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Hi i am a newbie

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Bev1952

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Just want to say hi. Doc just told me I am pre diabetic and referring me to thr Preventative peeps. Looking forward to being given some help and tips on.making sure I dont become diabetic. Bev
 
Hi Bev, welcome to the forum. How are you coping with the news that you're prediabetic? Are you doing ok?
Let us know if you've got any questions in particular.
It might be helpful if you sign up for the Learning Zone and do some of the courses there so that you can learn more about diabetes and its prevention.
Best wishes, Sarah
 
Hi Bev and welcome.

You have come to the right place for advice and support.

Not sure how much you know about diabetes, but contrary to popular belief it isn't all about sugar. The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates, which means both sugars and starchy carbs are broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream which transports it around the body to give our cells fuel. If we have too much glucose the body converts it to fat to store for later. As diabetics (or at risk of it) our bodies have become inefficient at getting that glucose into the cells, either because our bodies have become resistant to the insulin, perhaps because we are carrying too much weight and the pancreas has to produce increasingly large amounts of insulin to try to get rid of the glucose or the pancreas doesn't produce enough glucose at the right time, perhaps because the liver and pancreas are themselves clogged up with fat and not communicating well.
The two things that you can do to help this situation are to lose some weight (Ha! Easier said than done, right!) or reduce the amount of glucose you put into the blood stream by reducing the amount of carbs you eat. This allows the body to deal with the backlog of glucose and get back on top of things.

Reducing carb intake involves cutting down on the amount of bread. pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and even being portion conscious with fruit as well as keeping the cakes and biscuits to a very occasional treat and cutting out the added sugar. You are only at risk of diabetes, so some fairly moderate changes to your diet should push things back into the normal range, but they do need to be sustainable changes as the process moves in both directions and if you go back to your old way of eating, the problem returns.
If you decide the weight loss option is something that you would prefer to try, the Newcastle diet or Fast 800 is well researched and has good results but you need to maintain the weight loss at the end of the program and for some of us Yo-Yo dieters, that can be the difficult bit, which is why I prefer following a low carb way of eating for the rest of my life. It is still enjoyable, just different and takes a period of adjustment.
 
Hi Bev and welcome.

You have come to the right place for advice and support.

Not sure how much you know about diabetes, but contrary to popular belief it isn't all about sugar. The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates, which means both sugars and starchy carbs are broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream which transports it around the body to give our cells fuel. If we have too much glucose the body converts it to fat to store for later. As diabetics (or at risk of it) our bodies have become inefficient at getting that glucose into the cells, either because our bodies have become resistant to the insulin, perhaps because we are carrying too much weight and the pancreas has to produce increasingly large amounts of insulin to try to get rid of the glucose or the pancreas doesn't produce enough glucose at the right time, perhaps because the liver and pancreas are themselves clogged up with fat and not communicating well.
The two things that you can do to help this situation are to lose some weight (Ha! Easier said than done, right!) or reduce the amount of glucose you put into the blood stream by reducing the amount of carbs you eat. This allows the body to deal with the backlog of glucose and get back on top of things.

Reducing carb intake involves cutting down on the amount of bread. pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and even being portion conscious with fruit as well as keeping the cakes and biscuits to a very occasional treat and cutting out the added sugar. You are only at risk of diabetes, so some fairly moderate changes to your diet should push things back into the normal range, but they do need to be sustainable changes as the process moves in both directions and if you go back to your old way of eating, the problem returns.
If you decide the weight loss option is something that you would prefer to try, the Newcastle diet or Fast 800 is well researched and has good results but you need to maintain the weight loss at the end of the program and for some of us Yo-Yo dieters, that can be the difficult bit, which is why I prefer following a low carb way of eating for the rest of my life. It is still enjoyable, just different and takes a period of adjustment.
Hi Barbara
Thats great advice. I have been a Yo Yo Dieter but hope this will make me stick with it. Desperate to lose the weight and now I have a really important reason AND my doc referring me to thr Pre diabetic Preventive clinic which is for 9 months, so double.positive, so need to do it. Heck if I can give up being a heavy smoker and a wine drinker , every day, I can do.this if I put my mind to it. I also know.you guys are supportive. Cant wait to get my referral, however.long ot takes . Thanx so much Bev
 
Hi @Bev1952 and welcome to the forum.
One thing that Barbara didn't mention is that for overweight (or even normal weight) Type 2 diabetics, which is the most common kind and what you are at risk of, reducing Carbohydrate intake usually means the weight comes off at a rate of up to 2lbs per week or more. I lost 17% of my maximum weight just by eating Low carb without any conscious calorie reduction or hunger And I was barley overweight in the first place. Yes, some Type 2 diabetics are really quite thin and around 10% to 15% of Type 2 diabetics are of 'normal' weight.
 
Hi @Bev1952 and welcome to the forum.
One thing that Barbara didn't mention is that for overweight (or even normal weight) Type 2 diabetics, which is the most common kind and what you are at risk of, reducing Carbohydrate intake usually means the weight comes off at a rate of up to 2lbs per week or more. I lost 17% of my maximum weight just by eating Low carb without any conscious calorie reduction or hunger And I was barley overweight in the first place. Yes, some Type 2 diabetics are really quite thin and around 10% to 15% of Type 2 diabetics are of 'normal' weight.
Hi Ian, thanx for the info. I really am thankful for all the advice I am being given. I know I have to cut the carbs and am going to download My Fitness Pal, I think, as that gives the carbs consumed . Really want to make this work Thanx Bev
 
Just want to say hi. Doc just told me I am pre diabetic and referring me to thr Preventative peeps. Looking forward to being given some help and tips on.making sure I dont become diabetic. Bev

Dont know what preventive peeps entails.

Wife was in same position 4 years ago, told pre/borderline diabetic but was overweight at time, after I told her about Newcastle Diet where weight loss reversed condition she decided to join Slimming World, so she never went down diet shake route but followed sw diet, in total lost 5 stone & all bloods since have been normal.

Still now follows SW maintenance diet but very losely, meaning she eats normal diet but maintains weight loss to keep diabetes at bay.
 
Dont know what preventive peeps entails.

Wife was in same position 4 years ago, told pre/borderline diabetic but was overweight at time, after I told her about Newcastle Diet where weight loss reversed condition she decided to join Slimming World, so she never went down diet shake route but followed sw diet, in total lost 5 stone & all bloods since have been normal.

Still now follows SW maintenance diet but very losely, meaning she eats normal diet but maintains weight loss to keep diabetes at bay.
Morning , thank you so much. I have tried SW quite a few times its just not for me. The Preventative way is to my surprise a 9 month programme with all sorts of help and learning . Am really excited to try this as a lot of my bad habits came from boarding school and always being hungry. I think I need a re programme of my brain. Hope this will help me get on abd stay on the right track. Really appreciate your advice, thanx so much Bev
 
Morning , thank you so much. I have tried SW quite a few times its just not for me. The Preventative way is to my surprise a 9 month programme with all sorts of help and learning . Am really excited to try this as a lot of my bad habits came from boarding school and always being hungry. I think I need a re programme of my brain. Hope this will help me get on abd stay on the right track. Really appreciate your advice, thanx so much Bev

Understand, very best of luck with programme.
 
preventive peeps

I must say I’m impressed by your doctors proactiveness! I wasn’t even told I was pre diabetic until it was too late. This opportunity is amazing. Grab it with both hands and don’t look back. Xx
 
preventive peeps

I must say I’m impressed by your doctors proactiveness! I wasn’t even told I was pre diabetic until it was too late. This opportunity is amazing. Grab it with both hands and don’t look back. Xx
I am. I really think this will be the best way to deal with this. I hope I keep to it and dont waste this huge opportunity. Really appreciate all advice. Thanx Bev
 
Hi Ian, thanx for the info. I really am thankful for all the advice I am being given. I know I have to cut the carbs and am going to download My Fitness Pal, I think, as that gives the carbs consumed . Really want to make this work Thanx Bev
Myfitness pal is v useful, you can scan the barcoads of many foods. Set up a target of ratio of foods including carbs in the profile and you can then have targets and calorie targets. Mine is currently 810 calories but you'd probably loose weight gradually on 1000 to 1300.
 
Myfitness pal is v useful, you can scan the barcoads of many foods. Set up a target of ratio of foods including carbs in the profile and you can then have targets and calorie targets. Mine is currently 810 calories but you'd probably loose weight gradually on 1000 to 1300.
Hi, didnt know u could.put carbs etc in. How do I know how many carbs I should have per day, any idea I am really excited to get going. Thanx Bev
 
It might depend on how your particular program is structured, but if it is advocating a low carbohydrate approach then less than 130g per day is regarded as low carb and of course it is the carbohydrate high foods that increase blood glucose.
As well as the Learning Zone you may find this link useful to give you some ideas.
 
preventive peeps

I must say I’m impressed by your doctors proactiveness! I wasn’t even told I was pre diabetic until it was too late. This opportunity is amazing. Grab it with both hands and don’t look back. Xx
These preventive programmes are quite new, and are few and far between.
 
It might depend on how your particular program is structured, but if it is advocating a low carbohydrate approach then less than 130g per day is regarded as low carb and of course it is the carbohydrate high foods that increase blood glucose.
As well as the Learning Zone you may find this link useful to give you some ideas.
Thanks . Cant register if Learning Zone ad dont have diabetes so they wont let me in
 
Thanks . Cant register if Learning Zone ad dont have diabetes so they wont let me in

Hello Bev

I would just say that you have T2 diabetes - the advice would be the same for being ‘at risk of diabetes’ as I understand it.

I wonder if the ‘prevention peeps’ are connected to the National Diabetes Prevention Programme? There’s more information about that here:

Additionally, if you’d like to increase your activity, but don’t really know where to start there are free 1:1 support sessions available through the Diabetes UK ‘live well, move more’ programme:

Good luck, and keep us posted with how things are going for you 🙂
 
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