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wendye

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Type 2
Hi all. Just joined. I'm type 2 with Hba1c of 51 controlled by diet only. I'm here really for advice in getting my levels down further and advice on diet. I've recently increased my exercise levels and I'm now regularly doing 8000 or more steps a day. I'm hoping this will also bring my levels down a little further without adding any medication into the mix.
 
welcome to the forum @wendye

Congratulations on your great progress so far, and on a terrific step count. Increased activity and losing weight should help to increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin.

What changes have you made to your meal plan since your diagnosis? Many members here find reducing their carb intake to be the single biggest and simplest change they an make to reduce glucose variation. That’s not just the obvious culprits like sweet and sugary things, but moderating intake of starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, bakery goods, grains, cereals, and many fruits. But everyone is different - and some people can happily eat more carbs than others. So it’s important to find a meal plan that works for you as an individual. Many people find the information from a BG meter very helpful in checking how they are reacting to different meals, and which choices suit them best.

Ask away with any questions, and our friendly, helpful T2s will be able to give you some helpful pointers.
 
Hello @wendye
Welcome to the forum.
It looks as if you are doing very well with learning to live with diabetes and keep it under control.

I'm sure the 8000 steps will help a lot, and with your general health as well.
Diabetes UK are I think running a 1 million steps challenge https://step.diabetes.org.uk/. I did this one year, and it did help with the motivation.
Best wishes, and it would be good to know how thing go for you.
 
Welcome to the forum @wendye

It sounds like you have got to grips with your diabetes, and good to hear that you are managing to keep to a plan for you ur exercise.

What steps have you taken with regard to your diet? Most find that a focus on knowing the total carbohydrates that they are eating at each meal helps. They can then adjust the types of carbs they are eating and/or portion sizes. A useful rule of thumb for choosing veg is if it grows
- under the ground it is high carb (root veg)
- above the ground it is medium carbs (beans, tomatoes, ...)
- on the ground it is very low carb (lettuce, celery, ...)

Do come back with any questions that you have.
 
Hi again.
Thank you for your responses. Sorry ive been absent since my first post but my sister in law has been in hospital and now is on palliative care so my anxieties have interfered with my interaction here.

A bit more detail about me :
I was diagnosed 8 years ago and managed to keep my hba1c manageable until about 12 months ago since when it has crept up. I have mainly followed a low gi diet with a lot of low carb elements too. Im hoping the increase in exercise (which is a new addition to my regime) will help keep me off medication. Im also up for looking at tweaks in my diet - I already have cut out bread products, potatoes and only have pasta or rice maybe once every 10 days. My weakness is needing something sweetish like a biscuit which i limit to 2 a day, and also a bedtime drink of hot milk with sweetener and nutmeg.
I'll look into the step challenge but im open to any other ideas. Thank you all xx
 
If you stop feeding the need, it will go away. All the time you are eating sweet things your taste buds will have a reduced sensitivity to sweetness.
Carbs do add up very quickly and can become a habit which is hard to break.
 
Welcome to the forum Wendye.
Again this is me still learning but does two biccys really affect a t2 that much.
Sorry for my ignorance but trying to learn about t2 a lot more as me being type1 ( or 3c ) i am really starting to feel a huge respect to you guys as its so easy for me to counter a treat with a tweak of insulin.
 
@brisr949
Yes 2 biscuits a day every day can certainly be a problem for many Type 2s. Even 1 biscuit a day would be too much for some unless you are doing enough exercise for your muscles to pull the glucose from them out of the blood stream.
 
@wendye Hello and welcome from me.

We have some pretty inspirational low carb cooks and bakers here who might be able to suggest some low carb biscuit recipes. @NotWorriedAtAll .... do you have any biscuit recipes?
@Drummer is right that curing your sweet tooth is probably the best answer but as someone who was a sugar addict pre diagnosis, I know that is not easy. I found going cold turkey for a few weeks enabled me to "find" the sweetness in things which I previously would have said were sour and to change my tastes in general, so a chunk of good quality cheese or a pack of olives is now my treat instead of something sweet although I do still buy really dark chocolate (70% +) and have half a square with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter to give me a sweetish, satisfying treat when I really want something sweet.
Sugar free jelly is another favourite here on the forum for a sweet treat. I recently made a low carb trifle with a low carb sponge mixture in a mug which took a minute in the microwave to cook (I didn't even weight the ingredients, just a spoon of this and that, an egg and some butter, all mixed up in the cup and zapped) , frozen berries like rasps, strawbs, blackberries and red and black currants and raspberry sugar free jelly. Custard made with eggs and cream and whipped cream on top and my partner who still has a sweet tooth enjoyed it as much as I did.
 
I will accept that olives are an acquired taste and the first few times I tried them I didn't like them, but when you are sitting in an Italian restaurant starving and the service is slow, you can gradually come to love them.
 
rebrascora said:
@wendye Hello and welcome from me.

We have some pretty inspirational low carb cooks and bakers here who might be able to suggest some low carb biscuit recipes. @NotWorriedAtAll .... do you have any biscuit recipes?
@Drummer is right that curing your sweet tooth is probably the best answer but as someone who was a sugar addict pre diagnosis, I know that is not easy. I found going cold turkey for a few weeks enabled me to "find" the sweetness in things which I previously would have said were sour and to change my tastes in general, so a chunk of good quality cheese or a pack of olives is now my treat instead of something sweet although I do still buy really dark chocolate (70% +) and have half a square with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter to give me a sweetish, satisfying treat when I really want something sweet.
Sugar free jelly is another favourite here on the forum for a sweet treat. I recently made a low carb trifle with a low carb sponge mixture in a mug which took a minute in the microwave to cook (I didn't even weight the ingredients, just a spoon of this and that, an egg and some butter, all mixed up in the cup and zapped) , frozen berries like rasps, strawbs, blackberries and red and black currants and raspberry sugar free jelly. Custard made with eggs and cream and whipped cream on top and my partner who still has a sweet tooth enjoyed it as much as I did.
Click to expand...
I've found the opposite re: sweet tooth

Prior to diagnosis I never (except when forced at other people's occasions) ate cakes or had sweets and found them too sickly sweet.

Since diagnosis I have been eating loads and loads and loads of sweet cakes, desserts, chocolates, hot chocolate drinks, jams, and sweetening my coffee now and then as a treat.

I've found over the last couple of days that when I eat cake for breakfast and as a dessert at the end of a meal and as a mid afternoon tea that my blood sugar levels have been the best consistently since I was diagnosed in January 2019 - they've been hovering around the 5.5 mark for 48 hours now!!! And I've been eating proper meals at the same time. I think it might be because I've used chia seeds and cinnamon in the recipes - anyway I'm going to stick to it from now on.

Unfortunately I haven't found any good biscuit recipes yet. I never quite 'got' biscuits - I've never enjoyed them and I prefer to have a real treat like a full on cream cake or chocolate eclair or a cheesecake or a couple of homemade chocolates which makes it feel like I'm being truly naughty when actually it is good for me because of all the fibre and vitamins and minerals and the fat content keeping me in keto. Biscuits are difficult doing keto because crunchiness comes mainly from sugar and starch combinations. I know I could make meringue-type 'biscuits' like macarons using inulin and almond flour but I've not fancied them yet.

I'll let you know if I happen on a good biscuit recipe.
 
I tried olives a couple of times years ago before D, and then a couple of times afterwards

As I've posted earlier this year I'm trying to eat more Mediterranean & Middle Eastern diets, but adjusted for D of course
So I've been trying them again, with the same result - awful
This has been cold, in salads, but I will try them in a cooked dish

I have found a way of consuming them; cut them in half to reduce their impact, and don't put in the full amount listed in the recipe

Oh, and have about 7 litres of cheap red wine to wash them down
 
Just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your sister-in-law @wendye

I lost my wife to cancer a little over a year and a half ago, and we had 6 months of (brilliant) palliative care before that, so I am all too aware how all consuming it can be. I can only imagine how difficult it must be during the current lockdown situation. Much love to you and your family.
 
Thank you Rebrascora - thats a lot more what i am looking for - I know if i stop all sweet stuff then i will lose the craving but i struggle with motivation at times and thats why i feel if i can substitute rather than eliminate i will have more success. My low gi approach has worked for me so far but i want to take it further now but without becoming obsessively low carb at this point.x
everydayupsanddowns said:
Just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your sister-in-law @wendye

I lost my wife to cancer a little over a year and a half ago, and we had 6 months of (brilliant) palliative care before that, so I am all too aware how all consuming it can be. I can only imagine how difficult it must be during the current lockdown situation. Much love to you and your family.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
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