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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, newbie here
- Thread starter Foggie
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Cherrelle DUK
Much missed Online Community Coordinator
Hi Foggie, welcome to the forum.
It is a bit of a minefield when you're newly diagnosed but things should improve once you gather some more information.
Being healthier is definitely a great start and that includes adjusting your diet to add foods that have a positive impact on your blood sugar levels. You can read more about what to eat here https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/i-have-type-2-diabetes
Testing is another important part of managing your diabetes as it helps you to understand the impact your meals are having on your blood sugar. You can read a bit more about that here https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing.
Feel free to let us know a bit more about you and whether we can help with any questions you may have.
It is a bit of a minefield when you're newly diagnosed but things should improve once you gather some more information.
Being healthier is definitely a great start and that includes adjusting your diet to add foods that have a positive impact on your blood sugar levels. You can read more about what to eat here https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/i-have-type-2-diabetes
Testing is another important part of managing your diabetes as it helps you to understand the impact your meals are having on your blood sugar. You can read a bit more about that here https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing.
Feel free to let us know a bit more about you and whether we can help with any questions you may have.
Thanks Martin. HbA1c going up over past 3 years from 42 to 48 and now 52. I know a lot is weight related and I probably need to lose over 10st which seems a huge undertaking atm.
Weight does limit movement and I have sedentary job so need to motivate myself to move now. Seems impossible right now but need to get to grips with this so reading whatever I can to start in right way.
No meds as yet. Nurse advised to lose weight and get checked in 6 months but am getting eye tests done. Difficult to know best level of carbs to eat. Switched white bread to wholemeal and rice to brown but do I need to cut things out? Have been told both yes and no so came on here to get best advice
Hi there. 10st is a lot and it's very daunting when you look at the end goal when it feels impossibly far away.
My target loss is 8st. I've set myself some intermediary goals. The first was to get blood sugars down. The second was to use the sugars in my system and reduce insulin resistance. That spurred me to start walking. Striving for the first two caused the weight loss, so it was a secondary goal. I chose to go lower carb for the former and lost 20lb weight water in 6 weeks. That really helped. Then it was to lose 2 1/2 stone (which is a number at which some people achieve reversal). I've just broken through the 100kg barrier and will reach the 200lb marker in the next month - fingers crossed. It's not easy but I'm getting there. Slowly. I'm down to 15st5 since early January.
@adrian1der set 1/2 stone targets on his 6st weight loss journey and is now nearly there.
If it helps any - what you do now relates to a lifestyle choice. It isn't a diet but something you can achieve and sustain so that you avoid diabetes related complications further down the road. Make lots of small adjustments and they will build up over time.
You can do this but it's a marathon - not a print.
My target loss is 8st. I've set myself some intermediary goals. The first was to get blood sugars down. The second was to use the sugars in my system and reduce insulin resistance. That spurred me to start walking. Striving for the first two caused the weight loss, so it was a secondary goal. I chose to go lower carb for the former and lost 20lb weight water in 6 weeks. That really helped. Then it was to lose 2 1/2 stone (which is a number at which some people achieve reversal). I've just broken through the 100kg barrier and will reach the 200lb marker in the next month - fingers crossed. It's not easy but I'm getting there. Slowly. I'm down to 15st5 since early January.
@adrian1der set 1/2 stone targets on his 6st weight loss journey and is now nearly there.
If it helps any - what you do now relates to a lifestyle choice. It isn't a diet but something you can achieve and sustain so that you avoid diabetes related complications further down the road. Make lots of small adjustments and they will build up over time.
You can do this but it's a marathon - not a print.
Hello FOGGIE and welcome to the Forum
Carbohydrates are made up from smaller molecules of glucose which are joined together to form more complex sugars, and if you join up enough of them this forms starch
These sugars & starches are broken down in the digestive system back into glucose, which then passes into the bloodstream and from there into the cells for use
The transfer from the blood into the cells is carried out by the hormone insulin, which is made in the pancreas
Sometimes people do not produce enough insulin, so the glucose accumulates in the blood, and it is this excess glucose that causes the problems we call diabetes
You can treat diabetes with medication, but you should also reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat in the first place.
This means starchy food like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, as well as the obviously sweet things like cake, sweets, biscuits, and sugary fizzy drinks
From your point of view, yes, wholemeal bread and brown rice are healthier, but as a diabetic you should cut out or severely reduce all carbohydrates, including those
This change is difficult at first, but you you gradually get used to thinking & planning in a different way, and you lose your taste for sweet things
Many people take the diagnosis of diabetes as the motivation to make other changes - cutting down on a lot of fatty, processed and junk food & salt and eating more veg, fish, especially oily fish, olive oil, and so on - in fact all the healthy stuff we hear about
If you think about it, carbs like chips, pizzas, and take aways are usually associated with fat and processed food anyway, so if you reduce your carb consumption this will tend to happen automatically.
Be careful with fruit as it contains natural sugar; you really need a blood testing meter to see how fruit, and in fact everything you eat, affects your blood sugar level
As well as controlling diabetes, you will probably find that blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight will reduce as well
Any exercise you can do will be good
I like walking. Summer is just about here, so you could start doing short easy walks around the park, into town, exploring the odd corners and back lanes that all places have. Start easy and build it up from there
You don't need serious hiking gear, just some comfortable trainers and casual clothes
It helps if you can find a friend to go with and chivvy each other up
I've posted this before, so apologies to other Members who've seen it, but Search YouTube for 'Richard Vobes'
He shows how you can find interest, exercise, and relaxation on short walks in ordinary towns and countryside
These changes to your diet, plus exercise, have a sort of combined or rolling on effect.
The more you do, the easier it becomes, both in terms of thinking, planning, and setting a routine, and physically, being able to do more and walk further
This is encouraging as although it might be slow and hard work at first, you will soon see results
Have a look through older Threads, especially Newbies, Food & Carbs, and Weight Loss, and ask again if you have any more questions, and let us know how you go on
Carbohydrates are made up from smaller molecules of glucose which are joined together to form more complex sugars, and if you join up enough of them this forms starch
These sugars & starches are broken down in the digestive system back into glucose, which then passes into the bloodstream and from there into the cells for use
The transfer from the blood into the cells is carried out by the hormone insulin, which is made in the pancreas
Sometimes people do not produce enough insulin, so the glucose accumulates in the blood, and it is this excess glucose that causes the problems we call diabetes
You can treat diabetes with medication, but you should also reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat in the first place.
This means starchy food like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, as well as the obviously sweet things like cake, sweets, biscuits, and sugary fizzy drinks
From your point of view, yes, wholemeal bread and brown rice are healthier, but as a diabetic you should cut out or severely reduce all carbohydrates, including those
This change is difficult at first, but you you gradually get used to thinking & planning in a different way, and you lose your taste for sweet things
Many people take the diagnosis of diabetes as the motivation to make other changes - cutting down on a lot of fatty, processed and junk food & salt and eating more veg, fish, especially oily fish, olive oil, and so on - in fact all the healthy stuff we hear about
If you think about it, carbs like chips, pizzas, and take aways are usually associated with fat and processed food anyway, so if you reduce your carb consumption this will tend to happen automatically.
Be careful with fruit as it contains natural sugar; you really need a blood testing meter to see how fruit, and in fact everything you eat, affects your blood sugar level
As well as controlling diabetes, you will probably find that blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight will reduce as well
Any exercise you can do will be good
I like walking. Summer is just about here, so you could start doing short easy walks around the park, into town, exploring the odd corners and back lanes that all places have. Start easy and build it up from there
You don't need serious hiking gear, just some comfortable trainers and casual clothes
It helps if you can find a friend to go with and chivvy each other up
I've posted this before, so apologies to other Members who've seen it, but Search YouTube for 'Richard Vobes'
He shows how you can find interest, exercise, and relaxation on short walks in ordinary towns and countryside
These changes to your diet, plus exercise, have a sort of combined or rolling on effect.
The more you do, the easier it becomes, both in terms of thinking, planning, and setting a routine, and physically, being able to do more and walk further
This is encouraging as although it might be slow and hard work at first, you will soon see results
Have a look through older Threads, especially Newbies, Food & Carbs, and Weight Loss, and ask again if you have any more questions, and let us know how you go on
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