New and nervous

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LucysLostSister said:
I hope I can sort myself out. Today has been a shock and upsetting.

How does this sound as a plan at least to start with?

Breakfasts - scrambled eggs OR a small bowl of wholemeal cereal with skimmed milk (sorry can’t abide even semi skimmed taste wise!) and sweetener OR yogurt and fruit (low gi fruit not my usual bananas or grapes)

Lunches - sandwich with 2 small slices wholemeal bread filled spread with mayo and filled with cheese and/or veggie deli slices OR something on 2 small slices toasted bread poached eggs or reduced sugar beans or sliced tomatoes or mushrooms OR scrambled eggs with chopped veggies and/or deli slices mixed in OR an omelette proper (eggs and no carbs for days I have carbs for breakfast?)

Dinners - small portion wholewheat/reheated pasta with sautéed veg and either pesto or home made tomato sauce OR stir fry with small portion wholewheat rice OR casserole with carrot mash OR Jacket potato with cottage cheese or low sugar beans OR Mushroom stroganoff with courgette ribbons

Snacks - small portion popcorn, carrot batons, celery sticks, unsalted nuts, piece of hard cheese, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, fruit, low sugar cereal bars - are skinny bars ok?
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Some people on here sprinkle just a tiny bit of granola on their yogurt and fruit for the crunch/flavour. I would suggest if you are having cereal some days to weigh that if you can, it can be easy to overestimate a portion size. Remember that it's total carbs you're looking at when you're deciding on portion size not just sugar.

Skinny bars are ok if you don't have problems with the sweeteners in them - part of the reason they're lower calorie is usually that they have sweeteners to replace some of the sugar, and I don't know if you have problems with sweeteners (I think in one of your posts you said you had IBS?)

I've also remembered that in one of your other threads you said about almond flour being expensive/difficult to obtain - if you just buy ground almonds that's basically the same thing. Still more expensive than wheat flour but a lot cheaper than "almond flour" and not much more coarse.
 
Thanks. Yes a sprinkle of cereal/granola over yogurt is a good idea, get the sensation but fewer carbs.

I will weigh at least initially, when I was doing the weight loss I learned quickly how easy portion creep occurs, some things are easy to measure due to their nature eg slice of bread but things like cereal and pasta need to be weighed. I’ve good scales.

Skinny bars an occasional treat for the reasons you state. Not horrific effect just perhaps a little extra wind.

Holding off on almond flour for now see how I get on with other changes.
 
rebrascora said:
I can relate to this. I could happily eat 4 slices of wholemeal bread with a whole tin of baked beans for lunch pre-diagnosis and think that was a pretty healthy choice and still be hungry in the evening.
I was a sugar addict and comfort eater and I cut all the sugar and sweets the first couple of weeks and then gradually whittled down the bread/pasta/potatoes etc over the next couple of weeks and then gave up my morning porridge as the final push to get my levels into single figures. It turns out I am actually Type 1 and can in reality eat whatever I want within reason, but what I found was that cutting my carbs and eating more fat has actually given me the control over my diet that I have struggled with for years and I not only love the control, but I also love my new way of eating. I know that if I was to start eating more carbs, I would quickly revert to my old ways, a bit like a recovering alcoholic in that it is a slippery slope once you put your foot onto it, but amazingly I really don't find it difficult to resist, because I have found lots of low carb treats which I can have which don't impact my BG levels and cheese has become my new chocolate and olives my new sweets and pork scratchings my new crisps. I have real double cream in my morning coffee instead of the 3 spoons of brown sugar I used to have and it has become my daily luxury and comfort. The advantage of fat is that it fills you up and stops you from feeling hungry and provides slow release energy and it doesn't spike your BG levels. The peaks and troughs in BG from eating high carb foods is what sets the cravings away for me, so if I can keep things steady then I don't crave. It has really been quite a revelation for me to achieve this control and I don't eat regular meals to do so. There are days when I just have one or two meals a day and others when I graze or snack and don't have a proper meal at all. I am now able to have the occasional treat like last night I shared fish and chips with my partner and it doesn't give me a wobble anymore, but I know that I can't go back to eating the way I did and I cannot consume a multipack of snickers or a box of Cadbury's cream eggs anymore, but life is better without these things.

I hope you can find an approach that gives you control and which you can learn to enjoy. I am 4 years down the line with it and don't feel like I will ever go back to the way I was before and I don't want to. I feel fitter and healthier and stronger and younger. My joints no longer give me the grief that they used to and I can skip or run down steep hills now whereas before I was hobbling at a walk. At 59 years old I am pretty happy with that situation. I also no longer suffer the acute and chronic migraines that I have suffered for more than 20 years. I am very confident that these things are as a result of my dietary changes, so it has been well worth while and in many respects my diabetes diagnosis was the doorway to a healthier me, who fully expects to live longer and with a better quality of life.... albeit via a big kick up the pants with the diagnosis and yes a few tears here too, but far better for it now.
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Pork scratchings! Thank you, I was searching for crisp alternatives for my husband and he loves those. X
 
LucysLostSister said:
I hope I can sort myself out. Today has been a shock and upsetting.

How does this sound as a plan at least to start with?

Breakfasts - scrambled eggs OR a small bowl of wholemeal cereal with skimmed milk (sorry can’t abide even semi skimmed taste wise!) and sweetener OR yogurt and fruit (low gi fruit not my usual bananas or grapes)

Lunches - sandwich with 2 small slices wholemeal bread filled spread with mayo and filled with cheese and/or veggie deli slices OR something on 2 small slices toasted bread poached eggs or reduced sugar beans or sliced tomatoes or mushrooms OR scrambled eggs with chopped veggies and/or deli slices mixed in OR an omelette proper (eggs and no carbs for days I have carbs for breakfast?)

Dinners - small portion wholewheat/reheated pasta with sautéed veg and either pesto or home made tomato sauce OR stir fry with small portion wholewheat rice OR casserole with carrot mash OR Jacket potato with cottage cheese or low sugar beans OR Mushroom stroganoff with courgette ribbons

Snacks - small portion popcorn, carrot batons, celery sticks, unsalted nuts, piece of hard cheese, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, fruit, low sugar cereal bars - are skinny bars ok?
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Your suggestions look good, I would be wary of beans and jacket potato together.
The Nature Valley protein nut bars or shop own (cheaper) are less than 10g carb each so are pretty good. I do cut in thirds as I find that is sufficient at once.
 
Hi, your meal changes look good to me, as a vegetarian for thirty years i know how hard it is.

One year in I can honestly say my tastes and food choices have slowly changed, but it was a real shock at first. I used to fill up on breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, crisps, pizza - all things which send my blood sugar crazy (I was 136 HbA1C at diagnosis)

What worked for me?
loads of veg! eg - chilli with quorn, peppers, courgette and whatever veg Id got in or was cheap. Not too many kidney beans (blood sugar didn’t like too many) serve in a bowl with cheese on top. Nowadays I don’t even bother cooking any rice, don’t miss it, but will have it sometimes and changing from a plate to a bowl helped for some reason. Also like veggie curries with paneer cheese or quorn pieces. Again in a bowl! learnt I can tolerate chick peas and lentils in small quantities, with other things mixed in.
I tried the low carb pastas , but I didn’t like them, so just have a really small portion of the normal stuff, with loads of veg/cheese/quorn. Often use butternut squash , roasted, as wedges, mashed. Eggs in any form are great for me. I like pistachios, almonds and peanuts suit me ok.

For occasional treats I have small a choc eclair (12 carbs each, I buy a pack and freeze the rest so I don’t eat them all at once) , a Kind bar, or a small pack of the lentil crisps Lidl sell (about 10 carbs)

Theres a lot of confusing and contradictory advice on the internet. I stick to Diabetes UK and the NHS sites only now, and even find that confusing. After reading ideas on here I tried other things too…but either didn’t like them (celeriac =yuck) or didn’t know how to cook them. if only there was an A4 leaflet that suited everyone! But there isn’t and never could be.

Take it a day at a time. You will find what works for you, but It’s a slow process and everyone is different. Be kind to yourself.
 
Hello, in same boat as you, husband newly diagnosed and trying to find things he likes but low carb. He is also under weight so all usual advise re loosing weight etc does not apply. If you like yoghurt try the Fage 5% fat Greek yogurt. Low carb, not too strong flavour so can add things like fruit and nuts to it for a “real“ pudding. We have sea bass and salad tonight with lots of yummy extras like olives! Good luck.
 
Yes makes sense to not have beans & potato together perhaps but trial & error? Cottage cheese, ratatouille (I like this on pasta too) any other ideas?

Nature valley - noted I don’t necessarily buy branded things but of course when they’re on offer, ambient items can be snapped up

“as a vegetarian for thirty years i know how hard it is.”

Thank you. I’m the same as you, and I suspect many veggie are, carbs are the basis of our diets, especially on a budget.

Love my veg so I can likely get on with your suggestions though I think it will be a case of weaning myself off the carbs? Does that make sense?

I like beans and pulses but can’t eat loads of them as that has a laxative effect on me. Can’t eat spicy food for same reason ditto too many nuts. Eggs I love too but too many constipate me.

I mostly eat from bowls anyway.

Surprised an eclair is lowish carb.
 
My (almost) veggie child (they do occasionally eat fish) has a very much carb led diet as they don't like vegetables (so not at all a balanced diet really but there's a limit to what I can do about that apart from putting vegetables that they sometimes eat out and hoping they will take some). I mostly concentrate my effort on encouraging more protein (eggs, cheese, Quorn mostly) and dread the possibility of them developing type 2 which they are at risk from - though I don't know how much at risk as we haven't managed to get bloods taken yet as they become too anxious when it's tried.
 
Re fresh cream choc eclairs - I was gobsmacked donkeys years ago when I actually looked up how to make choux pastry and saw how little flour - ie the only carb content of it which I need to count - is actually in it. You have to beat the eggs in so very thoroughly - hence even then I made it at night so always got husband to take turns and he was better than me at beating anything manually anyway having far stronger wrists. Then you bake it - a teaspoonful = a decent sized profiterole - and it's simply full of air. Most of the carbs in a bought eclair will be in the choc topping, cos it's rarely solely melted choc.
 
LucysLostSister said:
Yes makes sense to not have beans & potato together perhaps but trial & error? Cottage cheese, ratatouille (I like this on pasta too) any other ideas?

Nature valley - noted I don’t necessarily buy branded things but of course when they’re on offer, ambient items can be snapped up

“as a vegetarian for thirty years i know how hard it is.”

Thank you. I’m the same as you, and I suspect many veggie are, carbs are the basis of our diets, especially on a budget.

Love my veg so I can likely get on with your suggestions though I think it will be a case of weaning myself off the carbs? Does that make sense?

I like beans and pulses but can’t eat loads of them as that has a laxative effect on me. Can’t eat spicy food for same reason ditto too many nuts. Eggs I love too but too many constipate me.

I mostly eat from bowls anyway.

Surprised an eclair is lowish carb.
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You can make very good pasta-like strips with courgette. Just long strips with a potato peeler or julienne peeler, then briefly stir-fried or blanched. Drain and top with whatever you choose..
 
Try cauliflower rice, its lovely. Grate the cauli, put in a dish with a bit of water, cover with clingfilm and microwave, so easy and quick. Alternatively, buy it ready made
 
freesia said:
Try cauliflower rice, its lovely. Grate the cauli, put in a dish with a bit of water, cover with clingfilm and microwave, so easy and quick. Alternatively, buy it ready made
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Tried it recently did not like it at all yet I like cauli normally.
 
Had to pop Sainsbury’s as I had very little in I could eat and asda isn’t coming till tomorrow evening and frankly I was starving! Which I figured was also unhealthy.

So they had NO FRESH EGGS which was annoying. But I did get a wee pack of butternut squash slices (yellow label) which served as mash with the casserole I had tonight (batch cooked a few weeks back), I also got yogurt, blueberries (breakfast for tomorrow), milk, veggie bacon (admittedly this was cos I was planning on eggs & bacon for brekkie), cheese, salad bowl, cherry toms, carrot batons, mushrooms, olives, the popcorn bars recommended, rice cakes & quorn picnic eggs.

Supper will be some of the picnic eggs with the salad (it’s a balsamic dressing is that ok or am I better using own mayo? Or some vinegar?)

Tomorrow

Breakfast - yogurt & blueberries might do a sprinkle of a handful of bran flakes across top?

Lunch - picnic eggs, rest of salad (won’t eat that all tonight quite big), popcorn bar

Dinner - stumped! Maybe a small portion of pasta with bacon & mushrooms and cheese on top?
 
I'm guessing you have eaten the supper by now. I do use some balsamic etc dressings still, if it comes with the salad then it's probably included in the nutritional information on the salad packaging so you can always look at that to check it doesn't contain many carbs.
 
Yea I only had half the salad and the dressing. But all the picnic eggs was so hungry, some olives too & a popcorn bar, may as well be honest.

Head has been thumping I don’t know if that’s the cold I’ve now got or the reduction in carbs. Yea I know may seem I’m having a lot but compared to what I was eating it’s a significant reduction.
 
LucysLostSister said:
Yea I only had half the salad and the dressing. But all the picnic eggs was so hungry, some olives too & a popcorn bar, may as well be honest.

Head has been thumping I don’t know if that’s the cold I’ve now got or the reduction in carbs. Yea I know may seem I’m having a lot but compared to what I was eating it’s a significant reduction.
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Sometimes when people reduce their carbs they can get headaches often referred to as keto flu. You will tend to lose fluids when cutting carbs so important to drink plenty to stay hydrated as dehydration can cause headaches.
 
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