Viper23ach
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi just found out I have type two diabetes so looking for intel on diet so on if possible thank you for your time on this matter .
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Hi just found out I have type two diabetes so looking for intel please all is welcome
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Mark Parrott
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi & welcome to the forum. Most of us Type 2's follow a low carb diet. Carbs raise blood sugars along with sweet things themselves. So lower your intake of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes & other starchy veg. If you haven't been prescribed a meter (which most type 2's don't as the GP's don't think we need to test🙄) it would be a good idea to buy one and test your blood sugar levels (we use the terms BS or BG). This will tell you what foods you tolerate & which ones you don't, as we are all different. Test before eating & 2 hours after. You are looking for a rise of no more than 2 to 3 mmols/l. You may find that your first readings are quite high but these will come down in time. The SD Codefree is the meter some use on here (including me) as the test strips are the cheapest available. This is available from Amazon or the manufacturers website Home Health.
Beck S
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum.
As Mark said up there, as well as sugar, carbs are the thing to look out for. White, starchy carbs are bad for us. Some of us find that wholemeal versions can be better to tolerate; fibre slows down the absorption of glucose into the blood which is preferable. Vegetables have carbs in, but they're generally good for you so eat those, just be aware that underground veg, such as parsnips, carrots etc can be higher in carbs than others. Meat is generally zero carb, and often has protein in it, which is good to have when you're cutting down your carbs as it replaces the energy you lose from the carbs. Watch out for sausages, as they can sometimes have a few grams of carbs in, so the higher meat content the better. Fat containing foods can be ok too, things like milk will contain lactose which can raise your blood glucose levels, but in moderation can be fine, and obviously will still give you your calcium and all that for the day. Fat can also slow down the absorption of glucose into the blood.
I would recommend looking at portion sizes as well. Before diagnosis, my portion sizes were huge in comparison to what they should be. I always look at the recommended serving sizes on food now and eat to that. It took a fair while to get used to my food disappearing, but it makes keeping track of my food so much easier, and also it's better for my weight and control. I keep a food diary too, so I can keep a note of what works for me.
One thing I've discovered is that we're all different in how the food affects us and what we can tolerate. You might find that you can eat rice without much of a rise, whereas another of us couldn't. It's all about testing to see what works for you. It's a marathon, not a sprint (a phrase I dislike but is very apt here), and it's worth taking the time to get used to it.
The forum is great if you have questions 🙂
As Mark said up there, as well as sugar, carbs are the thing to look out for. White, starchy carbs are bad for us. Some of us find that wholemeal versions can be better to tolerate; fibre slows down the absorption of glucose into the blood which is preferable. Vegetables have carbs in, but they're generally good for you so eat those, just be aware that underground veg, such as parsnips, carrots etc can be higher in carbs than others. Meat is generally zero carb, and often has protein in it, which is good to have when you're cutting down your carbs as it replaces the energy you lose from the carbs. Watch out for sausages, as they can sometimes have a few grams of carbs in, so the higher meat content the better. Fat containing foods can be ok too, things like milk will contain lactose which can raise your blood glucose levels, but in moderation can be fine, and obviously will still give you your calcium and all that for the day. Fat can also slow down the absorption of glucose into the blood.
I would recommend looking at portion sizes as well. Before diagnosis, my portion sizes were huge in comparison to what they should be. I always look at the recommended serving sizes on food now and eat to that. It took a fair while to get used to my food disappearing, but it makes keeping track of my food so much easier, and also it's better for my weight and control. I keep a food diary too, so I can keep a note of what works for me.
One thing I've discovered is that we're all different in how the food affects us and what we can tolerate. You might find that you can eat rice without much of a rise, whereas another of us couldn't. It's all about testing to see what works for you. It's a marathon, not a sprint (a phrase I dislike but is very apt here), and it's worth taking the time to get used to it.
The forum is great if you have questions 🙂
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
As I am a long time low carber at diagnosis I just cut out all carbs for 36 hours and then added them back slowly - I was told that my diagnostic BG level was 17.1 so I thought that it wasn't going to do me any harm to get wrung out a bit where the carbs were concerned.
It might help to make a collection of the sort of carbs some things contain - you can get a mix of frozen veges which is 1/5th the carb content of frozen peas, for instance - and a frozen berry mix which is half that of frozen peas - so you can guess which of them is on my menu. Once I had a meter I could work out what foods in the grain/potato/starchy veges and sweet fruit I could tolerate - precisely none of them, but it has done wonders for my BG levels, my waistline and weight - and I am not even prediabetic according to my Hba1c levels.
I certainly sprinted - non diabetic Hba1c at 80 days and normal at 6 months. As I am 66 years old I am not going to hang about doing half measures, particularly as I have never had much of a liking for carby foods in the first place. Healthy balanced diet - yeah, right.
I have joined a morris side and gone back to teaching since diagnosis.
Some ancient Greek - or maybe Roman wrote 'whilst we are alive, let us live' and I thoroughly agree with the sentiment.
It might help to make a collection of the sort of carbs some things contain - you can get a mix of frozen veges which is 1/5th the carb content of frozen peas, for instance - and a frozen berry mix which is half that of frozen peas - so you can guess which of them is on my menu. Once I had a meter I could work out what foods in the grain/potato/starchy veges and sweet fruit I could tolerate - precisely none of them, but it has done wonders for my BG levels, my waistline and weight - and I am not even prediabetic according to my Hba1c levels.
I certainly sprinted - non diabetic Hba1c at 80 days and normal at 6 months. As I am 66 years old I am not going to hang about doing half measures, particularly as I have never had much of a liking for carby foods in the first place. Healthy balanced diet - yeah, right.
I have joined a morris side and gone back to teaching since diagnosis.
Some ancient Greek - or maybe Roman wrote 'whilst we are alive, let us live' and I thoroughly agree with the sentiment.
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