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Hi
- Thread starter Memee
- Start date
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello and welcome. What prompted you to have a private test - did you have symptoms? Please have a look at the Learning Zone section on pre-diabetes. You are only just into the pre-diabetic zone, so hopefully a few tweaks will reduce your HbA1c. One of the suggestions is to reduce the carbs in your diet - that means rice, naan, chapatis, potato - by reducing your portion size for example, and having more vegetables.
No symptoms but I just thought let me see how my hbac1 is. It's probably all the takeaways.
Plus I'm on the big side. I'll be honest my bmi is obese but trying to lose weight - so this hbac1 is wake up call for me.
Is it true to also reduce saturated fats such as cheese , butter etc .
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome
As @Felinia has said, you are only just into the diabetes levels so some small changes may be all you need to reduce your HbA1c. Many on here have found it useful to reduce their carbohydrate intake. This will often not only reduce your glucose levels but also impact your weight.
If you started to work out the amount of carbs you are eating, this can get you familiar with where these are in the foods you eat. As well as the more obvious things like potatoes, rice, pasta, breads they are often loaded into ready made sauces and ready meals. Just being aware of them can help you make choices about swaps.
I knew nothing about these at diagnosis but once we realised how many carbs we were eating we firstly reduced our portion sizes (we switched to smaller plates which helped). I also found it useful when swapping things to use this idea. Things that are grown
For other things we make from scratch we weigh and do the sums to find out how many carbs there are.
It may sound like a lot of work but it is surprising how quickly you get to know the values of things you eat most often. We have a list up with how many grams of our common foods will give us 25g of carbs.
Enough waffle. You have come to a good place for help and advice. Lots of experience to tap into. Have a look at the Learning Zone. A tab at the top or in the menu on a phone. Fire away with any questions that arise. You have picked this up early, so small changes will make all the difference.
As @Felinia has said, you are only just into the diabetes levels so some small changes may be all you need to reduce your HbA1c. Many on here have found it useful to reduce their carbohydrate intake. This will often not only reduce your glucose levels but also impact your weight.
If you started to work out the amount of carbs you are eating, this can get you familiar with where these are in the foods you eat. As well as the more obvious things like potatoes, rice, pasta, breads they are often loaded into ready made sauces and ready meals. Just being aware of them can help you make choices about swaps.
I knew nothing about these at diagnosis but once we realised how many carbs we were eating we firstly reduced our portion sizes (we switched to smaller plates which helped). I also found it useful when swapping things to use this idea. Things that are grown
- Under the ground are high in carbs (potatoes, sweet potatoes)
- Above the ground are medium carbs (beans, tomatoes)
- On the ground are low carb (lettuce, celery)
For other things we make from scratch we weigh and do the sums to find out how many carbs there are.
It may sound like a lot of work but it is surprising how quickly you get to know the values of things you eat most often. We have a list up with how many grams of our common foods will give us 25g of carbs.
Enough waffle. You have come to a good place for help and advice. Lots of experience to tap into. Have a look at the Learning Zone. A tab at the top or in the menu on a phone. Fire away with any questions that arise. You have picked this up early, so small changes will make all the difference.
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Very sensible to see this as a wakeup call. The thing about low fat food, is that it can be higher in carbs, because of the added sugars. If you have higher cholesterol though it is sensible to look towards unsaturated fats. But there are members here who so eat full fat, such as cream in their coffee. I have a little - moderation rather than abstinence. SB2015 has given you excellent advice.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Have a look at this link for some recipes and menu ideas for low carb approach which is one way people find successful at reducing weight and blood glucose. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
You may also find the book or app Carbs and Cals which has a version World Foods which gives carb values of a whole range of meals and foods so you should be able to select some better food choices to suit you dietary preferences.
As mentioned you are just into the prediabetes zone so some portion reduction, substitutions and less take away meals should be sufficient, but it has to be something you can maintain not just a quick fix.
You may also find the book or app Carbs and Cals which has a version World Foods which gives carb values of a whole range of meals and foods so you should be able to select some better food choices to suit you dietary preferences.
As mentioned you are just into the prediabetes zone so some portion reduction, substitutions and less take away meals should be sufficient, but it has to be something you can maintain not just a quick fix.
Hello @Memee and welcome to the forum!
Looking at the carbs you consume and 'movement' is definitely a good place to start as others have mentioned. Coming into colder seasons we tend to go for 'heartier' meals as well, which are often loaded with more carb-heavy options. I'd suggest looking at what you usually eat and perhaps making some alternatives? The changes you make need to be enjoyable and something you could stick to, rather something that could cause you resentment. Planning ahead what I'd like to have for a couple of days in advance has helped me personally to reduce the amount of take-aways I used to go for. Meal planning and prepping, always having something 'easy' to just reheat in the freezer for a lazier day (i.e. frozen veggie soup)... All of these things make a difference!
Looking at the carbs you consume and 'movement' is definitely a good place to start as others have mentioned. Coming into colder seasons we tend to go for 'heartier' meals as well, which are often loaded with more carb-heavy options. I'd suggest looking at what you usually eat and perhaps making some alternatives? The changes you make need to be enjoyable and something you could stick to, rather something that could cause you resentment. Planning ahead what I'd like to have for a couple of days in advance has helped me personally to reduce the amount of take-aways I used to go for. Meal planning and prepping, always having something 'easy' to just reheat in the freezer for a lazier day (i.e. frozen veggie soup)... All of these things make a difference!
stephenS50
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him