yorkshire gal
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi I've just been newly diagnosed type 2 yesterday
Thank you very muchWelcome to the forum @yorkshire gal
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and that you have been left feeling like you’ve not got much information to go on
Members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter to the newly diagnosed and Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, which you can work through gradually and will give you a solid starting point. There is also the Diabetes UK Learning Zone where you will find a whole host of bite-sized modules on a range of topics.
One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a brutally honest food diary for a week or two. 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, the process might also suggest some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).
Let us know how you get in, and keep firing away with any questions as they crop up 🙂
Thank you, I have nutracheck on my phone so I'll use thatHi and welcome
When I was first diagnosed, the first thing I did was download an app to measure my calories and carbs. There are a few, like MyFitBit which is free, or NutraCheck which starts at £23.99 for a year on your iPhone. You can plan your daily carbs in advance, and it's handy to have when going round the supermarket. It is suggested that Type 2 diabetics who want to cut back on their carbs, aim for less than 130gm a day. Some people are more sensitive to carbs and aim lower. I experimented and settled on 90gm a day - we are all different. The other thing I do is keep digital scales and a clear glass bowl on my kitchen worktop. Measuring food just takes a matter of seconds then. Best wishes
myfitnesspal is free and goodThank you very much