, and possibly looking up things on the internet, but it will give you a really good idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu. Once you can see which meals or snacks are your ‘big hitters’, and where carbs might be unexpectedly lurking, the process might also suggest some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).

We also have a 'food and carbs' section which you might find is a treasure trove of ideas, options, swaps and strategies.
 
You may also find the book or app Carbs and Cals very useful as it gives carb values for various portions of a whole range of foods and meals.
Yes your Hba1C indicates that some dietary changes in addition to the metformin will be needed.
 
Garryayling said:
Good afternoon
Just been diagnosed with type two and feeling a little overwhelmed with what I can and can’t eat to be honest. Any help would be appreciated

Garry
Click to expand...
Hi Garry, and welcome to the Forum - glad to have you here.

Sorry to hear things have been quite overwhelming for you, as @everydayupsanddowns has mentioned in their reply, it is a completely valid response, and rest assured we'll help you out the best we can 🙂

Leading on from many replies and the support you've had so far, it may be useful for you to check out our food label guide on our website: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...opping-for-diabetes/understanding-food-labels.

Again, might be stating the obvious but this forum has lots of lived-experiences, and people share knowledge and advice on recipes and food, so feel free to have a browse!

Having said that, please do reach out if you feel you need further support, We're all here to help 🙂
 
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