Got a call yesterday from my health centre after blood tests. Apparently I'm prediabetic, but diabetes nurse is not available for a fortnight. Been looking on internet and I'm scared and confused. Hoping this site helps me understand.
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Hi from prediabetic
- Thread starter Podgypig
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Docb
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- Type 2
Confusion is understandable but there is no reason to be scared. What you need to do is to get informed and you are in the right place to do that. Read round the forum and the main site and come back here with any questions about anything you don't understand. There are plenty on here who will help.
rebrascora
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- Type 1
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Hi and welcome. You are pretty lucky to get the pre diabetic warning as oppose to many of us that landed right in at the deep end. Hopefully in your case it will just take some small dietary changes to get you back on track, but it is usually necessary for those changes to become a way of life to keep you from becoming fully diabetic, in the same way that fully type 2 diabetic people need to make radical changes to their diet for life to control their diabetes. There is lots of talk of reversal of Type 2 diabetes but in reality it is just pushing it into remission and maintaining it there which is possible but not guaranteed and if you lapse, the diabetes comes back... ie your BG rises.
That said, many of us find a low or very low carbohydrate diet enjoyable and beneficial in more ways than one.... for instance I no longer get migraines, my joints don't ache like they used to and my mental health is improved.... Oh and I lost weight!
Anyway, the thing you need to do to reduce your Blood |Glucose (BG) levels is to reduce your consumption of carbohydrates and that means both the obvious sweet stuff like cakes, confectionary and sugary drinks and beer/lager etc but also starchy carbs like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, pastries and breakfast cereals including porridge and also fruit. Things to eat more of are fish, meat, eggs, mushrooms, nuts, green leafy veg.(cabbage, kale spinach, lettuce etc) cauliflower, broccoli, courgettes, aubergines and olives. Peas and green beans have a slightly higher carb content so need to be moderated, as do tomatoes and peppers and root veg like carrots, parsnip, beetroot, sweet potatoes etc need to be rationed along with ordinary potatoes as mentioned above. Most of us find onions and leeks reasonably ok. Quite a number of us follow a Low Carb High Fat diet but if you want/need to lose weight it is best to keep your fat intake at or below RDA levels until you hit your target weight or normal BMI range and then increase fat consumption to compensate for the calories you no longer get from carbs. Having lost nearly 2 stone I now eat quite a lot of cheese and nuts and have cream in my coffee and creamy Greek yoghurt with the few berries I eat. I no longer eat bread and just have a very small portion of potatoes or pasta and always wholemeal. Surprisingly, having been a big consumer of bread, potatoes and pasta as well as sweets and chocolate, I no longer crave them and most of the time I do not feel deprived by being unable to have these treats, even when people around me are eating them.... this is a real revelation because I was a sugar addict with a heavy habit.
Hopefully, just cutting down on some of these things will help you drop back out of the warning zone.
Good luck.
That said, many of us find a low or very low carbohydrate diet enjoyable and beneficial in more ways than one.... for instance I no longer get migraines, my joints don't ache like they used to and my mental health is improved.... Oh and I lost weight!
Anyway, the thing you need to do to reduce your Blood |Glucose (BG) levels is to reduce your consumption of carbohydrates and that means both the obvious sweet stuff like cakes, confectionary and sugary drinks and beer/lager etc but also starchy carbs like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, pastries and breakfast cereals including porridge and also fruit. Things to eat more of are fish, meat, eggs, mushrooms, nuts, green leafy veg.(cabbage, kale spinach, lettuce etc) cauliflower, broccoli, courgettes, aubergines and olives. Peas and green beans have a slightly higher carb content so need to be moderated, as do tomatoes and peppers and root veg like carrots, parsnip, beetroot, sweet potatoes etc need to be rationed along with ordinary potatoes as mentioned above. Most of us find onions and leeks reasonably ok. Quite a number of us follow a Low Carb High Fat diet but if you want/need to lose weight it is best to keep your fat intake at or below RDA levels until you hit your target weight or normal BMI range and then increase fat consumption to compensate for the calories you no longer get from carbs. Having lost nearly 2 stone I now eat quite a lot of cheese and nuts and have cream in my coffee and creamy Greek yoghurt with the few berries I eat. I no longer eat bread and just have a very small portion of potatoes or pasta and always wholemeal. Surprisingly, having been a big consumer of bread, potatoes and pasta as well as sweets and chocolate, I no longer crave them and most of the time I do not feel deprived by being unable to have these treats, even when people around me are eating them.... this is a real revelation because I was a sugar addict with a heavy habit.
Hopefully, just cutting down on some of these things will help you drop back out of the warning zone.
Good luck.
Thank you all. Having spent the last few years on and off slimming world diet plan, I am used to lots of pasta, rice, root veg and unlimited fruit...so going to be a massive diet change. I'm also intolerant to high fibre foods but can eat 50/50 bread or granary OK. I've posted on the food thread already for advice but the lists above are very helpful. Thanks.
Weight wise I could lose 7 stone and still be overweight, size 24 would like to be a 14/16, but exercise wise I am active when I have the time! As in 20 mile cycle or 8 mile walk no problem every day at half term then only work/sleep during school term.
Weight wise I could lose 7 stone and still be overweight, size 24 would like to be a 14/16, but exercise wise I am active when I have the time! As in 20 mile cycle or 8 mile walk no problem every day at half term then only work/sleep during school term.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
The advice on what is a good diet has been dreadfully wrong for decades - pushed to do wholegain and low fat when low carb and the natural fat which is trimmed off or poured down drains would be better eaten or burnt as fuel - it is, after all high energy,
rebrascora
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Yes, normal weight loss diets are not ideal for diabetics. Those low fat starchy carbs diets just lead to yo-yoing in my opinion. It does take a while to adjust, both mentally and digestively to low carb but I genuinely feel that I can continue with this for the rest of my life now and not feel deprived.... yes I will get the odd day when I have a wobble but I make sure I have plenty of nut's, olives, cheese and occasionally pork scratchings (instead of crisps) in the house for when I am struggling.
Hi and welcome 🙂 like you I was on slimming world when diagnosed, I thought I was eating health and would often take loads of fruit on my work travels as I drive quite a lot, eating oranges, bananas and choosing plums over sweets seemed like a good idea 
I am now eating LCHF and loving it, especially the 4 stone weight loss that’s just happened as a result of the changes and taking up dog walking (I don’t have one so borrow a neighbours dog).
Ask any questions you might have, everyone is really friendly
I am now eating LCHF and loving it, especially the 4 stone weight loss that’s just happened as a result of the changes and taking up dog walking (I don’t have one so borrow a neighbours dog).Ask any questions you might have, everyone is really friendly
Thank you CathyB. I love my fruit! Can easily eat an entire melon and a punnet of grapes daily, gonna miss them. Tried going low carb yesterday and felt so poorly with tiredness, muscle aches and raised temperature that I gave in and had an uncle bens rice pouch which sorted it all out. Mini hypo maybe? I've sent for some books and downloaded eating plans from diabetes UK but its going to be tough relearning what I can have/ have to limit.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Being prediabetic and been eating a diet high in sugar and other carbohydrates it should not be difficult to work out what you don't need to eat - just cutting out the fruit would make a big difference, as although you love it, it is unlikely to love you back.
You can eat meat, fish, seafood, eggs and cheese, full fat yoghurts salad stuff, stirfires of low carb veges, low carb breads and small servings of higher carb foods and that should reduce your blood glucose and hba1c down to normal quite quickly. If you get yourself a meter you can test after meals and see how you cope with them.
The rice you had is equal to twice the carbs I have for dinner each day - about 50 gm of carb - that is a big hit of carbs and probably caused a spike in your blood glucose. It really would be best to avoid such high carb foods.
You can eat meat, fish, seafood, eggs and cheese, full fat yoghurts salad stuff, stirfires of low carb veges, low carb breads and small servings of higher carb foods and that should reduce your blood glucose and hba1c down to normal quite quickly. If you get yourself a meter you can test after meals and see how you cope with them.
The rice you had is equal to twice the carbs I have for dinner each day - about 50 gm of carb - that is a big hit of carbs and probably caused a spike in your blood glucose. It really would be best to avoid such high carb foods.
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Ugh. I have a lot to learn. And a lot to unlearn.
I suppose I don't think of fruit as sugary. I don't add sugar to drinks or food eg cereal and always buy no added sugar squash and zero sugar fizzy pop and only very rarely have sweets, biscuits or cake that I think of as sugary foods. Nor do I use syrup, honey or jam on my toast.
I did find that although I can use sucralose, stevia or nothing in hot drinks later on with no problems, if the first cup of tea of the day doesn't have 1 teaspoon of real sugar I often feel fuzzy and hard to get started. Likewise, if I was flagging during the day I would eat grapes, strawberries etc by the punnet and they always gave me back my zing.
I did think it unfair that my husband lost 7 stone doing slimming world and I struggled for every pound. Maybe this explains it.
I suppose I don't think of fruit as sugary. I don't add sugar to drinks or food eg cereal and always buy no added sugar squash and zero sugar fizzy pop and only very rarely have sweets, biscuits or cake that I think of as sugary foods. Nor do I use syrup, honey or jam on my toast.
I did find that although I can use sucralose, stevia or nothing in hot drinks later on with no problems, if the first cup of tea of the day doesn't have 1 teaspoon of real sugar I often feel fuzzy and hard to get started. Likewise, if I was flagging during the day I would eat grapes, strawberries etc by the punnet and they always gave me back my zing.
I did think it unfair that my husband lost 7 stone doing slimming world and I struggled for every pound. Maybe this explains it.
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Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Slimming world is not very good at all if you are diabetic - it isn't the sugar which is the problem, it is the carbs, starches and sugars all convert to glucose in the blood or fructose in the liver - so fruit and toast are both bad ideas.
The reason for low carbers avoiding lean meat and low fat anything is because we want to use fat for fuel, rather than the glucose we can't cope with.
The reason for low carbers avoiding lean meat and low fat anything is because we want to use fat for fuel, rather than the glucose we can't cope with.
[QUOTE="CathyB, .... next time have a full fat Greek yoghurt or some bacon & eggs maybe....
Mmmm. Bacon. I'm with you on that one! But have to do Full English not sandwiches if I've got to limit the bread...?
Not too sure on the full fat yogurt, after years of zero fat/ low fat yogurt and fromage frais / quark and skimmed milk, full fat dairy tastes slimy! Will have to introduce it gradually. X
Mmmm. Bacon. I'm with you on that one! But have to do Full English not sandwiches if I've got to limit the bread...?
Not too sure on the full fat yogurt, after years of zero fat/ low fat yogurt and fromage frais / quark and skimmed milk, full fat dairy tastes slimy! Will have to introduce it gradually. X
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