Just diagnosed

[Poshgirl64]

Hi,
New member as just received diagnosis. Admit to having neglected myself recently, so this should not come as a surprise. Have spent too much time sorting out others problems instead of looking after No1. Sorry if that sounds selfish but I can be quite blunt!

Welcome any advice you can give. Major problem will be giving up chocolate, as it's been my "go to" when times have been tough. I generally eat healthily and drink plenty of water. Need to lose some weight too!

 

[Kaylz]

Remember it's not just sugar that effects BG, total carbohydrates have to be taken into account, this means you may have to reduce or even eliminate things like paste/rice, potatoes, bread, cereals etc

Will you be testing your BG? the only way to know what you can handle as an individual is to test before eating and then again 2 hours after, assuming you are in the UK ideally you want no more than a 2-3mmol rise post meal

If you can handle dark chocolate then that's the best to have as it contains less carbs, my personal favourites are Lindt 90% at 1.4g carbs per square and Aldi Moser Roth 85% with each 25g bar being under 5g carbs
xx

 

[ianf0ster]

The only reason for cutting chocolate is the high Carbohydrate and high Sugar content.
I found when I gave up sugar in tea, several decades before I got diabetes, my taste for other sweet things qalso changed so that most milk chocolate was then too sweet for me.
Now as a T2 Diabetic, I eat Lindt 90% (but not a whole bar at a time).

 

[grovesy]

For me stopping sugar in drinks over 40 years ago did nothing to my taste for sweet stuff.

 

[Poshgirl64]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Many years ago, did WW and found that affected my craving for sugar. Perhaps I should have stuck with that plan! Well aware of Lindt and Moser Roth, thank you. Definitely cannot eat more than two squares!

Hardly eat potatoes, only oven chips or roasties. Rice and pasta occasionally. Found a granary loaf I like so now eating more. Sadly may have to give up white toast, although don't have it too often. Always look at labelling for breakfast cereal. Now have granola, oat based with reasonable sugar and salt levels. As I don't drink milk, may have to find more suitable fat free and low sugar yoghurt. Have already cut down on cheese. Chicken stir fry for dinner tonight. Already eat quite a lot of salmon to ease psoriasis. Cut down on quantity of fruit I used to eat, because not being too indelicate, my system can't cope with quantities especially in summer!

Before deciding on meds, doc wants another blood test. Due to his availability, that won't happen until 3 April, with consultation 10 days after. Perhaps he's giving me some leeway to sort myself out, although fully realise it won't happen overnight. There's so much to consider....

 

[Kaylz]

Yeah oven chips and roasties aren't ideal either and most Type 2's find they cant tolerate oats either or bread no matter what kind it is as its all carbs and being turned into glucose, you don't want your BG spiking all the time and then dropping, you want to remain as stable as possible to limit the risk of complications occurring

 

[Drummer]

If you swap the word 'carbs' for the high starch foods you report eating you are telling us that you hardly eat carbs, only carbs and carbs and you have carbs and carb occasionally. You have found a high carb loaf you like so you are eating more of it and you look at the label on the breakfast carbs - then you are looking for low fat yoghurt and cutting back on the cheese.
It really doesn't make a lot of sense - full fat yoghurt is low carb - most unadulterated cheese is low carb, but potato bread cereals - are all high carb and also easy targets for removal from the diet to lower blood glucose.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hello @Poshgirl64

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations. And it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy. Try not to be disheartened, many people later reflect that their diagnosis was a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life.

When it comes to managing your diabetes, it’s best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels can actually cause problems with some parts of the body including eyes and nerves.

One of the biggest questions when newly diagnosed is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will be wanting to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to food are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which forms and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ your BG without checking for yourself. But the good news is that it is possible to check this for yourself and tailor your own ideal way of eating that suits you and your BG levels.

You can use a BG meter, checking before and after meals, and noting what the differences are. That way you can identify any carbs that seem to be causing BG upheaval and varying or reducing them (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference)

If you are interested in using a BG meter to find out how different foods affect you, you may find test-review-adjust by Alan S helpful.

One of the most affordable meters members here have found is from SD, and has been recently updated to the SD Gluco Navii which has test strips at around £8 for 50

For a bit more background information, the ‘useful links’ thread is a mine of helpful information - useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes

Members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter and Gretchen Becker’s book, as very helpful starting points.

Good luck, and keep asking questions!