Just back from clinic

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NiVZ

NiVZ

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello,

Just back from todays appointment.

HbA1c is down from 8.7 to 8.1 so quite happy with that. It's still a little high but heading in the right direction.

Consultant noted I had mild changes in my eyes last time so need to try and keep sugars stable and avoid large 'swings'.

My cholesterol is a bit on the high side at 5.2 and should ideally be around 4.
Anyone have any tips on reducing it?

My usual day is:

Breakfast: Cereal with semi-skimmed milk
Lunch: Sandwich and crisps
Dinner: Meat, veg, chips (from deep fat fryer using veggie oil)

Unfortunatley I'm also a bit of a snacker and like my biscuits which probably aren't helping either. Think I'll need to swap biscuits for fruit and change to oven chips. Already use spreads instead of butter but think I'll start using Olive oil based ones.

Just wondered what else I can do. I'm already on Thyroxine and don't fancy adding another tablet to the mix so would like to sort this out through diet.

Thanks,

NiVZ
 
hi great to hear the hbA1c is great thats good news
abit long winded but i found these tips to lower cholestrol




1. The first thing you have to do is to reduce the amount of red meat in your daily alimentation. You will replace it with white meat (poultry) and fish which have a low fat level.

2. It is absolutely necessary for you to eliminate or at least to eat less saturated fats. This means that you should start having skimmed milk, low cholesterol spread or light cheese, instead of your normal foods. These light products may not be as tasty as the fat ones, but they care save your life.

3. A healthy diet means a healthy digestion. Foods that are high in fibre (like whole grain cereals or muesli) will eventually help you lower cholesterol by eliminating the dietary fats.

4. Stop frying your food and start grilling them. It prevents the loss of vitamins from the vegetables; therefore you will eat healthier.

5. Eating out can be a test for your determination to lower cholesterol. The best method to pass this test is to eat mainly in restaurants that are serving low cholesterol dishes. In order to avoid ruining your diet, you should ask for the dressings and gravies to be served separately so that you will control the quantity you are eating. Don’t eat them in excess. Try to eat a healthy salad instead of French fries. We know, it is not as tasty but it will lower the ‘evil’ cholesterol.

5. Stop being a ‘couch potato’, start exercising every day. You can do aerobics, you can walk or jog, you can even play basketball, but it is absolutely necessary for you to do it every day.

6. Tropical oils don’t do you good. If you want to get a lower cholesterol level you must start using vegetable oils (olive oil is the best choice) or canola oils.

7. Always read the label on the food products you are buying to be sure of what you are buying in terms of fats level.

8. Now let’s talk about alcohol. Drinking is not exactly your best activity during a diet, as it can ruin your efforts, but latest research has shown that a glass of red wine per day can lower cholesterol in some cases.
9. A cholesterol lowering medication if it is prescribed or recommended by a physician will have maximum effectiveness for your diet if you will respect it entirely.

10. And we saved the best for last. Always remember that a diet for reducing cholesterol level will definitely help you lose weight. Happy eating!

Lifexpand presents a wide range of premium dietary supple
 
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First thing I would do would be to swap your crisps for something like dried fruit. There is a lot of fat in crisps.

Do you grill your meat? Aim for white meats such as chicken and turkey as they are lower in fats.
 
Well done on the A1c reduction, going in the right direction. And kinder to your eyes to reduce it slowly.

Check out the cholesterol threads here there are some good explanations regarding reducing cholesterol and use of statins.

Do you like any other types of carbs for your main meal, rice, pasta etc? I liek oven chips but have got used to eating them over the years, have you heard of the actifry- dave has one and enjoys his chips from them. My inlaws had one and the chips were lovely from it, nice and crispy.
 
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Hi NiVZ, well done on the reduction in HbA1c - you're getting there! Can't really give you any tips on cholesterol lowering. Mine seems naturally low - currently 2.4 with the statins, but was 3.7 without them! I think biscuits may be contributing though as they contain a lot of saturated fats. Have you thought about crispbreads instead? Some of them are quite tasty! And nuts, of course - full of good fats! I use sunflower or olive spreads and drink skimmed milk. I think exercise is also important in keeping levels down nd helps with other stuff like BG levels and blood pressure.

No doubt the low-carbers will respond and say that is not the fat you consume, but the amount of carbs - still haven't quite got my head around that argument as I eat fairly high carb, low-fat food on the whole. Cutting out alcohol might help too - doubt if I could restrict myself to one glass of wine a day!

I think, with all these things, the closer you are to a healthy weight, the more active you are with good sleep patterns and nothing in excess, the more you help all aspects of your consitution.
 
sofaraway said:
Well done on the A1c reduction, going in the right direction. And kinder to your eyes to reduce it slowly.

Check out the cholesterol threads here there are some good explanations regarding reducing cholesterol and use of statins.

Do you like any other types of carbs for your main meal, rice, pasta etc? I liek oven chips but have got used to eating them over the years, have you heard of the actifry- dave has one and enjoys his chips from them. My inlaws had one and the chips were lovely from it, nice and crispy.
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ive been looking at them lately i cant find one under ?100 are they that expensive or am i looking in wrong place
 
Thanks for all the fast replies.

I should have said my weight seems to be okay. Height is 5' 11" (180cm) and I'm 12 st (77kg) so BMI is 23.5 which normal, but high side of normal and I do 1hr 30mins exercise (martial arts) on a Tuesday and an hour on a Thursday.

And I'm afraid I don't like nuts :(

Might swap to the Baked Walkers again for a while and see if it makes a difference.

I do like meat, but not fat - I even cut the fat off of bacon! And I tend to eat more white meat (chicken and turkey) than red meat (mince and steak).

Alcohol consumption is pretty much zero apart from the very occasional night out - I prefer cosy nights in with my wife and two year old daughter these days although I'm going to be out the next 3 Saturdays. I'll be drunk after 2 pints it's been so long!

NiVZ
 
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Hi

Great HbA1c result, as you say going in the right direction.

Oily fish is great for helping to lower cholesterol.
 
Adrienne said:
Hi

Great HbA1c result, as you say going in the right direction.

Oily fish is great for helping to lower cholesterol.
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Yes, good call Adrienne - I try and have sardines on toast twice a week, it's cheap and tasty!🙂
 
NiVZ said:
Hello,

Just back from todays appointment.

HbA1c is down from 8.7 to 8.1 so quite happy with that. It's still a little high but heading in the right direction.

Consultant noted I had mild changes in my eyes last time so need to try and keep sugars stable and avoid large 'swings'.

My cholesterol is a bit on the high side at 5.2 and should ideally be around 4.
Anyone have any tips on reducing it?

My usual day is:

Breakfast: Cereal with semi-skimmed milk
Lunch: Sandwich and crisps
Dinner: Meat, veg, chips (from deep fat fryer using veggie oil)

Unfortunatley I'm also a bit of a snacker and like my biscuits which probably aren't helping either. Think I'll need to swap biscuits for fruit and change to oven chips. Already use spreads instead of butter but think I'll start using Olive oil based ones.

Just wondered what else I can do. I'm already on Thyroxine and don't fancy adding another tablet to the mix so would like to sort this out through diet.

Thanks,

NiVZ
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Dear NiVZ,

Well done on the HbA1c reduction its good to see it moving in the right direction - BTW do you have a target value?. Regarding cholesterol, as mentionioned before, read the threads on cholesterol, I have a totally different viewpoint than most other people on this site. Mine was 6.2 when last measured and that made me very happy. The widely held belief is that high cholesterol causes heart disease, I am one of a small minority that believes this is totally wrong. Here's a challenge for you (and anyone else who thinks they can explain the total lack of correlation between cholesterol and heart disease). Please let me know how how you can hold the belief that cholesterol causes heart disease after viewing this video. The data, except one data point, is from the World Health Organisation - you can't get much better than that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SSCNaaDcE

Regards Dodger
 
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Thought I'd chuck my bit into this as well :D
I was always told that dried fruit was something to be used as a treat as it's high in sugar and high BG levels are linked to high cholesterol (or so a nutritionist told me) and the less ripe the fruit is, the better it is for BG levels. Sainsbury's were selling bags of oat snacks (in the style of crisps) - I think they're made by Nairns who also do oatcakes. As far as I know, they're better for you but as I never bought any myself, I'm not sure (you'd have to read the label).
 
well done on reducing the old magic number :D

and good luck with the rest of it all, I have kinda cut crisps out totally until wifey opens big pack on a frydee or satterdee night, and would have to say walkers baked and bloody delicious! good luck in only eating 1 pack at a time!
 
walkers baked and bloody delicious! good luck in only eating 1 pack at a time!
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Yeah I love the Cheese & Onion ones mmmmmmmmm

NiVZ
 
Cheese and onion rules! Wifey has salt and vinegar, can cause confusion when it's the walkers/golden wonder colour issue! Still we struggle through these issues!!😛
 
You can make your own in the microwave you know. I'll go and stick the instructions in the recipe section.
 
It has to be Walkers Cheese and Onion , or Ready Salted Mmm , btw , not the baked ones!! ewww >> its been sooooo long since I have eaten a crisp :(
 
Hi NiVZ,

I'm a Type 2 so I try to keep away from advising Type 1s because the situation is so very different. As you say a move in the right direction but you really could do with your HbA1c being quite a bit lower to keep away from diabetic complications.

I'd be looking to take some of the carbohydrate out of your diet - cereal, bread, chips, crisps and certainly biscuits. In my opinion, swapping crisps and biscuits for fruit would certainly be a great move.

Best wishes - John
 
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Thanks for all the tips again 🙂

I've cut out all my between meal snacks for now, and have started taking a nice big tupperware box of chopped up fruit with me to work.

My next appointment is in 6 months so hoping I can get my HbA1c lower by then, and make a dent in the cholesterol.

Interestingly, my sugars have been quite a bit lower already since ditching the mid-meal snacks, although had a couple of hypos in the last 2 days. I might be over-estimating my insulin, or perhaps my mid-meal snacks have been keeping my sugars up.

I'll be keeping an eye on them over the next few days although tomorrow is going to be a right off as I'm on a Stag Doo tomorrow - going Clay Pigeon Shooting, Mini-Highland Games (toss the caber, shotput, stones, hammer throw and pint downing!) and Rage Buggy racing before going out for some beers!!

NiVZ
 
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