Microwave meals

[Lou55]

Hi
I am trying to lose weight like the doc asked and am doing ok by using microwave meals but my readings are still about 10 and not going down. I make sure I only ever buy the ones with a green box for sugar using the taffic light marks so I am assuming they are okay to eat. I'm having porrage for breakfast and a salad wrap for lunch so what am I eating wrong. If I snack it's generally fruit
Linda

 

[Kaylz]

From reading this it seems to me your only looking at the "of which sugars" which isn't the case for diabetics, we struggle to tolerate carbohydrates and porridge, breads, rice, pasta, potatoes etc are the worst offenders (fruit isn't the best depending what your eating either) so you should maybe look into reducing your carbs xx

 

[Lou55]

Oh I see. I've started eating porrage to help my cholestoral didn't enter my head it wouldn't be good for my suger. As for the meals I just assumed because all the boxes are green I'd be okay but most of them are rice based if I'm thinking about it. Thanks for the reply best I look at something else which is a shame as it was working weight loss wise

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Weight loss will certainly help your BGs in time @Lou55

There are low carb alternatives to rice (frozen 'cauli rice') available which might keep preparation time down. It may be that there are ready made low carb sauces if you are pushed for time. It has always seemed to me that low carb was easiest if you cook from scratch, but I know this isn't always easy to fit into people's lives.

Are you checking before and 2 hours after eating the ready meals you are finding useful at the moment? If they are not pushing your BG up more than 2-3mmol/L then the meals might be suiting you OK even if the readings are higher than you'd ideally like. If the starting number begins to come down... then the after-meal numbers will come into range too.

 

[Lou55]

Ahh OK thanks didn't think to do that (bit new to all this) I've ignored the diagnosis for about a year and relied on the metformin but have decided I just can't close my eyes to it any more. These meals suit me fine if I'm honest by the time I get home from work I can't be doing with cooking big meals. I will try doing that and go from there. Can you over do the fruit by the way because I have been tucking into that a fair bit too Thank you

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Can you over do the fruit by the way because I have been tucking into that a fair bit too Thank you

Different people can cope with different amounts of fruit - so it's all individual (your BG meter can guide you).

Typically fruit from more tropical places will have more and faster carbs, eg bananas, pineapple. Grapes are renowned as being very difficult BG-wise.

Oranges apples and pears are kinda mid-table. Some can cope, some can't. But bear in mind that a medium-large apple might be 20g of carbs and many people find they struggle eating much more than 100g a day - so two bits of fruit would be half that!

Berries are generally found to be kindest on the BGs, particularly if combined with full-fat / no sugar yoghurt, creme fraiche or similar.

 

[Lou55]

That already kind of answers my next question. I've just worked out I've had 1229 calories today and 162 gm carb. Is that 2 much carb? I hadn't realised quite how many were in the pitta bread I've been eating. I think if I swap them for something else like ryveta that would cut it by loads. Thank you so much for your help. I think I'll do a week where I use my monitor as you suggest and maybe write down what I'm having carb wise.

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi Lou55 *and a warm welcome to our forum.

To help you manage your diabetes I can highly recommend a book entitled the CARB & CALORIE COUNTER which you will find enormously helpful. It has over 1700 coloured photographs of a wide range of popular food & drink items. The Carborhydrate ~ Calories ~ Protein ~ Saturated fat ~ and Fibre values are clearly displayed in coloured-coded circles below each photo.

This highly visual approach makes it incredibly quick & easy to see the nutrient content of the food and drink you consume. The book is also the perfect support tool for Weight management ~ Portion control ~ and general healthy eating and can be purchased from Diabetes UK or Amazon. It's a well known bible for people living with Diabetes

Take a look at the following link as there's plenty of info within it which will be helpful to you:~

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes. 10406/

There's a lot more information that we can advise you on like threads about meal plans / recipes ~ and weight loss challenges but I don't want to overwhelm you more than you are already at the moment.

I prep & cook batch meals once a week and freeze them. Maybe you could do the same to make life easier for yourself. I also make my own soups ie veggie: scotch broth: leek & potato (baby new) chicken & leek and freeze them too.

I hope you find this and other members advice & suggestions, helpful.
Take care Lou55 and do stay in touch as to your progress.
WL
*Edited

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I think I'll do a week where I use my monitor as you suggest and maybe write down what I'm having carb wise.

Keeping a food diary for a while can be a great help. Good luck with it!

 

[Andy HB]

You could also think about making your own 'ready meals'. Cook a large batch of what you fancy. Eat one portion if you like and freeze the rest in handy portion sizes.

Then, each day take one out of the freezer giving it time to defrost for when you want it and then microwave.

This is, potentially, a much healthier and controllable way to eat. I used to do this a lot and more often than not produced something infinitely better than the industrially produced stuff. 🙂

 

[Drummer]

Oh dear. I am doing a lot of sighing today.
Type two diabetes is all about being unable to deal with the carbohydrates, the sugar and starch in foods. The traffic light system is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot, as it doesn't rate the carbohydrate, only the sugar - and rice, potato, oats, wheat, are all about 2/3rds starch, by weight.
When trying to reduce their Hba1c and their blood glucose, many people find that they can cope with around 50 gm of carb a day. They use a glucose meter to check their blood two hours after starting to eat, so they can see how they react to various meals.
I ate 50 gm of carbs per day and got down to normal levels, just about. I have dropped down to 40 gm per day now, but so far no change.
I eat a lot of stir fries, which are quick and easy to do. In the summer I lived on salads which are also quick to assemble. A couple of times a week I have a small serving of frozen berries with cream (frozen so there is no waste) and I also drink my coffee with cream. I don't eat high sugar or starchy fruits as the fructose is not good for the liver.

 

[Docb]

I would be OK with the traffic light system if it had a big warning alongside it saying that it is inappropriate for some groups of people. As has been said, sugar content is only partially relevant to people with type 2.

Like everything else, using ready prepared microwave meals has its upsides and its down sides.

The big upside, apart from convenience, is that it should have a label telling you how many calories are in the meal together with the TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE content. That makes it easy to keep track of your intake, especially if you are taking a low carb approach to getting blood glucose down.

The big downside is you will have to do a lot of searching and inspection to avoid carb loaded meals, especially if you are on a budget.

I am fortunate in that I enjoy cooking and have the time to do it so like others I batch cook and freeze my own "ready meals". There are as good as the expensive stuff from the supermarket and a fraction of the cost.

 

[Grannylorraine]

You could also think about making your own 'ready meals'. Cook a large batch of what you fancy. Eat one portion if you like and freeze the rest in handy portion sizes.

Then, each day take one out of the freezer giving it time to defrost for when you want it and then microwave.

This is, potentially, a much healthier and controllable way to eat. I used to do this a lot and more often than not produced something infinitely better than the industrially produced stuff. 🙂

I totally agree with this, I tend to follow recipes that are for a serving of 4, then freeze the left over portions or use a smaller one for lunch the next day, I also try to use recipes that take only a few mins prep and no more then 35/40 mins to cook on a week day because of time constraints, so cooking home cooking doesn't have to take up much time. I use recipe books from Pinch of Nom, but adapt some them if they have a high carb content. I was a real queen of the ready meals until my diagnosis, now I never eat them and enjoy cooking, even though mine doesn't always come out looking like the picture in the book.

Most recipes can be easily adapted so no need to buy a new book, just adapt your favourites.

 

[Felinia]

Diabetes UK recommends less that 130gm carbs a day, but many of us go a lot lower. I experimented and settled on 75-90 gm a day. On less I felt ill, but others are fine as our bodies all work differently. To keep myself on track I use a website and app which measures the cals, carbs, sugars, proteins, fats, etc for literally thousands of foods by portion size, and keeps running totals by meal, day and week. I plan a day in advance so always know how I stand.
I know what you mean about not wanting to cook when you get home. When I was working I'd batch cook on a weekend, freeze in individual portions, then just get out next day's dinner the night before to defrost. A quick job to microwave some veggies and my choice when I got in, so dinner was on the table in 10 minutes. As for wraps, you can make a thin one egg omelette and use that as a wrap. Or you can get low carb bread and make yourself an open sandwich with a selection of veggies and protein.
Fruit varies from person to person. My DSN told me just one 80gm portion of fruit per day as a snack. Grapes are sugar bombs, and you have to watch bananas. I found apples were lethal for me, as one medium apple has over 13gm carbs. I now buy frozen fruit - Sainsburys mixed strawberries and blueberries are my current favourite, and I have 40gm when I have a small portion of porridge (25gm made up with 125ml unsweetened Alpro coconut drink) or 80gm as a snack with a dollop of Greek natural yogurt. Being frozen you can measure exact quantities and not guess.
When you are new to managing by diet, it is a learning curve and you have to develop a routine, but it does get easier.

 

[Toucan]

I am trying to lose weight like the doc asked and am doing ok by using microwave meals but my readings are still about 10 and not going down. I make sure I only ever buy the ones with a green box for sugar using the taffic light marks so I am assuming they are okay to eat. I'm having porrage for breakfast and a salad wrap for lunch so what am I eating wrong. If I snack it's generally fruit
Linda

Hello Lou, welcome to the forum, as you will have seen there is a great deal and information and advice available, that I hope will help you with achieving your weight loss.
Busy lives do make it difficult to spend too much time preparing food, and I was just thinking what I would replace your meals with, with that in mind.
How about:
Swap the porridge for a bowl of full fat Greek yoghurt with berries (can be frozen ones) and you could add nuts, seeds, cinnamon.
Lunch - I guess you buy a ready made wrap - most supermarkets and lunch-snack shops sell ready-made salads (but avoid the ones with rice/pasta/potatoes)
Dinner - It's great if you have time to make up a batch of healthy meals for the freezer, but if not how about a nice piece of salmon (or other fish) which only takes a few minutes to cook and can be done in the microwave, maybe with another pre-made salad or some frozen veg, and add I would add some mayo.

I hope this all helps, please come back with any questions and we would all love to know how it goes.