New here, looking for support Sussex

[johncelt67]

Hi all, I’m new to the forum and only been diagnosed in the last 18 months.

Does anyone know of any support group in West Sussex, I’m near Chichester.

Having trouble with diet and sugar addiction.

Thanks

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi all, I’m new to the forum and only been diagnosed in the last 18 months.

Does anyone know of any support group in West Sussex, I’m near Chichester.

Having trouble with diet and sugar addiction.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum
Would you like to say a bit about your diagnosis, what your Hba1C is and if you are on any medication and what dietary approach are you following.
Making those dietary changes is important in reducing blood glucose to avoid those unpleasant consequences of high levels.
Actual sugar is one of the first things you should be cutting out but also reducing intake of other high carb foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, tropical fruits as well as the obvious cakes, biscuits unless home made low carb ones sugary drinks including fruit juice.
Once you reduce those sweet sugary foods then your tastes will change and things will taste far too sweet.
Many find a low carb approach successful and this link will give you some pointers if that is a way that interests you. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Of course there are other regimes which people try, low calorie or shakes based and there are some menu ideas on the main DUK site.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @johncelt67

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and that you are finding it hard to change your eating habits - it can take a long time to adjust and adapt from an established eating pattern because a lot of eating is habitual - so changing and improving your diet takes a concerted effort.

There’s a search tool on the Diabetes UK website which may help you to find any local support groups near you:

Local support groups

If you or a family member has diabetes, it's often helpful to meet other people who are going through the same thing at our diabetes support groups.

www.diabetes.org.uk

Additionally, many new members find it can be really helpful to start menu changes by beginning to understand ‘where they are’ in glucose terms. You can keep a brutally honest food diary for a week or two. Note down everything you eat and drink, along with a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content (not just ‘of which sugars’ in your meals and snacks - it doesn’t have to be gram-perfect, the nearest 5-10g is fine.

It might sound like a bit of a faff, and will involve weighing portions, squinting at the fine print on packaging, and possibly looking up things on the internet, but it will give you a really good idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu, and identify ones which have a high carb load but which are relatively unfilling/unsatisfying. Once you can see which meals or snacks are your ‘big hitters’, and where carbs might be unexpectedly lurking, the diary might also suggest some likely candidates for swaps, portion reductions, or using lower carb alternatives (eg celeriac or swede mash, or cauli ‘rice’).

Members here who are interested in trying a moderate or low carbohydrate apporach to diabetes management often aim for a total carbohydrate intake of 130g a day or thereabouts.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on finding local support 🙂