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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.
Hi Esined
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rebrascora
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Hi and welcome (Denise?)
What sort of things are you currently eating and do you have a BG meter, so that you can see what each meal does to your BG levels by testing before and then 2hours after eating and using that info to tailor your diet to your individual body's tolerances. BG meters are relatively inexpensive to buy (approx. £15 for a basic model) and can be an invaluable tool in figuring out a diet plan which is suited to you and your diabetes. The test strips for them is usually where the costs of self funding tot up and for that reason we recommend getting a meter which has the cheapest test strips. For that reason here on the forum most people use the SD Gluco Navii (previously the SD Codefree) or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 which have test strips for £8 a pot of 50. Regular testing will get through quite a few pots in the first couple of months of sorting out your diet, and many other brands are twice or even 3x that amount per pot of 50, so it can amount to a significant saving.
Basically though it is all carbohydrates we eat which cause our Blood Glucose levels to rise as diabetics. That is both sugars and starches. Foods high in sugars are not just the obvious sweet stuff like sugar, sweets and chocolate but also foods considered healthy like fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, smoothies and honey. Starchy carbs can be even more of a problem in some respects because we eat quite large amounts of them at every meal. These are mostly foods made from grains like bread, pasta, rice, couscous, porridge even and root veg like potatoes etc. Then you have the double whammy sugary and starchy foods like breakfast cereals and cakes and biscuits.
Many people assume it is just the sugar which is a problem and stop eating sweets but eat more fruit because it is considered "healthy" and still eat lots of starchy foods, but maybe swap to wholemeal/brown varieties but don't think about cutting portion size. A BG meter will tell you which foods and how much of them your body can tolerate and it can be highly individual, so one person might be able to eat wholemeal pasta whilst it will send another person's BG into orbit for many hours. Some people can get away with a slice or 2 of bread a day and others can't even cope with half a slice. Eating to your BG meter is what we recommend and looking to keep the rise in BG 2 hours after a meal to less than 3mmols which is the unit they usually measure in if you are in the UK.
Hope that helps, but if you have any specific questions then please just ask.
What sort of things are you currently eating and do you have a BG meter, so that you can see what each meal does to your BG levels by testing before and then 2hours after eating and using that info to tailor your diet to your individual body's tolerances. BG meters are relatively inexpensive to buy (approx. £15 for a basic model) and can be an invaluable tool in figuring out a diet plan which is suited to you and your diabetes. The test strips for them is usually where the costs of self funding tot up and for that reason we recommend getting a meter which has the cheapest test strips. For that reason here on the forum most people use the SD Gluco Navii (previously the SD Codefree) or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 which have test strips for £8 a pot of 50. Regular testing will get through quite a few pots in the first couple of months of sorting out your diet, and many other brands are twice or even 3x that amount per pot of 50, so it can amount to a significant saving.
Basically though it is all carbohydrates we eat which cause our Blood Glucose levels to rise as diabetics. That is both sugars and starches. Foods high in sugars are not just the obvious sweet stuff like sugar, sweets and chocolate but also foods considered healthy like fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, smoothies and honey. Starchy carbs can be even more of a problem in some respects because we eat quite large amounts of them at every meal. These are mostly foods made from grains like bread, pasta, rice, couscous, porridge even and root veg like potatoes etc. Then you have the double whammy sugary and starchy foods like breakfast cereals and cakes and biscuits.
Many people assume it is just the sugar which is a problem and stop eating sweets but eat more fruit because it is considered "healthy" and still eat lots of starchy foods, but maybe swap to wholemeal/brown varieties but don't think about cutting portion size. A BG meter will tell you which foods and how much of them your body can tolerate and it can be highly individual, so one person might be able to eat wholemeal pasta whilst it will send another person's BG into orbit for many hours. Some people can get away with a slice or 2 of bread a day and others can't even cope with half a slice. Eating to your BG meter is what we recommend and looking to keep the rise in BG 2 hours after a meal to less than 3mmols which is the unit they usually measure in if you are in the UK.
Hope that helps, but if you have any specific questions then please just ask.
Hi rebrascora the advice is very useful, I have a BG meter but I haven't been using it lately. I am not sure what my usual BG should be so not sure how to measure the iincrease of 3. I will chat to the nurse and make the changes
Thank you
Thank you
rebrascora
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You are merely testing the before meal and 2 hours after to see how much it rises as a result of the meal that you ate and then adjust the carbohydrate content of that meal if necessary for next time if your BG rises more than 3 whole units. Everyone's BG level varies throughout the day and night so it is not a question of knowing what your usual BG is, just what it is before each meal and afterwards. Keeping a food diary along with your readings will help you to build up a picture of which foods your body will tolerate and which are causing your BG to rise too much.
It is possible, quite likely even, that your nurse will discourage you from testing or suggest some other strategy of testing if she does approve but that is because many Health Care Professionals do not understand the power of adjusting your diet to manage your diabetes or in your case prevent the full blown version. There are many people here on the forum who have followed this method of testing and adjusting their diet and pushed their diabetes into remission some from extremely high and dangerous HbA1c readings at diagnosis and even come off diabetes medication as well, but only you can decide what is the right course of action for you
It is possible, quite likely even, that your nurse will discourage you from testing or suggest some other strategy of testing if she does approve but that is because many Health Care Professionals do not understand the power of adjusting your diet to manage your diabetes or in your case prevent the full blown version. There are many people here on the forum who have followed this method of testing and adjusting their diet and pushed their diabetes into remission some from extremely high and dangerous HbA1c readings at diagnosis and even come off diabetes medication as well, but only you can decide what is the right course of action for you
trophywench
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Just 'Hear hear!' to what Barbara said!
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You've had some great advice so far, and i completely agree that at the moment the numbers themselves matter far less than the ‘meal rise’ - the difference between the before and after pair of readings.
It might be easiest to focus on one particular meal to begin with. breakfast is usually trickiest. Then as you build up your own understanding of how different foods affect you (people respond to the same foods in surprisingly different ways!) you may not feel the need to check BG so frequently.
Many members on the forum have found Gretchen Becker’s book a very helpful, down to earth and easily understandable overview of type 2 diabetes.
Good luck with it, and keep us posted with how you are getting on.
It might be easiest to focus on one particular meal to begin with. breakfast is usually trickiest. Then as you build up your own understanding of how different foods affect you (people respond to the same foods in surprisingly different ways!) you may not feel the need to check BG so frequently.
Many members on the forum have found Gretchen Becker’s book a very helpful, down to earth and easily understandable overview of type 2 diabetes.
Good luck with it, and keep us posted with how you are getting on.
rebrascora
Your advice has been very informative I have started testing myself again. I will pay close attention my readings and keep a food diary. I could have done with this support 3 years ago
Your advice has been very informative I have started testing myself again. I will pay close attention my readings and keep a food diary. I could have done with this support 3 years ago
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Pleased you found it helpful. It can be difficult to know what to do when there is conflicting advice, particularly when it comes from health care professionals and people in your own shoes.
I was really torn after my diagnosis as there were people here advising me to eat more fat when my GP and nurse were advising low fat.... which of course has been the standard health advice for the past 50+ years.... but with diabetics being more at risk of Cardio Vascular disease and my BG levels at diagnosis being very high and therefore increased risk, I was told it was even more important to eat low fat and moderate carbs, but my BG levels went even higher instead of coming down and I felt like I was eating a diet of cardboard, which was taking a lot of willpower and not enjoyable so it was not sustainable long term.
Thankfully after a bit of research of my own. I followed the advice of the members of this forum, that eating less carbs and more fat was a better way of bringing down my BG and stabilising my weight and in doing so, meant that my heart was at less risk and my BG test meter bore that out, as does my cholesterol results which are reducing despite now eating a rather high fat diet and I enjoy my food now so I can maintain this way of eating for the rest of my life.
The conventional wisdom isn't always correct and needs challenging occasionally.
Seeing results on a day by day, meal by meal basis and being able to make changes to get better results tomorrow, is far better than muddling along in the dark for 3 or 6 months following the vague dietary advice from the NHS and then possibly getting a disappointing result when your next HbA1c reading is taken and feeling kicked in the teeth that it doesn't reflect the effort you have put in to follow that dietary advice.
Please keep us updated with your results or any problems you encounter which need help or support. It can all be very confusing at first, but like learning to drive, it all becomes second nature after a bit of practice.
I was really torn after my diagnosis as there were people here advising me to eat more fat when my GP and nurse were advising low fat.... which of course has been the standard health advice for the past 50+ years.... but with diabetics being more at risk of Cardio Vascular disease and my BG levels at diagnosis being very high and therefore increased risk, I was told it was even more important to eat low fat and moderate carbs, but my BG levels went even higher instead of coming down and I felt like I was eating a diet of cardboard, which was taking a lot of willpower and not enjoyable so it was not sustainable long term.
Thankfully after a bit of research of my own. I followed the advice of the members of this forum, that eating less carbs and more fat was a better way of bringing down my BG and stabilising my weight and in doing so, meant that my heart was at less risk and my BG test meter bore that out, as does my cholesterol results which are reducing despite now eating a rather high fat diet and I enjoy my food now so I can maintain this way of eating for the rest of my life.
The conventional wisdom isn't always correct and needs challenging occasionally.
Seeing results on a day by day, meal by meal basis and being able to make changes to get better results tomorrow, is far better than muddling along in the dark for 3 or 6 months following the vague dietary advice from the NHS and then possibly getting a disappointing result when your next HbA1c reading is taken and feeling kicked in the teeth that it doesn't reflect the effort you have put in to follow that dietary advice.
Please keep us updated with your results or any problems you encounter which need help or support. It can all be very confusing at first, but like learning to drive, it all becomes second nature after a bit of practice.
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