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Hello
- Thread starter g_rees
- Start date
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello and welcome. Diagnosis is always a shock when it comes out of the blue. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, as that will aid us in helping you. For example, what was your HbA1c, what medications are you on, any other health issues, what advice were you given (if any), what exercise do you do, are you overweight (there are thin diabetics).
Type 2 diabetics often benefit from reducing their daily carb intake, as it's carbs that turn into glucose, not just sugar. The suggested maximum is 130gm carbs a day. Things to avoid, or greatly reduce portion sizes are bread, potato, rice, pasta, cereals, processed foods, all things sweet like cake and biscuits, pies, pastries, most fruits. I suggest you keep a daily diary of everything that goes into you, including all drinks and snacks. I record mine on an app which measures calories and carbs. The Freshwell programme is often suggested, and I'm sure someone will post the link for you.
Type 2 diabetics often benefit from reducing their daily carb intake, as it's carbs that turn into glucose, not just sugar. The suggested maximum is 130gm carbs a day. Things to avoid, or greatly reduce portion sizes are bread, potato, rice, pasta, cereals, processed foods, all things sweet like cake and biscuits, pies, pastries, most fruits. I suggest you keep a daily diary of everything that goes into you, including all drinks and snacks. I record mine on an app which measures calories and carbs. The Freshwell programme is often suggested, and I'm sure someone will post the link for you.
Hi both, i am on metformin 1000mg twice a day. My first hba1c was 106 and my second three months later was 64. I started off well with regards to carb intake and logging meals etc but I'm starting to miss foods and eating things I shouldn't. I'm also on simvastatin
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You have done very well to reduce your blood glucose from where you started in 3 months to a more reasonable level but it is often better to go gradually to avoid issues with your eyes and nerves but it is worth continuing, however there are still plenty of foods you can still be having without feeling you are missing out on things.
This link may help you get back on track as it includes meal plans with a good variety of foods. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
I followed this approach and I can say there are very few foods I miss.
Hi @g_rees , welcome to the forum from me too and I’m really glad you’ve found us.
It sounds like you made some fantastic progress in the first few months, which is no small feat, especially with quite a high starting HbA1c. Getting it down from 106 to 64 is a big achievement - even if it doesn’t always feel like one when motivation starts to dip.
You’re definitely not alone in finding it tough to stick to changes long-term, especially when it comes to food. A lot of people go through a bit of a “grieving” phase for the things they used to eat, and that’s okay. It’s a big lifestyle shift and sometimes it helps to reframe things as small steps rather than all-or-nothing.
Leadinglights has already shared a great link to the Freshwell plan — it’s really flexible and includes lots of everyday foods that don’t feel restrictive. You might also find it helpful to start from where you are now, not where you were at diagnosis - even just aiming to stabilise for a bit and find what’s sustainable could help ease the pressure.
You’ve done incredibly well so far. Be kind to yourself - there’s no “perfect” way to manage this, and you’re definitely not in it alone.
Looking forward to hearing more from you!
It sounds like you made some fantastic progress in the first few months, which is no small feat, especially with quite a high starting HbA1c. Getting it down from 106 to 64 is a big achievement - even if it doesn’t always feel like one when motivation starts to dip.
You’re definitely not alone in finding it tough to stick to changes long-term, especially when it comes to food. A lot of people go through a bit of a “grieving” phase for the things they used to eat, and that’s okay. It’s a big lifestyle shift and sometimes it helps to reframe things as small steps rather than all-or-nothing.
Leadinglights has already shared a great link to the Freshwell plan — it’s really flexible and includes lots of everyday foods that don’t feel restrictive. You might also find it helpful to start from where you are now, not where you were at diagnosis - even just aiming to stabilise for a bit and find what’s sustainable could help ease the pressure.
You’ve done incredibly well so far. Be kind to yourself - there’s no “perfect” way to manage this, and you’re definitely not in it alone.
Looking forward to hearing more from you!
@g_rees welcome to the forum, that is an impressive drop in your HbA1c after only three months. But that might also be why you are struggling now. If your changes to hit the latest figure included things that make it difficult to continue with your diabetes management approach, then it is worth revisiting it to see what you can do to make it more sustainable.
For me the key to a sustainable change was finding substitutes for the things I loved like bread and sweet things.
The link from Leadinglights helped as it provided a couple of recipes for bread type rolls (Flat Head Dough Buns and Flax Bread Rolls).
Keto recipes provided lots of options for tasty low carb meals.
The Fast 800 recipe book,. whilst the recipes are specifically designed to help you lose weight, are really tasty and increasing the protein and fat elements provide some really tasty meals. My wife and daughters love the chicken curry in the book and both my wife and I love the salmon with tender stem broccoli.
If you find yourself eating the sweeter things in life, try out the SugarFreeLondoner web site which has lots of desert and biscuit recipes that are also low carb and therefore good for helping to manage BG.
And finally the LearningZone part of this site has some great recipes as well.
Hopefully you can then build a sustainable menu that meets the needs of managing your diabetes while letting you have the things you miss.
I am sure others will also provide some options.
For me the key to a sustainable change was finding substitutes for the things I loved like bread and sweet things.
The link from Leadinglights helped as it provided a couple of recipes for bread type rolls (Flat Head Dough Buns and Flax Bread Rolls).
Keto recipes provided lots of options for tasty low carb meals.
The Fast 800 recipe book,. whilst the recipes are specifically designed to help you lose weight, are really tasty and increasing the protein and fat elements provide some really tasty meals. My wife and daughters love the chicken curry in the book and both my wife and I love the salmon with tender stem broccoli.
If you find yourself eating the sweeter things in life, try out the SugarFreeLondoner web site which has lots of desert and biscuit recipes that are also low carb and therefore good for helping to manage BG.
And finally the LearningZone part of this site has some great recipes as well.
Hopefully you can then build a sustainable menu that meets the needs of managing your diabetes while letting you have the things you miss.
I am sure others will also provide some options.
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
That's a splendid result in 3 months and shows what you were doing is working for you. Yes, you will have ups and downs but remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint, as other members also say. I occasionally treat myself - I never say never again.
