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Just Diagnosed Type 2

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Puskas

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Type 2
Hi
I'm 51 and from London/Essex border.
Just been diagnosed Type 2.
Been feeling ill just over a year so think I've found the cause.
Is the diet really as bad as I expect? I've lost a stone in last 6 months the dieting but still enjoy the bad stuff.
Where can I find recipes that taste of something?
Good to meet you all.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum from an Essex girl!!! There are some good recipes in the food section on the forum, and the diet isnt that bad at all. Ive been diagnosed just over a year and you soon get used to it.
 
Hi, wow that's a quick reply.
I've been told diet and exercise. I walk 5k a day and have been accepted for next year's London Marathon.
Can I ask what HbA1c is and do I need it?
 
Puskas said:
Hi, wow that's a quick reply.
I've been told diet and exercise. I walk 5k a day and have been accepted for next year's London Marathon.
Can I ask what HbA1c is and do I need it?
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Welcome and good for you. Will this be your first marathon? Diet wise try not change too much too soon. Gradual improvements are the way to go.
 
The HbA1c is a blood test that looks at the average glucose levels in your system over a 3 month period. Below 42 is non-diabetic, 42-48 is pre-diabetic and over 48 diabetic. Mine was 127 when I was diagnosed.
 
I think those numbers are about right, if they are wrong someone will correct me.
 
Welcome to the forum, Puskas.

I'm with Owen. Assuming that you're eating a 'healthy' diet and are wanting to lose weight, then just modify it to reduce portion size and perhaps up the non-starchy veg content to bulk the meals out.

When I was losing weight after diagnosis, I also played with quorn for chilli-sans-carne but these days, if I went down the same route, I'd probably opt for soya mince instead. I tried that a little while ago and it is a much better texture and taste than quorn and almost as good calorie wise. Also, rather than eating with rice I usually paired it with a couple of new potatoes and assorted veg.

Spicy home made soups also made an appearance for me. They're so easy to make, I really don't understand why I never did it before!!

Feeling Hungary yet? 😉

Andy (see what I did there?) HB
 
Hi Puskas, welcome to the group.....

Don't fear the diet, it really is not bad at all.... I absolutely don't miss my breads, rice, pasta & starchy vegetables..... well, sometimes but not often....

This new way of eating has got me being more creative with my cooking, for example last night I had fried okra (in my air fryer) breaded with ground pork rinds. Who knows what will be calling out to me when I go to the store today.
 
Hi Puskas,

Welcome to the forum, but sorry for the reason that you've joined of course. I am a few months down the line now, and to be honest I've found the change in diet has been quite drastic, but I'm not missing the bad stuff as much as I thought I would. When it comes to flavour, chilli sauce is my friend and when served with some chicken and roast veg, it goes down a treat without sacrificing anything in terms of taste. I eat Burgen bread, and find that it doesn't really spike my blood sugar levels much. Although I do miss chips, sweet potato wedges done in the oven (portion size!) are nice with a few herbs. Not really found a replacement for chocolate yet, and although loads of people love the high cocoa content stuff, for me it doesn't really taste nice enough!

All the best mate, sounds like you've got the exercise thing going, that's been key for me in managing the blood sugars.
 
Thanks for all your replies. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of research into different foods. My wife bought a book called the 8 week blood sugar diet. Anyone heard of it. I've also just found a diabetic cookbook in the kitchen. I'll try a few out. The Marathons my first. The previous ones are now called Snickers and off limits! Cheers
 
The 8 week sugar diet is a well known book. Haven't read it but did try some of the recipes when they published them in a newspaper. It's a very strict diet & could be hard to stick to. As for diabetic cook books, probably best to avoid them like the plague. Most of the recipes in them tend to be too high carb for most diabetics. Carbs cause blood sugar spikes & should be controlled.
 
Struggling. Can I eat Ryvita? How do I replace bread and potatoes. Lost half a stone in two weeks. Wasting away.
 
Puskas said:
How do I replace bread and potatoes
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I don't.... Not to say that I never have them, especially if we are at friends for dinner, but I bulk up on a lot more "green" veggies which are often "air fried" or grilled, or roasted. A little bit of extra fat sates the appetite very well, just opt for quality oils rather than cheap "vegetable" oils or other some such manufactured oil.
 
Puskas said:
Struggling. Can I eat Ryvita? How do I replace bread and potatoes. Lost half a stone in two weeks. Wasting away.
Click to expand...

I didn't remove bread and potatoes from my diet either. But, I did reduce the quantity. Also, for bread, I only use (and always have) wholegrain seeded loaves (I now only make my own in a breadmaker). For potatoes, I usually just use small new potatoes (charlottes are my favourite). Because of the size, they're good for portion control.

It is also very useful to be able to test your own blood sugars. That'll give you an answer to your question about ryvita. It's also true that it'll give you a clearer answer about bread and potatoes, because we can only make suggestions that work for us based on our testing.

But, as it has been said many times on this forum, GPs are reluctant to prescribe strips for meters. If yours is the same, then Codefree meters are still the best to go for in terms of test strip price (not sure what they are now, but they were around £8 for a pot of 50).

Andy 🙂
 
I too have reduced potato portion, tend to only have new as they cause less of spike. Bread I use Bread thins, but have used Burgen as well.
 
I haven't missed potatoes at all. I tend to have roasted celeriac or butternut squash instead. If i do mash, l combine celeriac, butternut squash, cauli & small amounts of sweet potato. Lot more flavour than plain mash. As for bread, l have burgen or lidl high protein rolls. Also want to try the new high protein Warburtons range.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll give them a try. Dr said no self testing but think I'll give it a try. How often would you suggest? Daily? Weekly?
Cheers
 
Blood testing is best used to discover how various meals and activities affect you. So, test before and 2 hours after eating, and before and 30 mins after finishing exercise.
Team Blood Glucose website is good source of advice for people with type 2 diabetes.
 
Puskas said:
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll give them a try. Dr said no self testing but think I'll give it a try. How often would you suggest? Daily? Weekly?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Hi Puskas its up to you whether you test or not...however I was given the same advice by my GP and nurse not to test...I ignored that...and have been testing regularly...and learned so much from it...what food I tolerate best...how being more active will help reduce my BG...and its a real learning curve...helped me to manage my diabetes...I would say test...test...test...good luck...
 
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