New and confused.

phillipsj2

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Pronouns
He/Him
Hello all,

I've been diagnosed with T2 in the past few months and have been bombarded with conflicting information about what I can and can't/should or shouldn't do and eat, to the point that I'm finding navigating these conflicting sources of information more depressing than the diagnosis itself.

When I was diagnosed in July, my HbA1c was 6.8%. The GP who delivered the diagnosis suggested that I go on the keto diet and cut out carbs as far as possible in favour of red meat, etc. (what he was describing actually sounded far more like the Atkins diet...) which isn't an option for me as I have Crohn's also and you're strongly advised to limit your intake of meat in order to keep your bowel healthy.

The nurse who did my foot check, on the other hand, suggested more mutually contradictory diets. According to her, I should either portion food out according to the size of parts of my hand (is that a literal little finger of fats, or is it proportional?), or I should eat half of what I normally eat, or I should change nothing about my diet. She also said that I could increase my intake of Mars bars: I can eat one a week, which would be an increase of, well, one, and that there is no difference between white and brown bread. All this in a ten-minute monologue...

Meanwhile, this site says somewhere that juices and smoothies are a bad idea, for reasons that make perfect sense, but equally I've been given a Hairy Bikers cookbook that's allegedly been written with a nutritionist and its first recipe is a smoothie. I don't give much credence to the book, not least because it is full of language about calorie-counting which I've never thought much of, but it's just another example of utterly contradictory information for the pile. The GP gave me a link to an NHS app called Changing Health, which I've found of limited use (exercise is good for you? what a novel idea!).

I'm fairly sure I've no way of checking my glucose levels short of buying devices myself (which I really can't afford), so I don't think I have access to any reliable way of finding out what food does and doesn't work for me. Since being diagnosed, I've made a few changes that seem common-sensical to me, like not buying sugary snack foods and joining the gym. But I'm second-guessing everything that I buy or eat, and it's turned things like food shopping into incredibly stressful activities. It would be one thing if I were told I had to follow a really restrictive regimen like the soup and shake diet, as at least that would provide clarity, but I'm just confused, and that confusion is making me depressed.

I'm not sure if there is a question at the end of this, or if this is just a rant. Anyone have any advice?

Josh
 
If you are sure that meat is the problem there is always dairy, eggs or fish as your protein source.
I found the Atkins diet really suited me and sighed at the way HCPs reacted, insisting that only high carb low fat was healthy. At diagnosis I was vastly overweight.
My HbA1c returned to normal pretty swiftly when I cut out foods with carb content over 10% and it was no bother to stick to under 40 gm of carbs a day - that is counting both sugars and starches. I also cut out seed oils and that reduced my joint aches and also I no longer get sunburnt in the same way.
I spent some years in remission eating twice a day at around 12 hourly intervals, but I am just coming up to 8 years from diagnosis and decided to use shakes and small meals to see how it might affect my HbA1c this year.
 
Welcome to the forum. Your experience is much like others as interpreting all the different advice can be overwhelming. Your HbA1C has been given in old units but 6.8% converts to 51mmol/mol in new money, the diagnostic threshold is anything over 47mmol/mol so you are only just over that so really some fairly modest changes to your diet should be all that is needed but you still have to balance dietary choices with other conditions which can be tricky.
There is no need for people to adopt a regime as extreme as Keto but just look to reducing the carbohydrates in their diet.
The obvious ones are cakes, biscuits, pastry, sugary drinks and fruit juice which people should cut out but the other food to be cautious of are potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, tropical fruits and reduce their portions and base meals on meat, fish. nuts, dairy, eggs, veg and salads and fruit like berries but you may have to pick and choose what suits you.
I definitely think when people have dietary restrictions for any reason then it is very useful to have a testing regime with a home monitor as it then helps them identify foods which are best avoided but also those which they may otherwise reject but which are fine.
Testing before you eat and after 2 hours where you would be looking for a reading of no more than 8-8.5mmol/l and aiming at 4-7mmol/l before meals.
Everybody is different in how they metabolise carbs so you need to find what suits you.
Don't forget many of the recipes may seem high carb although aimed at people with diabetes but people manage their condition in different ways depending on whether they are Type 1 and therefore taking insulin or Type 2 who sometimes do need insulin or be on oral medications or those who are just dietary managed in which case they may adopt a much lower carb regime.
Have a look at this link for some good explanation from a reputable source and there are also some menu plans and recipes. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
Hi @phillipsj2 and welcome to the forum!

I am sorry about your diagnosis and all the contradicting info flooding your way. Unfortunately even people with best intentions can give very peculiar advice due to their knowledge perhaps being a bit old-fashioned or simply being misinformed. It's also true that different things work for different people so you'll have to find something that works for you and is long-lasting - something that you can stick to. Some people choose to simple reduce their carb intake (as it's not just plain sugar that you need to look at), try Mediterranean diet, while others go on a very low carb diet or something completely different.
If you haven't yet, have a look at our food section of the website, as well as the links that other Users have shared. Folk here have a lot of gathered knowledge and experience so they'll share things that have worked for them rather something that 'they've heard someone say'. In terms of the information overflow, you might find the Learning Zone useful as it has helped a few of our newbies understand their diagnosis better.
As Leadinglights has said - you're still at a low threshold, so with a few changes you should be able to get those numbers down. Simply have a think about what you usually eat and see if you can replace some of the carb-packed choices with better options.
Other than that - we always welcome stories, rants, questions or personal victories, so anything you'll feel comfortable sharing with us - please do so.
 
Some people with gut issues often find that by reducing the carbs they have actually improves their symptoms.
My other half has Crohn's which luckily is largely asymptomatic and he is actually able to eat anything but does go with the low carb approach I follow with a few extras. It was interesting the arguments between different people when he was in hospital with a bad flare up as to what constituted a low residue diet he was advised to follow. We picked up some useful advise from the website of the charity Guts UK.
 
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