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New and overwhelmed
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richardmillar11
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hi and welcome here. You have done the right thing by joining up here. I put it off but chatting to others in the same position has really made a difference. The Dr is right I do find that stressing about it makes the whole thing worse! What kind of readings are you getting and what was your Hba1C result?
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
welcome to the forum, lots of people here in the same situation as you.
Knowing what your HbA1C is will help to know how much you need to do. As you are already eating low carb then maybe you only will need to make some small changes. About how many carbs per day/meal are you having.
Sometimes people think they are eating 'healthily' but there are some foods which are not so for Type 2 diabetics.
If you give some examples of the meals you have and your blood glucose readings then somebody may spot something.
You obviously have a monitor which is brilliant so testing before you eat and after 2hours will indicate where you might be in terms of your tolerance to the carbs you are having.
HBA1C was 50. This is what I don’t understand: all meals home made. Coronation chicken jacket potato wine 10.2. Lamb curry no carbs wine 7.7. Lamb shanks no carbs. 8.7. Fried salmon white rice 11.1. Monday on waking 10.0 11.45 am. 9.2. Chicken soup for lunch no carbs. 10.0. These are examples. I ate some carbs to see if there was a difference. I also never eat before 12 and stop by 7. Why is it so high when I wake up.?
richardmillar11
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hba1C wasn't the worst you are not far off getting that lowered. Mine was 115 on diagnosis! 9 weeks later its down to 55 so it can be done. I am new here also and no expert but I'd say your starting point is cut the red meat rice and potatoes and the wine and eat long before 12. The longer I leave it to eat in the morning the higher my blood sugar becomes. If you have breakfast around 8 you may see lower readings before lunch.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
From those numbers the meals where you had carbs, the potato, and the rice are higher than where you didn't have any carb except for the soup but that would depend on what was in it.
I would suggest you also test before you eat so you can see the difference, you want no more than a 2-3 mmol/l increase after 2 hours.
It will depend on when you test in the morning as some people experience foot on the floor syndrome where the liver releases glucose into the blood stream to give you energy for your body to function. So testing before you get out of bed will eliminate that reason for a high morning reading.
Presumably if you only eat between 12 and 7 you only have 2 meals a day. Your body may feel it needs to release glucose from the liver if you are fairly active.
I would suggest you also test before you eat so you can see the difference, you want no more than a 2-3 mmol/l increase after 2 hours.
It will depend on when you test in the morning as some people experience foot on the floor syndrome where the liver releases glucose into the blood stream to give you energy for your body to function. So testing before you get out of bed will eliminate that reason for a high morning reading.
Presumably if you only eat between 12 and 7 you only have 2 meals a day. Your body may feel it needs to release glucose from the liver if you are fairly active.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If you like a glass of wine then red wine and dry white wine is low carb and all meat is low carb as is fish, which you can have with plenty of non starchy veg.
You can have a breakfast of full fat yoghurt with some berries and seeds or nuts which would be low carb and your before lunch levels may be better.
Also eggs are good.
You can have a breakfast of full fat yoghurt with some berries and seeds or nuts which would be low carb and your before lunch levels may be better.
Also eggs are good.
richardmillar11
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Neither did I - it will take a bit of getting used to but give it a go you've nothing to loose and potentially a lot to gain. Let us know if it works. I think you will see a big difference!!!
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Cheese and cooked meat, you may be fine with a slice of low carb toasted bread with eggs, bacon or mushrooms or tomatoes. Having a low carb but protein and healthy fats is good.
Have a look at the thread What did you eat Yesterday in the food forum for ideas of what Type 2 people have for meals. Bare in mind some people will have differing amount of carbs depending on meds etc.
janw
Much Missed Member.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Eggs are good for breakfast, cooked anyway you enjoy them, even as an omelette. I sometimes enjoy one slice of Nimble toast, with a poached egg on a bed of wilted baby spinach, then have some berries - you can have full fat cream with them if you don't like greek style yoghurt. One of these days I will find time to try making some breakfast egg muffins, they look nice and are low carb/keto, and will keep in the fridge a few days or can be frozen then reheated in microwave. There are lots of low carb and keto ideas on the web for all meals.
Best to avoid white bread, potatoes, white flour, rice, pasta, limit veggies that grown under the ground, tropical fruit (berries are best), cakes, sweets, crisps (my downfall, alas), pastries etc - read the carb contents and go for the lowest - if you spike there are usually alternatives such as cauliflower mash or cauliflower rice, konjac noodles and rice.
I'm not a great one for breakfast, never have been, but I try to eat a little something if I am going out. I'm not on meds though - and everyone has their own routine that suits them best, no one size fits all, so it is always a trial and error to get it right for us as individuals. Do you use an online food diary? I find that is good to *try* and keep me on track with my daily limits of carbs, fat, protein - I don't take much notice of calories but usually keep under it anyway. There are plenty you can use for free, personally I use My Fitness Pal, but there are many others so it may be worth checking a few for one that suits.
Best to avoid white bread, potatoes, white flour, rice, pasta, limit veggies that grown under the ground, tropical fruit (berries are best), cakes, sweets, crisps (my downfall, alas), pastries etc - read the carb contents and go for the lowest - if you spike there are usually alternatives such as cauliflower mash or cauliflower rice, konjac noodles and rice.
I'm not a great one for breakfast, never have been, but I try to eat a little something if I am going out. I'm not on meds though - and everyone has their own routine that suits them best, no one size fits all, so it is always a trial and error to get it right for us as individuals. Do you use an online food diary? I find that is good to *try* and keep me on track with my daily limits of carbs, fat, protein - I don't take much notice of calories but usually keep under it anyway. There are plenty you can use for free, personally I use My Fitness Pal, but there are many others so it may be worth checking a few for one that suits.
Dominic DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Hi there thank you so much for reaching out and welcome to our community!
If you would like to speak to someone, you're very welcome to contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399 or helpline@diabetes.org.uk
You can also access our Learning Zone, which is our online platform containing quizzes, tips, recipes and more to help you in regards to Diabetes management (https://learningzone.diabetes.org.uk/).
🙂
If you would like to speak to someone, you're very welcome to contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399 or helpline@diabetes.org.uk
You can also access our Learning Zone, which is our online platform containing quizzes, tips, recipes and more to help you in regards to Diabetes management (https://learningzone.diabetes.org.uk/).
🙂
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
By testing I found that eating at 12 our intervals I got more even levels of blood glucose, so that is what I do, or near enough.
Potatoes and rice - or any grain, do not appear on my menus, the only fruit is berries, but it means normal blood glucose so I really do not mind at all.
Breakfast is just another meal, so might be steak and mushrooms plus whatever is in the fridge to make a stir fry. I do eat more eggs than most, I suspect, and do not avoid sausages or bacon, but it doesn't seem to do any harm.
Potatoes and rice - or any grain, do not appear on my menus, the only fruit is berries, but it means normal blood glucose so I really do not mind at all.
Breakfast is just another meal, so might be steak and mushrooms plus whatever is in the fridge to make a stir fry. I do eat more eggs than most, I suspect, and do not avoid sausages or bacon, but it doesn't seem to do any harm.
Hi, you numbers are not a disaster. So try not to worry and just make little manageable tweaks. It can be hard on low carb to get the energy you need. I would definitely recommend trying to eat before 12, I know you said you don’t like Greek yogurt but have you tried quark/kvarg. These are really low carb and quite thick and filling and come in lots of flavours. Bacon, sausage (proper butchers ones) tomatoes, mushrooms etc all fine. An omelette maker is a useful tool on rushed mornings.
If it helps at all, my hba1c was similar to yours at diagnosis at 55. My finger pricks were always in the high teens and sometimes reaching nearly 30! On what I considered a lowish carb diet. Your morning surgars will be the last to fall into line, this can take a bit of trial and error as this is when we are most insulin resistant. Keep checking in… you will get there.
If it helps at all, my hba1c was similar to yours at diagnosis at 55. My finger pricks were always in the high teens and sometimes reaching nearly 30! On what I considered a lowish carb diet. Your morning surgars will be the last to fall into line, this can take a bit of trial and error as this is when we are most insulin resistant. Keep checking in… you will get there.
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