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Hi.
- Thread starter Alesiosc
- Start date
- Status
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
Would you like to tell us a bit more about yourself and your diabetes?
Have you been diagnosed long and how did that come about.... Symptoms or routine blood test?
Have they given you any medication and if so, what?
Do you know your HbA1c result? That is the blood test result which they use to diagnose diabetes. It is usually a number of 48 or more but can be into 3 figures if things have gone seriously astray. That number is your starting point on your diabetes journey so it helps to know it so that you can track your progress and also gives us an idea of how far into the diabetes range you have gone as that can sometimes impact the advice we give. So if you are in the low 50s you will probably only need minor changes to your diet whereas a higher number would indicate a more significant rethink on your usual menu.
It can help to keep an honest food diary of everything you eat and drink, so that you can start to see where you can make the most effective changes.
When you say you are struggling to move, is that weight related or due to other mobility issues. Even just seated exercises can help, but changing your diet will almost certainly have the biggest positive impact on your diabetes.
Look forward to getting to know you better and seeing you make progress to a new healthier you.
Would you like to tell us a bit more about yourself and your diabetes?
Have you been diagnosed long and how did that come about.... Symptoms or routine blood test?
Have they given you any medication and if so, what?
Do you know your HbA1c result? That is the blood test result which they use to diagnose diabetes. It is usually a number of 48 or more but can be into 3 figures if things have gone seriously astray. That number is your starting point on your diabetes journey so it helps to know it so that you can track your progress and also gives us an idea of how far into the diabetes range you have gone as that can sometimes impact the advice we give. So if you are in the low 50s you will probably only need minor changes to your diet whereas a higher number would indicate a more significant rethink on your usual menu.
It can help to keep an honest food diary of everything you eat and drink, so that you can start to see where you can make the most effective changes.
When you say you are struggling to move, is that weight related or due to other mobility issues. Even just seated exercises can help, but changing your diet will almost certainly have the biggest positive impact on your diabetes.
Look forward to getting to know you better and seeing you make progress to a new healthier you.
that was a quick response. thank you.
i am 50. 5' 10", 232 lbs. type 2 since 2007. cholesterol just came back lower than my last, at 5.7. i think my nurse just told me my sugar came back at 8.4. cant be sure as i get confused with the numbers. but it is higher than before. i have an appointment on Friday for my yearly check up and to discuss this new injection....ends in "ide" i think.i am overweight. i have a weight training background. but never been good at cardio. my struggle to move is more my motivation. i am very active in mind only. and have been at home since March last year due to being scared of the virus. im on 1000mg metformin. and a small dose of gliclazide. also a statin for my cholesterol. i have a small gym in the garage which i havent used for a long time. treadmill, spinning bike which i cant use because my bum hurts when i sit on it. i get out of breath walking up the stairs. sometimes to the point of panic. i always ate what i wanted, be it chocolates, cakes, biscuits etc. as i didnt think diabetes was affecting me all these years. i trained religously 4 times per week, each session was 2hrs. i did this from 2012 to 2016. during this time my sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure was better than non diabetic people, so the doc say. but once im in the groove i automatically eat healthy. evrything comes automatically. but im akind of "do or dont" kind of person. and at the moment im in the dont stage. id say motivation is my main issue. if i could get a few months of consistent training, walking, excersise i could most likely deal with my diet automatically. but im stuck. im on my pc most of the day for work and have lots of time to take breaks but i dont use the breaks constructive to my health.....btw. the chocolate, biscuits had to stop a few months ago when i really over did it and started hearing my blood pumping in my right ear and got this crazy headache which ive never had before. i realised it was the chocolate when everytime i would have just one bar, i would wake up with this aweful headach the next day which lasted for days. they only seem to hacve gone now that i have stopped chocolate completely. but, ive gone on to sugar free cookies. a packet a day sometimes, thinking its perfect. but i think its the carbs in these cookies which has now brought my sugar back up. sorry for the long sad story. you are probably going to tell me to just get up off your arse and do something. i will. but am stuck to get into a routine....
i am 50. 5' 10", 232 lbs. type 2 since 2007. cholesterol just came back lower than my last, at 5.7. i think my nurse just told me my sugar came back at 8.4. cant be sure as i get confused with the numbers. but it is higher than before. i have an appointment on Friday for my yearly check up and to discuss this new injection....ends in "ide" i think.i am overweight. i have a weight training background. but never been good at cardio. my struggle to move is more my motivation. i am very active in mind only. and have been at home since March last year due to being scared of the virus. im on 1000mg metformin. and a small dose of gliclazide. also a statin for my cholesterol. i have a small gym in the garage which i havent used for a long time. treadmill, spinning bike which i cant use because my bum hurts when i sit on it. i get out of breath walking up the stairs. sometimes to the point of panic. i always ate what i wanted, be it chocolates, cakes, biscuits etc. as i didnt think diabetes was affecting me all these years. i trained religously 4 times per week, each session was 2hrs. i did this from 2012 to 2016. during this time my sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure was better than non diabetic people, so the doc say. but once im in the groove i automatically eat healthy. evrything comes automatically. but im akind of "do or dont" kind of person. and at the moment im in the dont stage. id say motivation is my main issue. if i could get a few months of consistent training, walking, excersise i could most likely deal with my diet automatically. but im stuck. im on my pc most of the day for work and have lots of time to take breaks but i dont use the breaks constructive to my health.....btw. the chocolate, biscuits had to stop a few months ago when i really over did it and started hearing my blood pumping in my right ear and got this crazy headache which ive never had before. i realised it was the chocolate when everytime i would have just one bar, i would wake up with this aweful headach the next day which lasted for days. they only seem to hacve gone now that i have stopped chocolate completely. but, ive gone on to sugar free cookies. a packet a day sometimes, thinking its perfect. but i think its the carbs in these cookies which has now brought my sugar back up. sorry for the long sad story. you are probably going to tell me to just get up off your arse and do something. i will. but am stuck to get into a routine....
Clueless73
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi, I was in the same situation but found 'Get Fit with Rick' on YouTube, which is a great step workout which is easy to follow and has several different workouts on there from 10 mins upwards. I now exercise with a smile on my face and tend to dance around my living room 🙂
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Actually, I can totally empathise. I too go in fits and starts with my exercise and I used to be a chocoholic, sugar addict and carb monster. Thankfully, following a low carb, higher fat diet has helped me enormously with the cravings and disordered eating and whilst it was difficult in the beginning, I can see me continuing to eat this way now for the rest of my life and I don't crave cake or biscuits or chocolate or chips or pasta or bread. I enjoy my food and I treat myself to a glass of red wine or port most evenings with a chunk of nice cheese so that I don't feel deprived and I start my day with coffee with double cream in it, instead of the milk and 3 sugars I used to have prediagnosis. I always said I would rather not drink coffee than drink it without sugar, but my morning coffee with cream is now something that I look forward to each day and it is a comfort. Cream has less carbs than milk if you are wondering why I would do this and the fat takes longer to digest so it stops the hunger pangs that you get from carbs a couple of hours after eating them and it provides slow release energy.
As regards the exercise, you already know the benefits. Set yourself small achievable targets to make it easier to motivate yourself. Once you get started you will find it easier, it is just getting over that huge mental wall. Walking is the best way to start and if you can get up and do a short walk after a meal that is ideal to help your system cope with the food. Think about all the things which make it such a hurdle and try to figure out how to get round those biggest hurdles. For me some days I just can't face people, so I go out later in the evening or very early in the morning when no one is about. I set myself a very easy target, that I know I can achieve without any great effort but allow for extending that if I get out and feel that I want to go on, but keep in mind, I don't want to make myself too sore for the next day. I can tell you that I feel so much better this morning for being out for a walk yesterday even though it took me most of the day to psych myself up to it. Will be heading out shortly to do another one.
There was a project run by Diabetes UK recently to help people get started with exercise. Not quite sure what it involved because at the time I was on top of it, but I think it might be mentoring and stuff. @Francesca DUK was running it I believe. She might be able to give you some tips or encouragement. Clearly you have joined the forum because you know you need help and support and it really does help to connect with people who face the same challenges, so hope we can encourage you to get back on track with that and as you say, it becomes easier to get the diet under control once you start with the exercise.
Anyway, I hope some of what I have typed has been of use. Would be great if you were able to post later in the day and report that you managed to get out for a walk, even if it was just for 10 mins and I will report back to confirm I got myself out for a leg swing too. Catch up with you later perhaps??
As regards the exercise, you already know the benefits. Set yourself small achievable targets to make it easier to motivate yourself. Once you get started you will find it easier, it is just getting over that huge mental wall. Walking is the best way to start and if you can get up and do a short walk after a meal that is ideal to help your system cope with the food. Think about all the things which make it such a hurdle and try to figure out how to get round those biggest hurdles. For me some days I just can't face people, so I go out later in the evening or very early in the morning when no one is about. I set myself a very easy target, that I know I can achieve without any great effort but allow for extending that if I get out and feel that I want to go on, but keep in mind, I don't want to make myself too sore for the next day. I can tell you that I feel so much better this morning for being out for a walk yesterday even though it took me most of the day to psych myself up to it. Will be heading out shortly to do another one.
There was a project run by Diabetes UK recently to help people get started with exercise. Not quite sure what it involved because at the time I was on top of it, but I think it might be mentoring and stuff. @Francesca DUK was running it I believe. She might be able to give you some tips or encouragement. Clearly you have joined the forum because you know you need help and support and it really does help to connect with people who face the same challenges, so hope we can encourage you to get back on track with that and as you say, it becomes easier to get the diet under control once you start with the exercise.
Anyway, I hope some of what I have typed has been of use. Would be great if you were able to post later in the day and report that you managed to get out for a walk, even if it was just for 10 mins and I will report back to confirm I got myself out for a leg swing too. Catch up with you later perhaps??
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That is the Live Well Move More project @rebrascora - and I’m sure you’d find it really helpful @Alesiosc
There is more information here:
Looking for People to Join our Living Well Move More Programme
Hello Everyone! We know that moving more can really help to manage diabetes, and so we are helping people who currently do less than 30 mins of physical activity per week make it part of their day-to-day life. Francesca, our Physical Activity Helpline Advisor, is trained to help you build your...
forum.diabetes.org.uk
Drop @Francesca DUK a line and hopefully you can get the support and encouragement you need.
Hope the forum can help you make the positive changes you want to make too. The good thing is that you’ve done it before - so you know it can happen.
But perhaps this time it might need to be a bit more of a less ‘all or nothing’ and more sustainable moderate changes that you can stick with longer term?
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