Loads of questions

[Stan the man]

Hi. I was diagnosed diabetic 18 months ago and was 49 on the scale. The doctor said exercise and the right diet would improve sugar levels . I lost 7 pounds cut out sugar ate more veggies exercised much more and 18 months later am 57 on the scale and have been put on metformin. Got lots of questions so which forum would be the best ?

 

[john e]

Hi. I was diagnosed diabetic 18 months ago and was 49 on the scale. The doctor said exercise and the right diet would improve sugar levels . I lost 7 pounds cut out sugar ate more veggies exercised much more and 18 months later am 57 on the scale and have been put on metformin. Got lots of questions so which forum would be the best ?

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/ start here, welcome

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

It sounds like you made a real effort so well done for that and great weight loss but for some reason that hasn't paid off.

Can I ask if you were particularly overweight and underactive to start with?

You mention cutting out sugar but unfortunately the body breaks down all carbohydrates into glucose which gets absorbed into our blood stream and causes us diabetics issues because either we don't produce enough insulin or we have become resistant to the insulin we do produce. Many of us find that we also need to significantly reduce the amount of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals and also be careful about which fruit we choose and the portion size. Our body doesn't c care too much if the glucose comes from 2-3 grapes or a spoonful of sugar or half a slice of bread, iut can be pretty efficient at extracting it from any form of carbs and bumping up our BG levels.
If you have not cut down on these carbs as well then that may be part of the issue or perhaps you have had Covid and that has inflated your levels or steroids can do that too if you need to take those. There are a lot of things which affect BG levels rather than just sugar and exercise.

If you would like to give us an idea of the sort of things you currently eat, we could perhaps make suggestions as to swaps or alternatives you could try.

Most people here on the forum who are trying (and mostly very successful in managing their diabetes through diet) find that a Blood Glucose meter is an invaluable tool in helping them to "see" how their body responds to different foods and use that information to adjust their meals to foods and portion sizes that their body can cope with. Basic test meter kits are not expensive to buy but the cost of consumables and in particular test strips which are individual to each brand of meter ie not interchangeable/universal, are where the costs add up, so it makes sense to choose a meter which has relatively cheep test strips. The two most frequently recommended here on the forum as being reliable and economical to self fund are the Gluco navii and the Spirit Tee2. You might even manage to blag a free meter kit if you ring the manufacturer, but you will need several pots of test strips to enable you to do some intensive testing. I think they are about £9 per pot of 50 for these two testers at the moment. Your GP is unlikely to prescribe a meter and test strips unless you are on specific medication which can cause your BG levels to drop dangerously low, but no harm in asking before you buy.
Following a system of testing immediately before a meal and then 2 hours after will show you how much that meal increased your BG levels and if that is more than 3 whole units (mmols/l) then there were too many carbs in that meal for your body. Diabetes can be highly individual because we all have different metabolisms and gut biome/digestive systems and eating preferences, so this method enables you to tailor your diet to your particular body rather than following general advice which may or may not work for you. For instance some people can get away with a portion of porridge for breakfast which might seem like a really healthy choice, but for some of us, we might as well just eat sugar as the glucose from the porridge hits our blood stream really fast. I have timed it and even best quality jumbo oats made into porridge with water and a little sweetener can get from my mouth to my finger tip in 20 mins..... which really blows my mind as to how efficient my digestive system is but means that porridge isn't a good choice for me. Some people can cope with wholemeal pasta but not potatoes etc. Learning how your body responds to foods is key to managing this through diet, so investing in your health by getting a BG meter would be my top tip to understanding why the changes you have made so far are not working and what other changes you need to make..

 

[Drummer]

Hi. I was diagnosed diabetic 18 months ago and was 49 on the scale. The doctor said exercise and the right diet would improve sugar levels . I lost 7 pounds cut out sugar ate more veggies exercised much more and 18 months later am 57 on the scale and have been put on metformin. Got lots of questions so which forum would be the best ?

Did you count the carbs in the veges you added?
So many people are not told that diabetes is an inability to deal with carbs, which are starches and sugars.
So many HCPs witter on about sugars and emphasise how 'healthy' brown carbs are, and it is , unfortunately, total nonsense when it is an ordinary type 2 diabetic they are advising.

 

[trophywench]

My body - and most people's bodies - couldn't care less whether carbohydrate is white or brown, red, green or yeller-cum-pink with blue spots. It just turns it into glucose anyway.

 

[Stan the man]

Hi and welcome.

It sounds like you made a real effort so well done for that and great weight loss but for some reason that hasn't paid off.

Can I ask if you were particularly overweight and underactive to start with?

You mention cutting out sugar but unfortunately the body breaks down all carbohydrates into glucose which gets absorbed into our blood stream and causes us diabetics issues because either we don't produce enough insulin or we have become resistant to the insulin we do produce. Many of us find that we also need to significantly reduce the amount of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals and also be careful about which fruit we choose and the portion size. Our body doesn't c care too much if the glucose comes from 2-3 grapes or a spoonful of sugar or half a slice of bread, iut can be pretty efficient at extracting it from any form of carbs and bumping up our BG levels.
If you have not cut down on these carbs as well then that may be part of the issue or perhaps you have had Covid and that has inflated your levels or steroids can do that too if you need to take those. There are a lot of things which affect BG levels rather than just sugar and exercise.

If you would like to give us an idea of the sort of things you currently eat, we could perhaps make suggestions as to swaps or alternatives you could try.

Most people here on the forum who are trying (and mostly very successful in managing their diabetes through diet) find that a Blood Glucose meter is an invaluable tool in helping them to "see" how their body responds to different foods and use that information to adjust their meals to foods and portion sizes that their body can cope with. Basic test meter kits are not expensive to buy but the cost of consumables and in particular test strips which are individual to each brand of meter ie not interchangeable/universal, are where the costs add up, so it makes sense to choose a meter which has relatively cheep test strips. The two most frequently recommended here on the forum as being reliable and economical to self fund are the Gluco navii and the Spirit Tee2. You might even manage to blag a free meter kit if you ring the manufacturer, but you will need several pots of test strips to enable you to do some intensive testing. I think they are about £9 per pot of 50 for these two testers at the moment. Your GP is unlikely to prescribe a meter and test strips unless you are on specific medication which can cause your BG levels to drop dangerously low, but no harm in asking before you buy.
Following a system of testing immediately before a meal and then 2 hours after will show you how much that meal increased your BG levels and if that is more than 3 whole units (mmols/l) then there were too many carbs in that meal for your body. Diabetes can be highly individual because we all have different metabolisms and gut biome/digestive systems and eating preferences, so this method enables you to tailor your diet to your particular body rather than following general advice which may or may not work for you. For instance some people can get away with a portion of porridge for breakfast which might seem like a really healthy choice, but for some of us, we might as well just eat sugar as the glucose from the porridge hits our blood stream really fast. I have timed it and even best quality jumbo oats made into porridge with water and a little sweetener can get from my mouth to my finger tip in 20 mins..... which really blows my mind as to how efficient my digestive system is but means that porridge isn't a good choice for me. Some people can cope with wholemeal pasta but not potatoes etc. Learning how your body responds to foods is key to managing this through diet, so investing in your health by getting a BG meter would be my top tip to understanding why the changes you have made so far are not working and what other changes you need to make..

I was quite unfit before and I ate terrible. I used to be a baker and was surrounded by pastry cakes doughnuts etc then got made redundant and now a refuse worker and do 8 miles a day walking . I have eggs in a morning and low carb dinners . I've changed drastically although I still like a beer. It's got to be that because there isn't anything left.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Stan the man, welcome to the forum.

Well done on your progress so far. Must be frustrating to not see your hard work reflected in you HbA1c numbers but you've taken a big step in the right direction.

It might be worth trying a food diary for a week so you can get a full picture of what's going on. Sometimes, the foods that are touted as healthy aren't actually that good for diabetics so do have a look out for those hidden carbs.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like. Most fit in the general category unless it's something specific like about food or children.