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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hello
- Thread starter Feetupman
- Start date
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Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Feetupman and welcome to the forum. Most of us have found that managing type 2 revolves around controlling carb intake and if you read around the forum you will find that we each find a strategy that suits us and our lifestyle. Hopefully we can help you find a way that suits you.
Usual first question - do you know what your HbA1c level is? It's the best pointer of where you are on the diabetes scale and gives some idea of the size of the hill you have to climb.
Usual first question - do you know what your HbA1c level is? It's the best pointer of where you are on the diabetes scale and gives some idea of the size of the hill you have to climb.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
70's is up in the zone where it's a good idea to focus on doing something about it. Mine lurked around the between 40 and 50 for ten years or so but a sudden jump up to 80 odd made me sit up and take notice. It's when I found this site and the experience of the members who helped me to find a way to get it down (currently in the high 30's).
In simple terms, you have four levers to pull, carb intake, weight, exercise and medication. They are the big things that affect blood glucose and where you focus depends very much on you.
When it comes to carb intake, one way to start is to write down a brutally honest diary of what you eat now and look up the carb content of all the components. You can use this information to work out a plan to reduce your carb intake by looking for the high carb items and working on reducing them. You can do this either by substituting things or simply by reducing portion sizes. You might find it easier to cut out a whole food type (for me it was anything containing wheat flour). Depends on you.
If you could do with losing a pound or two then that is a good idea. There is plenty of evidence to show that T2 can be associated with being overweight - does not mean all T2's are overweight or all overweight people are T2 - and getting the weight down helps with blood glucose control.
Exercise helps. Does not have to be vigorous stuff in the gym.
Medication is part of the picture but what you will find from reading the forum is that their value varies from person to person. Works well for some, badly for others. What meds are you on?
Hope that give you something to cogitate on. To my mind the trick is to find something that works for you because as is often said, managing diabetes is a marathon and not a sprint, and you have got to be comfortable with the strategy.
In simple terms, you have four levers to pull, carb intake, weight, exercise and medication. They are the big things that affect blood glucose and where you focus depends very much on you.
When it comes to carb intake, one way to start is to write down a brutally honest diary of what you eat now and look up the carb content of all the components. You can use this information to work out a plan to reduce your carb intake by looking for the high carb items and working on reducing them. You can do this either by substituting things or simply by reducing portion sizes. You might find it easier to cut out a whole food type (for me it was anything containing wheat flour). Depends on you.
If you could do with losing a pound or two then that is a good idea. There is plenty of evidence to show that T2 can be associated with being overweight - does not mean all T2's are overweight or all overweight people are T2 - and getting the weight down helps with blood glucose control.
Exercise helps. Does not have to be vigorous stuff in the gym.
Medication is part of the picture but what you will find from reading the forum is that their value varies from person to person. Works well for some, badly for others. What meds are you on?
Hope that give you something to cogitate on. To my mind the trick is to find something that works for you because as is often said, managing diabetes is a marathon and not a sprint, and you have got to be comfortable with the strategy.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Feetupman
Can’t add much to the wise words @Docb has already offered, but it might help to let members here know what meds you are on, and any things that you find partcularly tricky about your diabetes management.
Do you check your own BG levels at home?
Can’t add much to the wise words @Docb has already offered, but it might help to let members here know what meds you are on, and any things that you find partcularly tricky about your diabetes management.
Do you check your own BG levels at home?
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