Hi

[Brummum21]

Hi,

I’m Sarah and my partner Rob has just been told he’s pre diabetic. He’s taken it hard as he’s navigating some other health issues at the same time so I’m finding out as much information as I can and plan to take over the food shop and cooking to try and help him out and support him which is why I’m here.

A bit about us; we live in Birmingham and have two children aged 7 and nearly 10. We also have a dog Scamp, 4 guinea pigs, 6 chickens and 5 ducks. We enjoy being out in the garden, Rob builds cars, I enjoy walking and we both like cooking.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will pickup lots of tips and information from people in the same position. there are a mixture of 'old hats' and newcomers like yourself trying to get to grips with a diagnosis. At least your partner has now the opportunity with your help and support to bring down blood glucose levels as prediabetes is basically a wake up call to look at diet and lifestyle. Some modest changes are most likely all that is needed, so no need to panic but take time to make a plan. Remembering it is carbohydrates that convert to glucose so need to be reduced in your diet.
As you like cooking that is good as making meals from scratch means you can control what goes into then and avoid the often high carbohydrate ready meals and takeaways.
Obviously you have the rest of the family to consider but with a few modifications and substitutions some of the high carb foods can be minimised, you may even find it a healthier way for the whole family.

Have a look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top) and this link may also help you, https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Prediabetes means that his HbA1C will be somewhere between 42mmol/mol and 47mmol/mol (48 being the level that would give a diabetic diagnosis), so whereabouts he is in that range will indicate how much work he need to do to get back below 42mmol/mol.

Please do feel free to come back with any questions as you learn a bit more. Getting to grips with packet labels will help you make better choices so you need to look for the TOTAL carbohydrate value of a food, usually on the back or search google for FOOD X total carbs, usually given a grams per 100g.

 

[Brummum21]

Thank you. His level was 46. I’ll have a look at the link and other posts as well.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Brummum21 and welcome to the forum.
A good example of how we are wrongly told what is good for us to eat as Type 2 diabetics (or pre-diabetics) is breakfast. Most people thing that porridge and fruit juice are a healthy breakfast and they may well be healthy for heathy people. But for us all cereals cause higher Blood Glucose (even whole grains), so Eggs or Bacon would be much more healthy, and fruit juice is just like liquid sugar - it actually contains more sugar than most carbonated drinks.
So sorting breakfast can be a really quick and easy win.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too.

Breakfast can be one of the easiest meals to change to make a big improvement in BG levels. Most people are more insulin resistant in the morning and unfortunately many breakfasts options are quite high in carbs.... toast and marmalade/breakfast cereals etc leading to higher than desirable BG levels during the earlier part of the day. Also, we often have the same breakfast most mornings, so changing that breakfast habit to a lower carb option can have a significant effect without too much thought once you get into a new routine or something other than cereal or bread/toast.
Many of us enjoy some creamy natural Greek yoghurt with a few berries (i love raspberries and they are one of the lowest carb fruits, with mixed seeds and perhaps some chopped nuts or a small sprinkle of a low carb granola and a good dusting or cinnamon. Eggs are another great low carb option. I find that an omelette is easy to eat without the need for bread to soak up a runny yolk or act as a carrier and you can vary the filling with whatever needs using up in the fridge or to your own tastes. mushrooms and cheese both feature regularly for me, but ham, cooked chicken, tomato. onion, courgettes, aubergine, peppers... whatever. I usually serve my omelette with a big dollop of coleslaw and a leafy green salad. Might seem strange to have salad for breakfast but that is just a cultural thing and breakfast doesn't have to be limited to the normal options, it can be anything. @Drummer has steak and mushrooms as one of her low carb breakfast options.... and why not. I had bacon, eggs and mushrooms on a bed of savoy cabbage yesterday. Works well with black pudding and eggs on the cabbage too. I think there are not many men who would complain about being served bacon and eggs or steak for breakfast as part of a new diet.... it doesn't have to be all sack cloth and ashes. 😉 Not recommending steak or bacon for breakfast every morning but just saying that it is a low carb option which will give him energy for the day ahead without spiking his BG levels.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Brummum21, welcome to the forum.

It's great that you're here and wanting to support your partner as it can make the world of difference to have someone by your side along this journey.

As there's been lots of useful info above, I just wanted to pop in and say that although the word 'pre-diabetic' has been use, there are many people who have been able to stop things from escalating so he's in a hopeful position.

Essentially , reducing sugars and carbs will really help but you'll need to watch out for the hidden ones on things like bread and drinks.

We've got a wealth of info on our main site that may be of use as well as our lovely forum so do have a look around and let us know if we can help in any way. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/preventing-type-2-diabetes