hi

[mikef354]

hi all just been diagnosed with type 2 and all new to this was told a low carb diet is best what's best to eat and what's best to avoid thanks in advance

 

[trophywench]

Hi Mike.

First question - do you recognise what contains a lot of carbohydrate and what doesn't, without too much effort, or not?

 

[Docb]

Hi @mikef354 and welcome to the forum. Like most things in life, things are a bit more complicated than what's best to eat and what's best to avoid.

The basic principle is easy to see. Carbohydrate in food turns into glucose in the gut. That glucose gets absorbed into the blood stream. If the body cannot for some reason process that glucose, it builds up and if it gets too high you get a diagnosis of diabetes. If you consume less carbohydrate and end up with less glucose in the blood your blood glucose levels come down.

The trouble is that not all carbohydrates are the same and not all people are the same and in the end you have to work out what version of low carb works for you. The important thing to remember is that any changes have to be permanent. Low carb in itself will only keep diabetes under control, it will not "cure" it. Go back to your old ways and it will return.

I suggest you read around the forum and look in the learning zone and get ideas about the way others have approached low carb and begin to work out a plan that will work for you. Above all, ask questions. Lots on here have been where you are now and found ways foreward, and they are only too happy to share their experiences.

Do you know what your HbA1c was on diagnosis? Knowing that will give you a good idea about where you are on the diabetes road and the extent of any changes it would be good to make.

 

[mikef354]

Hi Mike.

First question - do you recognise what contains a lot of carbohydrate and what doesn't, without too much effort, or not?

I know the most common ones lol I am looking at the labels more now but that’s about it

 

[mikef354]

Hi @mikef354 and welcome to the forum. Like most things in life, things are a bit more complicated than what's best to eat and what's best to avoid.

The basic principle is easy to see. Carbohydrate in food turns into glucose in the gut. That glucose gets absorbed into the blood stream. If the body cannot for some reason process that glucose, it builds up and if it gets too high you get a diagnosis of diabetes. If you consume less carbohydrate and end up with less glucose in the blood your blood glucose levels come down.

The trouble is that not all carbohydrates are the same and not all people are the same and in the end you have to work out what version of low carb works for you. The important thing to remember is that any changes have to be permanent. Low carb in itself will only keep diabetes under control, it will not "cure" it. Go back to your old ways and it will return.

I suggest you read around the forum and look in the learning zone and get ideas about the way others have approached low carb and begin to work out a plan that will work for you. Above all, ask questions. Lots on here have been where you are now and found ways foreward, and they are only too happy to share their experiences.

Do you know what your HbA1c was on diagnosis? Knowing that will give you a good idea about where you are on the diabetes road and the extent of any changes it would be good to make.

No I don’t and I didn’t think to ask am waiting to see the nurse will see tell me?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Your HbA1c reading is certainly a question you want to be asking the nurse when you see her. It will be a number of 48 or higher as that it the diagnostic point for diabetes. May people are only just over that number in the low 50s-60s which suggests that relatively simple changes to diet and lifestyle should make a difference and help to bring it down. Others of us were higher and into 3 figures which usually indicates more radical action is needed, but we have members here who have brought their levels down into the normal range from over 100 with mostly dietary and lifestyle changes and probably enjoy their lifestyle and diet and feel healthier for it, so don't despair if you do have a high reading. There is plenty of advice and support here.

It is good to hear that your health care professionals have recommended a low carb diet as it suggests they are more up to date with current thinking than most.
Carb rich foods are the obvious sugar/syrup/honey stuff and anything which contains them like sweets cakes and biscuits but also the starchy carbs made from grains like bread, pasta, rice, couscous and breakfast cereals, pastry etc and root veg like potato, sweet potato and parsnip. Even foods considered "healthy" like fruit (in all it's forms ie, fresh, frozen, dried and particularly juice) and porridge are high in carbs and needs to be restricted. Most of us find that a few berries are the lowest carb option for fruit and have them with whole milk (not low fat) Greek natural yoghurt or cream. Exotic fruits like bananas and pineapple and mango and oranges tend to be higher carb and therefore best limited to special treats and/or eaten in half portions at a time, so half a banana one day and the other half the next. Eating them with cream or yoghurt will slow the speed that they hit the blood stream and therefore lessen the impact on your Blood Glucose levels as well as make them more satisfying.... fat takes longer to digest so will keep you from feeling hungry as well as tasting good. A low carb diet doesn't have to be all sack cloth and ashes by any means.
Carbs can be addictive. The more you have the more you want. Now that I have cut them right back, I can't believe how not bothered I am about them. I just don't crave them anymore and I used to love bread and potatoes and pasta and porridge and I was a sugar addict pre diagnosis. Now people can offer me cake or chocolates or bread and it is not even difficult to say "no thanks". It really blows my mind, how easy it is to just not eat these things. I have dieted a few times over the years but always put it back on. For me this low carb, higher fat way of eating is sustainable for the rest of my life without any real ongoing effort although it takes a bit of getting your head around at first.

Anyway, low carb things you can eat are meat, eggs, fish, mushrooms, nuts in moderation (some like peanuts and cashews are higher in carbs than others but still not carb heavy), cheese, cream, butter, yoghurt (whole milk not low fat and natural not flavoured as they contain added sugars) leafy green veg like salad leaves (I always have salads with a big dollop of cheese coleslaw) cabbage, kale sprouts and spinach (all taste better when cooked with a knob of butter or cream cheese or bacon. Cauliflower is a wonder veg for us diabetics as it can be cooked and mashed with cream cheese to replace potato or grated and used to replace couscous or rice as well as being gorgeous made into cauliflower cheese. Mediterranean veg like courgettes and aubergines and peppers and cucumbers and tomatoes and onions and garlic are all pretty good. I love to make a big pan of ratatouille and have it with gammon or steak or chicken or high meat content sausages.... cheap sausages contain rusk which is carbs....
Any way, I hope you get the picture of the sort of things to eat and those to cut back on.

Keeping a food diary of everything you eat and drink can be really helpful and many people here on the forum find that investing in a Blood Glucose meter and testing before eating and then 2 hours afterwards helps them to identify particular foods or portion sizes which cause them problems by spiking their levels and therefore tailor their diet to their own body's individual responses and their dietary preferences.

Think I have waffled on more than enough for one post so I will wish you well and encourage you to ask lots of questions.

 

[Docb]

No I don’t and I didn’t think to ask am waiting to see the nurse will see tell me?

Yes she should, and I think is actually obliged to tell you. @Rebrasora has said most of anything I would add to that!

 

[mikef354]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Your HbA1c reading is certainly a question you want to be asking the nurse when you see her. It will be a number of 48 or higher as that it the diagnostic point for diabetes. May people are only just over that number in the low 50s-60s which suggests that relatively simple changes to diet and lifestyle should make a difference and help to bring it down. Others of us were higher and into 3 figures which usually indicates more radical action is needed, but we have members here who have brought their levels down into the normal range from over 100 with mostly dietary and lifestyle changes and probably enjoy their lifestyle and diet and feel healthier for it, so don't despair if you do have a high reading. There is plenty of advice and support here.

It is good to hear that your health care professionals have recommended a low carb diet as it suggests they are more up to date with current thinking than most.
Carb rich foods are the obvious sugar/syrup/honey stuff and anything which contains them like sweets cakes and biscuits but also the starchy carbs made from grains like bread, pasta, rice, couscous and breakfast cereals, pastry etc and root veg like potato, sweet potato and parsnip. Even foods considered "healthy" like fruit (in all it's forms ie, fresh, frozen, dried and particularly juice) and porridge are high in carbs and needs to be restricted. Most of us find that a few berries are the lowest carb option for fruit and have them with whole milk (not low fat) Greek natural yoghurt or cream. Exotic fruits like bananas and pineapple and mango and oranges tend to be higher carb and therefore best limited to special treats and/or eaten in half portions at a time, so half a banana one day and the other half the next. Eating them with cream or yoghurt will slow the speed that they hit the blood stream and therefore lessen the impact on your Blood Glucose levels as well as make them more satisfying.... fat takes longer to digest so will keep you from feeling hungry as well as tasting good. A low carb diet doesn't have to be all sack cloth and ashes by any means.
Carbs can be addictive. The more you have the more you want. Now that I have cut them right back, I can't believe how not bothered I am about them. I just don't crave them anymore and I used to love bread and potatoes and pasta and porridge and I was a sugar addict pre diagnosis. Now people can offer me cake or chocolates or bread and it is not even difficult to say "no thanks". It really blows my mind, how easy it is to just not eat these things. I have dieted a few times over the years but always put it back on. For me this low carb, higher fat way of eating is sustainable for the rest of my life without any real ongoing effort although it takes a bit of getting your head around at first.

Anyway, low carb things you can eat are meat, eggs, fish, mushrooms, nuts in moderation (some like peanuts and cashews are higher in carbs than others but still not carb heavy), cheese, cream, butter, yoghurt (whole milk not low fat and natural not flavoured as they contain added sugars) leafy green veg like salad leaves (I always have salads with a big dollop of cheese coleslaw) cabbage, kale sprouts and spinach (all taste better when cooked with a knob of butter or cream cheese or bacon. Cauliflower is a wonder veg for us diabetics as it can be cooked and mashed with cream cheese to replace potato or grated and used to replace couscous or rice as well as being gorgeous made into cauliflower cheese. Mediterranean veg like courgettes and aubergines and peppers and cucumbers and tomatoes and onions and garlic are all pretty good. I love to make a big pan of ratatouille and have it with gammon or steak or chicken or high meat content sausages.... cheap sausages contain rusk which is carbs....
Any way, I hope you get the picture of the sort of things to eat and those to cut back on.

Keeping a food diary of everything you eat and drink can be really helpful and many people here on the forum find that investing in a Blood Glucose meter and testing before eating and then 2 hours afterwards helps them to identify particular foods or portion sizes which cause them problems by spiking their levels and therefore tailor their diet to their own body's individual responses and their dietary preferences.

Think I have waffled on more than enough for one post so I will wish you well and encourage you to ask lots of questions.

thank you for all the advice I now have a clearer insight into carbs never really looked what was in stuff before but now find myself reading every label lol

 

[SB2015]

@Docb and @rebrascora have given you loads of info to follow up on, so I will just encourage you to keep asking questions. Nothing is considered silly.

 

[mikef354]

thank you all for your advice its defiantly help

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

thank you for all the advice I now have a clearer insight into carbs never really looked what was in stuff before but now find myself reading every label lol

Welcome to the forum @mikef354

Haha! yes... it doesn’t take long before you become a Permanent Packet Squinter!

Let us know how you get on with the suggestions so far, and let us know if you have any more questions 🙂