help

[Tina Valkeith]

I have read some of he links but now feel even more confused, I basically want to know what I can eat I started to read the letter got a third of the way down and have had to stop as I am even more scared. Don't eat fruit don't eat bread I have had chicken curry for tea with white rice I am now terrified I am pushing my sugar levels even Higher, I have had to take my first tablet that I have been prescribed and now feel bloody miserable about what I can an cannot eat. Am I going to be ok with a cup of tea. or not do I have wheat bit in the morning or do I just stop eating.

 

[Martin Canty]

Sorry to hear that you are feeling a little down about this....

I love to cook & got somewhat despondent about what my diet would look like, especially when I went LCHF. I quickly learned that I can have much of what I was making before just by making a few substitutions

• A bed of chopped spinach, while it does not look like rice, serves quite well in it's place
• Not a fan but Cauliflower "rice" can take the place of rice
• Mashed celeriac can take the place of mashed potatoes (or really prepared any style)

As for what you can & cannot eat, I follow the following rules: Cut/or reduces all major carb sources such as bread, rice, pasta, cereals & starchy vegetables... Instead replacing them with green leafy vegetables

We have a recipies section & "What did you eat yesterday" which should provide inspiration.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Hi Tina. I can recommend a website called Diet Doctor. They have some great low carb recipes on there that I use a lot. I have just replaced the carbs with similar substitutes. I have cauli rice with curries. The best cauli rice I've found is in the frozen section in Tesco & comes in individual bags that can be microwaved. I make veggie chips using celeriac, swede & turnip. If you like seeded bread, try Burgen soya & linseed which is much lower carb than regular bread & Hovis do make a lower carb bread too.

 

[Alister]

don't get scared the advice is to reduce carbs - not illiminate them all together as that would not only be impossible but also just as unhealthy in the long run.
wholemeal rice is supposed to be better than white, I cant realy confirm as I always have wholemeal rice anyway & now just have 1/2 as much as I used to & curries are definitely on my good meal list.
I recently tried the burgen bread based on the recommendations here & that too seems to be good for me.
One of my recent "inovations" has been to replace the std burger bun with a wholemeal "thin" they are only 15g or carb & seem to work well in/as the roll

 

[Bubbsie]

I have read some of he links but now feel even more confused, I basically want to know what I can eat I started to read the letter got a third of the way down and have had to stop as I am even more scared. Don't eat fruit don't eat bread I have had chicken curry for tea with white rice I am now terrified I am pushing my sugar levels even Higher, I have had to take my first tablet that I have been prescribed and now feel bloody miserable about what I can an cannot eat. Am I going to be ok with a cup of tea. or not do I have wheat bit in the morning or do I just stop eating.

Tina please don't get yourself in a panic...of course you'll be fine with a cup of tea hope you're having one now...give yourself a little time to think about your diagnosis...get yourself a realistic plan of what you need to do to manage your diabetes...you don't have to do everything immediately...it's not a race...it does take time to get your head round this...find out what works for you...possibly step back a little...try to do a little reading...then when you've had a 'moment' to breathe...come back to it...ask whatever questions you need to here...no doubt one of us will be able to offer you the benefit of our experience...some advice/ a suggestion...don't worry about what you've eaten this evening ...or what you have tomorrow morning...just give yourself some leeway there...you will find a way forward...it will/does get easier...enjoy that tea.

 

[Ljc]

Hi Tina. Yes it can be scary at first

I am going to concentrate on some of the things that we can eat, ok.
If you eat meat, all meat is fine as are high meat content sausages and high meat content burgers, b@con, eggs cooked anyway you like, tea, coffee, sweeteners, diet drinks milk, cream, butter, cheese, mushrooms, veg that grows above ground , good fats, a couple of new potatoes are usually fine, berries (not grapes) some nuts are lowish in carbs .
Honestly their is loads more that’s fine for us. If you want a fried breakfas leave off the chips, fried bread and hash browns and don’t have too many baked beans.

Our problem is with carbohydrates not protein or good fats. So by cutting the carbs down a bit you’ll start lowering your glucose levels

An occasional treat is fine.

Wholemeal versions of bread, pasta, rice may be tolerated better than white but without self testing you won’t know for sure.

Have a look on this thread to see what we eat
what-did-you-eat-yesterday.
We have some great cooks on here wh put their low carb recipes
Here
recipes.

 

[Drummer]

I seem to be very sensitive to carbs - I can't eat any sort of grain, no potatoes or starchy veges, not even peas and beans, but I have a good varied diet and enjoy the things I can eat, plus I see normal levels of blood glucose.
I can eat roast chicken with cauliflower, and mushrooms, or a stirfry of sweet peppers and courgettes, or have a huge salad, or beef or pork - any meat is OK, or fish, or shellfish, eggs most cheese - we can have coleslaw, though watch for added sugar, mayonnaise or an oil and vinegar dressing, herbs and spices can pep things up too. I often have kippers in the mornings - a good old fashioned breakfast from before the fad of cereals first thing.

 

[bamba]

There are some good tips to follow on the website http://www.bloodsugar101.com .

0. Get a meter
1. Measure your response to food by recording blood glucose before you eat, and at a fixed time afterwards.
( the "standard" fixed time is 2 hours - but you may wish to adjust this).
2. On going eat less of food that provokes the greatest rise in blood glucose.

repeat until you have a varied enough menu to not be bored to death as a side effect.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you are feeling down @Tina Valkeith - a sudden diagnosis like yours can be a real shock.

But take heart, diabetes is generally a sluggish beast and you have time to adjust. You don’t have to do it all at once - in fact there is some research that suggests a phased adjustment towards more ‘in range’ BG levels can be easier in your body.

As others have suggested gettinga BG meter can really help (do not be too concerned if all the numbers are a bit on the high side to start with) because you can see what the effect of different foods are at different times of day. Jennifer’s advice (again in the suggested links) importantly includes a good first step: start by eating what you already eat, but write it all down.

Then take things slowly and make swaps/reductions that YOU choose and at the pace that feels right to you. So if rice/pasta... maybe reduce the portion by a third and bulk up with more veggies, leaves etc.

Keep going and keep asking questions. Lots and lots of friendly peeps here who have found their own way through the mealtime maze.

Everyone’s diabetes is different. You will become your own expert in no time.

 

[Jeandp]

I was a bit like you at first. The list of can't haves seemed endless. I was shocked. No wholemeal bread? Not even brown pasta or rice? Fruit?? Breakfast cereals,No lentils?? But then I started to discover alternatives. Burgen bread is lovely. Cauliflower rice tastes better to me than ordinary rice ever did. Raspberries mixed into full fat Greek yogurt, yummy. I find I can eat rolled oats made with almond milk, with a dollop of double cream and 3 slices of banana (not too ripe) And bacon and eggs for breakfast, oh yes!

You will start to find what works for you and hopefully enjoy it, knowing you are in control. But babysteps, take it slowly.

 

[Chappy]

Don't get down on yourself Tina, we've all had to adjust our meals over time and it's taken me four months to get a good variation of meals which I know will not raise my BG levels. I was a bit down too, but found what I could eat was as tasty as some of the food I need to avoid or cut down on.
As others have said, arm yourself with a self test meter and find out for yourself what is good and bad for you. Treat it as an experiment and have fun discovering the good foods and don't forget, although you will get great advise on here and in diabetic books we are all different, and what is good for you might not be good for someone else, and vice versa. Just be more aware, but don't scare yourself, and if you need help or support pop back onto the forum, we all know what you are going through, and we all know you can do it.

 

[Maz2]

I can understand you feeling upset Tina. I only went pre-diabetic and panicked like mad. I came here very upset and was allowed to join and received lots of advice and help. I got back to normal but, unfortunately, have gone back up to pre-diabetic. Not sure why. Back to testing.

As someone said testing is very important as we are all different. I, for example, cannot eat sausage and bacon together, everyone else here can so that is just peculiar to me. That is why testing is important.

I like cauliflower rice. I also like courgetti spaghetti. I must admit I have enjoyed my food more this last couple of years and don't miss eating breakfast cereal and toast, sandwiches, and potatoes day after day. The recipes section here is very good, as is diet doctor as Mark said.

Hope all goes well for you. Stay here and you will do fine.

Books you may be interested in which I have found helpful - Michael Moseley "8 week blood sugar diet". He has a website too. "Blood sugar diet recipes." "Clever Guts Diet." both Michael Moseley. "Reverse your Diabetes" Dr David Cavan. He is not suggesting everyone can reverse it, he is just referring to keeping better control.

 

[Lilian]

Oh dear Tina, you seem so confused, and rightly so. But it is a matter of gradual adjustment. Do you have a meter whereby you can test your own blood sugars? Unfortunately they are not prescribed for type 2's but you can buy them. I think this is the best way for you to get to know what kind of foods you personally can have and in what quantities. For example to me rice is a complete no no. I cannot even look at it without my blood sugar rising lol. However, I often have dhal (lentils) instead and they do not seem to affect me at all. As a general rule vegetables that grow under ground have more carbs in than vegetables over ground. There are exceptions, such as peas and corn, but in general. So if you were having potatoes and cauliflower, you would decrease the portion of potatoes and increase the portion of cauliflower. Personally I cannot eat too much meat. It does get very complicated if you try and do it all in one go. There is a book called carbs and calories, it is also an app for a smart phone. There they have foods, and pictures of them so you can see various portion sizes, plus the carbs. That might help to make you more familiar with carbs.

 

[Grannylorraine]

I have read some of he links but now feel even more confused, I basically want to know what I can eat I started to read the letter got a third of the way down and have had to stop as I am even more scared. Don't eat fruit don't eat bread I have had chicken curry for tea with white rice I am now terrified I am pushing my sugar levels even Higher, I have had to take my first tablet that I have been prescribed and now feel bloody miserable about what I can an cannot eat. Am I going to be ok with a cup of tea. or not do I have wheat bit in the morning or do I just stop eating.

I know this is difficult but don't panic, lots of us felt the same for the first few weeks, I was the same frightened to eat anything. But you will work out what works for you. We are all different and what suits one person won't suit another. I can eat a 30g portion of porridge (dried oat weight) and it keeps me full all morning other people will find that porridge sends there blood glucose sky high.

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi Tina and welcome from another Type2. I felt exactly the same as you when I was dx (diagnosed) I found it overwhelming and a daunting prospect and it scared the living daylights out of me so much so that I went into denial ~ that is until I found this forum. Thats when things changed for me as I began to learn so much about how to manage my diabetes from the wonderful folk here.

The book that @Lilian mentioned above can be obtained from Amazon. Its called CARBS & CALORIE COUNTER. £10.19 from www.amazon.co

It's a diabetics bible and it's highly visual approach makes it incredibly quick and easy to see the nutrient content of the food and drink we consume. CARBS & CALORIE COUNTER is the perfect support tool for Carborhydrate counting in Diabetes ~ Weight management ~ Portion control ~ and general healthy eating. It's deffinitly worth buying IMO. It will help you to plan your meals.
Should you need answers to any more of your queries then do please ask and we'll do our best to help you.
Take care ~ good luck and please stay in touch to let us know how you're progressing.
WL

.................................................
Dx Type2 April 2016
Diet control and exercise only

 

[Lilian]

You might find this very helpful. Sign up for free. https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/

 

[Lilian]

Also, ask your surgery whether there are any EXPERT courses in your area. They are worth going to. In fact they say after you have done the course (1 session a week for six weeks), they say you could then call yourself an expert 😉

 

[Wirrallass]

Also, ask your surgery whether there are any EXPERT courses in your area. They are worth going to. In fact they say after you have done the course (1 session a week for six weeks), they say you could then call yourself an expert 😉

@Tina this is a worthwhile bit of advice from @Lilian ~ I attended an X-pert Diabetes Education Programme and found it beneficial. My DSN referred me to the programme but it took four months after dx before I was offered a place. The programme I went on was 2hrs per week x 6wks. Do try to get a referral Tina. x

 

[bamba]

You might find this very helpful. Sign up for free. https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/

It's no longer free - and they don't tell you this until after they have recorded your details.
( It was free previously - but they say this was planned for the first cohort resgistrants - they say 250,000 )
you may consider http://www.dietdoctor.com - though this also has a commercial leaning to get full access.

 

[bamba]

One thing to consider - for now whilst you are still trying to work out what you can eat, one option is to deliberately eat nothing - provided you are not prone to 'hypos' - intermittent fasting is a potential approach to a weight loss diet.
It will be easier now than when you know how much other new stuff you can eat.