Hi

[DANNYBOY010]

Hi

Just been told that I am ‘pre’ diabetic and been told to look at GI foods and meals etc going forward so starting out here and hope to gain some tips and info moving forward.

Thanks

Dan

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum
A prediabetes or at risk diabetes diagnosis should be a bit of a wakeup call to making some life style changes to prevent you going into the diabetes zone. Prediabetes covers an HbA1C result of between 42mmol/mol and 47mmol/mol so whereabouts you are will indicate how much work you need to do.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition where the body has a problem coping with the amount of carbohydrates in you diet often because it cannot use the insulin it produces effectively or it does not produce enough insulin. Losing weight if you need to helps to manage blood glucose levels as well as reducing carbs by adopting a low carb regime which would be less than 130g per day.
This means not only cutting out cakes, biscuits, and sugary drinks but things like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, pastry and cereals will need to be reduced.
Have a read round the forum and at the Learning Zone where there is lots of information.
There is no need to rush into anything but keeping a food diary will help you see where you are at with your carb intake.

 

[DANNYBOY010]

Thank you so much for the welcome and advice .. much appreciated

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @DANNYBOY010

Sorry to hear you have been told you are at risk of diabetes. Were you experiencing symptoms which took you to the Drs, or was this discovered as part of a different checkup? Do you have diabetes in your family?

Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a food diary for a week or two. Be brutally honest! Note down everything you eat and drink, along with a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content in yoir meals and snacks - it doesn’t have to be gram-perfect, the nearest 5-10g is fine. It might sound like a bit of a faff, and will involve weighing portions, squinting at the fine print on packaging, and possibly looking up things on the internet, but it will give you a really good idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu.

Once you can see which meals or snacks are your ‘big hitters’, and where carbs might be unexpectedly lurking, you might also identify some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or opportunities for using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).

Hopefully as someone who is still ‘at risk’, you will find that a little moderation of your total carb intake, along with cutting back on highly processed foods, and things high in sugars will help your metabolism get back on top of your glucose levels, and allow you to delay or avoid a full-blown diabetes diagnosis 🙂

 

[DANNYBOY010]

Welcome to the forum @DANNYBOY010

Sorry to hear you have been told you are at risk of diabetes. Were you experiencing symptoms which took you to the Drs, or was this discovered as part of a different checkup? Do you have diabetes in your family?

Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a food diary for a week or two. Be brutally honest! Note down everything you eat and drink, along with a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content in yoir meals and snacks - it doesn’t have to be gram-perfect, the nearest 5-10g is fine. It might sound like a bit of a faff, and will involve weighing portions, squinting at the fine print on packaging, and possibly looking up things on the internet, but it will give you a really good idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu.

Once you can see which meals or snacks are your ‘big hitters’, and where carbs might be unexpectedly lurking, you might also identify some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or opportunities for using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).

Hopefully as someone who is still ‘at risk’, you will find that a little moderation of your total carb intake, along with cutting back on highly processed foods, and things high in sugars will help your metabolism get back on top of your glucose levels, and allow you to delay or avoid a full-blown diabetes diagnosis 🙂

Hi,
Many thanks for your reply and help.

I had an annual routine blood test done at the doctors and was called back in as a result.
They said my HbA1C level was at 42 and therefore made me pre diabetic.
I don’t have to test any levels like I have been reading from others on the forum, but have been told to monitor my carb intake.
I also need to lose weight , which I have been doing of late , but ironically I have been doing a Slimming World plan with my wife , which has results in us purchasing an air fry machine and eating quite a lot of potatoes cooked this way as I thought this was healthier, clearly not for me now!
I’m hoping that by making a few adjustments and losing more weight I will be able to control my level but it’s really interesting and helpful reading the forum to find out just what foods and menus are best.

Thanks again for you advice and help , it’s really appreciated

Dan

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi,
Many thanks for your reply and help.

I had an annual routine blood test done at the doctors and was called back in as a result.
They said my HbA1C level was at 42 and therefore made me pre diabetic.
I don’t have to test any levels like I have been reading from others on the forum, but have been told to monitor my carb intake.
I also need to lose weight , which I have been doing of late , but ironically I have been doing a Slimming World plan with my wife , which has results in us purchasing an air fry machine and eating quite a lot of potatoes cooked this way as I thought this was healthier, clearly not for me now!
I’m hoping that by making a few adjustments and losing more weight I will be able to control my level but it’s really interesting and helpful reading the forum to find out just what foods and menus are best.

Thanks again for you advice and help , it’s really appreciated

Dan

One problem is that many foods considered healthy options for non diabetics are not so if you have a problem coping with carbohydrates. In particular low fat products are often higher carb than full fat and fats are not converted to glucose and help to fill you up as you reduce carbs.
As you are just on the cusp some moderate changes may be all that is needed. For example try butternut squash or celeriac in your airfryer instead of potatoes as they are much lower carb.
This link may help you on giving you some ideas for a lower carb dietary regime. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

 

[DANNYBOY010]

One problem is that many foods considered healthy options for non diabetics are not so if you have a problem coping with carbohydrates. In particular low fat products are often higher carb than full fat and fats are not converted to glucose and help to fill you up as you reduce carbs.
As you are just on the cusp some moderate changes may be all that is needed. For example try butternut squash or celeriac in your airfryer instead of potatoes as they are much lower carb.
This link may help you on giving you some ideas for a lower carb dietary regime. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

Thank you

 

[Drummer]

@DANNYBOY010 I have an old Tefal Actify which I use for chicken thighs often followed by mushrooms. It has never seen a chip.
The chicken and mushrooms are delicious. I steal as many of the chicken skins as my conscience allows.....

 

[Leadinglights]

@DANNYBOY010 I have an old Tefal Actify which I use for chicken thighs often followed by mushrooms. It has never seen a chip.
The chicken and mushrooms are delicious. I steal as many of the chicken skins as my conscience allows.....

We were looking at some cookers which have an Actifry setting thinking it would be good addition to cooking options.

 

[DANNYBOY010]

@DANNYBOY010 I have an old Tefal Actify which I use for chicken thighs often followed by mushrooms. It has never seen a chip.
The chicken and mushrooms are delicious. I steal as many of the chicken skins as my conscience allows.....

Thanks Drummer